So, after talking about how Circle M+P (Circle of Confusion) requested Coil back in 2007 (they also requested my first werewolf script, Cubs, in 2009) I decided I would submit Personal Demons to them... again.
See, I submitted it to them in 2015 (right after I got done writing it) and received no response.
However, that was before Stranger Things and It came out and changed the landscape ( I guess I was ahead of my time...?).
That was also before Personal Demons had all of its festival wins.
Anyhow, below is the query letter I just sent...
"Dear Circle M+P,
I have recently completed a supernatural horror screenplay entitled Personal Demons that I would like to submit for your consideration.
Personal Demons tells the story of a group of horror-obsessed teenagers in a sleepy Rocky Mountains mining town who have decided to hunt and kill a demon that has crawled from a nearby cave and murdered one of their friends. In preparation for their hunt the group must grapple with everyday high school problems (parental concerns, school intervention and religious differences) that threaten to tear them apart.
This script infuses my love of 80’s horror (Monster Squad, Ghostbusters, Night of the Demons, Evil Dead and Pumpkinhead) into a story concerning unique and brash characters, which I fashioned partially after students I have taught during my tenure in education… and partially after myself.
Personal Demons is a bit of grounded horror that, while visceral and chilling, plays out in a very fun way, similar to its contemporaries (such as It (2017/19), Final Destination and the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things).
Personal Demons just had its 19th festival accolade. Most recently Personal Demons was an official selection at the Independent Horror Movie Award (2025), Dunwich Horror Fest (2025), Underground Indie Film Festival (Apopka, Florida; 2025) and The Thing in the Basement Horror Fest (Seattle, WA.; 2025). Personal Demons also won Best Feature Script at the 2024 Independent Horror Movie Awards (Summer Edition).
The completed screenplay is 96 pages long. I also have a succinct but comprehensive video pitch for the script available here.
Currently, I work as a college English professor and my work has appeared in Dark Moon Digest, Midnight Times, Shadow Voices and Damnation Magazine.
If any further information or materials are needed, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your time and consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Erik D. Harshman"
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