When did I fall in love with horror?  Originally, I thought of one quiet weekend night when I was probably in middle school.  My dad and I watched The Shining together (my first r-rated movie) and I was both fascinated and terrified.  I think I was in seventh grade, though I could be wrong about that.

But then, I thought some more, and I realized that I’ve always been inconceivably fascinated with the world of the supernatural.  While I loved R.L. Stine’s Goosebump’s series as a kid, a year or two later, I was even more ardently addicted to his violent and notably unsettling series, Fear Street.  Before that, I tore through a series called Phantom Valley, which, as I recall, was deliciously terrifying.  And then, there was Haunted Kids, and Scary Stories, and I lived for Are You Afraid of the Dark, a kid’s horror show that came on Nickelodeon at 10. P.M. every Saturday night.

But horror worked steadily on my young imagination in other ways, too.  In middle school and high school, a friend and I would sit around on summer days writing stories on her computer.  Some stories were comedic, but some were the stuff of contemporary slasher cinema.  And as early as third grade, I remember ambling around the playground at my elementary school with friends, speculating that the marks in the sand (which were really cleat marks from baseball players’ shoes) were marks indicating a supernatural presence.  I had a set group of elementary school friends with whom I’d always concoct ghost stories.  And then, of course, there were the slumber party seances and Ouija boards (yes, I owned one!)  For whatever reason, I delighted in sinister notions of the dark and macabre.

I guess, though I didn’t pursue my passion as avidly for awhile, I never really lost this interest.  So a few months ago – in part, because my boyfriend Michael’s family always laughs at my love of horror and the fact that I drag him around to see such disturbing films – I mentioned the prospect of starting a horror blog to Michael.  I was only half-serious, but he was incredibly enthusiastic and supportive.  In such a way, Just Dread-Full was born.

My interests don’t stop at horror; I’m an avid reader of classic literature, mostly American and British Modernism (think 1900-1950).  I like writing of all sorts, and I’ve recently started another blogging venture, 1000inadecade, though I haven’t posted in awhile and need to revive the blog.  I like literary research, and I enjoy all sorts of movies, and many good Netflix series.  I graduated from DePauw University in 2006 with a B.A. in English Literature and served 5 years as a Teach For America Corps member at a school in Central Houston.  Then, I got my M.A. in English from Gannon University, in Erie, PA.  I’ve taught at both Gannon and Mercyhurst Universities (in the English and ESL department at Mercyhurst) and next year I head (with some trepidation) to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, to pursue a PhD in Literature and Criticism.

I hope you enjoy the contents of this blog.  I filled up journals full of writing as a child, and have started many different writing ventures through my teenage years and early 20’s.  Starting Just Dread-Full has given me the incredible experience to (gasp) write for a usually anonymous audience, often times, those who are as enthusiastic about horror as I am!  Thanks for stopping by!