Black Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Ness Brown

What inspired you to start writing? 

I started writing as a kid. While there was no single catalyst, I was largely inspired by online writers posting their stories to personal blogs (all the way back in the Angelfire era). I was a voracious reader but only gained the courage to try writing after seeing other passionate story-lovers sharing theirs without expectation of money or exposure. I subjected my parents to my first terrible attempts and with their encouragement have spent the last two decades honing my craft and trying to remember to write without expectation.

What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it? 

My parents are big speculative fiction fans and introduced me to horror very early on, particularly fantasy and sci-fi horror. I have always been skittish and easily frightened but quickly discovered that I liked the sensation of being scared by stories (the literary equivalent of terrifying rollercoaster rides). Growing up I realized that experiencing fear in the controlled realm of fiction is incredibly cathartic. Being uncomfortable on purpose can be a great exercise in pushing past one’s comfort zone. I respect horror as a genre that allows us to safely confront and explore some of our deepest fears.

Do you make a conscious effort to include African diaspora characters and themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray? 

It is incredibly important to me to have African diaspora characters in primary roles within my stories. In many genres, Black characters have often been either unserious caricatures or two-dimensional supporting sides. In horror, Black characters have historically been part of a running joke with violent death as the punchline. This perpetuation of the idea that Black characters are secondary and expendable is very tired. I want to portray Black characters as multifaceted, even complicated, and add to the literature showing that we are protagonists too.

What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself? 

Through writing horror, I have come to genuinely appreciate the adage that courage is not the absence of fear but action in the face of it. As an anxious person, I have stolen a bit of courage for myself from characters in horrifying circumstances fighting viciously and relentlessly for their survival (though my circumstances thankfully are much tamer) and used the lessons of the genre to not let fear rule my own narrative. I have also seen that people around the world share similar fears and experience similar catharsis from seeing them unfold on the page. Horror is a great unifier, and telling horror stories is a long-standing, important tradition for countless cultures. I hope to continue writing horror that appeals to a wide, diverse audience.

How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve? 

It is thrilling to see the increasing inclusion of horror from authors of marginalized backgrounds and stories involving mythologies, folklore, themes, and storytelling styles from marginalized cultures. Horror is richer when it is presented from many distinct perspectives and experiences. The genre also offers an opportunity to address the looming horrors facing society today. I personally hope to see a wave of stories in the genre confronting major global concerns—such as climate cataclysm, radicalization, privatization, upheaval, future pandemics, and more—that have the power to initiate conversation and hopefully action.

How do you feel the Black community has been represented thus far in the genre and what hopes do you have for representation in the genre going forward? 

I’m overjoyed by the success of incredible horror authors who are redefining how Black characters show up in the genre. Multidimensional and dynamic Black characters are replacing tokenized ones. Even elements like correct AAVE and dialects in dialogue as well as positive and non-objectifying physical descriptions go a long way toward humanizing characters which have long been used as props. I hope that we can continue to see more horror set within the Black experience. Not only are the fables and folklore of the diaspora, which have survived and adapted to survive centuries of violence and suppression, worthy of being retold and remixed, but the systemic horrors still faced by the community can be processed and highlighted through horror as well.

Who are some of your favorite Black characters in horror? 

Watching Sanaa Lathan’s Lex Woods in Alien vs. Predator (2004) was very formative. Wesley Snipes’ Blade and Aaliyah’s Akasha in Queen of the Damned (2002) remain iconic to me. And I have to give a shoutout to Daniel Kaluuya’s OJ and Keke Palmer’s Em in Nope (2022).

Who are some African diaspora horror authors you recommend to our audience check out? 

Among an entire host of authors that deserve recognition and recommendation: Helen Oyeyemi, Johnny Compton, P. Djèlí Clark, Victor LaValle, and naturally the great Octavia Butler, to name a very, very few.

What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today? 

Read widely! Read stories like the ones you are interested in telling, and stories in subjects, styles, and traditions you are unfamiliar with. Research what fears currently abound and what horrors have already been imagined and experienced. What you have read will enhance what you will write.

And to the Black writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?

Your work is valuable and necessary. Someone is waiting for exactly the story that you will write, and can’t wait to see themself there. You are not expendable. You are a protagonist too.

Ness Brown is a speculative fiction author by day and astrophysicist by night. They are a proud New Mexican living in New York City (and missing green chile) with their husband and two cats, Faust and Mephi. They are currently studying graduate astrophysics after several years of teaching astronomy and encouraging students to wonder about worlds beyond our own. The Scourge Between Stars is their debut.