Two of my favorite topics in all the world are genre and horror. I'm simply fascinated by the ways that we, as creators and consumers, decide to delineate and define genre. What "counts" as what? Who decides? When is it black and white vs. shades of gray? Horror, in particular, is a fascinating conversation to have, not just because I like it so much, but because of all the genres, horror probably has the most stigma and shame swirling in its depths (though erotica is in the running). What this leads to is a lot of skewing and denial, muddying otherwise clear waters until it becomes much more difficult to see the blocks that horror is made up of.
Genre talks, meet horror talks. This is my jam. Let's talk about the horror genre in all if its dark, controversial glory. And what the hell, let's do it in an infographic. (Click to enlarge.)
About the author
Annie Neugebauer likes to make things as challenging as possible for herself by writing horror, poetry, literary, and speculative fiction—often blended together in ways ye olde publishing gods have strictly forbidden. She’s a two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author with work appearing and forthcoming in more than a hundred publications, including magazines such as Cemetery Dance, Apex, and Black Static, as well as anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volumes 3 & 4 and #1 Amazon bestsellers Killing It Softly and Fire. She’s an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and in addition to LitReactor, a columnist for Writer Unboxed. She’s represented by Alec Shane of Writers House. She needs to make new friends because her current ones are tired of hearing about House of Leaves. You can visit her at AnnieNeugebauer.com for news, poems, organizational tools for writers, and more.
