Thursday, August 04, 2011

Shark Week and writing Horror



I am terrified by sharks, and yet Shark Week on the Discovery Channel is something I look forward to all year. Just like all the horror books on the shelves out there that we dare each other to read with the lights dimmed, Shark Week is a thrill as well as a scare and one I wouldn't miss.

A good book, with a good scare should leave you feeling the way I do as I see the rows of teeth slicing through murky waters. Chilled, heart racing, wanting to hide under a blanket yet still peeking out with one eye. Horror doesn't have to be all gore and blood and guts, but like all books, you need to feel the emotions. By the time you finish reading a good horror, you should be afraid to turn out the light, have the urge to check under your bed and perhaps find that teddy bear you've tucked away somewhere.

I like the idea of one day writing a story about my greatest fear, of putting all those frightening and morbidly fascinating images into a story and bringing the same chills to another person that I feel as I stare at the screen and wonder about the haunting black eyes that roll back in their head as they bite down on their prey.

*shudders*

Okay, maybe I won't be writing about sharks, perhaps for me they are just too scary.

But what about you? What terrifies you and fascinates you at the same time? Would you ever write about it?

1 comment:

Emilia Quill said...

I've always been facinated by evil, how can anyone do something that's considered 'evil'? It might have something to do with the fact that
I'm kind to a fault.

On the flip side I'm terrified that *something* is going to make do horrible things against my will while I watch powerless.
As a result alot of my stories have a character who is turning into a monster physically or mentally. One story has a monster forcing a young mage to do horrible things, but my favorite scary things are demons.
They come in many shapes and sizes, really the imagination is the limit. They have all kinds of wicked powers, but the scaries is posession. Slipping beneath your skin, pushing you aside to watch while you or what looks like you to the outside world does unspeakable things.

I think I'll go hide under my blaket with Radza the big, soft tiger toy. Teddies just aren't enough sometimes.