As part of Women in Horror month, What Sleeps Beneath is celebrating women in Pittsburgh who are keeping the spirit of the horror community alive. In a city where the genre is deeply rooted, from serving as the location for classic horror movies to being home to the University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies program and archive, locals know that horror has always been more than just a story in a book or on a screen.

Co-director of New Fears Eve, P.J. Starks, talks about the making of his newest hit on Screambox, working with industry legends, and what’s next for both “The Doctor” and the director, himself.

If you’re someone who frequents oddities or metaphysical shops (hell, even antique shops in some instances), you start to get pretty good at sensing the authenticity of not just the items around you but the people, too. You’re able to distinguish whether or not those standing behind the counter love the stuff as much as you or if they’re in it for some other reason, be it money, fad, or something else. 

Continuing our discussion with filmmaker Adrian Țofei, we look at his upcoming feature, We Put the World to Sleep and the toll it takes to live in character, even only partially, for years.

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, I sat down with the director and star of Be My Cat: A Film for Anne, Adrian Țofei, to talk about his approach to filmmaking, what makes found footage work, and misconceptions people sometimes have about the genre.

Heading into the Chattanooga Film Festival, there were a few films that I had my eye on. One that managed to sneak in under my radar, however, was a quiet, unassuming title directed by first-time feature film directing duo Perry Home Video called Soft Liquid Center, which centers around a character trying to extricate herself from an ex-boyfriend who refuses to move on. It’s a deeply unsettling film dripping with style, so unlike any other film you may have seen and yet seems so effortlessly familiar. 

Director Alex Davidson speaks to Ande Thomas about his upcoming film, Spirit of Fear, the challenges of maintaining tension with a sparse cast, and how fear and faith can sometimes go hand in hand.

Catastrophe Cate, a DIY creative and actress, celebrates the Halloween season with the opening her new handmade, sustainable venture, The Handmade Horror Shoppe.

Nikki Norris, a Pittsburgh-based artist specializing in dioramas and horror photography, brings cozy and chilling scenes alike to life through her work, emphasizing the importance of the details.

In Global Horror Cinema Today, author Jon Towlson explores recent horror films from across the world. In this interview, Towlson details his research process, how nations are using the genre to contend with their own difficult pasts, and other fascinating topics.

David Lynch’s work has left an indelible dream-shadow over much of the world of horror. In this interview with Dr. Lindsay Anne Hallam, we investigate what Lynch's work speaks to us, and the importance of found footage and desktop horror.

Continuing the seasonal tradition of ghost stories, I spoke with Dr. Murray Leeder about his research into the intersection of the supernatural and early cinema, his interest in ghost stories, and how all of this connects.

Horror is haunted by nostalgia, and in his latest book, author Grafton Tanner examines the intersection of Big Tech and the commodification of nostalgia, and how that, too, appears in horror movies.

In the second installment of our collaboration with Supernatural Studies, Laura Kemmerer spoke with Bowling Green State University adjunct instructor and author Olivia Taylor Zolciak about her research into the monstrousness of motherhood in the context of The Babadook.

TikTok star and embalming apprentice Beckie-Ann Galentine @mybloodygalentine shares her inspirations for Halloween and cemetery history.

With a global recession and nationalism on the rise, folk horror is taking center stage. Recently, Laura interviewed author Howard David Ingham about the resurgence of folk horror and its core themes.

In an interview with author Antares Leask, we explore some of the unexpected elements of paranormal reality TV.

Hauntings are not restricted to the dead: economic, social, cultural factors, and the very past itself can come to bear on the present. In this interview with Robert McLaughlin, author and lecturer, we discuss hauntology and suburban life.

Like the specters that have been known to haunt the Gothic fiction genre, Gothic modes have a tendency of cropping up where they might be least expected. For Dr. Julia Round, this means investigating comics and children’s literature.