Die-hard horror fan Christine (photo: Hannah Edy)

Creepy waxworks, gimp paintings, and an electric chair? This is more than just enjoying scary movies. Stranger meets a die-hard horror fan…

Words by Cymbeline Moore

Climbing seven flights of stairs there were two questions spinning tornado-style round in my head. One, what type of person has an electric chair in their flat, and two, would I be put in it to conduct the interview complete with shocks if the questions got tricky? I took a deep breath and rapped rather feebly on the door. Cue creaky door, cue ‘Addams Family’ style welcome, cue cobwebs and gloom.

Cue reality, as a very normal looking Christine opened the door. Ok, so her hair was black, her face ashen white and her lips blood red, but in her ‘50s style frock and heels she was more Dita Von Tease than Morticia – this was not what I was expecting from an electric chair owning die-hard horror fan.

Her flat, on the other hand, was another story. Welcoming me in, I was led past larger-than-life paintings of gimps and dominatrices followed by (gulp) the electric chair. And once safely seated on the sofa, there was no escaping Christine’s fascination with all things horror – it screamed out at me from every corner.

In front of me was a wall of DVDs, around 300 Christine reliably informed me, with a Ouija board balanced on top for good measure. And to the sides were disturbing models of men, women and beasts sporting or inflicting untold pain. “Oh they’re the Tortured Souls” explains Christine, “Scythe-Meister is my favourite – he’s the most handsome.” The model in question is one of more than 20 collectable figures based on legendary horror writer Clive Barker’s characters. It is an eight-inch model of a man-type figure splattered in blood wearing a facial brace twisting his skin back and carrying an assortment of blades. Nice.

Barker's Scythe Meister

Christine has the full set of “Tortured Soul” characters, but many have been relegated box-fresh to her bedroom, (where a Sadako doll from the terrifying Japanese film The Ring sits on her bedside table) pushed out by the likes of models of Rob Zombie and The Crow.

Sadako, The Ring

Her passion for horror films reaches a nadir on an annual basis when she attends Frightfest. This five-day long festival at the end of August is dedicated solely to horror films, showcasing the cream of the genre to fans from around the world, with premieres,  director interviews and discussions. “It’s amazing,” she gushes. “Everyone gets really into the films, and directors give live commentary to films like Hatchet. It’s the highlight of my year.”

Her dedication to the genre is no more apparent than in the fanzine she works on with her equally committed horror fan friends. Killing Time, offers the reader everything, from features on zombie fatigue to Korean style revenge, with a bit of Rob Zombie and Eli Roth thrown in.

However, despite how it may look to the layman, Christine is adamant she is more fan than obsessive. In her eyes she’s a normal collector who just happens to collect anything with a fright factor, rather than stamps or thimbles.

But surely to own an electric chair is a little extreme? “It even has a helmet where you put a sponge on top of your head before you pass thorough the electric current,” she giggles again.  The tornado in my head starts spinning with questions afresh. “Oh no, I don’t use it,” she quickly clarifies, “It’s not even wired up, I won it in a competition.”
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Look out for reviews of Frightfest (2007) on the Stranger website early next month.