Not to get too philosophical on a Monday, but with the way the world is right now, where it seems to be the norm for politicians to blatantly lie over and over again without worry about being held accountable, to a dozen other world crises going on, it makes me wonder every now and then that the time I spend writing, reading, and talking about the horror genre, if it is really important. Shouldn’t I be spending that time helping to better the world in some sort of way?

My father was not a fan of movies. In fact, I know of only one time my stepmother dragged him to a theater (which he quickly fell asleep and snored through the whole thing), and I don’t think I ever saw him stay awake for a movie on TV. But if he were alive today and saw what I am doing, even more so on the convention circuit, he’d lose his mind because he would see all this as people wasting their time and money and such stupid things.

Is all of this just an escape from the real world, because we just don’t want to deal with it, and this is our way to run and hide in the corner until things get better and less stressful?

There are times that I do think that way. Maybe there are things I could be doing to help others.

But then I realize that I am.

It is BECAUSE of all the insanity that is going on, I think people NEED something to take their minds off their troubles, even for a short time.

Back in the early ’30s, during the start of the Great Depression, Universal Studios were releasing what would become known as classic monster films to record profits. Even when people were pitching pennies to make ends meet, trying to put food on the table, they were still going to the movies. Maybe because they needed that escape from their world, to see horror worse than their own situation, if only for 60-70 minutes.

I think it runs true today. Whether it be music, some sort of creative art, or movies, we all need a little break every now and then. Some more than others. If there is something that helps keep one’s mind from going off the deep end, breaking down, or just not being able to handle life at the moment, then I would say that thing, whatever it might be, is as important as it can get. Because at the end of the day, we need something in our daily life that we can look forward to. Something that is going to make us happy. Yes, even if that is watching scary movies.

To the people that are a creative force in the world right now, whether it is working for a Blu-ray label, music studio, independent filmmaker, to the person that makes homemade crafts to sell at conventions, I do think that we’re all important in what we’re doing.

Keep it up. And go vote.