Meet Horror Host Miss Misery

I first met *Horror Host Miss Misery* because I’m a spooky author, and she writes and compiles spooky books. A friendship meant to be! She’s a fellow horror addict, and I dig that. I know her as Reyna. But no matter her title, she’s a great guest, and I’m thrilled to have her join us for a Q & A sesh here at Weird Wide Web! Let’s get started!

Hi, Reyna. Thank you so much for joining us. I love your vibe. Women in horror are so much fun, yet people who don’t understand that miss out on our unique brand of charm! How do people in your “real life” react when they find out about your horror persona, Miss Misery?

It’s funny because some people in the past did not recognize me at all without the glasses on and they would say they had no idea it was me. I got to say after yelling at Superman movies at people who don’t recognize him, I totally understand. I have had mostly positivity from being Miss Misery but have had my fair share of creeps and those who try to claim they invented me and try to get on the band wagon. I have had and still have stalkers who kind of freak me out, those who I went to high school with, surprised when they see me on TV or at a convention. It’s been a wild ride being a horror host, but I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

You’ve been a horror hostess through Last Doorway Productions since 2007. That’s a long time and shows a ton of commitment. Can you tell us about the journey of Last Doorway Productions from 2007 to the present time?

I started Last Doorway Productions way before 2007, but in 2007 is when I began to really make a go of it. I was doing short films, my first horror host show, The Last Doorway and beginning the stages of my Women in Horror Documentary. Before that I was filming and doing little things here and there but in 2006, I met my future husband John and together we learned editing and more about film making. We really went for it, and here we are today with movies, TV shows, books, comic books, the film fests we’ve done, Zombie proms late night movies at our local theater, and so much more under our belt, and we are not done yet. 

What was the first movie you watched that made you realize your love for horror movies?

John Carpenter’s Halloween really got me into the whole horror movie craze, but before that, I was watching TV shows like Tales from the Darkside, Monsters and of course Twilight Zone. After I watched Halloween, I began to watch anything I could, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2. I saw the second before the first, and it’s the reason why I can’t eat Chili. From there, it became a whirlwind of horror classics to sink my teeth into. I also was a Full Moon member; I loved the Full Moon movies.

Did you read or tell spooky stories as a kid?

I read anything horror as a kid: Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, Goosebumps and whatever I could buy at Scholastic book fairs and check out of the library. I had my own trapper keeper binder where I put all my short stories I wrote and made my own covers for them too. As I got older and my stories evolved, I took writing seriously but there was a time in my life where I stopped and wished I didn’t. But it found its way back to me, so here I am, now a published author. I love to write, always have, and I don’t see myself getting away from it ever again. 

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I see you have an entire book of Halloween stories. Can you tell me a little about it?

My Halloween Night series consists of six books and each book has 13 short stories you can tell on Halloween night. I did one for fun. I was writing it and thought, cool I’ll do one, but then at signings I had kids and parents asking me when the next one was coming out and now, I have six of them. Will I keep going? I am not sure, as for right now I have taken a break from them and my Monsters books to focus on some other books I am working on. But you never know, never say never.

You assembled three books of stories written by female voices in the horror genre – A Scream In The Night 1, 2, and 3. What made you decide to do an all-female horror fiction anthology?

I submitted a short story for an anthology, and it was accepted, but then the editor changed and rewrote my entire story and even took out a character. It was awful. I declined to be part of their anthology book and decided, days later, that I would do my own. So, I contacted my publisher at the time, Black Bed Sheet Books, and pitched it to him, and he loved the idea. The plan was to do one, but then it sold so well, and more women asked about doing another one, that I ended up doing two more. It’s been a roller coaster ride doing them, that’s for sure, but worth it. They all came out so good, and I am so proud of them, and all the women involved as well. So much talent.

If you had a Hollywood budget (I’m talking BIG BUCKS) to write, produce, and direct your own horror movie, what would it be about?

I’m going to be honest: I have always wanted to remake Alice Sweet Alice, so I would do that movie, but I also have a script written for Mr. Boogedy 3. Disney has the rights to those films, but I would love to do the third. But if I’m being honest, I would have to really think about what movie I would want to shoot with all that money because I would be afraid to mess it up.

I see you also write outside the horror genre. What are your stories about when they’re not sending chills up the spine?

I must admit, I do love romance movies and my occasional watch of Hallmark during the holidays, so I took a stab at writing one. Summer of ’59 is a coming-of-age story about a girl who falls in love with a handsome guitar player in a band called, The Cadillacs. They spend the summer together before he leaves on tour. I am working on a few more romance novels as well and do love writing them. It’s a big change going from stabbing someone to death to loving someone eternally. I really have to get into the mindset and switch off the horror or else I’ll begin to write a stalker story, lol.

What are your plans for the future?

More books are coming out. My Slasher Series, Scared Yet?, will have a book 2 and 3 very soon, I’m working on a few books I can’t talk about at the moment and of course getting ready to film another movie. Movie Massacre is still going strong, and I cannot wait to film the next season. But I can say I’m working on Slasher Girl 2 which should be out I’m hoping by July.

Where can we find you online?

You can check out more about me at www.lastdoorwayproductions.com and from there you can find all my social media outlets!