  Horror/Scary
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Greetings, and welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter.
Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment.
There is no why.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
Edgar Alan Poe
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Greetings,
Horror is not the “H”-Word! Writing Horror opens a dialogue, interactive, between the writer and reader. The story or verse gets under the reader’s skin and elicits a primal reaction – fear. I see it as akin to poetry or music, the writer creating with words an ‘otherworld’ where the atmosphere, the rhythm, the action elicit fear. And just as we each have varied taste in music, be it rock, hip-hop, opera, jazz, or new age, or we may seek inspiration from an epic or sonnet, or prefer rhythmic free verse or the intense brevity of haiku; what incites fear is just as individual.
What incites fear and, thereby horror, varies from person to person. One may shiver at a ghostly visitation, while another cringes at the image of alien invaders, or the mundane terror incited by fellow mortals or other earthly beings.
Despite individual preferences, horror writing embraces the basic "dark" emotions -- fear, aversion, disgust, dread, shock, panic. Horror as a ‘literary genre’ was typecast for a couple of decades by the numerous films that jumped on the popularity of ‘Carrie’ and ‘Leatherface’ with attempts to clone the slash and gore. The ghosts, vampires, creatures of magic realism, horror both supernatural and mundane, however, would not lie still. They rose to incite fear under the aegis of ‘dark fiction.’ Consider the continued popularity of Moby Dick, Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe, Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and continuing with Barbara Michaels, Jonathan Carroll, Ann Rice, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and others. Though publishing marketers may tweak the label, but the atmosphere is there and the stories and verse reach for and pull out that dark emotional response - Horror!
Horror writing remains a versatile creative dialogue between writer and reader – and its once again becoming acceptable to embrace the “H” Word. Consider the following ways horror writers today incite fear and horror in their readers.
 Dark Fiction – coined originally to separate it from the typecasting of the 1970s and ‘80’s, it remains to include contemporary horror, dark fantasy and suspense writing. I therefore include Dark Fantasy ~ verse and prose with supernatural elements other than the known vampires, lycanthropes, gnomes and their ‘kin.’
Cutting Edge - Not the tip of a switchblade (but it could be in your story or verse). Cutting edge I think has come to mean a departure from the accepted or known definition of horrific elements; embracing the surreal, eerie, alternative, pop, or unique treatment of the ‘supernatural.’
Gothic Horror – Here reside the familiar haunted settings in English Gothic: gloomy castles and crypts where persecution and torture inscribe the present with a stranglehold from the past, or find a way to inflict the oppression of the past upon those living in the present. Ruin, decay and persecution are the operative elements to incite fear. American Gothic is similar, but the gloomy atmosphere plays second to psychic breakdown or dissembling. In a gothic horror atmosphere, one is trapped somehow by destiny, heritage, location.
Ghost Stories – I see these as different from the gothic or supernatural, in that the ghost or spirit intervenes directly, interacts with the character, or to thwart the character. I would include haunted house and graveyard stories here.
Supernatural – Here is where we find chilling tales of vampires, demons, were-creatures, sentient creatures outside the human, including ghosts. I see this as distinct from Ghost Stories in that the interaction between the human and ‘other’ is less relevant to the atmosphere than the story of the non-human sentient beings.
Psychological Horror – Both overt and subtle exploration (and perhaps dissemination) of the human mind or psyche. This would include serial killers and rampaging psychotics as well as more subtle insanity. Psychological horror can also invoke an alternate reality via an insane viewpoint.
Lovecraftian – H.P. Lovecraft is considered the father of modern horror and wrote with the premise that the world was once inhabited by another race of dark powers. If you like to write with scenic depth, this form can speak from the imagination its desire for a return to power of the dark forces.
Noir – Dark Horror develops in the urban underworld. Dark, cynical, violent, morally ambiguous characters exist and interact in an atmosphere of anxiety, pessimism, menace, with little chance of redemption. I would include cyber or tech horror here, as manipulated by characters bent on revenge or other nefarious ends, creating an atmosphere of dread or fear.
Quiet Horror – Soft horror uses almost exclusively atmosphere and mood to instill fear, in place of graphic descriptions, and create horror.
Extreme Horror – Graphic depictions of gore and violence that horrify with vivid visceral realism. This is what typecast horror writing a couple decades ago and, unless you have a really new take on it, it’s been done.
Young Adult – Horror stories intended for teen readers create an atmosphere of fear with heroes at or slightly older than the intended readers. These often blend horror with science fiction or fantasy, as well as action-adventure. Check out some of the manga on bookstore shelves.
Now I don't presume that this is an all-inclusive list of the types of horror in literature prosaic and poetic, we’ll likely cover elements of some of the blended atmosphere of fear another time, like erotic horror, comedic, historical, magical realism, biblical (no, not the Bible, although, if you've read any of Revelations...).
I simply wanted to take the “H” word out of writing horror for those of you still squeamish about admitting you enjoy writing and reading it. The best way to overcome fear is to embrace it, right? Well, allow the muse creative to embrace and enhance an atmosphere of fear for your readers; explore with them the breadth of horror in all its versatile guises.
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Check out some recent manifestations of the non-'H' word as envisioned by members of our Community and let them know if they have you on the seat of your pants, or...
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Now, incited to evoke images of terror and mass mayhem or induce macabre psychological trauma of your own? Check out this challenge and incite the muse creative
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Thank you for this brief respite in your virtual home from the terrors within and without ~ and I'll bid knowing that scraping sound across your roof is just an aging tree limb jostled by the wind, and not something seeking entry.
Until we next meet,
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Horror/Scary: April 14, 2010 Issue [#3640]
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