A professor of rhetoric and technical communication by day, Annmarie Guzy teaches the popular Horror literature and film course at the University of South Alabama.  She serves as the faculty advisor for the USA Horror Club, founded in January 2006 by students who wanted a campus-based outlet for ongoing discussions of the horror genre, and she works with USA’s Jaguar Productions office to bring horror-themed speakers to campus, such as Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead), and Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th parts VII-X). 

Born and raised in the St. Louis area, Annmarie inherited an appreciation for genre work from her parents, who were watching the original run of Star Trek while she was in the womb.  Fun family outings from her childhood included driving a quick four miles to the Mississippi River to watch John Carpenter film the bridge scene from Escape from New York, watching Wrath of Khan together at the drive-in with everyone in tears by the end, and standing in line for what seemed like forever at the only theater in the St. Louis metro area showing Star Wars, which, to paraphrase the narrator in A Christmas Story, was the best movie she had ever seen or would ever see.  Her father was also notorious for laughing during horror movies, most notably The Exorcist and Alien, a trait Annmarie exhibits herself, especially during Rob Zombie movies.  She attended her first con in St. Louis in 1985.

She currently lives in Mobile with her husband and daughter, who at the tender age of six made her mother and the Horror Club proud when, upon hearing a random bimbo in Sleepaway Camp ask “Hello, is anyone out there,” she yelled back, “Hello, it’s me, the killer!”  They share their home with two rescued dogs and an inordinate number of genre dolls (oh, sorry, “1/6 scale action figures”…).