Taboos demand silence. The logic goes: If they aren’t spoken, they can’t be real. Of course, we know this isn’t true. Taboos are living, breathing, speaking things. But when they talk to us, we have learned not to talk back. In our silence, taboos are deafening.

The horror genre speaks to the unspeakable. By manifesting the taboo, horror engages us in dialogue with our deepest fears. Our trauma speaks, and we respond. Horror is a conversation. It offers catharsis, empathy, repair. Horror creates community.

Bloodletter is a platform for women and non-binary writers to speak to their experiences of horror. Pairing the personal with the analytical, Bloodletter offers new and vital perspectives on the genre.

Ariel McCleese is the founder and editor-in-chief of Bloodletter.