[Editorial] Editor’s Note: … And That’s A Wrap!

Corrrrr… 2021 what a fucking year, right?! I feel like we all went through 2020 more than certain that a year couldn’t get any worse than that at all and unfortunately we were proven completely wrong once again. The ongoing pandemic is certainly giving us a hard time and I think honestly, it can feel completely de-motivating and soul-crushing just to think we are literally living our lives throughout these times. I know for so many of us it’s continued to be the toughest time to live through, and whilst we can hope that 2022 is going to be better, there is more than likely still going to be a lot of hardship to get through. Even as I’m writing this, the UK has rising cases of covid and nearly everyone I know has it or is isolating after coming into contact with someone so it’s feeling exceptionally real right now. But there has been so much positivity throughout this year, and the horror community continues to be one of the most giving and caring places that exists in this world, so it’s time to get a little grateful. 

Reflecting is something that I do not feel comes naturally to us; yes, we get nostalgic and think about the past, but is what we are doing truly reflecting on the bigger picture? My mental health isn’t always picture perfect and therefore I have various techniques to continuously look after myself and learn new ways to manage other than spending hours looking at existential crisis videos on TikTok that use dark humour to hide depression, it’s fun. One podcast that I would highly recommend is Help Me Be Me which is all about different triggering aspects in life, with advice from host Sarah May B who whilst isn’t a licensed therapist uses her own personal experiences and a method ‘The Why, the What and the How’ to breakdown subjects such as co-dependent relationships, self-doubt, family conflicts and so on. Through this podcast I learned about reflecting on where you are now, your achievements and the person you have become over the years. It also taught me the art of journaling and finding things to be grateful for even on the darkest days. It was during one of these exercises, and when I had completely lost my passion for writing, editing, or anything even remotely related to the ‘horror’ world that I realised just how completely life changing and affirming ‘horror’ as any form of entity has become in my life over the years. 

Lockdown has completely changed, and ruined, many elements of my life but horror has been one slither of magic dust that has remained unchanged, if not, better than before. Being able to focus on writing and creating in the free time that suddenly appeared from losing commutes to and from the office meant I could spend 7am sessions watching rape revenge films and then slot in an evening writing session accompanied by whiskey. It meant that rather than spending my time drowning stressful sorrows at the pub with colleagues until my bank call me crying at the amount I’ve spent on tequila shots, I could connect with like-minded horror journalists over in the US because I was up a little later online making connections across the globe. With the loss of parts of life came the generation of new parts of life, ones that have felt more positive, productive and closer aligned to my love of horror. And of course, without us ever going into a very long lockdown over last winter and into many months of the beginning of the year, Ghouls Magazine wouldn’t have been born. It was an idea that had always been percolating in my head, however it always seemed so unattainable, but with a little help from SAD and forced home enclosure it allowed me to breathe life into my Frankentein monster. Of course, I don’t want to try to say everything was single-handedly created by myself because that’s not true at all; my partner Emanuele has played a phenomenal part in bringing Ghouls to life, and we spent hours trying to think of names, slogans and exactly what it all meant. Being the metal heads we are, it was when Motley Crue’s ‘Girls Girls Girls’ rocked out that Ghouls Ghouls Ghouls became a slogan and then that was derived into Ghouls Magazine. I don’t think anything would have been possible without his support, encouragement and constant words of wisdom - he has been my no.1 cheerleader since day one, so the biggest thank you to him. The magazine has been growing and this year has just seen things go from strength to strength, which is where I stop taking credit because the hardwork and success we have seen so far has all been down to the amazing people that are involved with the magazine, but also those who have supported us. 

Rebecca McCallum was someone I connected with through Zobo With A Shotgun and also The Evolution of Horror. Rebecca even dug out our early communications the other week, serving as a reminder of how much we’ve gone from exchanging pleasantries formally over email to messaging each other the most random shit on every social platform possible just for a laugh. When I first met Rebecca I instantly noted that she was not only dedicated to horror with knowledge that makes me feel ashamed, but she had a kind soul that worked in tandem yet completely opposite to mine, and I liked it. Rebecca came on board to Ghouls with a fire like no-one else, just completely raring to go and to get involved with anything possible so we could build this baby together - and now she is the Ass Ed of my Dreams (that stands for Assistant Editor if you’re wondering). Every day I am amazed at just how organised and on-top of shit she is, whilst also constantly finding time to read, listen and consume fellow horror lovers' work and then come up with incredible pitches too. She might be some kind of unicorn, I swear on it. 

The rest of the Ghouls team are also people that inspire me every single day, and since meeting each and every one of them, I have found what feels like a secret pool of youth because they make me feel alive. Our team of contributors has just continued to grow, and that makes my heart feel so full that people I look to for inspiration want to actually write for Ghouls - it is such an overwhelming and humbling feeling. These are people in horror that have the most insightful opinions and thoughts on the horror genre, they are the people who are leading discussions and conversations that actually spark intellectual thoughts on films, they are the leaders in their field and I love seeing them all go from strength to strength, finding avenues here there and everywhere to get their voice out there, which is so amazing to see. But our contributors have become a family to me, and without them it would genuinely feel like something is missing from my life - they are always understanding, caring and kind, just as you would imagine any sibling would be. So a huge thank you to every person who has been regularly contributing to Ghouls and to those who have allowed us to share fascinating articles:

• Alix Turner

• Amber T

• Ariel Baska

• Ariel Powers-Schaub

• Alex Challoner

• Alison Peirse

• Aspen Esquivel

• Becky Darke

• Caitlyn Downs

• Dani Bethea

• Emma Kostopolus

• Gelsomina De Lucia

• Grace Britten

• Harriet Fletcher

• Hannah Ogilvie

• Jane Nightshade

• Jenn Adams

• Jerry Sampson

• Jessica Scott

• Katelyn Nelson

• Kate Bowen

• Kim Morrison

• Kelly Gredner

• Iona Smith

• Lakkaya Palmer

• Lauren Hart

• Liz Bishop

• Leticia Lopez

• Liz DeGregorio

• Lucy Buglass

• Marisa Mercurio

• Mallika Pal

• Mae Murray

• Melanie Moyer

• Melissa Cox

• Rabia Sitabi

• Sarah Miles

• Sam Vargas

• Sian Jenkins

• Trina Findlay

• Wren Crain

• Ygraine Hackett-Cantbrana

Before we even launched the website officially back in February, there was support from the beginning of the year with the horror community on social media actively helping to spread the word with retweets, shares and all the rest. I was so surprised to see just how much support there was for the project before it even came to life, and I had to keep on pinching myself that this dream was finally becoming a reality. I remember when I was first getting into journalism and someone said to me ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’, and in some ways it’s not completely true but in other ways it’s a sad truth, however, I think it can be seen as a positive. This statement always came across to me that in order to get anywhere in life you needed to be well connected to the biggest and showiest names in any industry, but I don’t read that statement that way anymore. Sure, knowing someone ‘names’ can be beneficial in its own right (hey, I’m not going to turn down taking Julia Ducournau’s number if she offered it me, right?!) but when we talk about who you know, the connections you make across the online horror community are completely different. Fans of horror are the ones that truly make this community the positive place that it can be and help great things happen for small and independent brands that only want to deliver the best content to those who want to consume it. You could have one big time horror director retweet you, or you could have 100 die-hard horror fans retweet you - I know which one I would certainly have. And that’s because genuine people, connection and passion for horror goes much further and means much more than one big person who tapped into a genre because there’s money to be made there. So I feel incredibly lucky to have friends throughout the community who actually know their shit when it comes to horror and have continuously helped to push Ghouls Magazine out into the world and support what we do as a brand, because that really helped us to get the incredible voices of the contributors we have out into the world. 

We have also had so many amazing guests that have helped to bring to life visions that I could have only ever dreamed of. Being able to host online events and panels has been one of the most exciting parts of Ghouls for me, and something I cannot wait to do more of in 2022 (if I finally stop binge-watching Come Dine With Me and get my arse back in gear… we’ll see though). There have been times during a panel discussion where I look at the people we have on the panel, and wish I could nip back to visit my 18 year old self and just say ‘Mate, you just fucking wait until you see what’s coming down the line…’ because I don’t think I would have believed it at all. Sitting around a virtual table discussing horror films with the people that have been a source of admiration for me, whether that has been for a long time or more recent, is like a little girl’s dream come true in the world of horror. Hosting these events is sometimes so difficult for me purely because I’m trying not to fangirl hard, and I’m listening so intently to the discussion that I almost forget I need to continue asking questions and just want to sit with star-glazed eyes instead. So a huge thank you to everyone that got involved whether for a panel, and interview on the site or just a retweet.

I feel like this might have been quite a lengthy ‘note’ but after what feels like another year of repeated torture from an invisible disease and from the Government, it felt right to take a moment to reflect on some of the positives. And there have been more as well - we’ve had some of the most outstanding horror films brought to us that has clearly kept us horror fans alive and well, giving us nights of debauchery and decapitation as we sit sipping our cocktails from the comfort of our well-worn sofas. Deciding my favourites of the year was particularly tricky, mainly because I couldn’t remember what year anything fucking came out but damn, there were some films that just took my god damn breathe away this year. Violation was the anti-rape revenge film that I knew I was going to love as soon as Alexandra Heller-Nicholas said it would be my thing; In The Earth was a natural terror that grew on me like a weed; My Heart Can’t beat Unless You Tell It To was Jonathan Curate’s indie horror that became a slow-burn favourite; Lamb a folklore mystery that broke my heart; A Little More Flesh II an experimental and disturbing look the scare of digital and You’re Dead Helene the short horror that made me feel fEeLiNgS and won the short comp at Celluloid Screams Horror Festival. But my taste in horror can be a little unreliable (I mean my comfort film is Snowtown Murders…) so rather than listening to my favourites, contributor Liz Bishop has put together all the the Ghouls favourite movies and come up with the top 10 horror films of 2021. And if you’re looking forward to the rest of 2022, then you should also check out Caitlyn Down’s article in which she rounded up all the most anticipated horror films of 2022!

Other than that I am just encouraging you (sound like some Instagram-approved therapist cunt here - brb, making some quotes to post) to take a moment to reflect on all of the outstanding things that have happened to you this year. Yes, you’ll immediately think of the bad moments because negativity is a strong motherfucker, but try to think of even the smallest moments of joy that have come through the horror community. It could be as small as someone saying they loved your article, or having a quick discussion about one of your fav horror films online - there really is a lot of joy to be found in those small moments that can amount to so much. So if you’re reading this, and dear lord well done for getting this far into my waffling, I just want to thank you for your support of Ghouls Magazine because just by reading a single one of our articles you have made so much happen here, and allow us all to continue doing something that we truly really love doing and being a part of. 

Now, it’s still the festive period until Tuesday which means we’re still allowed to start drinking at 9am (just gone part 8am whilst I write this so note quite time yet..), watch as many horror movies as the day allows and eat ourselves into comas so I’m advising you go and do that ASAP. Let’s hope that 2022 delivers more fresh Hell in terms of movies that will live rent free in our mind for years to come, discussions that spark conversation and inspiration and connections that make a difference to everyone. 

Love and guts always,

Z xx

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