The Science of Women in Horror

From scream queens to femmes fatale, horror isn’t just for the boys. 

Gothic media moguls Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence, authors of The Science of Monsters, and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called “the best horror film podcast out there” by Film Daddy, present a guide to the feminist horror movies, TV shows, and characters we all know and love.
 
Through interviews, film analysis, and bone-chilling discoveries, The Science of Women in Horror uncovers the theories behind women’s most iconic roles of the genre. Explore age-old tropes such as “The Innocent” like Lydia in Beetlejuice, “The Gorgon” like Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th, and “The Mother” like Norma Bates in Pyscho and Bates Motel, and delve deeper into female-forward film and TV including:

• The Haunting of Hill House
• Teeth
• Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• And so much more!

Join Kelly and Meg in The Science of Women in Horror as they flip the script and prove that every girl is a “final girl.”

Meg Hafdahl is an author and co-host of the Horror Rewind podcast. Her female-driven horror stories have been produced for audio by The Wicked Library and in anthologies such as Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror. Meg lives in Minnesota with her husband, two young sons, and a menagerie of pets.
 
Kelly Florence is a teacher, a mother, and a horror film lover. She is passionate about female representation in all media and particularly in the horror genre. Kelly produces and co-hosts Horror Rewind. She also owns Gothic Gifts, a shop for fans of horror.

“Through the lens of horror, Kelly Florence and Meg Hafdahl take readers on a thought-provoking journey through history and real-life applications on what it means to be a woman. A monstrously feminine and insightful read; the past, present, and future of horror is female.” —Meagan Navarro, genre film journalist, critic, and columnist at bloody-disgusting.com
 
“The Science of Women in Horror is a well-researched and thought-provoking love letter to women in horror, reflecting on the impact of the influential characters onscreen as well as the women responsible for helping shape the genre behind the camera. Through a series of compelling interviews with female filmmakers, as well as essays exploring the many films that have both shaped and subverted expectations for women in the genre—from the virginal final girl to the vengeful killer, and everything in between—the authors speak to the breadth of the female and female-identifying experience and the impact horror has made on reflecting universal fears while simultaneously redefining female archetypes. It’s a riveting read, shedding an important light on how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go on the road to broader representation and gender parity in film—with horror, as a genre, leading the charge.” —Stephanie Malone, founder and editor-in-chief of morbidlybeautiful.com
 
“The Science of Women in Horror presents how the everyday horror of the female experience creeps into the movies that have shaped a genre. Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence have produced a smart social analysis of horror and how women continue to revolutionize the industry.” —Daphne Strasert, co-author of Horror Bites: Campfire Tales