Sean Horlor

Sean Horlor (born January 11, 1981) is a Canadian film director, film producer, poet, actor, television host, and author. His notable works include the documentaries Satan Wants You and Someone Like Me, the reality TV series Don't Quit Your Gay Job, and the book Made Beautiful by Use. Across mediums, Horlor's work explores "the constellation of factors behind excessive, unfounded cultural anxieties" and "the real damage people can do when stories get out of control."

Early life and education

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Horlor grew up in Victoria, British Columbia.

As a child in Victoria during the 1980s, Horlor experienced the wave of public hysteria sparked by Michelle Remembers (1980), a bestselling memoir that claimed to expose a satanic cult operating in the city. The book and its authors, psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith, lived a short distance from Horlor's family, and their story dominated local media and conversation. Rumours of satanic activity were so widespread that police officers guarded hospital maternity wards and children were photographed for safety programs. Horlor later recalled the atmosphere of fear that pervaded his childhood, describing it as "a time where every shadow seemed to hold a lurking danger."

Decades later, these memories would resurface as the inspiration for his feature documentary Satan Wants You (2023), which investigates the real-world origins and global spread of the Satanic Panic.

Horlor has an undergraduate degree in fine arts from the University of Victoria. His focus was in creative writing, where he studied with authors Lorna Crozier, Patrick Lane, Bill Gaston, and Aislinn Hunter. Horlor has often credited poet Patrick Lane as a formative influence on his artistic development.