I’m so excited and pleased to announce the first Midnight Matron of 2015!

What the heck is Midnight Matron?

The Midnight Society’s Midnight Matron is a member of the Midnight Society team. He or she is someone that goes above and beyond to contribute to the Midnight Society, to our readers, and embraces the wonders of macabre like no other.

That’s great but…what does this mean?

The Midnight Matron gets to reign supreme over the following month. This means that our January Midnight Matron will reign as Matron over February. In March, a new Midnight Matron will be chosen. In addition to bragging rights and reigning supreme, The Midnight Matron also receives a $20 gift card to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other e-gift card location of their choosing.

Announcing The Midnight Matron of the New Year

This month’s Midnight Matron was a VERY tough choice. All of our members have been so wonderful and dedicated that sometimes it feels crazy to pick just one of them. But alas, it must be done. The Midnight crown fits only one.

This month’s Midnight Matron goes to someone who is incredibly gifted, talented, wonderful with words, hilarious, and to someone who’s such a deep thinker that I wish I could spend a day romping around in her brain. I love her posts on The Midnight Society but I also follow her personal blog and she’s quite the wordsmith.

She recently posted one of my favorite infographics, 10 Signs You’re Reading a Gothic Novel.

She’s shared with us several fantastically haunted places, including Borley Rectory.

She explored the topic of fear and the worries that the dark bring in You’re Not Afraid of The Dark. She also talked Facing Fear in Real Life.

She’s an incredible graphic designer who made our logo for The Midnight Society completely from scratch. I was completely blown away with what she created and the way she completely encapsulated our mood in our logo. She’s surely one of the MOST talented graphic designers I’ve ever met.

In addition to being a talented storyteller and graphic artist, she is a fabulous writer and cheerleader for fellow writers. She amazes me with her abilities, her drive, and her adventurous nature.

I love her adoration for the dark and dreary all the while being a bright, shining light!

CONGRATULATIONS KIRA!

You are our Midnight Matron!

Some will remember Kira Butler as the graphic alchemist born with pink hair growing from her scalp, but most will probably forget her wild imagination in favour of her undeniable thirst for blood, shadow, and gothic monsters of horror. Claiming empire over Montreal, she was an alumnus of Concordia University, holding a degree in Design Art with a specialization in Art History from McGill.

She was a staunch supporting member of the Horror Writers Association, an active member of the Quebec Writers Federation, and a Friend of Highgate Cemetery. Her wanderlust often led her into troubling altercations with both books and beasts in curious corners of the world, and she spent much of her time swilling elixirs that may have been tea (but were probably spirits) while working towards the completion of her second young adult horror novel.

A bibliophile, taphophile, and adventurer, she left pieces of her heart in London, New Orleans, and New York in little lead boxes. (Should any of them be recovered, please remit to her surviving family in the suburbs where they might be stored with her obscene collection of comic books.)

Her lasting love affairs included the works of Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Bram Stoker, Kendare Blake, Laini Taylor, Mike Mignola, Holly Black, Daniel Kraus, and J.K. Rowling.

Given that Kira’s body was never recovered, the wake will be held from three o’clock Tuesday afternoon. B.Y.O.B. (Bring your own book.)

Various Haunts:

Twitter    Website and Blog    Facebook

Congratulations Kira! Thank you for all that you do! Do you have a favorite post of Kira’s? Let us know in the comments below.