Horror Web was chosen for the webmasters pick on April 13, 2003. Here is the interview with the webmistress HorrorWench. She'll make you laugh, she'll keep you reading for more, she'll share some good tips, and we get to know about her too.

SH: First, I want to ask is where do you come up with all of the good ideas for your site?

HORRORWENCH: A combination of too much caffine and too little sleep =) Actually, because we try to provide a well rounded genre site we tend to come up with more ideas than we actually use - sometimes they just come out of nowhere, other times it's because it's something WE looked for but no one had so we do it.

SH: When Horror Web was first created did you know it would have so much success as it does today?

HORRORWENCH: Yes and no. I thought that it would be a great interactive site for fans of the genre to gather and discuss stuff, but never expected many of the good things that have happened. We are thankful for the response and stay very grounded in our mission - but of course my Igor likes to tell people that she's going to take over the world!

SH: How many makeovers did your site go through?

HORRORWENCH: Major? None. I 'freshen' it up every few months with minor changes, graphics, fonts, etc., but the basic layout is good and won't change. Many horror sites are red and black, so we purposely use yellow and blue as well [pulled from our main graphic] to remain unique and will never change that. I update much of the site on a monthly basis, but that's not even a freshen up. Because a lot of what we offer is timed, or time sensitive we update a lot.

SH: Tell us how long it would take you to create a new page for your site?

HORRORWENCH: Depends on what it is. Many of the pages go through a huge research/development stage before anyone sees anything. Right now we're working on a new section that I expect will take a few months of behind the scenes work, information gathering, etc before we ever get to the coding stage. Other pages take about 10 minutes, like our newest feature: Horror-Web Radio. The page took no time, but the radio station itself consumes Igor's life at the moment - once the flow gets going it will be much less time consuming.

SH: It's obvious to see how much you enjoy working on your site. What do you like most about it?

HORRORWENCH: New areas...which is why we continue to grow out of control! I love working on the new stuff, getting it together [i'm a coding geek!], and then offering it up. Whether good or bad, i really like hear the reactions to the new things from the members/visitors...

SH: Is there any webmasters tips you would like to share with new webmasters out there?

HORRORWENCH: Be thorough! Put a full menu on EVERY page. Don't spam your site - use precision pimping [hehe, our term] to spread the word to the right people. Don't over graphic-ize your site and think like everyone is on dialup. A good topic matter brings you surfers, but fast loading pages packed with good stuff will keep them coming back. Frustration is the enemy of a webmaster. If your surfers are frustrated because it's slow, they can't navigate, broken images, under construction, etc they will leave and never come back.

SH: What programs do you use to create your site, and your images?

HORRORWENCH: I code completely by hand, in notepad. I HATE html programs, they add too much crap that isn't necessary. My code is clean, precise, and easily navigated. For graphics I use several programs, depending on what I'm doing with them. Print Artist, Infraview, and PSP are the 3 i use the most - and i'm a plugin junkie!!

SH: Now, lets ask some questions about you the webmaster. On the web, there are many sites on the web. What is your most favorite site and why?

HORRORWENCH: horrorfind.com - it's the biggest baddest genre site out there! It's our host, shows us our competitors, throws a huge convention every year for the genre, has contests, information, everything...

SH: What's your favorite things you enjoy doing in you spare time?

HORRORWENCH: Spare time? Have you been to HW? bwahahahah... i don't have spare time - i actually have to put things on hold or procrastinate to have a life. I also get burnout about once a year and take a week off. When i sneak away i watch a lot of horror, read nonstop, camp, fish, swim... and of course spend time with my kids!

SH: What things do you hate the most?

HORRORWENCH: About what? That's a broad question! I hate wanna-bes, closed minds, and laziness.

SH: How do you think we could make a better world today?

HORRORWENCH: Relax! Enjoy the short time you have people... life is too short for enemies, bitterness, and regret. Making things 'better' begins on a personal level - you can't 'fix' anyone else, so just 'fix' yourself and hope everyone else does too...

SH: Describe your true personality?

HORRORWENCH: I'm a mouthy, opinionated, hyper person. I say what i want, when i want =) To some it's refreshing and honest...to others it's obnoxious, depends on who you talk to. I'm the best friend you could ever want until you cross me, then the name 'wench' is well earned, bwahahahahaaa...

SH: What was your most memorable momment? (happy, funny, etc)

HORRORWENCH: Ever?? Wow...too many to discuss =) I absorb things and hold them tight memory wise. Recently? Meeting Gunnar Hansen... very cool! And we didn't even discuss the genre, we discussed computers!!

SH: Share some of your interests like Vampires, Tales, and etc?

HORRORWENCH: I love spooky, atmospheric horror. Not a huge vamp or zombie fan, i prefer ghosts and things that sit on the edge of reality that make you think 'this could happen, or could be happening right now somewhere'. I have too many views on supernatural to discuss here, but those that are interested can join the horror-web member forum and get plenty of insight there!

SH: Do you have any messages for your site viewers?

HORRORWENCH: Thank you. Sweet and simple - without you, Igor and I would be bored =) We always stop to appreciate the visitors/members and remember the little guys in our quest to join the fans and the creators - indies and newbies are tomorrow's stars....

SH: Do you have any last comments?

HORRORWENCH: Thank YOU - this was insightful, made me think, and an honor to be chosen =)