Too Scared to Watch? - Interview with 'Horror for Weenies' Author Emily Hughes
Maybe This Is the Year to Watch That Horror Movie
My co-host Evan Crean and I recently published a new It’s the Pictures podcast episode. We talked about a new novel, Horror for Weenies, with author Emily Hughes. The novel discusses many classics of the horror genre and makes those horror stories more palatable for those who might be too scared to watch. As soon as Emily shared the synopsis online, I knew that I had to get her on the podcast and discuss her novel with us.
I wanted to take some interview questions out of the episode so newsletter subscribers could enjoy it. I’d encourage you to listen to the full podcast episode if you enjoy the conversation.
If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can order it from a number of different shops as featured on Emily’s website.
Max: How did horror literature play into your tolerance of horror movies?
Emily Hughes: "My background with horror is that I've always been fascinated by dark, scary, macabre, and weird stories. As a younger child, I gravitated toward the John Bellair books, those creepy, Gothic ones with Edward Gorey illustrations. I was also fascinated by sharks and wanted to watch Jaws, but my mom made me hold off for a while.
For my 10th birthday, I had a sleepover with some friends, and we went to Blockbuster to rent a movie. I picked Poltergeist, which was a terrible idea for six 10-year-old girls. That experience put me off horror for a long time. Occasionally, I'd try again—like when a high school boyfriend talked me into watching The Ring. I couldn't sleep for a few nights after that.
Once I got past college and started working in publishing, I began figuring out my tastes as an adult. I kept revisiting these weird, macabre, dark, and scary stories. From there, I dove headfirst into horror fiction.
After years of reading horror, I decided I owed it to myself to give horror movies another shot. I was honestly a little embarrassed whenever someone would ask, 'Do you like horror movies too?' and I'd have to admit I was a scaredy-cat.
As an adult, with a fresh perspective and a deeper understanding of the genre, I developed a different relationship with horror. I loved it and couldn't get enough. I’m still a bit of a scaredy-cat and will look away if I know a jump scare is coming. There have been plenty of movies that freaked me out, even as an adult, but now I find that fun instead of traumatizing.
In the book, that’s why I added the reading lists to each movie. If this journey worked for me, it might work for others. As a longtime book marketer, I can't resist talking about books I love. I’ve probably read 50 to 60 percent of the recommendations, but I’m very good at picking read-alikes that are thematically similar or have the same vibe, setup, or mood. That was something I felt strongly about while writing."
Evan Crean: You mentioned in the book about being a “reformed weenie.” I wanted to know what that term means to you.
EH: “I'm not trying to make light of this comparison, but as someone close to people with addiction issues, people who go through 12-step programs often say, 'I'm still an alcoholic, just a sober alcoholic.' It's that same idea of acknowledging your past while recognizing your present. That’s kind of what I'm going for. I’m definitely still a weenie.
[My husband and I] were watching Talk to Me, which is admittedly a very scary movie, and we had to pause it. I went down to the basement to put laundry in the dryer, and I barely survived that trip! I thought I was going to crawl into a corner and die right there on the spot.
I still get scared by these things. I’m not one of those horror fans who try to act like they’re never scared. That’s just not me. I’ll put on my big girl pants and brave it anyway, but I’m scared when watching these movies.
MC: How difficult was it writing the synopsis for these movies?
EH: "I wouldn’t say it was difficult, but it was labor-intensive from a strategic point of view. I watched each movie at least twice, sometimes three times, while taking copious notes. Then, it was a matter of deciding which details were important. You can't include every little description of a scene, …but there had to be enough detail to get the point across.
My editor’s inexperience with horror was helpful because she hadn’t seen many of the movies. She could tell me if something made sense if I was focusing too much on the wrong thing, or if I needed to add more detail to a plotline.
Ultimately, I approached it as a writing exercise. How do you translate visual images and storytelling into text? I used it to sharpen my observational writing and have a little fun with it. One of my favorite things to do while watching a movie is to do some light Mystery Science Theater 3000-style commentary. I’d crack some jokes or react to what’s going on, and I got to put that into the synopses, which made it more fun to write and hopefully more fun to read."
EC: What do you consider the least scary horror movie?
EH: "I have two answers to that:
The more reasoned, intellectual answer is that any of the older movies in the book, especially pre-1980 or pre-The Exorcist, are less scary because our cultural conventions of what’s scary have changed so much over the decades. You're not getting jump scares in Rosemary's Baby, right? Those older films are scary for their subject matter, not their filmmaking style.
My personal, emotional answer is 100%, The Wicker Man."
MC: Can you give me a brief ‘Horror for Weenies’ summary of The Substance?
EH: “The Basic Idea: Demi Moore plays an aging actress who takes a mysterious drug that makes her a brand new person. Literally.
You Might Want to Watch: If you’d like to be talked out of getting Botox.
You Might Want to Avoid: If you’ve already had Botox and would like to continue getting it.”