Cyber Scream Queen of the Day: Erin Lashley

It's time for our special Women In Horror Month posts, The Cyber Scream Queen of the Day! The Woman you see highlighted this day and every day this month deserves the recognition for their outstanding achievements in online horror writing.

Name: Erin Lashley
Blog: In It For The Kills
Bio: I started In It For the Kills to figure out why I watch so many horror films. I was only an occasional horror movie viewer until around my 32nd birthday, although I have been interested in celebrity death details, ghosts, psychic phenomena and cemeteries as long as I can remember. One minute I was one of those people who couldn't watch a horror movie alone and would have to cover my eyes often; the next I was watching them every night. My "thesis" of sorts and the meaning of the blog's name was that we talk about atmosphere, shots, effects, acting, plot, etc., but what if all we really care about is gnarly sequences of people dying in nasty ways? In my case, I think I might be taking out aggression by watching the movies.
I spend some of the time posting very self-indulgent mini papers (which would have garnered Cs in college English) on the symbolism in the films I watch. These posts are not so popular, which is really no surprise. I promised myself I would not be just another site making fun of crappy movies. Unfortunately, my favorite sites are all the ones where people make fun of stuff so I've veered in that direction anyway. The posts with more humor, particularly when lists are involved, seem to be the most popular. I know that I genuinely like some pretty crappy movies and it is hard not to mock them.
Sometimes I miss the 80s style of filmmaking which was not ironic until Heathers came along. But I'm a Gen-Xer, and we seem to have taken 'liking stuff because it sucks" to a new level. Now popular culture can't seem to go back. I think recent horror movies that are too smart and self-aware may not hold up. For example, have you watched Scream lately? The self-referential aspects of that one definitely didn't age well. Probably my favorite horror movie of all time is Poltergeist. That movie had its funny parts but when the shit came down they played it straight.
Because "they" are not making the films I like as much anymore, it leads me to think my next step will be writing horror short stories. Maybe if they are any good my husband, an indie filmmaker who writes screenplays, can adapt some of them. What I'd really like to do is write creative non fiction with a horror theme. I've always had the most success with previous blogs when I tell modified stories about my own life, but I live in a small town and I'd rather not get sued or murdered for something I've written. It means a lot to me when anyone is affected by something I've written, but this blog is only read by other horror bloggers. It's nice to make art for its own sake, but I have a B.A. in English I've never profited from and I'm not getting any younger or more wealthy at this point. I'd really like to expand into something more people will read i.e. something someone will pay me for. I know that some people make waaaaaay too much money for their art. I would be happy with 30-50k a year for making stuff up.
I don't see In It For the Kills dying anytime soon, but at this time it is my only writing project and it should be more of a side project. I'll do it as long as it's fun.