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Halloween Haunts 2013: Why Do You Write That Stuff? by Thomas Smith

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Why do we do it?

Why do folks like Mike Dellosso, Brian Keene, Elizabeth Massie, Kevin Lucia, me, and any number of other writers look at the dark side of the literature spectrum? Why write horror novels when there are so many other kinds of things to write? Maybe the first line from this Associated Press story will give you a better idea.

“A Louisiana man is accused of decapitating and dismembering his disabled 7-year-old son and leaving the boy’s head near the street so the child’s mother would see it – a killing that brought seasoned police officers to tears, authorities said Monday.”

The story indicated the father was tired of taking care of a son who had cerebral palsy, a heart condition, a feeding tube, and was confined to a wheelchair. Police Chief Scott Silverii said the father’s only explanation for placing the child’s head where his mother would have to see it when she came home was, “just that he wanted her to feel stupid when she saw the head.”

Dear God in heaven, what drives a man to dismember his own son? His own defenseless flesh-and-blood son?

Evil.

Not badness. Not sickness. Evil.

Now I don’t pretend to speak for any of the people I’ve named (or any other writer  for that matter), but I have a feeling they might agree with me when I say even though we write about the struggle between good and evil, we can only examine the battle and the aftermath.

Why?

How do you fathom an act of pure evil? How do you “understand” the dismemberment of an innocent child? The serial killing of dozens of strangers? The kidnapping of and the keeping a child/woman as a sexual slave for 18 years à la Jaycee Lee Dugard. How do you fathom absolutely depraved acts committed against children and adults for the sheer enjoyment of it?

You can’t.

Oh sure, society can excuse it, assigning absolution because they feel someone came from a broken home. Because they were abused. Because they were underprivileged. Because they were not afforded the same breaks as some other people. Because they were “legally” ill (as opposed to those who may have a legitimate mental illness). Then they shake their heads, say “tsk, tsk, that’s so sad,” and go on with their lives as if nothing happened.

The fact is no decent person will ever be able to fully fathom the actual participation in such acts. Sociologist Fred Katz defines evil as “…behavior that deliberately deprives innocent people of their humanity, from small scale assaults on their dignity to outright murder.” But that is just the tip of the iceberg, because evil, if we are honest, is more than just a behavior. It is both stimulus and response. It is a force. It is something to be shunned or embraced. AND it is the act.

James E. Holmes embraced it before he walked into a movie theater on a Friday night, started shooting, and left 12 people dead and 58 people wounded in Aurora, Colorado.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold embraced it before they murdered 12 students, and one teacher, and wounded 24 additional students at Columbine.

Adam Lanza embraced it before he killed 20 children and 6 adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

So why do horror writers write horror? We do it so we won’t mistake evil for badness. So we will know the difference when we see it. And so we can show others. The stories are simply a canvas for a greater truth. A picture of us writ large.

We do it so acts like those above and the ones that will surely follow will revolt us and be more than a horrible news segment soon to be replaced in our memory by Miley Cyrus’ latest ass-shaking shenanigans or the next celebrity break up.

My novel, Something Stirs (yep, I stole the title as a tribute to my mentor and friend, Charlie Grant. Kat said it was OK) was the first haunted house novel for the Christian market (though I write on “both sides of the publishing fence”). And one of the things I heard most often at book signings, via e-mail, and in blog comments was, “I can’t read that. I don’t want that kind of thing in my head.”

Really? Well look at it from my (our?) point of view. I don’t mind haunted houses, vampires, werewolves, mad scientists, reanimated corpses, things created from DNA experiments gone wrong, gods who were old when the earth was new, or any other creatures (human or otherwise)  that haunt the night. I create them. I direct them. I decide their ultimate fate, as do my colleagues with their creations. And I know before I type the first word that ultimately the evil will be destroyed or contained and hope will prevail. It may get ugly, and it might not be readily apparent, but I know who the good guys are. Even when they surprise me.

And I know that those images we create will combine to show a larger picture of the power of hope at work in the lives of folks like you and me. The creatures are just window dressing and metaphors. A vehicle for the message.

My response was always, “You mean you don’t want hope in your head? You don’t want the triumph of good over evil in your head? You don’t want the fact that God loves us in your head? OK.”

That being said, this is what I don’t want in my head.

I don’t want the knowledge that Aurora Colorado will never be the same. I don’t want the knowledge that Columbine will never be the same. I don’t want the knowledge that Newtown will never be the same. Because the stuff we write, even the stuff based in fact, will never go beyond the page. It’s a rollercoaster for cowards. And a metaphor for something greater than all of us.

But evil?

That’s real.

TODAY’S GIVEAWAY: Thomas is offering one free print copy of Something Stirs.

Giveaway Rules: Enter for the prize by posting in the comments section. Winners will be chosen at random and notified by e-mail. You may enter once for each giveaway, and all entrants may be considered for other giveaways if they don’t win on the day they post. If you would like to comment without being entered for the giveaway, include “Not a Giveaway Entry” at the end of your post. You may also enter by e-mailing memoutreach@horror.org and putting HH CONTEST ENTRY in the header.Smith_cover_SomethingStirs

THOMAS SMITH is an award winning writer, reporter, and TV news producer. He writes both secular and religious horror and has been included in various magazines and anthologies including Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, Gothic Ghosts, Whitley Strieber’s ALIENS, Quietly Now: An Anthology in Tribute to Charles L. Grant, Cemetery Dance, Tales to Terrify, and Diminished Media’s upcoming anthology, Monsters!. He is possibly the only writer in captivity to be participating in projects with Stephen King and the Rev. Rick Warren at the same time.

SOMETHING STIRS

Ben Chalmers is a successful novelist. His wife, Rachel, is a fledgling artist with a promising career, and their daughter Stacy is the joy of their life. His novels have made enough money for him to provide a dream home for his family.  But there is a force at work in their lives. A dark, chilling, ruthless force that has become part of the very fabric of their new home.

A malevolent entity becomes trapped in the wood and stone of the house and it will do whatever it takes, to find a way to complete its bloody transference to our world. Local Sheriff, Elizabeth Cantrell, and former pastor-turned-cabinetmaker, Jim Perry are drawn into the family’s life as the entity manipulates the house with devastating results.  And it won’t stop until it gets what it wants. Even if it costs them their faith, their sanity, and their lives.

Web Site: www.thomassmithonline.com

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keb_GEwKJEc

Available at: B&N, Amazon, Books-A-Million, The Book Club Network

“As an author in the same genre, I don’t scare easily but this one had me watching the shadows in my own home. With identifiable characters, great pacing, and chills that build as the story progresses, Something Stirs will be enjoyed by anyone looking for a good read. Consider me impressed. And scared!”
                        – Mike Dellosso, author of Darkness Follows, Frantic, and Rearview

“I didn’t want to stop reading it, yet was scared to turn the page! Exactly the book I was looking for and probably one of my all-time favorites. Something Stirs truly deserves to be on the big screen!”
– Acclaimed director of Paranormal, Matt Mitchell. Cross Shadow Productions

“Thomas is one of those outstanding Southern writers – seemingly soft, languid, maybe even lazy, when actually what he is, is cotton wrapped about a razor. Half the time you don’t even know he’s gotten you until it’s too late.”
                        – Charles L. Grant (from a profile of the author)

 

6 comments on “Halloween Haunts 2013: Why Do You Write That Stuff? by Thomas Smith

  1. Pingback: Halloween Haunts from the Horror Writers Association

  2. When I was a kid, I was terrified each night of the shadows in my bedroom. So for me, it has always been about explaining the things lurking within those shadows, which encompasses much of what you speak of. Good article.

  3. Thomas, thanks for the informative article. I don’t know that we can ever truly understand evil, but only work to recognize and prevent it when possible.

  4. I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said. However, I’d take my reason a couple of steps further. First, I found that I write horror because I can relate to it, having experienced it personally. I have found that writing about the evils of the world (and beyond) as a sort of release. Second, I feel that horror may be the only genre where a writer–if they do it correctly–can evoke nearly every emotion in small area of space without having to include elements from other genres. It’s a massive challenge to accomplish–one that I accept and strive to achieve. Thank you for sharing!

  5. Thank you for this very informative article. I really enjoyed hearing why you write horror, and it makes pefect sense.

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