Who is the Girl on Elm Street?: The "(sorry it's a) Wall of Text" Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog! This is my very first one so I am nervously, but excitedly ready to begin posting. Before I get into the blog content, I'd like to share a little about myself for those who may not know me.



 My Story

 My name is Diandra Lazor and I'm at the ripe, but somewhat awkward age of 20. I am a very passionate horror fan. Although I'm not yet a horror aficionado, I'm working my way towards it. I have a lot of catching up to do because my bloody rose of horror lovin' was not planted until a few years ago and did not begin to bloom until about a year and a half ago. I grew up in a very catholic household where I can't say I was unwilling to rebel against the very conservative and wholesome values of my immediate family. In fact, I even had dreams of being a nun. When I reached high school, I even earned the title "sister Mary Lazor-Beam" from a teacher who thought the nunnery was missing someone like me. That ship has sailed, but I still laugh about it. I saw my first horror film in seventh grade, Jeepers Creepers, and it horrified me for months. When my family moved next to a small field, I was constantly paranoid and would scream if I saw anyone or anything to do with the movie. Despite being wholly holy and having a family that rarely if ever watched a horror film, I always had an odd fascination with the macabre and spooky things. A traumatic childhood haunted house incident kept me at a safe distance, but I loved the old monster movies, would get up early in the morning just to watch the Jaws films(the Universal Orlando ride was my favorite as a child), couldn't-stop-watching-to-the-point-of-obsession Ghostbusters and Hocus Pocus, and had an intriguing love-hate relationship with Freddy Krueger. A Nightmare On Elm Street would come on the television from time to time we always seemed to cross paths at the moment when a slashed up and crispy Marge was sinking downward into her bed. It was the most terrifying image of my childhood, yet I found myself singing the "1,2 Freddy's coming for you..." song with my best friend on car rides. I was a pretty conflicted child, right? I didn't know it at the time, but that movie would change my life.

When the summer of my freshman year arrived, my family took a trip to western Ohio to a place from where my father originated. At the time, I was obsessed with the 2004 film The Phantom of the Opera(being the life-long queen of obsessions, this made obsession #26 for me, and my biggest obsession to date! Or so I thought). The town was small and quaint. A typical Midwestern town that was eerily empty, particularly around the playground. Such a nice place in a week with nice weather, but things were quiet. My father kept rambling about some watertower the town was known for. When we finally reached the hotel, which had a very picturesque view of the watertower, I grudgingly took a photo in front of it. That night I had the Freddy Krueger dream that completely consumed me. I had many Krueger dreams before, but this one was the most real and he kept talking about a "Nancy". "Who's Nancy?", I thought. When I woke up, I was utterly obsessed with Freddy and A Nightmare On Elm Street. On our way out of the beautiful but spooky town, we crossed paths with an Elm Street.

When we returned home I rushed out to rent the films. I began with the sillier ones first(Freddy's Dead and Freddy vs Jason) before finally renting the original. When Nancy came into the film, I was in shock. I couldn't believe the Freddy in my dream had mentioned this girl from this movie whose name I had never known, but who actually existed. As the movie progressed I fell in love with her. I knew the following Halloween, I would have to be her for Halloween. In the meantime, my love for her grew and I slowly began branching out into the other films and even some of the online resources. That Halloween I did dress as Nancy and continued to do so for the next 3 years. I had such rave reviews from my friends and family that I decided to take it to the fans through online resources. I took a few photos in costume and fans seemed to like it. That's when I decided to create a Facebook profile. As time passed I became more and more of an Elm Street fan, with Nancy leading the way as my favorite character of both the franchise and of all-time. My costuming grew and I branched out further and further.

Today I am a more avid Heather/Nancy/Nightmare fan than ever and have come across some truly amazing people in my life who I'm happy to call friends. I had had the honor of being a part of so many things like the Nightmare Companion(www.nightmareonelmstreetflms.com), Krueger Kollectables, the Indie fan film Son Of A Hundred Maniacs, be an assistance for actor Mark Patton of Nightmare 2, DAYS OF THE DEAD convention's "Heroes Within Us", represent Ohio with Scares That Care, and experience so many things beyond my wildest dreams.


All About the Blog

With encouragement from friends, I am now delving deep into the world of horror and loving every bit of it. I'm intrigued with everything that's out there and want to utilize this blog to highlight some of the best aspects of the horror universe. This blog will include everything from Indie horror, art, and books; to literary analysis of films and research topics; to tips and tricks from horror entrepreneurs(convention heads, podcasts, panel moderators, review blogs, website owners, etc.); to notable fans; and maybe even more! I am always open so if you have anyone or anything you'd like to know more about or how to do, or think there is an Indie film, an artist, a book, etc. you would like me to check out, please feel free to contact me and I would be more than happy to consider your suggestions.

With coffee in hand and "Stay Awake Fast" at my side, it's time to get nutty as a fruitcake and dive right in! I hope you'll enjoy.



Whew! That was a blog post full!!