A Year & A Week of What Sleeps Beneath
This year has left us all bruised and bloodied and marked with loss, but all the same, people continued to stand up, continued to keep moving forward and fighting. Just over a year ago now, we started What Sleeps Beneath because we were a group of nerds who wanted to talk and write about horror movies. But as we’ve kept writing—kept publishing—through a worsening pandemic and all of the terrifying fallout that has accompanied it, we have found both a home and a reserve of strength in the horror genre.
Living under the backbreaking bootheel of catastrophic income inequality, what feels to be the slow cancellation of the future and the seeming near-impossibility of imagining any other alternatives to late-stage capitalism, the genre that appeals the most to one of our most instinctive drives is also one that continues to compel us forward and keep us dreaming. What Sleeps Beneath is one vibrant thread in the multicolored, living tapestry of the horror community at large, and the very human compulsion to share and bond over what we love the most is what keeps us moving. The world is a terrifying place right now, but with the intentional creation of these spaces of reflective thought and discussion, there are still good, quiet, still places for beautiful things to grow.
From L to R: Theresa, Ande, Destiny, Laura
To honor our one-year anniversary, we banded together to safely celebrate, but to also think back on what we’ve accomplished and what we hope to do over the next year. We hope you’ll join us on this journey and make your voice heard.
Destiny Johnson
While it’s likely a common observation, I can’t help but feel like the older you get, the 365 days of the year only begin to move faster and faster. Sure, there’s still 24 hours in a day, but I personally can’t help but feel sincere awe and wonder when approaching every new year, anniversary, birthday, or any annual celebration of how much faster it’s approached than the year before.
In 2019, the four of us launched What Sleeps Beneath, only a few months after we hosted a “movie manatee (marathon),” which was quickly put together following an afternoon office conversation. Of course, you’ve probably already got that information from Our Story page. Some of my favorite highlights since our development include: our contributor collaboration on Midsommar, my own adventure to the famous Neon Museum in Las Vegas for Tim Burton’s first U.S. exhibit in over a decade, Laura’s visit with mortician Caitlin Doughty at the Mütter Museum and multiple eye-opening interviews, Ande’s dedication to shark movies and his deep dive of Ginger Snaps, and of course, Theresa’s take on feminism in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, as well as the recent kick off of her collection of pieces on color in Suspiria. (Of course, I’ve loved most––if not all––of our reviews and academic dives into the horror genre.)
Although some might be growing tired of hearing about COVID-19 or attributing the global pandemic to this year’s setbacks, the endeavor wasn’t even the beginning of unexpected hardships (for me anyways). Two days after celebrating the Christmas holiday, I lost my partner of four years to addiction. As difficult as it’s been to try and accept, only a week after celebrating what would have been his 30th birthday in March, we watched the nation practically close down, and simple coping options––like seeing my friends or going to a local show––were no longer possible. However, there was nothing stopping the flow of an online horror blog––we were online! We had the power of Facebook calls. We had access to movies, books, academic papers and more. Was it hard to get/stay motivated? Yes and yes, but we were there for each other. We were there when others also lost loved ones, when we lost jobs, when it felt like we lost hope; we continued to press forward. I think ultimately, What Sleeps Beneath really kept our heads above water and breathing in such unique and depressing circumstances. I know that might sound cheesy, but it’s true.
Throughout the year’s seemingly endless hardships and massive blows, the current events challenged each of us to confront loss, to examine how the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests correlated with recent films, and where we believed the horror genre was headed, or maybe what it had already foretold. It would almost feel as though 2020 opened our eyes to some of the world’s more ugly or hard-to-swallow topics. In writing about our experiences, I think we found a peace and clarity to where we want to go next year. Meeting for our anniversary/birthday was like a breath of fresh air and that better days really are coming. Through food, crafts, and conversation at the Allegheny Cemetery, I felt like it was an experience we all needed after months of loneliness and limitation––something I think we all took for granted before this. During our discussions we covered potentially using other horror-related mediums, boosting a deeper involvement with academia and the continued exploration of folklore––particularly in our own state! Whatever the route we choose or whatever we do next, I’m eager and I hope our readers are too.
Ande Thomas
Horror to me, has always seemed more real than other genres of fiction. 2020 has proven—in my opinion—that horror tries to prepare our psyches for the worst the real world has to offer. Wildfires ravaged Australia and the Western U.S., a once-in-a-century pandemic paralyzed the world, clashes with police became commonplace, and too many personal hardships and tragedies to count have weighed on us this year.
With What Sleeps Beneath, we unintentionally created an outlet for our fears and concerns through a medium we all love. It’s given me a chance to organize my thoughts about the importance of the horror genre and expand into the small, but welcoming scene of critical thinking on horror—how society shapes horror and how it, in turn, shapes us. I’ve had the chance to have incredible discussions with our team that have helped me step outside of my own wheelhouse and see different perspectives that I never would have considered otherwise. As much as I enjoy watching movies and writing about them, the best part of this project has been reading what the others have written. I am truly excited for the coming year. We have a ton of plans on the docket that I am practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. It’s been a thrill seeing us grow and I can’t wait to see what another year brings!
Theresa Baughman
Returning to horror has been cathartic to say the least, and at a time when we all feel like seeds being blown around in the wind without a chance to take root, returning to horror feels like returning to myself. For me, it’s been a chance to freely indulge in the spooky things that I love and to dream with my friends.
While this year has been undeniably painful at best, I can’t help but dig myself in a little deeper. The word awakening comes to mind: a moment that is raw, open to possibility, vulnerable but capable. I have lost a lot this past year, friendships, family members, past selves. What Sleeps Beneath has taught me that it is possible to make something from nothing, and that you should, even if you’re only standing with scraped elbows and bloody knees. I can’t say that I’m all that surprised to be running an online zine after four obsessive-ambitious freaks get together for one evening to casually hang out. But, over the past year we’ve built up not only a place for ourselves, but one for others too. The horror community is small and mighty, and ripe for gaining the attention it deserves.
If you want to understand the world at any point in time, in any place, look to see what people are afraid of. This will tell you everything you need to know about politics, society, what people value and what they don’t, the state of the earth, economy, transportation, identity, what gods they fear, everything. We’re at a pivotal moment in world history and people are craving horror as a means to understand and cope because it is unlike any other genre. I am so ready for it. We’ve got a lot planned for the next year with new articles, bringing back Women in Horror, events, and collaborations. As we head into harvest season I’m thinking about what is worth saving, and what is worth sowing for later. Participating in these huge conversations that engage with the world in a deep way means so much to me, and all of us, and I love that we get to share it with all of you.
Laura Kemmerer
In all of the human world, there can be nothing without connection and collaboration. What Sleeps Beneath began with a shared enthusiasm for horror and excited conversations about the ideas in these movies. The entire process of development was also a series of key moments. I connected with Ande over a shared love of horror movies, Destiny chimed in with her love of true crime, and soon we had regular conversations going about what we’d watched and what we were excited for. A movie marathon was the natural next step. After a night packed with A24 essentials, in-depth discussion, and hand-made script books from Ande himself, the idea to write about movies and horror as a genre began to take root. The fundamental question behind all of these critical moments was: What if?
This year has had us all reeling from one trauma to the next, unable to tell which way is up. But a good story, especially a horror movie, can help us get a grip on the emotional shape of what is happening to us. Once we understand the general shape, we can begin to see that it isn't an overwhelming, faceless monolith--there are cracks and crevices, points of weakness. We can hit back. We can use these stories to help us think critically about the world we live in and the cultural suppositions baked into everything we do. We can learn about others' lived experiences in the most visceral way and use that knowledge to fuel our fight for justice.
We may just be a group of horror nerds from Pittsburgh, but I firmly believe that every act of collaboration and creation is fundamentally an act of resistance. The platforms we use to communicate most seem, now more than ever before, built to alienate us from our peers and other perspectives. "The algorithm" encourages us to doomscroll, and the very act of dating has been reduced to something like shopping for furniture. It feels as if the human element is being gutted and made obsolete. But no. We're not going to accept that alienation. Even though we must keep some distance due to the pandemic, we can still talk and collaborate online. We can still go to a pumpkin patch and support a farm and each other for Halloween.
For me, horror is one of the few genres that has been emotionally honest with me. In the wake of losing so much in January, seeing The Color Out of Space in theaters helped me emotionally scream it out. There were no promises of things eventually getting better. There was just the honest experience of reality itself becoming unhinged. And as things moved forward, I'm incredibly grateful to Ande, Destiny, and Theresa for being amazing people to collaborate with, and being an amazing support system. We've tried our absolute hardest to wrench anything good out of 2020, and by choosing to continue writing while so much has gone south was the gift of a lifetime. We are still here, still standing, still writing.
What comes next for What Sleeps Beneath is both growth and something new. We will delve into the strange, beautiful, wild country of folklore and further academic study, while also bringing back some of our previous events, including Women in Horror discussions. We also are brainstorming some other amazing additions related to events and film. I have been incredibly blessed to work with such a talented group of people who I am also honored to call friends.
Stick around. We have such sights to show you.
Article written by all of us
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