Payton McCarty-Simas is a freelance film writer, editor, and artist based in New York City. They grew up in Massachusetts devouring Stephen King novels, Edgar Allan Poe stories, and Scooby Doo on VHS. She holds a Masters in film and media studies from Columbia University, where she focused her research on horror film, science fiction, psychedelia, and the occult in particular. Their writing has been featured in Film Daze, Horror Studies, and others. She is the author of One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture, and her next book, That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film, is due for release at the end of 2025. She lives with her partner and their cat, Shirley Jackson.