Native Hoosier screenwriter, author and filmmaker Joshua Hull is “Indiana’s horror version of John Green,” according to Days of the Dead International Horror Film Festival Co-Director Audery Lane.
“We have a lot of authors from here [in Indiana], but I think the way he crafts certain things about the state into his books is really good, not forced and it definitely fits into what he’s writing [about].”
Lane said she has known Hull for about a decade and that they met at the HorrorHound Film Festival through a Scarlet Lane Brewing Company promotional event and filmmaker party. She said Hull has always been very supportive of others’ work, constantly promoting and offering kind words of encouragement. Lane said a lot of people look to Hull for advice and guidance on how to craft their projects because he has had quite a bit of success individually.
Lane said she visited many of Scarlet Lane’s networking events and that it was a hub for people to get together and have a good time. She said it was the perfect space for the local community to engage and chat about movies over beer and delicious pizza. Hull utilized this space to network with others on not only his personal projects but also to hear what others were working on as well, according to Lane.
“Josh is a very jovial person…” Lane said. “I feel like he puts out a lot of good energy into the world, the community, himself, his peers and his circle of friends. He’s also a great dad…It’s been a pleasure to have him at so many Days [of the Dead] events because I feel like his presence has been really important for people who want to walk closer to his shoes. People can see someone from Indiana doing really great things, being very supportive of others, always being quick to help if he can and giving advice or a connection. I just think that type of person is rare.”
“8114”
Hull grew up and lived at the address of 8114 S. State Road 67 for 20 years in Pendleton with his mother, Val, and six siblings, which was the inspiration for his debut horror novel, “8114,” released on Aug. 26, 2025, according to Hull. He said most people would not believe what is real in the book that he pulled from childhood experiences, including the hanging baby in his barn out back, and there were things so disturbing that he chose to leave out because it would have been “too much” for the reader and for himself.
“We [Hull with his two friends Matt and Eric] were downstairs in the big barn and heard some weird sounds, and so we walked up the stairs to kind of peek at what it was,” Hull said. “And this was when we were in high school, you know. So it’s not like we were just children imagining things. We heard this bang and looked up at the top of the barn, and this big piece of wood fell, and right behind it was this baby that was just dangling on a rope.”
As well as the hanging baby, a tall lady with black hair, called “The Blackened Lady” in the book, kept appearing in Val, Hull’s girlfriend Sophia Spiegel and his brother’s dreams, turning them into nightmares. Hull said the scariest part was his brother never even knew what he was writing the book about, and still, “The Blackened Lady” visited him in his dreams. Hull added that the town history in the book, the murders which took place at 8114, happened as well, which he researched from the town logs at the local police station and library.
Hull’s journey
Hull said he is now living out his childhood dreams of writing. Hull is a “past winner of the Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award for his contribution to Indiana film by the Indiana Film Journalists Association, and his debut novella ‘Mouth’ was published by Tenebrous Press in March 2024,” according to the “About the Author” section on the back page of “8114.” He was the director, executive producer and writer of the zombie comedy “Beverly Lane” in 2010, the director, co-producer and co-writer of slapstick comedy “The Impersonators” in 2014, the co-writer and a contributor for the comedy film “Bethlehem” in 2015 and the director, executive producer and writer for the screwball slasher “Chopping Block” in 2016. Additionally, he was the writer of the 2021 nonfiction book “Underexposed: The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made” and was a co-screenwriter for the film “Glorious,” which was released in 2022 by AMC’s streaming service Shudder, starring Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”) and Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”).
Aside from Hull’s accomplishments thus far, he said his journey has not always been easy. He credited his mother, Val, for her support of him as a child, saying that because they did not have the money to afford video games or cable systems as kids, she highly encouraged him and his siblings to hone in on their imagination.
“Because we grew up in a big family, there were a lot of personalities and people who were taking different paths in life,” Hull said. “We had to share everything… but the one thing that was everybody’s own was their thinking, free time and how they utilized that… My mom always had the saying, ‘Only boring people get bored.’ Phoenix [Hull’s daughter] will now say it to her roommate in college.”
Hull said in 2005, when Phoenix was born, it was a “fork-in-the-road” moment for his career. He had the choice to give up his dreams of being an author, screenwriter and filmmaker to strictly focus on being a dad, or to wear multiple hats at once to be the most caring father he could be, as well as pursue his dreams. He chose the latter.
From working grueling 60-hour work weeks as a manager at Texas Roadhouse to working at Scarlet Lane Brewing Company in 2015 to becoming a lead brewer there until its closing in December 2024, while being Phoenix’s father, he is now pursuing his writing career head-on.
Hull said he has been working on a second collaboration with Director of “Glorious” Rebekah McKendry since “Glorious” was released in 2022, a potential television adaptation of his novella “Mouth” and is also set to direct a script he wrote in 2022, based on author Michael J. Seidlinger’s novel “Anybody Home?”. The nature of the business is sometimes up in the air, according to Hull, and he is still waiting for the directing opportunity to fall into his lap.
Hull’s big break, the screenplay for “Glorious,” came out of the blue in March 2020 when “Hollywood horror screenwriter and producer Jason Scott Goldberg posted on his facebook, ‘Day 8 of quarantine. Alright, I’ll read your script,’” according to a feature piece done on Hull called “The Haunting of Joshua Hull,” released in the October 2025 issue of the Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. Hull said he did know Goldberg extremely well and they had only been Facebook friends for about a year at that point.
“A lot of this stuff has just worked out of the blue,” Hull said. “The thing is, you never know, and you kind of have to take your shot, which is an important thing, especially for people like us who are not in it. We’re here in Indiana, so you have to take all the shots you can get when that opportunity is in front of you, you know?”
To stay informed and updated with Hull and his work, you can follow him on Instagram at “joshuathehull” or “Joshua Hull” on Facebook. Additionally, you can read his updates on his Substack account, which he plans to update weekly, called “The Haunting(s) of Joshua Hull,” that will include recent news and updates on his work, and some book, music and viewing recommendations for your pleasure. He was also recently featured in the Indianapolis Monthly Magazine’s October 2025 issue, titled “The Haunting of Joshua Hull,” written by Tony Rehagen. All of Hull’s books, “Underexposed: The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made,” “Mouth” and “8114” are available to purchase online, and the film “Glorious” can be streamed on most platforms.
