Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Women in Horror Month and The Lottery

February is Women In Horror Month, an annual event that celebrates the achievements of female writers, artists and film-makers in the horror genre, and promoting the consumption of work within the horror genre created by women.

When I heard about this, I planned on reading Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, and maybe writing about it.  However, I then realized that February is both the shortest and one of the busiest months of the year.  So, I decided to read 'The Lottery' instead.

It seems a bit pointless to write a traditional review of this classic short story, suffice to say that my heart began to race from the first page. It was absolutely incredible, and demonstrates the capacity for social commentary that the horror genre has.

In the absence of a full review, allow me to get up on my soapbox for a second and encourage everyone to give horror a chance.  The horror genre has the ability to do so much more than just make the squeamish amongst us sick; it can advocate for social causes, it can be art.  The important thing is that we start expecting more of horror, and reject the idea that it's just a weird niche genre for sadists.

Have you read/seen something for Women in Horror Month?  If so, what was it?