Next month is October. October makes me think about Halloween. And Halloween makes me think about horror fiction. I am a fan of horror fiction, an aficionado of the macabre, if you will.
If you are a reader of science fiction or fantasy you may well be familiar with the raised eye brows of friends and family who think you should be reading something more “serious.” Horror fiction probably has the worse reputation of all. Not only are you reading something that is not “serious” but you are reading something morbid, gross and downright evil. These critics seem to forget that ghosts and vampires and werewolves and even Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones are pretty tame compared to what you see in the newspaper any day of the year. Still these ghouls and goblins do scare us. Why? I think these creatures act as portals through which we peer to see ourselves, our inner monsters.
In my mind I divide horror fiction in two large categories, the old stuff and the new stuff. The new stuff includes Stephen King, Bently Little, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite. The old stuff includes Edger Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, and Algernon Blackwood. The old stuff was for the most part focused on the form of the short story. And many of the stories have the feel of sitting around a camp fire and telling a disturbing tale until late at night.
The new stuff is focused to a large extent on the novel, the thick bestseller, the page turner. Stephen King is associated with this form of storytelling. If you are a fan or not of his writing it is hard to deny that Mr. King has had an impressive career, and his name has been associated in the popular culture with the horror genre more than anybody else except , perhaps, for Poe. Not only are his books popular, but his stories have appeared as television shows and as films. One of his most ambitious works was the seven volume Dark Tower series. These books were about an epic adventure. While the horrific element was evident, the books also had significant fantasy and science fiction leanings.
What I call the old stuff (Poe, Lovecraft, Blackwood) resonates the most with me. While the plots of many of these old tales may be simple if not predicable the language is rich and creates powerful moods and atmospheres. Unlike racing through a thriller or mystery to see how the plot unfolds, these old horror stories encourage us to slow down and enjoy ornate sentences that seem to come from a strange if not distant world.
So this October visit a local library and try a book of horror stories, old or new. Forget the world and sink into a story that is fitting for the season.
If you are a reader of science fiction or fantasy you may well be familiar with the raised eye brows of friends and family who think you should be reading something more “serious.” Horror fiction probably has the worse reputation of all. Not only are you reading something that is not “serious” but you are reading something morbid, gross and downright evil. These critics seem to forget that ghosts and vampires and werewolves and even Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones are pretty tame compared to what you see in the newspaper any day of the year. Still these ghouls and goblins do scare us. Why? I think these creatures act as portals through which we peer to see ourselves, our inner monsters.
In my mind I divide horror fiction in two large categories, the old stuff and the new stuff. The new stuff includes Stephen King, Bently Little, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite. The old stuff includes Edger Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, and Algernon Blackwood. The old stuff was for the most part focused on the form of the short story. And many of the stories have the feel of sitting around a camp fire and telling a disturbing tale until late at night.
The new stuff is focused to a large extent on the novel, the thick bestseller, the page turner. Stephen King is associated with this form of storytelling. If you are a fan or not of his writing it is hard to deny that Mr. King has had an impressive career, and his name has been associated in the popular culture with the horror genre more than anybody else except , perhaps, for Poe. Not only are his books popular, but his stories have appeared as television shows and as films. One of his most ambitious works was the seven volume Dark Tower series. These books were about an epic adventure. While the horrific element was evident, the books also had significant fantasy and science fiction leanings.
What I call the old stuff (Poe, Lovecraft, Blackwood) resonates the most with me. While the plots of many of these old tales may be simple if not predicable the language is rich and creates powerful moods and atmospheres. Unlike racing through a thriller or mystery to see how the plot unfolds, these old horror stories encourage us to slow down and enjoy ornate sentences that seem to come from a strange if not distant world.
So this October visit a local library and try a book of horror stories, old or new. Forget the world and sink into a story that is fitting for the season.
posted by Alex Hooks at Tuesday, September 19, 2006
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