The words ‘women’, ‘horror’, and ‘month’ probably conjure up ghastly menstrual images that most male horror fans would be squeamish about.

Thankfully for them, I am actually referring to the second annual Women In Horror Recognition Month, which runs throughout February (pity it’s the shortest month of the year!).

During this time, bloggers will be celebrating the work of women in the horror genre by writing about what it means to be a horror fan or a woman working in the horror community, with events, interviews, and blogs on women’s favourite horror film and filmmakers.

Horror often gets a bad press, with many people judging the genre without really watching any of the films. Sensationalist articles portray horror fans as everything from outcasts to murderous nuts, responsible for all kinds of atrocities. So God help me if the police were ever to drop by my house and had a quick skim through my DVD collection...

And how trendy is it for pseudo-intellectual types to prove their erudite credentials by slating the latest Saw outing, without having watched any of the films. Firstly, the first film isn’t that gory and, secondly, there is a tight story arc followed throughout the franchise (although the blood-fest that was Saw 3D unfortunately played into the hands of the critics and ended this phenomenon on a low).

There are also elements of horror in many popular films. For instance, take Black Swan. The critics are loving it yet there is enough dark psychological darkness in it to have horror fans frothing at the mouth. Many excellent films are horror, such as my favourite, The Omen, or others such as Don’t Look Now. And another gem to look out for is Never Let Me Go. Marketed in the trailers as part romance, part costume drama, I would say there are also sizeable chunks of sci-fi and horror in this moving film which certainly sent shivers down my spine with its eerie atmosphere and terrifying subject matter.

I like my dark psychological horrors but many fans like the more shlock slasher films and B movies. After all, most horror addicts have a great sense of humour and find over-the-top bloodshed cartoonist rather than realistic. Hammer made a fortune out of the genre (and also many fine films) and many horror films now are almost spoofs of the original B movies - with the same winning formula.

Humans have always loved imaginative horror - think back to the Romans’ obsession with the gristly gladiator fights, the Brothers Grimm with their extremely dark children’s tales. Who doesn’t love to be scared silly - being in the midst of death is what often makes us feel most alive.

So why shouldn’t women love and celebrate horror as well?

For more on Women In Horror Recognition Month, visit womeninhorrormonth.com (PS the author of this article is the woman sat near the front, laughing loudly during the scenes where everyone else is screaming - please don’t judge her!) (-;