Scream, Queen: Finding Inspiration in Queer Horror

Scream, Queen: Finding Inspiration in Queer Horror is at Hillman Library on Tuesday, October 27, from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. It's a workshop run by Erik Schuckers of the Center for Creativity, and it's free to attend.

The first half is a conversation about why queer audiences have such a long love affair with horror. It looks at the monsters, the camp, and the chance to see versions of themselves in stories about otherness, transformation, and facing fear. The session traces queer horror from the classic monsters through the breakthroughs of the 1980s and 1990s and up to contemporary favorites like I Saw the TV Glow, M3GAN, The Substance, and Leviticus. Along the way, it considers how the genre has resonated with LGBTQIA+ audiences through themes of identity, desire, subversion, and resilience.

After the talk, the night shifts into a series of low-pressure poetry writing prompts inspired by those films. You don't need any writing experience to join in, and all the materials you'll need are provided on-site. It's the kind of thing you can walk into without a plan and just see where the prompts take you.

The workshop is part of the Center for Creativity's guided workshops and is open to Pitt students, faculty, and staff. Space is limited, so you'll need to register in advance. It runs from 7 PM to 8:30 PM at the Text & conText Lab, room 310 in Hillman Library, 3960 Forbes Avenue, and it's free.