We recently connected with Erica Andrus and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
That’s an interesting question. I just kind of dove in. I started recording videos of things I like to see or places that I wanted to visit.
My phone has a standard video editing application that I started playing with initially. I watched a lot of how to videos on YouTube and also looked at how other content creators were putting their videos together. I drew some inspiration from them.
I didn’t have any formal training in video, audio or editing so it’s been challenging learning on my own.
Erica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a Spooky enthusiast. I have a large love for everything Halloween and Horror related. I started Horror Happenings with the Dead Girl because I wanted to share that love. Initially I started a YouTube channel. My first videos was of Halloween items you could find in stores like Michaels, Joann’s, etc. I’d go from store to store hunting for Halloween items. As the months progressed and Halloween drew closer I’d visit local haunted attractions ans film my experiences to share.
I consider myself a haunt enthusiast and while I love our Florida theme park haunts I wanted to spotlight our local haunts. These haunts are just as good as the theme parks but don’t get the press they deserved. I wanted to change that.
From shopping and Halloween haunted houses I moved on to covering local Horror conventions like Spooky Empire and all of the activities they offer attendees.
I went on to create a Facebook page, Instagram and TikTok. I also have a website where there are articles about Horror movies, conventions, haunts and more.
I’ve grown over 55,000 followers across my platforms and continue to grow. I now have a 4 person team of individuals who gather content. I have recently partnered with a local coffee company and now Horror Happenings with the Dead Girl has its very own Butterscotch Toffee flavored coffee with Horror Cinema Coffee.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal is to help local businesses and creatives. When covid hit, a lot of close friends lost the ability to vend at events as the events themselves were canceled and were losing income.
I started doing live interviews on YouTube with them. I wanted to give my friends a platform to promote themselves and their businesses. Before I knew it, my viewers were buying artwork and books from my friends. It made me feel good to be able to share their gifts.
I am continuing that journey today. My 4th season of live shows has started and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about OBS earlier on. It’s a free editing program that I use to not only edit my videos but to stream live interviews on YouTube. There is so much you can do with the program. I’m still learning.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/horrorhappenings
Image Credits
Sveinn Photography for the photograph of myself with the skull and the black dress. His logo is in the lower corner. Please do not remove it.