Hi there! My name is Lauren Spear and I’m the initial founder of HorrorFam.com! Wonderful people have joined me here through the years (see below!) but I still run the day-to-day.

I dreamed of creating a horror-focused website that harkened back to the sites I visited in my youth – a time when most horror-loving folks were truly stoked on the genre. I also wanted to create a “family” horror website. I come from a horror family, but my biological family is TINY. I wanted a way to connect with my “extended” (online) horror fam.

My parents, my husband, my friends-who’re-now-family, and I are all very positive-minded. We sometimes grump or lovingly tease or offer constructive criticism… But we’re never cruel. Although the horror movies we love so deeply feature some hardcore baddies – we strive to spread kindness.

HorrorFam.com is where horror fans can come to be embraced by a loving “family” vibe. It’s not a website for kids, but we keep everyone in mind! We lay on the feel-good nostalgia, we goof around and make (sometimes terrible) jokes, and we wholeheartedly welcome all our fellow weirdos to join us at the table and share their horror-lovin’ thoughts!

Finally, and most importantly, I wanted HorrorFam.com to focus on the wonderful weirdos, the “mutants,” and the creepy creators who love the genre.

Creating a place for like-minded “fiends” to have some horrifically good fun was the number one goal. Not far behind, I wanted to shine a spotlight on the “little guy” creators – the everyday people who actually produce horror-related indie films, YouTube videos, podcasts, artwork, comics, novels, music, clothes, toys, masks, etc.

In short: HorrorFam.com was built so people who love the horror genre could find each other and have fun together.

Welcome home, Fam! We update every Friday.

Lauren Spear

Owner/Head Editor/Head Writer/Podcast Host

Lauren grew up in the horror industry and never grew “out” of it. The only child of two former horror movie special FX artists & Halloween mask makers (Cathy & Robert Tharp), Lauren is a “Monster Kid” through-and-through.

She created HorrorFam.com in 2019 primarily so she’d have likeminded people to chat with who wouldn’t think she’s creepy >_> Her husband (Frank) and best gals (Christi & Heather) loved the idea and immediately jumped on to help. And then others joined over the years!

Lauren is the head/only editor and every article on HorrorFam.com goes through her first. She also hosts the HorrorFam.com Podcast, runs every social media account (@LoveHorrorFam on Instagram, X, BlueSky, and YouTube!), built & maintains the website, and a bunch of other stuff. 

Frank Spear

Co-Owner/Writer/Supportive Husband/Horror Fan

Frank’s the reason Lauren’s last name is “Spear” – they’re married! An avid horror fan (especially zombie movies and scary video games), you’ll sometimes see Frank’s fantastic writing skills showcased via articles here on HorrorFam.com!

However, most of the time, Frank’s contributions are woefully behind-the-scenes as he works at a very normal corporate job, making sure the Spear fam has shelter and food while Lauren keeps the embers of their shared dream of running the BEST horror website burning steadily. Frank also comes in clutch when Lauren accidentally breaks the website’s coding or a plugin goes rogue.

Christi Bandy

Writer/HalloQUEEN/Heroine

Longtime friend of BOTH Lauren and Frank Spear’s (and Lauren’s Maid of Honor!): Christi Bandy is a horror devotee, one seriously busy freelance writer, and a devoted mother (two human kids and several cats)!

Her first horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, began her lifelong love of horror. Christi also loves coffee, shopping, reading, tattoos, and Halloween.

Whenever Lauren’s taking the fast train to Burnout Town, Christi swoops to her rescue with emotional support and amazing articles! ♥

Isaiah Swanson

Writer/Werewolf/Nomad

Have you ever scrolled so deep into the horror section of your favorite streaming service that you were confronted with a ton of films you’ve never heard of? Did you think to yourself, “Wow! A lot of these look really cool, but I’m a little scared and I wish someone else could watch these first”? Well, Isaiah “The Bitter Wolf” Swanson is the Someone Else you’ve been looking for!

Roughly once a month since June of 2023, Isaiah reviews obscure indie horror films and even goes the extra mile to do a deep-dive on the filmmakers behind them. If you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to horror movies and you’re longing for something none of your friends have seen yet: Check out Izzy’s Eerie Indies!

AJ Spencer

Writer/Author/Avid Reader

AJ Spencer is a horror author with several novels under his belt, including the award-winning Haunted and Hungry and his young adult horror novella Electric Eyes.

However, despite spending so much time writing horror books of his own, AJ also loves to READ horror books — and then he gets so excited about THOSE books that he just has to write about them! He does that here on HorrorFam.com in his column AJ’s Horror Reads.

When he’s not writing horror novels, reading horror novels, or writing about horror novels he’s read, AJ is spending time with his wife and daughter and just being an all-around pleasant fellow.

Robert Tharp

Writer/Family Man/Retired Artist

Robert Tharp is the husband of Cathy Tharp, the father of Lauren Spear, the father-in-law of Frank Spear, the honorary adoptive father of Christi Bandy, and has been a horror fan since before many of our readers were even born!

He spent 50 years working in the horror industry (primarily as a painter) using his artistic talents on the special FX for some of your favorite 1980’s and 1990’s horror films, creating Halloween masks at Don Post Studios, and making collector’s dreams come true.

Now, Robert is happily retired from what he was previously doing and finally gets to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a published writer by sharing his unique perspective via articles right here on HorrorFam.com!

Heather Landry

Illustrator/Writer/Dreamweaver

Known online as SandpaperDaisy, Heather’s been a diehard horror fan since birth (give or take a year).

Heather illustrated HorrorFam.com’s website banners/logos/mascots when we launched in 2019 and will always be a part of why our site looks so cool! Right now, Heather’s busy gathering horror stories from folks living in the Ohio River Valley area for an amazingly eerie comic

Psst! Wanna know more about the HorrorFam.com “fam” of monster mascots? CLICK HERE!