Simon Boswell
Simon Boswell is a British composer, producer, and musician whose career spans more than 150 film scores and collaborations with Elton John, Dolly Parton, Andrea Bocelli, Orbital, Marianne Faithfull, and members of Blur, the Sex Pistols, and Echo & The Bunnymen.
Victoria Price
Victoria Price is the daughter of the beloved horror actor Vincent Price and a long-time friend of Abertoir! As well as actively celebrating the memory of her father, engaging in many different events and activities with fans across the globe, she’s also an inspirational speaker, author, entrepreneur, and nomad. Vincent Price is Abertoir’s Patron “Saint” and Victoria is joining us to help celebrate our twentieth anniversary.
Lynn Lowry
Lynn Lowry is a cult icon of the exploitation scene, starring in a whole range of genres during the 1970s, and best known to horror fans for her roles in I Drink Your Blood, The Crazies, and Shivers. In more recent years Lynn has starred in dozens of independent horror films, supporting up-and-coming filmmakers as well as expanding her own career as a director, writer and producer.
Taratoa Stappard
Taratoa was born in Hawera, Aotearoa New Zealand. His father was English and his mother is Māori (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). Taratoa has directed six short films, screening in festivals including Angers, Busan, BFI London, Edinburgh, Encounters and Māoriland. These have been broadcast on BBC2, BBC3, Film4 and Canal+. Mārama is his debut feature film.
Garth Marenghi
Garth Marenghi was born in the past, graduated from his local comprehensive (now bulldozed) with some O levels in subjects. He taught for nine years at his local library reading group before becoming a full-time horror writer. He has published numerous novels of terror (too numerous to list, nay count), over five hundred short stories, and has edited thirty anthologies of his own work, which have all received the Grand Master of Darkdom Award. He wrote, directed and starred in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace for the Peruvian market, which subsequently aired on Channel 4 and has not been repeated due to its radical and polemic content. He is an honorary fellow.
Peter Fuller
Peter Fuller is the co-author of Supper with the Stars: With Your Host Vincent Price and the co-editor of Into the Velvet Darkness: A Celebration of Vincent Price. A print, radio and television journalist and sub-editor who has worked for the UK’s leading TV listings publications, he is a three-time Rondo award-winner and Slaughter award-winner for his work in promoting Vincent Price’s legacy, in partnership with the iconic actor’s family, online and via special events and international tours. He also co-hosts The Podcast on Nightmare Park and is curator of the Kultguy’s Keep cult film and TV blog. In his spare time (which is rare), he dabbles with the theremin with London-based music group, The Core.
John L. Probert
John Llewellyn Probert is the author of 22 published books, the latest of which are The Frightfest Guide to Mad Doctor Movies (FAB Press) and the Amicus-style portmanteau novel How Grim Was My Valley (NewCon Press), which is set in his homeland of Wales. He is also the author of the popular Dr Valentine series, the first volume of which won the British Fantasy Award. He reviews new cinema and Blu-ray releases at his site, House of Mortal Cinema, and is a regular columnist for the magazines Weird Fiction Review and Nightmare Abbey in the US and We Belong Dead in the UK. Coming up next is a new novel, more Dr Valentine, another short story collection and more film books. He tries to fit in some sleep where he can.
Prof. Stacey Abbot
Stacey Abbott is Professor of Film in the Department of Arts, Northumbria University. She is the author of the BFI Film Classic on Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark (Bloomsbury 2020), as well as several academic studies of various aspects of horror. She is a recognised expert on the horror genre, appearing on various radio and television programmes, and has given public lectures on horror and Gothic film at the British Film Institute, the British Library, The Old Operating Theatre London, St. Bart’s Pathology Museum, and the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies.
Gavin Baddeley
Gavin Baddeley has been haunting Abertoir since 2009, and we haven’t the heart to exorcise him now. He’s written over a dozen books on topics ranging from the Devil, Jack the Ripper, and werewolves, to Gothic culture and subculture. Gavin’s also appeared in numerous TV documentaries and disc extras on all things dark and horrible.
Kristen McGorry
Kristen McGorry is a scriptwriter who has somehow managed to turn her passion for playing games into a career. Now Lead Writer at Ubisoft Montreal on Project Hexe, Kristen has worked with some of the biggest games studios and written for some of the most recognisable franchises, including Need for Speed, Assassins Creed and Fable.
Nicko & Joe
Nicko & Joe have been confusing, disturbing and delighting audiences with their unique brand of comedy since 2004. Their infectious enthusiasm on stage and twisted creativity in their writing has resulted in many comparisons being made to other artists, ranging from They Might be Giants to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park.