Halachic Halloween: Why are there so few scary Jewish movies?

If horror films ever have religious themes, they’re almost always Christian ones: good and evil, exorcisms, crosses and vampires, satanic cults. But as Halloween approaches, a Jewish horror-aficionado power couple is arguing that should change.

Canadian horror writer Ariel Fisher and her husband, Jonathan Barkan, believe Jews have been reluctant to mine their real-life horrific experiences for artistic expression in the horror genre. In reality, Jews have suffered centuries of trauma that could well fuel its own subgenre.

Fisher, who was born in Thornhill and now lives with her American-born husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan, join today to explore why Jewish horror stories have been so rare—and how they think it could change.

What we talked about:

• Learn about Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, an upcoming film by Jonathan Barkan, at mentalhealthhorrordoc.com
• Follow Ariel Fisher, managing editor of the horror magazine Fangoria, on Twitter @Afis8

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.