Nobody puts baillee in the corner

As a horror movie aficionado, I am used to women in horror often being looked over. It’s common to throw out a character or Scream Queen’s name and get a reception of blank stares, and it honestly sucks. 

This one is for Barbara Crampton, Linnea Quigley, Karen Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, and all of the other amazing women who shaped a genre. 

Laurie Strode. Ellen Ripley. Sidney Prescott. Buffy Summers. Nancy Thompson. Sally Hardesty. 

These women above, and so many more, taught me how to fight. They taught me how to battle trauma. They showed me what it means to survive. To many, they’re just fictional characters in horror movies (and in Buffy’s case, a show as fell), but to me, they’re a few of my many heroes. 

These women battled horror villains of all shapes and sizes, whether they be supernatural or superhuman, and they lived. They fought tooth and nail (sometimes losing both) to escape their oppressors. But they also weren’t perfect. 

They were complicated and had obvious trauma. They not only battled their Boogeymen, but they also battled their own mental illnesses. They dealt with the repercussions. They were raw and broken and fragile, but they were also vigorous and durable and hardened. 

These women went to Hell and stood up to the devil. These women went through horror after horror, and they still were in the final shot. They showed me that you can defeat your inner (and outer) demons. 

Now, I know these people aren’t real, and I’m not claiming their characters to be, but the women who played them are. They are real actresses who also helped mold an entire genre. They made horror possible. They gave way to great modern horror art. 

And they brought the characters to life. They influenced women like me who have been through almost everything life can throw at you. They are the women I turn to when I don’t want to talk about my problems or my issues with my loved ones. 

They inspire my art. They inspire my writing. They inspire ME. 

And there’s nothing scary about that. 

(Yes, I know some of these characters were killed off or sacrificed themselves in sequels, but we’re only talking the OG movies here, so just adjust your fedora and keep walking.)