There are also some minor spoilers within the interview for The Final Girl Support Group. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity. He also gave us some hints about a few of his upcoming projects, one of which made me squeal in a very undignified manner. Hendrix was kind enough to sit down and talk with us about what went into crafting his most recent novel along with what makes the final girl trope continue to be a such a standard/popular horror staple. It’s a love letter to old school horror that also stands on its own as a fantastic tale of survival, from both external threats and personal demons alike. With The Final Girl Support Group, all the best parts of Hendrix’s writing are amplified and on full display. The best stuff, however, was found in his wonderfully drawn characters, who you couldn’t help but fall in love with - even the ones who made you want to run and hide from them. His stories were not only terrifying, but filled with adventure, tragedy, and a surprising amount of humor that never dulled the seriousness of the narrative.

When I discovered Grady Hendrix’s writing (first via My Best Friend’s Exorcism), it felt like all that potential I’d conjured as a child came to fruition and then some. Years later, some of these films almost lived up to the lofty billing from inside younger me’s head…others not so much. As I was reading, a wealth of possibilities involving fantastic and frightening stories began to open. One way I tried to satisfy my curiosity was feverishly scanning the back of VHS jacket covers in my grocery store’s video rental section while my parents shopped. When I was a kid, my mom wouldn’t let me watch horror movies, which of course drew me to the genre even more. For the month of October we’ll be sharing various pieces of underappreciated scary books, comics, movies, and television to help keep you terrified and entertained all the way up to Halloween.

Welcome to another installment of 31 Days of Halloween! This is our chance to set the mood for the spookiest and scariest month of the year as we focus our attention on horror and Halloween fun.

Joyride by Stephen Crye