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HD-I: So, who the hell are you, anyway?
MS:
Essentially, I'm no-one.
HD-I: What qualifications do you have for starting this website?
MS: Well, I've been a serious fan of the horror genre for
at least thirty five years. I've read thousands of horror
and science fiction books and I've seen thousands of movies.
I started a horror fiction message board at a place called
Gorezone in 1998/1999. It was just me in the beginning, along
with a few friends. I didn't branch off from another community
or anything like that. I started out from rock bottom. It
was very successful right from the get, due to dogged determination
on my part to keep it active and a group of wonderful people
that joined me.
I left Gorezone and joined forces with Matt Schwartz, owner
of the wonderful Shocklines Bookstore. It quickly became the
biggest and most influential forum in horror fiction.
I've had numerous requests to start my own site up and I
decided that now was the time.
HD-I: Why did you leave Gorezone?
MS: That's a long, unhappy story
and I'm sick of telling it. All I will say is that ARCVILE
is one hell of a good guy and his Daily Horror News Page is
second to none. Check it out: http://www.gorezone.net/
HD-I: What about Matt?
MS: That was the most difficult
thing about making this move. There was no possible way I
could make Horror Drive-In work and continue to moderate Matt's
insanely busy board. Matt is the best in the business and
horror fiction has no bigger friend than he. It hurt me to
leave Matt, but he was very understanding.
HD-I: Are you a writer of fiction?
MS: No. Firstly, there are already way too many writers trying
to make it…
HD-I: No shit!
MS: (laughs) …and my own abortive attempts at the game
of writing fiction show that the world is a better place without
me continuing at it.
I'm content to stay behind the scenes. I was once called
a catalyst of the genre and I liked that.
HD-I: What is the purpose of Horror Drive-In?
MS: First and foremost, this site exists to celebrate and
to support horror.
HD-I: Just fiction? Will you cover movies too?
MS: Of course. I've always considered movies to be the ultimate
art form. They are a combination of all or nearly all the
forms of artistic extression: Writing, photography, thespianism,
choreography, music, etc.
HD-I: Will you only cover horror and science fiction?
MS: No, though they will be the majority of what I focus
on. Anyone that keeps their head stuck in one genre is a damned
fool, in my opinion.
HD-I: Are you accepting items for review?
MS: Yes. With some stipulations. First, though I'll try,
I cannot guarantee that I'll get to every piece that I receive.
I will not be accepting electronic fiction, self-published
fiction, VHS tapes, comics (sorry, they just aren't my thing)
or any form of bootlegs.
HD-I: Do you consider yourself a critic?
MS: Nah, I'm not crazy about that term. I'm just a guy that
reads a lot and watches a lot of movies and likes to share
the good stuff.
HD-I: Will you have fiction at Horror Drive-In?
MS: No. It's my opinion that few fans read on a computer.
Some certainly do, but most of my friends don't and I certainly
don't.
I hate to say NEVER, because something could always come
up. If Stephen King calls and requests that I publish something
of his, or if a lost Ray Russell work is unearthed and I have
the chance to use it for the site, then I'd make an exception.
Those things are about as likely to happen as me writing a
bestseller, so it's safe to say that I won't be putting fiction
on the site.
HD-I: Will there be other reviewers at Horror Drive-In?
MS: At the moment, no. I wouldn't want to take anyone's work
without being able to properly compensate them. There's no
way I can afford anything like that at the present time. We'll
see what happens as time goes on.
HD-I: As for the forum, will you lock threads?
MS: If people act like assholes, than I will lock, delete
and ban as the situation requires.
HD-I: Isn't that censorship?
MS: Not by my definition. If someone comes into my house
and starts mouthing off and acting like a jerk, they're out
the door. They can say anything they like outside the property
line, as far as I'm concerned.
That's the thing with message boards. Some people think they
are public arenas where anyone can act however they care to.
But like any home, it takes money and maintenance to establish
and keep it. Hosts deserve respect as do other guests. There's
really no difference in my eyes between a brick and mortar
house and someone's website.
HD-I: What about political threads?
MS: (Groans audibly and melodramatically) The bane of Shocklines!
I hate to put a lot of rules in place, but the political threads
nearly ruined Shocklines in the past. There are some that
crave them, but a lot of people loathed them. I got a lot
of feedback from people that hated them. I know that both
Matt and I got to the point where we wouldn't even open them.
The thing that I hate most about political threads is that
they can make me start to dislike someone that I really think
highly of. And it's not just because I disagree with their
points. Often I agree with what a person says, but they way
they deliver their arguments is highly distasteful. I've heard
all the arguments about how important it is to discuss politics
and that the subject certainly could be classified as horror,
but I always wanted my discussion forum to be a haven away
from all of that.
I have often thought that those that enjoy the political
threads should start a Horror Fiction Community Political
Discussion Forum. Why not?
HD-I: Will you mainly concentrate on positive reviews?
MS: When I was new to the Internet, I saw a lot of places
where so many people routinely trashed everything they possibly
could. I've seen individuals openly pride themselves on being
'frank', when their honesty looked a lot closer to cruelty
to me.
I've always been open to all opinions, but I ask that negative
reviews be fair and articulate. I've always hated seeing things
like, "It sucked", or "It was STUPID!".
Like I said above, I want to be a positive force in the genre.
HD-I: So, you're Mr. PC, huh?
MS: It's a fine line, you know? It's considered bad form
to be politically correct, but I look at the world and manners
seem to be out of fashion. Where do you draw the line? I try
to be one of the decent people out there.
HD-I: There are some that would argue that point.
MS: Yeah, well no one's perfect.
HD-I: Are you seeking Moderators?
MS: Nope, it's going to be a one man show for the time being.
HD-I: How do you feel about self-promotion from writers and
filmmakers?
MS: That's all a part of why Horror Drive-In exists. Self
promo is fine, but I hope that people remember that less is
often more. Over-exposure can have the exact opposite desired
effect. That's the feedback I've gotten in the past.
Of course, if anyone shows up out of the blue promoting themselves
or their pals, that's another story. We all know that it is
called Spam. Offending parties will be subject to ridicule
and deletion.
HD-I: Do you expect to become as big as Shocklines?
MS: God, I hope not. Shocklines is full of great folks, but
it just got to be too much. I couldn't keep track of all the
members. Sometimes intimate is better.
My happiest memories of Gorezone were when there were only
a dozen or so people there. We were as close-knit as an Internet
group can possibly be, I think.
I'll just have to play it by ear for a while. Obviously I
want to be successful, but I'm not certain what the right
amount of activity might be. That said, I hope that everyone
that reads this or visits the site participates in the message
board.
HD-I: Have you ever had schizophrenic tendencies?
MS: I don't think so. Why do you ask?
HD-I: Well, isn't kind of weird to be interviewing yourself?
MS: Hmmm, I don't know. What do you think?
HD-I: No comment.
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