Pride Month Interviews: Meet Mar Smith

Tell us a bit about yourself. 

Howdy! My name is Mar Smith and I’m a horror writer based in Utah. While I am currently in graduate school for Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I spend the majority of my free time creating stories. I have always absolutely adored the genre, specifically body horror. Conversations surrounding identity, politics, and autonomy have always intrigued me, specifically through the horror lens. I currently write The Westward Eye, a western horror audio drama out on most platforms. There, I work with a majority queer cast to bring to life chilling stories centering LGBTQ+ characters. 

What draws you to the horror genre?

Admittedly, in horror, I have always found myself drawn from the monsters. There is something profoundly beautiful in loving what was never meant to be loved. The nuance of the monsters surviving as the antagonists for most creature features has always intrigued me. A hero is only as good as their villain. Similarly, as a trans masculine individual, I have found my own identity plays deeply into my love for the genre. When it comes to body horror, I find that I feel a deep sense of catharsis. The idea of someone’s body changing into something seen as “monsterous” by others, but comfortable to the self is a feeling that I have experienced all too often. I feel safe and seen within the genre, which is odd to say since one of the main goals of horror is to unsettle the reader.

If you could recommend one creation of horror that everyone should consume that is queer or queer coded, whether that be a book, podcast, movie, art, etc., what would you recommend?

I cannot recommend The Deviant by James Tynion IV enough. It’s the story of a series of gruesome murders and a comic book artists who, decades after the deaths, decides to interview the “deviant killer”. It’s a story of identity and conflict. Moreso, what happens when one’s own queerness is indestructibly linked to trauma. (also ACAB)

I would also recommend my own horror audio drama, The Westward Eye (TWE). It follows three young explorers as they leave their capitalistic hellhole of a home and venture out into an unexplored part of their continent to gather testimonials. With a majority queer cast and crew, the horror is deeply steeped in the lived experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. It does not contain any homophobia or transphobia to add to its horror. Instead Tobin, Etta, and Sterling spiral deep into a realm of monsters, body horror, and ancient gods. 

When folks look back at the LGBTQIA+ movement of today’s day and age, what do you think the defining characteristic will be?

The word resilience comes to mind when I think about the current LGBTQ+ movement. There are so many things stacked against us and yet here we are. We aren’t just surviving, but thriving. Through mutual aid we can uplift one another. Through art we can tell our stories and find those who resonate. Through activism we can make lasting change. We are stronger than we think we are, especially when we can work as what we are, a community. 

What are some areas of queer horror you think are under-explored?

As a writer, I often explore what it looks like to “reclaim” body horror. I would love to see more media where, after a character’s flesh goes through an immense change, they take it in stride and find power in the shift. You see a lot of this within the superhero genre where, after an “accident” or “tragedy” of sorts, the hero finds power in their new way of being. This plays into what types of changes are seen as acceptable and which are not. I would absolutely love to see more of this is mainstream horror (and have written a fair amount of it into my audio drama). 

Where can folks find you these days?

You can find me on Instagram @meltedmothmuseum. There, I have my local art. You can find my audio drama, The Westward Eye, wherever you stream horror podcasts or on instagram and tiktok @thewestwardeye.