![\"Cecelia](\"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cecilia_Abate.jpg\")
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We’re a little past Women in Horror Month, but why limit ourselves to one month a year? There are way too many awesome women who are a part of the horror community to do that. Monster Librarian primarily reviews fiction, but I actually like reading nonfiction, too, as it widens my knowledge of horror and I think makes me a better reviewer. Also, despite academic jargon, the ideas can be really compelling. Any researcher who doesn’t have the resources of a university or similar institution knows the challenge of actually getting your own stuff written, researched, and published. Enter Cecilia Abate, aka Horror Scholar, founder of Horror Scholar Journal<\/em>, a new online journal that provides an avenue for independent researchers to get their work published. Reviewer Lizzy Walker had the opportunity to interview Cecilia recently, so read on to learn more about her!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>Hi, Cecilia! Tell Monster Librarian readers about yourself.<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>Hi there! I\u2019m an independent horror academic & researcher with a focus in data-heavy quantitative analysis. I run a research brand under the title Horror Scholar and am currently employed at Google during my daylight hours.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy<\/strong>:\u00a0Describe your path to horror studies. How did this become an interest for you?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>Actually, total accident. As I was getting through my BA, I remember *hating* pop culture studies and literary analysis. I was rereading Frankenstein<\/em> for a sci-fi studies course and I bought an edition which had about 4 analytical essays included in the back. I remember flipping through them and just scoffing, being like, \u201cOh my god, who cares? The monster is a monster, leave it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Somehow, in the next few years, that opinion completely reversed. I did my last essay of my college career on colonialism in The Nightmare Before Christmas<\/em>. And as I was laughing at myself writing it, I started to go \u201coh no\u2026 this is actually a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>What made you start Horror Scholar Journal<\/em>?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>Frustration and a drive to lead a project, honestly. At the time\u2014I don\u2019t fully remember the line of thought, but I remember being frustrated at the gap between being an independent academic (not backed by a university, therefore less credible) and needing my work published. And I sort of thought, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m gonna do it myself. I\u2019m gonna make a change here.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>The inaugural Issue of Horror<\/em> Scholar<\/em> Journal<\/em> which focuses on American<\/em> Horror<\/em> Story<\/em> was great. Could you talk about your American<\/em> Horror<\/em> Story<\/em> research you started prior to the journal?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>Thank you! So in 2015, I started conceptualizing a thesis about the usage of sexual violence on AHS, but I didn\u2019t have the numbers to back it up, which resulted in me starting a data project to record and process all the incidents of sexual violence on the show. I\u2019ll be doing that until the show ends and I\u2019m currently almost caught up \u2013 I\u2019ve got to finish the numbers for the previous season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>So, Hannibal<\/em> is the focus of Issue 2. What made you want to focus on this iconic horror figure?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>One of the things that pushed me was the passion of his fans! The Hannibal<\/em> fandom is SO ALIVE. While I know is most certainly due to the 2013 show, there are still tons and tons of classic Lecter fans out there. When I put the call for theme suggestions out on Twitter, the Hannibal<\/em> fans answered strongest of all. It\u2019s a rich canon, the books & movies are great, and it made for a bunch of very strong essays.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>What can we expect for more themes of future issues of Horror<\/em> Scholar<\/em> Journal<\/em>?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>Phew. My girlfriend most recently suggested the Alien<\/em> franchise, which is a pretty strong bid. Ideally, I\u2019d like to take on things that aren\u2019t the most obvious suggestions. Like, I\u2019d never do “Dracula\u201d or \u201cFrankenstein\u201d because the topics have been diced every which way already.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>Why should librarians recommend Horror Scholar Journal<\/em> as a resource?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>I\u2019ve always seen librarians as a particularly revolutionary and rebellious arm of academia, so I think my goals for Horror Scholar align with those sentiments \u2013 accessibility (both intellectually and financially), critical thought, creativity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>Do you have any upcoming projects you would like to mention?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>I\u2019m prepping a paper on vampire identity and social strata in What We Do In The Shadows<\/em> and Being Human<\/em> (UK). While I\u2019m secretly not hyped for this paper, I AM hyped for attending the Popular Culture Association Conference for the first time to present it!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lizzy: <\/strong>How can people get in touch with you for more information?<\/p>\n Cecilia: <\/strong>My email, horrorscholar@gmail.com<\/a> is fine \u2013 OR we\u2019re available on FB and Twitter! www.facebook.com\/horrorscholar<\/a> or www.twitter.com\/scholarhorror<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re a little past Women in Horror Month, but why limit ourselves to one month a year? There are way too many awesome women who are a part of the horror community to do that. Monster Librarian primarily reviews fiction, but I actually like reading nonfiction, too, as it widens my knowledge of horror and<\/p>\n