Four Decade Anniversary of the Horrifying Cult Magazine 'Fangoria'

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Renowned for being considered one of the “World’s Best Horror and Cult Film Magazines”, the terrifyingly terrific magazine ‘Fangoria’ is an admirable aspect of the horror\ community. The internationally distributed American magazine isn’t entirely niche, but it’s certainly something that isn’t mainstream at the same time. Ultimately, it’s a somewhat hidden staple of the horror-lover community that interestingly doesn’t only have to appeal to those lovely fans of horror; such as those who enjoy cinema in general, or simply those who adore sociological elements of media.

But, regardless, no matter the potential of who ‘Fangoria’ can appeal to, what the magazine assumingly hopes to achieve is to give faithful and shockingly scary content for everything horror as a whole. Now, how does it achieve this, you may be wondering to yourself? Well, I absolutely can’t wait to tell all of you.

Things to do:

Fangoria: The Savior of the Consumption of Horror

Now, I want to begin with the significance of ‘Fangoria’ overall, and simply how it achieved becoming somewhat of a savior to fans of the horror community – an outlet for everyone who spent their fine days beforehand trying to keep up with horror films as much as they could.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, and knowingly edited by Phil Nobile Jr., ‘Fangoria’ was first founded by Norman Jacobs and Kerry O’Quinn. Initially, ‘Fangoria’ didn’t do too well in sales as people didn’t see value in a horror-centric magazine at the time. However, it was when an illustrated article on Tom Savini’s make-up effects in the 1978 film ‘Dawn of the Dead’ sparked interest through a notable impression of readers wanting to see more lavish and outright gory images of monsters and carnage. Because of this, ‘Fangoria’ would begin focusing on this element of interest; thus, this would be the catalyst to a continuous long-run of an iconic and fantastic horror genre outlet.

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Before ‘Fangoria’s initial publication in 1979, there were no other ways for fans in the horror community to indulge themselves in one of their most beloved genres. Sure, they likely had small groups of friends (and friends of a friend) to get out how they felt about horror movies together; but, it wasn’t until the first publication release of ‘Fangoria’ that others could fully come together and wholly engrossed themselves in the world of horror as much as they could’ve before. Rather fortunately, when ‘Fangoria’ first hit those newsstand shelves, those individuals finally had an outlet that they ever so lovingly desired; whether or not they realized that they needed it based on the previously mentioned initial sales of the magazine.

Four decades of ‘Fangoria’ has brought a multitude of horror and cult content to fans alike, along with bringing up social commentary within horror content itself as well. However, let’s dive more into that in the next section.

The Contemporary Horror Brought to the Table

More specifically, ‘Fangoria’ revolves around creating content that centers itself on contemporary horror. It originally had started as a fantasy magazine, but after figuring out that horror had suited them more, the horror content began rolling in – and so did the intriguing articles that would make them such a unique aspect of the publication world. This would brand ‘Fangoria’s entire identity.

Today, the articles featured in ‘Fangoria’ center around what’s new in the horror community, such as an announcement of ‘Evil Dead Rise’ (a new Sam Raimi project) and a preview of what to expect in Disney parks for Halloween. On the other side of things, they also will typically write on social commentary aspects of horror as well; such as discussing horror and how it speaks on the identities of the working class. Overall, it’s a rather connective and progressive way of showing that as the horror community grows; so does our acknowledgment of how horror affects us – no matter how minuscule it may seem.

In the past, when the magazine was just starting, the articles would be more simple – overall involving a deeper dive into upcoming horror films and behind the scenes. This gave way to keeping all the horror fans up-to-date, and more intel about their favorite films, before the use of the internet was around. And, after the internet, fans still leaned towards the trusty ‘Fangoria’ magazine for all the latest news on horror; alongside seeing what fellow fans thought about the films on top of such.

I find that this shows an evident growth from ‘Fangoria’, which rather fits in with how society has transformed its views on horror – and how we’ve grown into making more horror films with significant meanings behind them. We started as a society just simply loving how scary horror films were, and we’ve grown into seeing more value in how we can implement the scare factor with the meanings in cinema that we all know and love to analyze. With this said, ‘Fangoria’ has implemented a reputation of being significant in a variety of ways – paying attention to all of the horror trends that are out there.

The Fantastic Fans of Gore

With magazine covers that both haunt your dreams and completely capture your attention, ‘Fangoria’ is completely special. The magazine has moved on to being more digitized, allowing you to tune in to all of the latest horror and cult news without having to go to the store to buy a copy of the latest issue. This feels like a double-edged sword since those lovely and iconic magazines won’t be seen physically around as much anymore. But, the good news about this is that bookstores do still carry physical issues – but, they’re not as easy to find as they admittedly should be.

Despite all of this, it is because of everything I’ve mentioned throughout this article I can bring justice to why the chilling ‘Fangoria’ certainly deserves more than it currently gets. Cinema lovers and horror fans would instantly know about this magazine – but I still feel as though ‘Fangoria’ has many more horror lovers to gain.

So, with all of this said, I do hope that after reading this article it will persuade you to check out ‘Fangoria’. There is a rich history behind it all, and it is a hidden gem in the world of cinema, and the horror community as a whole.

By Leah Donato

Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.

I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”

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Author

Leah Donato

Leah Donato is a writer and an aspiring screenwriter currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Leah has had an incredibly gigantic passion for film and writing stories since she was a little girl, and she always looks for opportunities to share her love of film with everyone she comes across. Through this, Leah hopes to achieve a sense of connectivity amongst the people around her with the stories she loves and the stories she writes. She wants the work she puts out to the world to be meaningful and provide a sense of comfort, which is what led her to The Hollywood Insider; a media network where she can have a space to share her thoughts and views on the artistic cultural world with a purpose whilst being true to herself and spreading positivity to create a more progressive mindset. When not writing, Leah spends the rest of her spare time watching movies and consuming multiple different types of media such as music and video games.

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Leah Donato

Leah Donato is a writer and an aspiring screenwriter currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Leah has had an incredibly gigantic passion for film and writing stories since she was a little girl, and she always looks for opportunities to share her love of film with everyone she comes across. Through this, Leah hopes to achieve a sense of connectivity amongst the people around her with the stories she loves and the stories she writes. She wants the work she puts out to the world to be meaningful and provide a sense of comfort, which is what led her to The Hollywood Insider; a media network where she can have a space to share her thoughts and views on the artistic cultural world with a purpose whilst being true to herself and spreading positivity to create a more progressive mindset. When not writing, Leah spends the rest of her spare time watching movies and consuming multiple different types of media such as music and video games.

Leah Donato

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Four Decade Anniversary of the Horrifying Cult Magazine ‘Fangoria’