You can't spell "slaughter" without "laughter"

Apr 28, 2023 3:36 pm

Mixing Fear and Funny

I've often felt that a specialty of mine is when I can combine truly horrific scenarios with absurd humor. I used this in "She's Taking her Tits to the Grave," a short story I workshopped at Clarion which was later published in The Living Dead anthology (I'm listed as Catherine Cheek in that book. It was early in my career and I hadn't settled on a pen name yet.) To be honest, I haven't read many of the other stories in the book because I find zombies too scary and yucky.

I've been thinking about horror lately as I try to figure out what I want to write next. I don't like the idea of writing something just to scare people, and I'm a little turned off by gratuitous gore, but I love the idea of ordinary people facing horrifying experiences. You truly measure a character's mettle when their companions are eaten by children lost in the woods.

Gingerbread House & Joey's Undead Dog

Two short stories featuring absurd and horrible situations. (I made the gingerbread house pictured on the cover. It has hard-candy window panes.) (Wide)

But the reason why I prefer more psychological thrillers or dark fantasy is that in horror, the protagonists are often powerless. I don't mind my people facing down monsters, but I want them to eventually triumph. And I like them to face things like goose-shaped plane-shifting horrors, not things that scare me in real life, like fascism, human trafficking, and prion diseases. Maybe that's why I can write scary stories it even if I can't always read them. When I write horror, I control the outcome.

This week's question: Is there something so scary that you just can't read about it?

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Stakes and Bones

The Seattle Slayers, an elite cadre of fighters dedicated to protecting the city, is having their Trials for new initiates. My dad was a Slayer--one of the best. I thought his legacy might give me an edge in the Trials, but I was wrong. But joining the Slayers is my best chance to save my mom. (Amazon)

The Amulet

When Katie gets hired as hotel receptionist on the Greek island of Sifnos, one of the guests, heart-stoppingly handsome Aggelos, saves the day whenever she needs help. Katie's unaware that he is a guardian angel. Will Katie get her happily-ever-after? It may take a miracle; but on an island as magical as Sifnos, anything is possible! (Amazon)

Her Perfect Murder

Lexi could have had it all, if it weren’t for that fateful night 10 years ago when she was charged with murder. Now she’s back in her close-knit hometown with a tarnished reputation and a criminal record to match. But, now that attractive private investigator Zac Booth is in town, her plan of moving on is completely derailed. He’s supposedly looking into a disappearance from over ten years ago. Lexi can’t help him. Or can she? (Amazon)

The Viscount's Son

Emma, book conservator and history buff, begins an anonymous online project – to translate an ancient diary on her blog. As the diary entries become darker and more mysterious, Emma meets a handsome stranger, and her personal life takes on uncanny parallels to her secret online translations. Emma wonders if she should end the blog, but is it too late? And if it is, what kind of darkness has she unleashed? (Amazon)