Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume II

by Catherine Benstead, Jessica Gleason (Contributor), Lor Gislason (Contributor)

Hear Us The Voices of Horror is an anthology of personal essays by women and non-binary genre fans from across the horror community. Our diverse authors share their intensely personal connections to horror and the impact the genre has had on their lives. Hear Us The Voices of Horror is a collaborative effort committed to building supportive, genuine connections and safer spaces for women and/or non-binary folks in the horror community. We aim to amplify marginalized voices that have been frequently drowned out or ignored in a genre traditionally perceived as othering women and non-binary individuals. Horror is so dear to so many of us, and we believe that sharing these diverse personal stories can foster an important sense of belonging and community for those who need it most. We treasure the connections we forged and the voices we highlighted in Volume One, and we can’t wait to continue this work as we publish Volume Two. Our fantastic group of Volume Two contributors are ready to share their unique perspectives on and connections to horror, and we can’t wait for you to read them. We are so proud to announce that this volume will contain the essays of 36 horror loving writers! A whole 10 (+1) more essays than volume one. Hear Us The Voices of Horror Volume Two will publish essays from the This incredible team of horror loving writers will be supported and mentored by our wonderful team of editors including editing alumni Violet Burns and Catherine Benstead with the addition of Rebecca McCallum (Ghouls Magazine, Mums and Sons, Hear Us Scream Volume One), Blayne Waterloo (Fangoria, Hear Us Scream Online and Hear Us Scream Volume One), and S. L. McGee (Hear Us Scream Online, Author of Voices on the Air).

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2022

Reviews

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, thought provoking, beautifully written and curated with skill.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally get to be that reviewer that starts by saying I'm biased because I'm one of the writers featured in this book! But for this review I want to share some quotes and essays that really stuck with me after I finally read through the collection.

I've read and watched a lot of analysis about identifying with the monsters in horror, but none of it was quite as compelling and succinct as Lakkaya Palmer's "Reclaiming the Monster Within." She writes, "Monster, to me, simply means to reveal. Being a monster is about being vulnerable and showing parts of oneself." In the essay, she examines the way womanhood and Blackness have been made monstrous in both horror media and society.

Although I'm not a mother,  I was riveted by Ygraine Hackett-Cantabrana's "The Horror of Motherhood: A Trilogy." She bravely discusses those dark parts of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood that most dare not acknowledge. In one part while comparing her own experiences with postpartum depression to the final moments of The Babadook, she writes "my mental health issues were always going to remain...I would just need to have coping mechanisms, [including] sometimes feeding and soothing it."

I can't even pull a single quote from Logan-Ashley Kisner's "Give Me Back My Hand: The Transgender Evil Dead." Writing like this is the reason I love horror and film analysis, and it is worth the price tag of the collection alone.

In "Being Haunted", Caitlin Marceau captures the reason so many of us are drawn to horror. Marceau writes, "I'd finally found a way of being able to take my trauma and create something positive out of it. Horror gave me a safe space to explore and unpack my fears." Can't beat that for a final girl voiceover epiphany.

I'll stop there, but this is definitely a great collection for anyone who loves horror or wants to have a better understanding of the profound, deeply personal, and deeply positive impact these films can have on people.

[Ande Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few things in life are as certain, for a horror fan, as having to answer the question, “Why would you watch things like that?” It’s a deceptively difficult question to answer, and one that I’ve spent an unholy amount of time contemplating, myself. Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume II, a collection of over 30 personal essays by women and non-binary horror fans, seeks to deliver a range of diverse answers to that question. By highlighting these voices, and in particular, by using their series as a way to boost otherwise marginalized perspectives, The Voices of Horror proves that no matter who we are or where we come from, horror can be a warm and welcoming community. Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume II is a powerful testament to horror’s ability to reach out and touch the people who need it, often in the times they need it most. For these authors, horror goes beyond the thrill of blood and gore and the imaginative ways a writer can kill off their characters. As Laurel Hightower writes in the book’s foreword, “Horror is our world, our language, and through it we can know ourselves and one another.”

...Continue reading on What Sleeps Beneath