I'm McGaris and this is post-mortem.

Though telling scary stories in print and on film and television is my job,

it is also my passion. I love the genre that offers so many imaginative ways to express the human

condition, to confront fears, to tap into the deepest emotions that we can experience. I enjoy stepping into a dark world that

holds keys to the light. Or not. I've felt this way since I was a kid and it's not

changing anytime soon.

So many of the people who write or make films for a living share this passion, but not all of them.

Many people think that the horror genre is the easiest path to success in the industry and choose it for that

very reason. Or others have some success in the genre and find that's the only work

that they are offered after that. There are not a lot of actors who are huge horror fans and

seek out genre roles to play. Despite the popularity of our genre, it still has the

taint of the gutter unless it spawns a franchise.

But that's not always the case.

Sometimes I come across an actor who truly loves this, cares about it, studies it,

immerses him or herself in it.

When I was casting the Shining mini-series 20 years ago and met Stephen Weber,

I was immediately impressed by his knowledge about the work of Stephen King, but also about his passion for

the genre beyond King.

Even the mainstream movie-going and TV watching public know and love King, but as I got to know Weber, I discovered his love for the work of

Dario Argento, his passion for Barker and Matheson and creepy comics, and all the books and movies

and shows that led me to fall in love with the darker side of entertainment.

It was Weber who suggested Jennifer as an episode of Masters of Horror from a 1970 story

...