The Importance of Getting It Right

“It’s okay, officers. I’ve got this.” Dr. Max Power, psychologist, cocked his shotgun as the police surrounding the dilapidated house parted, deferring to the hostage negotiator. He strolled up to the front door, opened it, and entered the house.

In the living room, he found the serial killer watching the live news coverage of the standoff, with a knife to a woman’s throat. “Back off! I’ll kill her! I swear!”

“Take it easy,” said Dr. Power. “I’m here to help.”

The serial killer pulled at his scraggly hair with his free hand. “It’s the

Horror & Urban Fantasy Literature’s Effect on Health Awareness

In Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance in his portrayal of Batman’s most notorious villain in The Dark Knight, he said, “As you know, madness is like gravity … all it takes is a little push.”

The film, the actor and real life, orchestrated a cacophony that sends a chill up my spine to this very day. When I used to run the ScHoFan Critique Group in the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, I remember a time when I introduced a story with a suicide narrative. It was then that I learned …

Lee Murray: I write horror. I also suffer from anxiety and sporadically from depression. Most of the time, I’ve managed to keep this to myself, but, in recent years, I’ve tried to be more open with friends and family about my mental health. The interesting thing is, in doing that I learned that a lot of my horror colleagues are also pacing to and from at the ramparts checking for danger or engaged in all-out battles with kaiju of epic proportions. Was it time to open a discussion about horror writing and mental health? I consulted my friend, Forever Man…

“Humans, as a rule, don’t like mad people unless they are good at painting, and only then once they are dead.” ~Matt Haig, the Humans.

If it’s true that some of the greatest horror fiction comes from the deepest personal pain, that the torment of the writer weaves itself into fiction, then Horror, the way it shines a light on the darkest parts of humanity, is in a unique position to look at mental health.

Throughout the month of May, the Horror Writers Association will be honoring Mental Health Awareness Month. The HWA is providing a downloadable list of resources …