Welcome to Pride In Horror 2021

Welcome: Pride in Horror 2021

Welcome, dear friends, to Divination Hollow’s Pride in Horror 2021. We are so glad you’ve joined us for June, and we’re excited to showcase some excellent talent in the horror community this month. We hope you enjoy what we have planned, and if you’re feeling like there’s something you want to say but missed our May deadline, feel free to contact us! Whether it’s a spotlight for your project, an essay, article or review you want to put out into the world, send it over! If we don’t get to it for June, we’re here all year round.

June is important. Pride Month is important. But we strive to always make Divination Hollow feel like an open, welcoming place. Our logo is a house, and we decided on that for a very important reason. For anyone who feels shut out, ignored, marginalised in any way, we want you to know, Divination Hollow is here for you.

Even prior to taking over the site and relaunching as Divination Hollow, my co-admin Ellen and I had a very clear goal in mind: to promote those voices in Horror and Dark Fiction that have historically been underrepresented.

That’s not to say we won’t also promote (as an example) cis het white men. But we try to make sure Divination Hollow remains a safe space, for everyone. Yes, we talk about Horror and Dark Fiction, and that comes with tricky topics, but we also encourage the use of trigger and content warnings, and we reduce harm as much as we can, both as allies and not. Our focus on Pride doesn’t mean we spend the rest of the year ignoring a community we and many of our team are a part of. For us, Pride is exactly what it says: it is about celebrating everyone in the LGBTQIA community, through spotlights and stories and essays and articles and everything else. 

Pride is important, to both of us. For me, this is the first year where the website has been in complete control of two women who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This is also the first year where I am out, where I can confidently stand up and say yes, I am bi. 

That means so much to me. And I hope whatever your journey is, wherever you are in your journey, this month brings you joy.

But we also want to emphasise something. We want to ensure everyone knows, our door is always open. Divination Hollow is a house, which Broomhilda has graciously allowed us to use. We don’t claim to be “the home for horror” – we are a long way from that – but we are a home. A home where, we hope, everyone feels welcome. We seek to highlight voices across genres, we try to be the best, most open people we can be. If we think there’s an issue or topic that needs to be addressed, we try to address it.

We are not afraid to speak out. And we’re not afraid to invite others to do so, either. This month, from this site, you’ll see articles, essays, reviews and short stories, surrounding the LGBTQIA experience. But we cannot stop at Pride Month. If you read any of these, or if you’re reading this and something sparks an idea? Get in touch. We want to hear from you. Our favourite thing is making new friends and promoting them.

We are small, we know, but we are always listening and taking on board feedback, both from our team and outside. But we are a home, and we are here for you. While being aware that the kind of space we’re creating does mean excluding a minority of horror fans – we will slam the same door in the face of abusers, harassers, and bigots. In this house, we don’t stand against racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and misogyny and all other forms of bigotry. Where needed we will call that out. Where needed, we will amplify the voices of people bigots try to shut out.

All that is to say, we hope if you need it, you find a home here, too. If you need it, our door is open, and we are willing to listen. Send us your words, if you want them showcased. Send us your passions! We’ve featured video games, board games, fanfics, podcasts and more on the site. We want to hear from you. Always.

Again, I cannot say this enough – our door is always open. Just pop in, say hi, and Broomhilda will put the kettle on for you. We can sit down, have a cuppa, and have a chat. And that’s a promise.

— Elle Turpitt, Editor and Admin
@ElleTurpitt
www.ElleTurpitt.com