It's hard to believe, but today marks Fear Zone's second anniversary: we launched in "beta zone" on September 2nd, 2007, and our first posting was for Tempe Video's KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE. Our first movie review was Cinema Knife Fight's take on ROB ZOMBIE'S HALLOWEEN, which means I'll always feel a connection to that execrable flick. Our first book review was THE LONG LAST CALL by John Skipp, and our first author interview was with Jeff Strand. We've had 54 contributors, and every one of them has added to the eclectic mix I sought to stir when I was hired to create, launch and edit this site.

Fear Zone has never been like the majority of horror themed sites out there. For one thing, we don't emphasize horror cinema over horror literature, music, games, comics, or other media. For another, we don't simply post the same press releases that appear on other sites and pass them off as "news." We've also given our columnists - many of them authors, filmmakers and musicians themselves - the freedom to discuss the horror genre in whatever manner they desired, which has led to some wonderful essays. We've posted 453 news stories, 426 reviews, and 99 interviews with authors.

It's been a great two years, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to spotlight so many upcoming writers, filmmakers and artists, and to have worked along side so many of the same. There have been some disappointments - the current economic downturn prevented us from launching certain aspects of the site that were planned in our formulative stage, and we've been forced to reduce our content at various times (not that you'd know it by looking at our archive). But for the most part, I think we've succeeded in creating a unique home for horror that's stood head and shoulders above much of the competition. We've experimented with video author readings, video filmmaker interviews, and podcasts, and it's been a lot of fun.

Stay scared... and stay in the Zone!