By Mo Moshaty
In the shadowed pines of Washington State, where fog curls like a whisper and legends linger just out of sight, one woman dared to build a horror festival that feels more like a summoning than a screening. Crystal Connor, award-winning author, Master Imaginationist, and unapologetic lover of high heel couture, has transformed her love of monsters, marginalized voices, and immersive terror into Cabin In The Woods Film Festival, a genre-blending haven for indie creators. Equal parts scream therapy and spa retreat, the festival offers more than laurels and jump scares; it’s an intentional refuge where horror is intimate, inclusive, and wildly imaginative.
I had a chance to sit down with this powerhouse on her passion, process and the willingness to build a well-crafted nightmare for the horror community.
Mo Moshaty: You’ve created something really unique with Cabin In The Woods. What moment or experience sparked the idea to build your own horror festival from the ground up?
Crystal Connor: First, I’d like to say thank you so much for having me, hanging out with you is always time well spent. The experience that sparked the idea happened almost an exact year prior to year one of the festival. On a whim I jumped on Airbnb and rented a cabin in the woods for my birthday weekend with just me and my dog. It raised some eyebrows because I usually don’t like wandering too far from a strong Wi-Fi connection and my idea of the great outdoors is an easy hike that ends with brunch.
I decided to jump way outside my comfort zone and ease into at the same time. The cabin I rented is considered a dry cabin. Now a dry cabin has no running water and you either have to trek into town or haul it in from a lake. That is absolutely way outside my comfort zone, but I eased into it by renting one of the small cabins on the property that was close to the main lodge that was just an easy walk to get to. The ground floor had bathrooms, showers and a communal kitchen stocked full with vegan and glutton free food … Way outside my comfort zone.
Just hours after unpacking and settling in I started asking myself what the hell was wrong with me. The dog and I both have memory foam Serta mattress on our beds. She sleeps in a toddler’s bed, so it’s like she has a queen size bed too. We both have electric blankets, high count cotton sheets, tons of blankets and a million pillows. Our cabin had a one twin bunk style bed. I bought a sleeping bag, a bubble camping mattress and comforter-set-in-a-bag in complementary colors and even with that, the last thing that bed was … was comfortable.
But then something else went wrong, well not went wrong but felt wrong which really amped up my feeling of wanting to go home because I could figure out what was wrong. I started to feel really jittery. Because I was so anxious I knew I couldn’t drive so we hike up to the waterfall and when we got close enough to hear it that’s when it dawned on me what was wrong. It was the quiet. Being a city dweller, you don’t realize how much noise you’re surrounded by until its gone, or how much we’re on our phones until we don’t have service. It was like I was detoxing, actually I was.
A cute little day hike with selfie opportunities is completely different than actually hiking, so when I got back to the cabin, I was exhausted and I hurt in places I didn’t even know existed.
And then the dark came. A dark so deep that its darker than when you close your eyes, and I kept mine wide open, because next came the sounds. The scurrying of a racoon sounds no different than the stomping of a Black bear to someone who isn’t used to being in the woods at night.
And if things couldn’t get worse, they did. Around 11pm or so my dog started barking her head off…we are in the middle of the woods …in…the…middle…of…the…night. So, whatever is out there is either a serial killer or a large wild carnivore neither of which we are equipped to deal with. So we stayed up all night long. The minute the sun came up I ran over to the main lodge to use the bathroom and I was planning on packing up and talking my ass right back to the city, I was exhausted but I was leaving. I just told myself I would just get a RockStar at the gas station and power through it. But then I started to crash from the adrenaline and I just laid down. Nearly 12 hours later I woke up feeling incredibly refreshed. When I went outside to go to the main lodge to shower one of the guys from the drum circle was outside barefooted, cooking on the grill, they had caught fish from the river and they invited me to dinner. Now the horror author in me was like, “now you know when shit goes south it always starts with a long-haired, barefoot white man named Malachi” but it was almost getting dark again so I was like, “what the hell, I’ll stay one more night.” And I did.
One of the reasons I rented the cabin was to do a Live Action Review! by Crystal Connor for my YouTube channel for a movie called Superhost, while staying in a Superhost property. Being in the middle of the woods, while listening to sounds I couldn’t identify enhanced my movie watching experience. I actually ended up staying through the whole booking. Not only that, I started booking solo weekend getaways to watch and review horror movies in cabins all throughout the winter.
A few months after my 1st festival I got a Facebook memory of me crying in the birthday cabin and it was then that I realized that it was there that the seeds of the Cabin In The Woods Film Festival were planted.
MM: With its focus on diversity and immersive horror, how do you hope Cabin In The Woods reshapes the indie horror festival landscape, especially for creators who often get overlooked?
CC: I don’t think a small boutique film festival like mine can change the entire landscape. In just three years the Cabin In The Woods Film Festival has already become the Premier Horror Retreat of the Pacific Northwest and what I’m hoping for next is that The Cabin becomes the Contemporary Luxury brand of indie horror film festivals.
MM: You call yourself a Master Imaginationist, and rightfully so! How does your work in horror and dark fantasy fiction influence how you program or judge films for the festival?
CC: I am not involved in the selection process. During the prep for my 1st year, I stayed in film makers business because I was trying to figure out what could to create an incredible experience to encourage them to submit to my festival … Fell down a 3-day rabbit hole on Reddit. There was this huge thread of filmmakers complaining and fighting about films that had won awards, they were saying the only reason they won them is because they knew the people won ran the festival. I have to admit I’ve been at festivals where I wondering how a film was even selection let alone won. I just chalked it up to artistic differences. I never considered that it was rigged.
It was an eye-opener. Being not only brand new, but doing something that hasn’t been done before transparency is king. I’ve had the amazing opportunity to interview, interact, and built community with filmmakers and the very last thing I want is for someone to say that the only reason someone won an award at my festival is because they know me. So, circumvent any similar accusations I created a selection committee. I have no control over which films are selected for my festival. I’ve seen films at festivals that take place before mine and invited filmmakers to submit, but there’s no guarantee that their film will be selected.
One of the things that makes The Cabin stand out from other awesome festivals we attend is the way our films are judged. So normally on opening day, the festival staff knows who the winners of the festival are. But the judges for The Cabin are the Deliverance and Cabin Retreat guest, who judge all of films over a 3-day 2-night period. After the tallies have been taken the only person who knows who the winner are is the foreman. Everybody else finds out who won at the award ceremony.
MM: Your fictional corporations and characters drive The Spectrum Trilogy, do any elements from that universe sneak into the festival’s branding or vibe?
CC: Oh, dear God, I hope not. The Black women who drive that trilogy are wielding an incredible amount of dangerous power and they are unapologetically doing so. And if you get in their way, or attract their attention in the form of their wrath your not getting out of that. The Spectrum Trilogy and the Cabin In The Woods Film Festival have two different vibes: at The Cabin is fun spooky vibes emphasis on fun.
The Spectrum Trilogy gets under your skin, manipulates your emotions, leaves you feeling disoriented, and forces you to sit with some really uncomfortable questions. A lot of people are angry after finishing The Darkness Book I and usually confront me at conventions, lol.
MM: The Deliverance Horror Retreat sounds incredible: guided hikes, cabins, judging films by the fire. What made you want to blend nature, community, and horror like this?
CC: I live in Washington, the heart of the Pacific Northwest, and outside is what we do. Washington is #5 on the list of the US states with the most serial murders per capita so, unfortunately, horror is also what we do up here. You’d be hard-pressed to find a true crime show that doesn’t mention Washington. With all the wilderness we have up here, the deep ravines and dark tangled woods there are multitudes of places in which bodies can be hidden. Nature, community and horror is almost the very definition of the Pacific Northwest and the perfect place to call the Cabin In The Woods Film Festival Home.
MM: You’ve created two parallel festivals, one in-person and one virtual. How do you ensure that the intimacy and energy of Cabin In The Woods carries over to Cabin On The Web?
CC: By creating an online event that feels like in-person festival. The festival has an interactive social wall, people post pix, create threads, and tag the festival. Everyone watches the films together via a zoom meeting which creates the in-person experience because everyone can see everyone’s reactions, people blurt out profaneness over the poor choices being made on screen and there’s a few minutes to talk about each film before the next one starts and then there is a bigger discussion at the end of the film block.
I’ve had the most amazing festival hosts and am super excited about this year’s host Travis Boone because he has been with me since the beginning. I beg, barrow, and deal to get popular horror content creators to attend as Guests of Honors and Special Guests, there are in depth panel discussions, creators go live, we have games and contest, block parties and the award ceremony which is when guests can vote for their favorite film.
A lot of people interact with each other, while others just watch without their cameras on but still post in the comments the interaction is what creates the energy and the intimacy is automatic because people are participating from home.
MM: You’ve been intentional about showcasing international, ethnic, and gender diversity in horror. What are some standout moments where you saw this mission come to life through a submitted film or filmmaker?
CC: The standout moment for me was my 1st festival. A film festival isn’t anything without filmmakers and it’s breathtaking every time I stop to think about the level of trust those filmmakers bestowed upon me by placing their films in my hands as a 1st year festival founder. That people showed up to the festival, there are so many more established film festivals that have tickets at a lower price point than mine, yet I still got attendees. And the one thing that astonished everyone … And I mean everyone was surprised at the caliber of films both screened in theater and streamed online. The filmmakers who submitted their films to year one set the bar to what type of films are selected to the cabin.
But even before I got to the point of accepting submission the way I was supported by the people who helped me lay the foundations of the cabin is just simply stunning. I have a selection committed who commit a significate amount of their time to judge 100s of films from all over the world in a time span of less than a year. My Cabin Ambassadors, the face of the Cabin On The Web Scream Fest, who run the festival online, the festival hosts, the special guest … All of those guys jumped on board. They showed up and showed the fuck out … Swigging for the fences and knocking out of the park. It’s an incredible about of work and they did it.
The 1st festival from concept to ticket sale was only 8 months, I learned later that most film festivals plan a year or two before their 1st festival, it was maddening, stressful and ambitious. And everyone around me knew it, but it was like if they were all like, ok fuck it. I guess we’re all gonna be delusional.
Knowing how hard it was going to be, knowing what a huge lift this was going to be, they helped me anyway. Knowing this was my very 1st year in a very competitive market, filmmakers submitted their films anyway. Despite my ticket prices, people bought them anyway. My whole entire 1st year was a standout moment, yet incidentally it wasn’t as diverse as I hoped it would be. And I chalk that up to me being a baby 1st year festival and no one knowing about me, and me not knowing how to market to filmmakers. Year two was way better because people were talking about The Cabin and I was too, so got more submissions. I’m super excited about this year’s submissions because the type of diversity I was hoping for is starting to bloom.
MM: As a Washington State native, why was it important for you to ground this festival in your local community, and what does the Sasquatch Award mean to you?
CC: When you see big-budget movies claiming to be shot in Seattle or Washington State, aren’t. They’re filmed upstairs in British Columbia, Canada or sometimes even farther away. We know home when we see it and watching movies that are supposed to be in Seattle or Washington when they clearly not it stings.
I feel community starts at home. I’ve attended a lot of local film festivals as a correspondent. I’ve interviewed local festival founders, filmmakers, and fans. Relationships have been built within my local horror community. When these filmmakers shoot in our state, we see it. The number of amazing filmmakers from the State of Washington is incredible! Bigfoot is the king of the cryptids and the Washington State filmmaker who becomes the recipient of The Sasquatch Award is truly the creme de la creme of their peers.
MM: As a one-woman powerhouse running this entire operation, what’s been your biggest “I can’t believe I pulled this off” moment? And what keeps you going when the workload gets intense?
CC: My biggest “I can’t believe I pulled this off” is … Every … Single … thing … I … Do, lol. I’m not kidding, every time I secure a content creator, a sponsor, or work with other festivals for cross promoting or even getting a new follower I have to pinch myself. Running this type of festival is both incredibly stressful and fun at the same time so, every single achievement, no matter how tiny, feels like a multimillion-dollar lottery win.
MM: Looking ahead, how do you envision Cabin In The Woods evolving over the next 5 years? Do you see it expanding into other forms: i.e.: like a podcast or even an immersive horror experience series?
CC: What I’m hoping for over the next few years is sold out shows year after year, creating even more amazing experiences both at The Cabin and The Theater, and being on every horror film festival attendees wish list.
The major goal is to purchase my own cabin with a home theater and a pool.
What Makes Cabin In The Woods Film Festival Different?
Well, quick frankly … everything! With all-inclusive tickets, catered meals, & upscaled concessions to a robust interactive virtual festival and Special Guest attending both Cabin In The Woods Film Festival is a horror film festival like none other!!
Extended Deadline to submit your film to Cabin in the Woods Film Festival is May 31st. Submit here!
What makes Cabin In The Woods Film Festival so attractive is the all-inclusive ticketing. So what’s included in the all-inclusive ticketing?
Glad you asked.
Support Cabin in the Woods Festival here! And check out the experiences below!
NightTide Magazine 
Leave a comment