(Trigger Warning: Articles in this column discuss mental health/illness)
HOLISTIC HORRORS PANEL REPORT: SENSE AND SENSITIVITY & ESSAY: PORTRAYALS OF DEMENTIA IN HORROR By Lee Murray
In this column, I’m pleased to offer a report of the inspirational virtual panel on sensitive treatments of mental illness in horror, a discussion moderated by HWA Wellness co-chair Dave Jeffery and including an expert panel of speakers, which was published in June 2023 at our annual StokerCon convention. Also in this column is a short personal essay incorporating my takeaways from that panel discussion as they relate to three short stories on the subject of dementia and caregiving: Dave Jeffery’s “Once” which is published in its entirety at the end of this column with kind permission of the author; Lisa Morton’s “In the Garden” which appears in Alessandro Manzetti’s The Beauty of Death Vol 1 (Independent Legions); and my own short story “Nightshift” which appears in An Unholy Thirst (Pavanne Press, edited by Cliff Biggers & Charles Rutledge) and also in translation (by Nicola Lombardi) in Weird Book Italy’s 2023 anthology Midnight (edited by Luigi Boccia and Nicola Lombardi).
SENSE AND SENSITIVITY:
MODERN APPROACHES TO MENTAL HEALTH IN HORROR.
Stokercon Virtual Panel Report
Moderated by Dave Jeffery with Ramsey Campbell, L.E. Daniels, Dan Rabarts, and Senah Saferight Lloyd. Panel report by Lee Murray.
In a discussion which was organic, engaging, and also informative, this panel discussed what the term “sensitivity” means in horror literature when addressing character, plot, and themes which involve mental illness, and what some common-sense approaches to writing about this complex subject might look like.
HWA Wellness Committee co-chair, author Dave Jeffery, who has a thirty-year history in mental health advocacy in the UK’s National Health Service, opened the session, reminding attendees that the topic might be triggering for some, and that the discussion would be guided by the tenets of the HWA Mental Health Initiative Charter, which could be found in the StokerCon souvenir handbook and also on the HWA website. Readers of this report can find it here: https://horror.org/mental-health-initiative-charter/
Introducing themselves, the panellists noted their interest in the topic with Ramsey Campbell citing his 1979 novel The Face That Must Die (expanded and re-released in 1982), which he based on childhood observations of his mother’s (undiagnosed) schizophrenia, while L.E Daniels mentioned a university background in psychology which led her to write Serpent’s Wake: A Tale For The Bitten, an HWA Notable Work which seeks to explore the inner child of a traumatised adult. Relatively new to horror, Senah Saferight Lloyd joined the panel both as a writer of short fiction and a licenced mental health counsellor, while Dan Rabarts, the author of short story “Riptide”, an Australian Shadows Award winner and HWA Notable Work, said his contribution to the panel was as a novelist and short fiction writer with real-world experience in mental health/illness both personally and in the workplace.
The first question posed by Jeffery focused on defining sensitivity in the context of mental health and horror. Panellists offered a number of definitions. Terms like authenticity, respect, and understanding were used. Campbell noted that, in his view, sensitivity comes from authentic portrayals revealed through the inner thoughts and perspectives of the character, including how they process aspects of their mental illness. Saferight Lloyd made the point that people with serious mental illness are more likely to be harmed themselves than to do something violent to others. She said sensitivity involves understanding the experience of the mentally ill. Daniels concurred, suggesting that sensitivity is not shallow, but informed. Rabarts proposed that mental health/illness falls on a spectrum, and since our start point on that spectrum may be different, we need to be aware that we may not face the same things. Everyone agreed that characters with mental illness should not simply be objectified as the monster. Jeffery concluded the question discussion with the assertion that we should acknowledge the person, rather than define people by their illness.
When asked where the issues are in relation to the portrayal of mental health and illness in the horror genre, the panellists offered a number of barriers, including stigma, stereotyping, and inaccurate public perception due to misinformation about mental illness perpetuated in the media and online. Rabarts warned that there is a difference between exploration and exploitation, and without sensitivity it is too easy for writers to step into exploitation. Daniels suggested that it is important to retain the historical context of a story and that we should not shy away from showing things as they were, including using the language of the day, but she also pointed out that, when written with sensitivity, horror can inspire optimism. Saferight Lloyd, speaking again from her professional experience, said that inaccurate misinformed public perception can impact people with lived experience of a mental illness, and called for realistic portrayals which consider the person as a whole. Campbell agreed, saying, “the worst way to treat anything in fiction is to base it on other fiction.” Jeffery recommended seeking out evidence-based information from peer-reviewed journals where you have some assurance that there is validity to the lived experience. He also agreed that horror writers need to move away from the damaging association of mental illness and violence.
When asked how genre writers can address these issues when developing characters, plot, and associated themes, the panellists suggested avoiding labels and leaning heavily on techniques such as imagery and metaphor. Both Rabarts’ “Riptide” and Daniels’ Serpent’s Wake were cited as examples of sensitive texts which draw heavily on metaphor. Other suggestions for avoiding the pitfalls included use of symbol, motif, and allegory. Daniels suggested looking for common ground, using poetry to address the contours of symptoms, and creating unexpected characters who defy their limitations. Campbell recommended scrutinising the psychological/supernatural experience of the character and finding their internal language. He said a helpful example text is 1960 title I Hear Voices by Paul Ableman, a first-person narrative which gets into the head of a character who suffers schizophrenia, a book which was considered unpublishable in its day, solely because its central character has a mental illness. He later gave the examples of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Black Cat”, where Poe gives insight into mental illness by getting into the head of his character, and a 1930s book called Crook Frightfulness by A. Victim (a pseudonym), an autobiographical account about paranoia and the delusion that someone was being stalked. Lloyd said that there are a lot of good resources online where writers can read about the lived experience of people with mental illness in order to create accurate and responsible portrayals.
Jeffery then surprised the panellists with a question about the public perception of mental illness through history, and how that might have changed, to which Campbell said that traditionally people with mental illness were shut away. He gave the example of Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and the woman in the attic (the character of Bertha Mason). Campbell noted a tendency even in his childhood for people to use euphemisms and avoid people with mental illness – as if it might be catching. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” (also a first-person narrative), was raised as another example of effective use of internal thought and metaphor to reveal a person’s mental state. Rabarts posed a question about psychopathy, noting the shared traits of focus and drive exhibited by ancient kings and emperors waging wars to expand borders, modern CEOs exploiting workers to create profit, as well as leaders vying for political power and personal gain. Saferight Lloyd said that certain terms are thrown around casually in general discourse – terms like OCD, narcissistic, and psychopath – but they don’t have the same meaning in a professional context. All the panellists agreed that writers have a responsibility not to contribute to harmful stereotypes and tropes.
When faced with the barriers and complexities of the topic, what motivates the panellists to keep writing about mental health/illness? Campbell said as an observer of mental illness in his early life, the topic gives him scope to explore, through supernatural and other means, and he has yet to mine all the ideas available. Saferight Lloyd claimed that she was using the adage “write what you know”, drawing on her personal and professional experience to create stories. Daniels said good writing is about transformation both in the writer and the reader, and responses to her work, from readers who identified with her stories and her characters, have inspired her. Rabarts claimed that those us who have an ability to express ourselves have a responsibility to speak for those who cannot. He says it is possible that, as writers, we can shape something that someone else might need, and show them that the (metaphorical) bear, or the demons, can indeed be beaten.
Overall, it was an entertaining and lively panel discussion, expertly curated by Jeffery, offering vital insight into this important topic. The session closed with a reminder about the HWA Mental Health Initiative activities and resources, including Notable Works which launched in March 2023, an ongoing programme to develop a list of member reviews of exemplar texts which handle mental health/illness with understanding, compassion, and sensitivity.
Titles mentioned in the course of the discussion:
- Face that Must Die by Ramsey Campbell
- Serpent’s Wake: A Tale for the Bitten by L.E. Daniels
- “Riptide” by Dan Rabarts, in Suspended in Dusk II, edited by Simon Dewar
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe
- “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- I Hear Voices by Paul Ableman
- Crook Frightfulness by A. Victim
Lee Murray is a multi-award-winning author-editor, essayist, poet, and screenwriter from Aotearoa-New Zealand. A USA Today Bestselling author, Shirley Jackson- and four-time Bram Stoker Awards® winner, she is an NZSA Honorary Literary Fellow, a Grimshaw Sargeson Fellow, and winner of the NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize. leemurray.info
Dave Jeffery is the author of 18 novels, two collections, and numerous short stories. His Necropolis Rising series and yeti adventure Frostbite have both featured on the Amazon #1 bestseller list. His YA work features critically acclaimed Beatrice Beecham supernatural mystery series. His screenwriting credits include award winning short films Ascension and Derelict. Before retiring to write full-time, Jeffery worked in the NHS for 35 years specialising in the field of mental health nursing and risk management. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Studies and a Master of Science Degree in Health Studies. His novel Finding Jericho is an amalgamation of his experiences of working with service users who have experienced stigma and social exclusion due to their mental illness. As a novel, Finding Jericho (Demain Publishing) has featured on both the BBC Health and Independent Schools Entrance Examination Board’s ‘Recommended Reading’ lists