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Lin Shaye: Telling a Story with the Godmother of Horror

Published

12 months ago

May 5, 2025

“A good chat is never time wasted”–Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier

[This is an interview we ran in 2016, but it is one worth sharing again about this absolute horror legend]

It’s a Thursday afternoon, and I’m waiting for a phone call I never thought I’d receive. Any moment now, Lin Shaye–the Lin Shaye–is about to call. Suddenly, my phone rings and I forget my own name for 2.5 seconds as I fumble to hit Accept.

I manage to stammer out “Hello” and I hear one of the most familiar voices in horror respond, “Hello, Waylon? This is Lin Shaye.”

For the next hour and a half, Lin Shaye, the Godmother of Horror as she has been rightly named, regaled me with stories of her life and career, and I was enthralled from that first hello. The actress known for her over the top characters and her ability slip in and out of every genre believably impressed me with her quick wit, her easy laugh, and a total dedication to the art of acting. This isn’t a star that was made overnight, however. As a matter of fact, it was not a path she initially set out to follow.

“The thing is I never really thought about being a film actress ever,” Shaye began. “From really as far back as I can remember I liked telling stories. I mean, even as a little girl, I liked telling stories.”

Shaye was growing up in Detroit, Michigan and at the time there were very few children her age with whom she could play. Rather than despair at her lack of friends, young Lin’s imagination took over. She would go into her closet and pull out all of her clothes, much to her mother’s chagrin. Before long, she’d have all of her stuffed animals assembled and dressed as different characters in stories that might go on for days. Later, when another girl her age finally moved into her neighborhood, Shaye and her new friend set to work creating their own newspaper. The two girls would draw comic strips and would write news bulletins about the goings on in their families.

“It was pretty intensive,” the actress laughed. “But I honestly think that from the very beginning there was something–whether that is a talent or a need–I was always a storyteller. It sort of naturally segued into the love of theater not even realizing that it was really theater but it was actually telling a story. Acting out a story for other people was the same thing I had done with my dolls.”

But it would still be a while before she embraced her destiny on the stage. After graduating high school, Shaye attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in art history. Still not quite sure where she was headed in life, she headed off to Europe where she spent time working on a kibbutz in Israel before moving across the continent. But it was in England where the real adventure would begin.

Shaye arrived in London two suitcases lighter than when she set out on her journey.

“I had my two suitcases with me. I had ditched the other two along the way because I found out the hard way just how hard it is to hitchhike with four giant suitcases,” she joked. “So here I am in London, sitting at a little counter in Piccadilly Circus. This man sat down next to me and heard me order and he asks, ‘Are you American?’ And I said yes. Then he asks me if I need a job and I said, ‘Sure!’ He explained that he and his associates were poets and were headed to the Edinburgh Festival and needed a secretary. I mean, can you imagine?”

The stranger handed her a piece of paper with a phone number and name on it with instructions to call the number at six o’clock that evening. Shaye headed off to the YWCA, checked into a room, and at the appointed time called the number. The gentleman who answered asked if she could stop by his apartment at noon the next day and she cheerfully agreed.

At this point in her story, she and I are both laughing hysterically. Even more funny was that the offer of a job was totally legit. Lin headed to the address the next day and met Keith Harrison who was, indeed, a poet.

“He looked like Pan. He had a red beard and he looked like he had horns coming out of his head, I swear to God. And he was missing teeth and he was always scratching his beard. And he WAS a poet. He is actually a published poet. And the other gentleman who picked me up, his name was George…G.W. Whiteman who is also a published poet. I mean, these were Oxford graduates and they were actually headed to Edinburgh.”

Shaye agreed to work for the gentlemen for $20 a week and readied herself to travel to Edinburgh where she also met poets and authors the likes of William Burroughs and W.H. Auden before travelling back to London.

She took a second job in a small theatre in the West End in London as prop master to disastrously hilarious results like something out of a campy 80s slasher flick. During one scene of the sketch comedy show, birds were supposed to fall from the sky onto the stage. So, Shaye headed to the local butcher shop and purchased the heads and wings of quail that the shop was going to throw away. She took them back to the theater and attached them to styrofoam bodies.

“But the only thing I forgot is that they were live flesh and so they started to smell bad. I had a big bag full of dead bird parts. And by the fourth night of the run, they said, ‘I think we have to throw these out’ because you could smell them as soon as you entered the theater. So anyway, that was my other job.”

She stayed in London for almost a full year before she ran completely out of money and her parents, beside themselves about their daughter’s predicament, had the police pick her up. She flew home to New York and moved in with her brother, Bob Shaye AKA the man who created New Line Cinema, and it wasn’t long before she found herself on a stage and never looked back.

Click on the next page to read more about how Freddie Kreuger and a bunch of Critters brought the actress onto the screen.

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ShoStak Opens the Door for Filmmakers to Build and Own Their Stories

Published

15 hours ago

April 23, 2026

Anthony Pernicka

A new player is stepping into the space, but ShoStak is making one thing clear right away.

It is not trying to be the next Netflix. It is not chasing TikTok.

“Cinema does not need another platform. It needs a new model.”

That idea sits at the core of what ShoStak is building. Not just a place to watch content, but a system where creators and audiences connect in a way that feels very different from what we are used to.

The First 150 Competition Is Already Underway

ShoStak is kicking things off with its First 150 Competition, giving filmmakers a chance to present their story worlds and compete for the opportunity to move into production.

Projects are introduced as series concepts or pilots, then advance through multiple stages. Audience voting plays a role, but it is only part of the process.

Selections are ultimately shaped by a mix of audience engagement, creative execution, and overall project readiness. It is not just about popularity. It is about building something that can actually move forward.

For creators, it is a rare chance to get in front of both an audience and a structured development path at the same time.

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A post shared by Dunedin Int. Film Festival (@diffestival)

One Platform, Built Around a New Model

Everything now lives under ShoStak.tv, where both creators and audiences come together.

Creators can sign up, develop their projects, and begin building their audience. Viewers can discover new series, follow story worlds, and engage with projects as they evolve.

ShoStak describes this as a cinematic ecosystem. Stories are not treated as disposable content designed to spike and disappear. They are built to grow over time.

And that growth happens in public.

Ownership Without Losing Structure

One of ShoStak’s core ideas is giving creators more control over what they build.

Filmmakers are positioned to:

Retain ownership of their intellectual property
Build direct relationships with their audience
Grow projects based on real engagement

At the same time, this is not a free-for-all.

There is still structure. Projects are evaluated, developed, and refined through a process that blends audience input with creative and strategic decision-making.

Instead of removing the system entirely, ShoStak is reshaping how creators move through it.

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A post shared by @shostak.tv

Development Happens in Public

This is where things start to separate from the traditional model.

Instead of developing behind closed doors, ShoStak allows projects to evolve in front of an audience.

Creators introduce their ideas, build a following, and expand their worlds over time. As engagement grows, so does the project.

It is less about waiting for approval and more about proving momentum.

Over time, that turns the platform into something larger than a development program. It becomes an open ecosystem where creators and audiences push stories forward together.

More Than Just Testing Ideas

Micro-series are a big part of ShoStak’s approach, but they are not just a testing ground.

They can be the final product.

The format allows creators to:

Tell complete stories in shorter form
Build long-term story worlds
Expand into larger projects when it makes sense

It is not about proving an idea and moving on. It is about giving that idea room to grow in whatever direction fits.

Why This Matters for Horror

Horror has always thrived outside the system.

Some of the most memorable films in the genre came from creators taking risks, working with limited resources, and finding their audience without waiting for permission.

ShoStak’s model fits naturally into that mindset.

It gives horror creators a space to:

Build original story worlds
Connect directly with fans
Grow projects without losing control

And with early content like Civilian and Liminal already rolling out, it is clear the platform is aiming for more than just quick-hit content.

A Different Path Forward

ShoStak is not trying to compete by doing the same thing better.

It is trying to change how stories are created, developed, and sustained.

By combining creator ownership, audience engagement, and a structured development path, it offers something that feels closer to a creative ecosystem than a traditional platform.

Whether it works long-term is still unknown.

But for filmmakers looking for a new way in, it is opening a door that has been closed for a long time.

News

The Clayface Teaser Just Made October Feel Very Far Away

Published

19 hours ago

April 23, 2026

Luna Gray

Clayface is a character whose face changes. Or rather, he is a man whose body can transform into whatever is required in the moment. He primarily uses this skill to land acting jobs and murder people. Fun Guy.

Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose face gets destroyed in a gangster attack. Naomi Ackie is the scientist who hands him something that fixes the problem by making it considerably worse. Bandages. Blood. Then a face that begins to melt. You know where this ends.

Who Made This

The director is James Watkins, who made Speak No Evil in 2024 and before that Eden Lake, which is one of the more quietly devastating horror films of the last twenty years. Watkins does not make comfortable films. He makes films that stay in the room with you after you leave the theater and this one is about a DC villain whose body does not hold its shape anymore.

The script is from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. Flanagan built the language of prestige horror television with The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass before moving back into features with The Life of Chuck. He writes characters who are being destroyed from the inside and the outside simultaneously.

The October Play

Clayface opens October 23, which puts it squarely in Halloween season and makes it the first DC film that actually belongs there. The project is likely rated R. The trailer confirms why.

There is a face melting off.

Watch the teaser. Then clear your calendar for October 23.

News

‘Behind the Mask 2’ Slays Kickstarter

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2026

Piper St. James

If you are hardwired into the horror community there is no doubt you heard the gasp around the internet earlier this month when Behind the Mask II: The Return of Le s lie Vernon was announced. The announcement of the long anticipated sequel came at a screening of the original at American Cinematheque in Los Angeles.

That same evening we also learned that Behind the Mask’s director Scott Glosserman as well as writer David J. Stieve will be returning to the film. Furthermore, cast members Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, and Robert Englund will be reprising their roles from the original.

*Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon*

A Kick into Overdrive

While the sequel is happening one way or another, a Kickstarter campaign was established. The money pledged would allow the filmmakers to create a movie that goes above and beyond their original budget.

As the campaign’s page states;

“The film is happening, that’s no-take-backs. If we hit these goals, it makes it possible to do it bigger, bloodier, and bolder.”

The campaign goes on, saying;

“This is not a “save the movie” campaign. The movie is happening. Kickstarter is how we make it our way. “

Roughly two weeks after the sequel’s announcement, the campaign launched with a modest day one goal of $20,000. To say that fans crushed this number is an understatement. In 9 minutes they reached their goal. In less than 24 hours the amount of backers climbed to over 300, and the pledges donated totaled more than $100,000!

Get to the Good Stuff!

For pledging, the moviemakers have included incentives that are truly in line with what the horror community wants.

The rewards begin at $25 with a digital streaming link of Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon. Tiers continue on as the pledge amounts increase. T-shirts, posters, Blu Rays and scripts are just some of the middle tier goodies. The larger donation amounts are rewarded with on screen “Special Thank You”s and various producer credits.

Nathan Baesel as Leslie Vernon in *Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.*

It is the ‘Exclusive Add Ons’ where things get really interesting. Once a backer has already pledged, they can add on additional perks. These additions include

“accessories, autographs, props, and truly unique, fan forward in-person experiences… all intended to complement your chosen reward tier!”

One of the unique add on perks includes VHS tapes of the original Behind the Mask or the sequel, your choice! Given the fact the first movie was created right on the heels of when VHS was truly dead, older horror fans will especially find this perk an exciting addition to their vintage collection.

The reward add-ons also have the horror prop collectors in mind. You can purchase Leslie Vernon’s weapon of choice, a scythe, as well as his mask. Both of these are signed by actor Nathan Baesel.

For more personal experiences, you can add on a visit to the Behind the Mask II set during filming! You can also choose a cast and crew screening in LA or New York, complete with an after party. Finally, for the crème de la crème; you can be killed onscreen by Leslie Vernon himself!

Powered by the Fans

Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon is the little slasher movie that could!

For two decades the creators tried to find ways to make Leslie’s legacy continue. A failed first Kickstarter, rumors, teases, and false starts all led to the delay of a dream.

For twenty years the movie’s cult gathering slowly formed, cultivated, and grew louder and louder. Too loud to be ignored.

From the set of *Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.*

As soon as the campaign went live, horror fans donated their hard earned money. And let’s face it; we are currently living in a time where the dollar doesn’t stretch as far. The fact that the long awaited sequel gained so much traction and backing, so quickly, really demonstrates the community’s love, support, and anticipation for Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon.

It looks like Leslie Vernon will finally be returning!