Category: horror of the mind
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The Thrill of Horror
Horror — an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. The definition itself terrifies most people, while in others it invokes a deep fascination and pure ecstasy. Why are some people drawn to the horror genre? Are there peculiarities in the personalities of these people? Is it just the adrenaline released in our bodies by…
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The Hungur Chronicles
Last week, I received my contributor copy of the Samhain 2023 issue of The Hungur Chronicles, which proved to be a nice, early Holiday present. This semi-annual, digest-sized magazine edited by Terrie Leigh Relf and Robert Bellam features stories and poems about vampires, with a special emphasis on vampires who have a connection to space.…
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The Art of Writing Scary Characters
Being a horror author, I often hear questions about how I can write such scary stories and where that inspiration comes from. The most interesting thing is readers often don’t realize that it isn’t just the story that gets them scared but the evil characters. For me, both as an author and even more as…
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Gore Revisited
Or, The Pale Blue Dot and Existential Dread Last month I posted why I don’t write gore. You can read it here. Four excellent comments were posted and I decided that rather than reply to each one individually, I’d reply to the thoughts that were expressed in a follow-up post. So here we go! It’s…
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Terror of the Gut
Bantam paperback foldout cover. Artist unknown. For a long time now I’ve held the view that between HP Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, it was Howard who was the consistently better writer. The operative word being “consistently”. At his very, very best, HPL probably outshines REH — but not by much. And it may be…
Threads that Bind 