About
WHO WE ARE
The Horror Studies Working Group (HSWG) is here to assert that horror matters, and we want to provide as many opportunities as we can for the study and enjoyment of horror. The HSWG is made up of four collaborating central divisions that, along with working independently, come together to make sure we reach our collective goals. The Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network seeks to build an academic infrastructure to facilitate the international study of horror. The George A. Romero Foundation is dedicated to continuing and honoring the great cultural influence of George A. Romero by supporting new generations of filmmakers, artists, and fans inspired by his legacy. The University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Horror Studies Archive is dedicated to creating a central hub for scholarly and archival interest in horror. The University of Pittsburgh Honors College’s Horror Genre as a Social Force Scholar Community helps fund and organize events devoted to enriching the experiences of undergraduate scholars and artists interested in further exploring the academic possibilities of the horror genre, especially its social and cultural significance. Future plans of the HSWG include full rosters of events over all networks involved in the working group as well as work toward a horror museum in Pittsburgh and an official Horror Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network (GHSARN) provides a place for horror scholars around the world to meet, share resources, and remain in dialogue. Current key members (who are growing in number quickly) include scholars: Stacey Abbott from the University of Roehampton London (UK), Roger Luckhurst from Birkbeck, University of London (UK), Angela Ndalianis from the Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne, Australia), Daniel Sacco from the Toronto Film School (Canada), Johnny Walker from Northumbria University (UK), and Kristopher Woofter from Dawson College (Montreal, Canada). The GHSARN also includes many leading scholars from the University of Pittsburgh across a number of disciplines such as Slavic Film Studies, Japanese Literature and Film, Political Science, French, and the University of Pittsburgh Library System. The network also has the participation of George A. Romero Foundation global correspondents Colin Corcoran (UK), Norman England (Japan), Julien Seveon (France), and Paolo Zelati (Italy). The network recently held a workshop and members participated in a panel for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies panel at their annual conference to discuss the benefits of a global network of scholars working in horror studies. Adam Lowenstein (Pitt Professor of English and Film/Media Studies) was able to found the GHSARN through the generous support of the Global Studies Center and their Global Academic Partnership Grant. Currently, members of the GHSARNare working on a 350,000 word companion on horror with a global focus from Routledge (2024), grants that include funding for symposia and horror studies events around the world, online and print publications focused on promoting horror scholarship, and forming the infrastructure so the Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network can gather for an annual conference.
The George A. Romero Foundation (GARF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Romero’s legacy while also elevating awareness and production around socially conscious horror. Under the leadership of Founder and President Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, Vice President Tina Romero, Secretary/Treasurer Ramona Streiner, and Chief Operations Officer Jeff Whitehead, GARF officially launched during the first Romero Lives event in 2018 -- an event they have continued annually. Since then, the Foundation has grown considerably and it now programs and supports an impressive lineup of events year-round devoted to celebrating the horror genre and offering opportunities to filmmakers. They recently launched the GARF Network, hosted by Matt Blazi and Eric Kent previously of WGON Radio, which hosts events that support horror culture. They are based on Facebook where you can access recordings of past events, and they also turn each into a podcast format so fans have multiple avenues to explore their content. Events from the past year include The Howling and My Bloody Valentine 40th Anniversaries and the Tales From the Hood 25th Anniversary (with the participation of Pitt’s University Honors College), all with impressive turnout from cast and crew of the original films. The George A. Romero Foundation also helps provide scholarships to young filmmakers, has recently finished their full restoration of Romero’s lost film The Amusement Park, and works to help create The George A. Romero Horror Studies Center. Further, each year, GARF recognizes architects of independent film and horror who push the boundaries of storytelling with their Pioneer Award. Past winners include William “Chilly Billy” Cardille in 2019 and actor/star of Night of the Living Dead Duane Jones in 2020. Due to their tireless work of promoting George Romero’s legacy in Pittsburgh, the Foundation can now boast that each October 1st will be recognized as George Romero Day in Pittsburgh.
The University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Horror Studies Archive boasts the George A. Romero Archival Collection, comprised of over 100 boxes of material. After many months of hard work, the bulk of the physical collection processing is complete and the collection is now open for research. The finding aid is available and will be updated as further processing, including of digital materials, is completed. Building off of this amazing acquisition, the library has been working to build a first-of-its-kind, dedicated collection of materials to support scholarly research and study of the horror genre. Notable acquisitions to this collection already include small press and first editions of horror novels; a scripts collection of both seminal and underground film; and the archival papers of Daniel Kraus and John A. Russo. The library has also established a Women in Horror initiative to recognize and highlight the impact of women on the genre and has acquired the archives of poet Linda D. Addison and an archive documenting the history of the Viscera and Etheria Film Festivals through festival co-founder Heidi Honeycutt. This year the library also put on a webinar series which featured an impressive array of authors and scholars associated with Women in Horror including: Kathe Koja, Linda D. Addison, Maryse Meijer, Jewelle Gomez, Michelle Lane, Melanie Anderson, Lisa Kroger, and Lisa Morton. A recorded interview series was also established with female filmmakers and producers including Gale Ann Hurd, Mary Lambert, Chelsea Stardust, and Guinevere Turner. The library wants to continue to bring pioneering women in horror to Pittsburgh to share their stories, show and promote their work, and teach Pitt students in workshops.
The Horror Genre as a Social Force Scholar Community is dedicated to the education of undergraduate Pitt students through the University Honors College. This community brings together Pitt students, faculty, and filmmakers/artists for the development of new courses, community-building projects, and events programming. Scholar communities at Pitt allow for interdisciplinary collaboration around a topic. This collaboration often reveals many different sides and approaches to an issue or topic of study. This year, the Honors College has helped to fund student film projects built with extensive horror archival research in the George A. Romero collection and events particularly associated with promoting women in horror. Such events showcase to students how horror is connected to contemporary social dynamics and often acts as a vehicle to discuss a variety of social problems from underprivileged or minority perspectives. The community is focused on furthering the study of horror in ways that show the genre is an art form that is socially conscious and culturally important. One highlight this year was the 25th anniversary celebration of the pioneering African American horror film Tales from the Hood, with director Rusty Cundieff (Pittsburgh’s own!) and many cast and crew members attending. Cundieff was subsequently appointed as a Scholar of Practice by the University Honors College. Another highlight came when the scholar community welcomed trailblazing Mexican horror filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero, who discussed her career in horror and the making of her films including Culture Shock.
The Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network (GHSARN) provides a place for horror scholars around the world to meet, share resources, and remain in dialogue. Current key members (who are growing in number quickly) include scholars: Stacey Abbott from the University of Roehampton London (UK), Roger Luckhurst from Birkbeck, University of London (UK), Angela Ndalianis from the Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne, Australia), Daniel Sacco from the Toronto Film School (Canada), Johnny Walker from Northumbria University (UK), and Kristopher Woofter from Dawson College (Montreal, Canada). The GHSARN also includes many leading scholars from the University of Pittsburgh across a number of disciplines such as Slavic Film Studies, Japanese Literature and Film, Political Science, French, and the University of Pittsburgh Library System. The network also has the participation of George A. Romero Foundation global correspondents Colin Corcoran (UK), Norman England (Japan), Julien Seveon (France), and Paolo Zelati (Italy). The network recently held a workshop and members participated in a panel for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies panel at their annual conference to discuss the benefits of a global network of scholars working in horror studies. Adam Lowenstein (Pitt Professor of English and Film/Media Studies) was able to found the GHSARN through the generous support of the Global Studies Center and their Global Academic Partnership Grant. Currently, members of the GHSARNare working on a 350,000 word companion on horror with a global focus from Routledge (2024), grants that include funding for symposia and horror studies events around the world, online and print publications focused on promoting horror scholarship, and forming the infrastructure so the Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network can gather for an annual conference.
The George A. Romero Foundation (GARF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Romero’s legacy while also elevating awareness and production around socially conscious horror. Under the leadership of Founder and President Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, Vice President Tina Romero, Secretary/Treasurer Ramona Streiner, and Chief Operations Officer Jeff Whitehead, GARF officially launched during the first Romero Lives event in 2018 -- an event they have continued annually. Since then, the Foundation has grown considerably and it now programs and supports an impressive lineup of events year-round devoted to celebrating the horror genre and offering opportunities to filmmakers. They recently launched the GARF Network, hosted by Matt Blazi and Eric Kent previously of WGON Radio, which hosts events that support horror culture. They are based on Facebook where you can access recordings of past events, and they also turn each into a podcast format so fans have multiple avenues to explore their content. Events from the past year include The Howling and My Bloody Valentine 40th Anniversaries and the Tales From the Hood 25th Anniversary (with the participation of Pitt’s University Honors College), all with impressive turnout from cast and crew of the original films. The George A. Romero Foundation also helps provide scholarships to young filmmakers, has recently finished their full restoration of Romero’s lost film The Amusement Park, and works to help create The George A. Romero Horror Studies Center. Further, each year, GARF recognizes architects of independent film and horror who push the boundaries of storytelling with their Pioneer Award. Past winners include William “Chilly Billy” Cardille in 2019 and actor/star of Night of the Living Dead Duane Jones in 2020. Due to their tireless work of promoting George Romero’s legacy in Pittsburgh, the Foundation can now boast that each October 1st will be recognized as George Romero Day in Pittsburgh.
The University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Horror Studies Archive boasts the George A. Romero Archival Collection, comprised of over 100 boxes of material. After many months of hard work, the bulk of the physical collection processing is complete and the collection is now open for research. The finding aid is available and will be updated as further processing, including of digital materials, is completed. Building off of this amazing acquisition, the library has been working to build a first-of-its-kind, dedicated collection of materials to support scholarly research and study of the horror genre. Notable acquisitions to this collection already include small press and first editions of horror novels; a scripts collection of both seminal and underground film; and the archival papers of Daniel Kraus and John A. Russo. The library has also established a Women in Horror initiative to recognize and highlight the impact of women on the genre and has acquired the archives of poet Linda D. Addison and an archive documenting the history of the Viscera and Etheria Film Festivals through festival co-founder Heidi Honeycutt. This year the library also put on a webinar series which featured an impressive array of authors and scholars associated with Women in Horror including: Kathe Koja, Linda D. Addison, Maryse Meijer, Jewelle Gomez, Michelle Lane, Melanie Anderson, Lisa Kroger, and Lisa Morton. A recorded interview series was also established with female filmmakers and producers including Gale Ann Hurd, Mary Lambert, Chelsea Stardust, and Guinevere Turner. The library wants to continue to bring pioneering women in horror to Pittsburgh to share their stories, show and promote their work, and teach Pitt students in workshops.
The Horror Genre as a Social Force Scholar Community is dedicated to the education of undergraduate Pitt students through the University Honors College. This community brings together Pitt students, faculty, and filmmakers/artists for the development of new courses, community-building projects, and events programming. Scholar communities at Pitt allow for interdisciplinary collaboration around a topic. This collaboration often reveals many different sides and approaches to an issue or topic of study. This year, the Honors College has helped to fund student film projects built with extensive horror archival research in the George A. Romero collection and events particularly associated with promoting women in horror. Such events showcase to students how horror is connected to contemporary social dynamics and often acts as a vehicle to discuss a variety of social problems from underprivileged or minority perspectives. The community is focused on furthering the study of horror in ways that show the genre is an art form that is socially conscious and culturally important. One highlight this year was the 25th anniversary celebration of the pioneering African American horror film Tales from the Hood, with director Rusty Cundieff (Pittsburgh’s own!) and many cast and crew members attending. Cundieff was subsequently appointed as a Scholar of Practice by the University Honors College. Another highlight came when the scholar community welcomed trailblazing Mexican horror filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero, who discussed her career in horror and the making of her films including Culture Shock.