Puerto Rican Horror Hostess Melanie Ramos Welcomes Audiences Into Her Dark Universe

From the depths of hell comes the demonic horror hostess of your nightmares—Melevill! This is the alter ego of Melanie Ramos, a multifaceted artist who hails from the South of Puerto Rico. She developed a fascination with the horror genre at a young age and now dedicates her time creating a variety of horror content.

When it comes to the creative process, she’s involved in all aspects of it. She’s an actress, performer, writer, director, and producer. Her projects include her publishing company Neo-Pulps! and YouTube show Melevill’s Hades Theater. Besides her uncanny style, what makes Ramos all the more unique is that she’s the only active Puerto Rican horror hostess.

I was excited to have her as a guest on Vamp Jenn’s Corner! In the following interview, the creator opens up about her character Melevill, the impact of horror on her life, what it’s like to be a Latina working in this industry, and much more.

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Q: There are many different ways we get introduced to horror. What was your first experience with the horror genre?

A: When I was around 7 years old, my cousins would gather at my grandparents’ house and watch all kinds of movies without much parental supervision.

 One time, I saw a burned-face man manipulating a kid like a marionette, using his veins as strings. I didn’t know what “fictional horror” was until I saw that on TV.

Those images haunted my nightmares for years. Later, I learned that the man was Freddy Krueger, who represents ‘stranger danger’ and the dream demon most kids grow up fearing.

I have had night terrors and sleep paralysis for a long time. So, of course, I became obsessed with the mythology of the A Nightmare on Elm Street films and what this ‘shadow-hatted man’ Freddy represented. Most fans see him as just an ’80s slasher or a creepy scumbag, and he’s both of those things, but he’s also a modern-day representation of the shadow archetype.

 Q: You were born and raised in Puerto Rico. Was there a community of horror enthusiasts that you felt you could relate to or did you feel like an oddball because of your interests?

A: My hometown is Guayama, which is known as ‘la ciudad bruja’ (The Witch City).

 But the funny thing is that the city is actually very ‘bible-belt’ conservative.

So there wasn’t any local community of horror fans. I had to hide my fandom for many years.

Growing up, I didn’t feel I could relate to most people, since I’ve always gravitated toward the darker side of art. I was bullied a lot for that, and many of my hobbies or interests were called ‘devil worship.’

Thanks mostly to my mother, I identified as a Christian until I was in my late twenties. And that was a time of deep unhappiness and suppression. I definitely felt like an oddball. I was constantly testing the limits of what my family ‘allowed me’ to like or not like.

I disliked sports, politics, and popular Puerto Rican music, but I loved Anime, fantasy/adventure films, all types of rock bands, and goth fashion. And for the most part, my family was ok with that.

But if they knew I was learning about the occult, or reading about Clive Barker and the Cthulhu Mythos, they would’ve had a fit.

Q: You’ve created a fascinating persona called Melevill the shadow demon. What inspired the character and your desire to become a horror hostess?

A: My earliest childhood memory was watching Hurricane Hortense flood my house and my neighborhood. It took me a long time to understand that my night terrors came from those experiences.

Hurricanes are a force of nature, monsters that only kill and destroy and leave nothing but pain and trauma behind. If they were a fictional character, they would definitely be demons.

My husband and I have a phobia of hurricanes. And almost all Boricuas have that same phobia, but they just keep those fears to themselves.

And keeping things to myself was something I also learned early on. I lived a double life for a while, showing people this ‘Persona’ of the good little Melanie who stays quiet about the bad things going on around her and says her prayers at night.

But when I was by myself, the real me would come out. I would imagine myself as this angry ‘Shadow’ who defended herself and would even destroy anyone before they could hurt her. Typical melodramatic teen fantasies, right? Haha.

I identified with most fictional villains. But all the great ones are usually male.

Horror and fiction in general needs more female monsters—those who can be truly scary and evil. Women can be just as horrible as men.

In my twenties, I discovered the two Angelas, one from Night of the Demons and one from Sleepaway Camp. And other lesser-known female villains like Julie from Return of the Living Dead 3, Katrina from Vamp, and the very controversial Ilsa, played by Dyanne Thorne.  

So all those characters, my teenage therapeutic fantasies, and my phobia were unconsciously creating Melevill. But it all came together ten years ago when I met my now husband, Will.

We were raised in P.R. speaking Spanish and mostly watching Boricua TV.

We have our own slang, in-jokes, and pop culture. There are things popular in American culture that never made it to P.R., and one of them was the horror hosts. I only knew of Vampira thanks to the Misfits song. But my husband is obsessed with Ed Wood (the director and the film).

As soon as we met, we started making funny short videos, and he told me all about Vampira and what horror hosts were. I was fascinated by Maila Nurmi and what she represented. We started creating this fictional world full of weird characters based on real celebrities. And one of those characters was a demon posing as a horror hostess. We joked: what if she’s also Boricua? But that joke turned into something we questioned and researched for a long time.

That was in 2017, we asked everyone we knew, we did online searches in both English and Spanish, and nothing. We never found a born-and-raised Puerto Rican woman who was a horror hostess. We were shocked. But at the same time, it made sense. Just like it made sense that I would portray this demonic horror hostess character.

We both would’ve loved to have a local horror host growing up. And I think many Boricua horror fans would say the same.

The 1^st version of Melevill’s show was called Melevill’s Nightmare.

The plot was that she was a demon who defied her mother and was punished by being locked in an apartment and forced to watch bad horror-movie remakes. Just before we were going to begin recording, Hurricane Maria attacked our island.

We experienced a few things that we kept to ourselves. But no matter how much we lost, we still had each other, and our families were safe, so we considered ourselves lucky. The night terrors came back after that.

We didn’t have internet for a while. So to entertain ourselves, we just started recording Melevill’s Nightmare with our phones and an old tape camera. We weren’t really thinking about the public domain rules of Horror Hosting. So, of course, when we uploaded those videos to YouTube later, they were taken down after a few weeks. But I still have some photos and one clip. 

Q: Truth be told, there isn’t a lot of Latinx representation in horror. It’s grown slightly over the years, but visibility could be higher. What do you hope to contribute as a Latina and Puerto Rican creator in this space?

A: When I started Neo-Pulps!, the main goal was to create entertaining stories like the ones found in old pulp magazines. I always add a subtext to all my stories, but I try not to be too obvious about it.

I also didn’t add any details about myself on my books or my social media pages at first. And as I began to find some minor success, most people were confused about who I was. They thought I was a European model for some reason. I received many DMs and emails asking for interviews and collaborations.

So I added my bio to my website and to other pages, showing that I was a native Puerto Rican married woman. And this might just be a coincidence, but as soon as I did that, the emails and DMs stopped. My replies went unanswered, many people unfollowed our page, and I was ghosted and removed from some projects.

So yes, the horror community, especially the smaller niche sides, lacks representation of almost every other race that isn’t white American. There’s a lot of toxic gatekeeping and ‘stay-in-your-lane’ attitudes in the pulp fiction, horror hosting, and indie filmmaking circles.

But instead of being discouraged by all that, I’m doubling down on representing my culture. I’m seeking out more Hispanic artists and planning collaborations with them. I’ve yet to find a single video of a horror host doing a show in Spanish. So I’m slowly changing the language of some episodes of Melevill’s Hades Theater to Spanish. I plan to finally create the kind of Horror Host show that should have been on local Boricua TV stations when I was growing up.

Q: You’re a versatile artist who has your hands in acting, fiction writing, illustration, and music. Some of your projects include Neo-Pulps! Publishing and Melevill’s Hades Theater. What further insight can you share about your creative process and the ventures you choose to pursue?

A: The great thing about being an independent artist is that I can let my mood drive my pursuits. If I feel like writing one day, I sit down and do it; other times, I feel like dancing, directing videos, or just practicing martial arts. Unless I’m rehearsing or working on something specific, I just let the muses guide me. The only downside to that is that I have a ton of unfinished projects, which I swear I’m going to go back to one of these days.

Q: Since we’re entering a new year, I’m curious to know what was your favorite horror film of 2025? Are there any scary movies releasing in 2026 that you’re excited about?

A: I barely watch new films. There are just so many classics to discover that even if I wanted to watch more newer horror movies, I just wouldn’t have the time. I recently discovered the world of Brazilian Horror cinema. So that’s been taking up a lot of my time. But I did watch Ari Aster’s Eddington, and I found it very eerie. Most purists say that’s not a horror film. But it was to me. It left me thinking about many things. And that’s something I’m always looking for in fiction.

I enjoy mental junk food as much as anyone, and parodies and satire in general are what drive most of my art. But at the end of the day, I want fiction that challenges my mind. That makes me stop and brood for a while.

As for 2026, I hear that the Melevill’s Tales From Hades film is possibly coming out next Halloween. And I’m excited about that. But who knows, you can’t ever trust a demon. 

Q: Before we part, would you like to drop any teasers regarding future projects? 

A: We have many surprises in store for Melevill’s Hades Theater season 2, and I’ll be officially publishing the 1st part of my Melindra and the Damned series sometime next year, and also Neo-Pulps! Issue 3.  We love chatting with other horror fans in the comments or during live streams of new videos. So, if anyone out there is feeling lonely and can’t find someone to chat about that obscure ’60s monster movie, just drop by our YouTube channel. The most enjoyable part of all this has always been making new friends and connecting with other horror fans and fellow dark arts lovers that we would never have met on the streets of Guayama, Puerto Rico.

Where to Stalk

Neo-Pulps! official website

Neo-Pulps! Instagram

Neo-Pulps! YouTube