The Shroud Underground

How did you become a horror fan, and why do you read and write the stories you do?

I wrote in my intro that I was forbidden to read any Stephen King or watch any movies based on his books. (It was understood that horror in general was a no-no.) However, my cousin was into vampires, so we watched a lot of vampire movies when I was in high school.

Later on I did get to read most of King's body of work, which my then-future husband owned. He and his best friend then introduced me to zombies a la George Romero. Meanwhile, they also introduced me to a lot of very evocative music - classic and alternative rock, plus Tom Waits.

Zombies resonate the most with me, I think just because of the social commentary. In general, though, I'm a sucker for a good apocalypse story.

How about you?

Growing up an only child, so to speak, and as a latchkey child, I have had the pleasure of being glued to the television with piles of videos. My mother would literally bring home four or five horror and old kung-fu movies, and yes they were rated R, for me to watch while she was away. This would be a weekly weekend event. And comic books infiltrated my brain as well. And I'm also grateful that my mother was a huge reader of fiction. And that one of my aunts worked at a library, so we always had plenty of books.

Okay so my answer would be Tales from the Crypt comics (reprints of course), old Twilight Zone episodes, Edgar Allan Poe, Steve King, and horror movies of every kind...Romero, Carpenter, Hooper, Cronenberg, etc, etc,...

And if you ain't down tonight...you ain't down with Dolemite! Couldn't resist the Dolemite. Sorry.

Dolemite rocks! He is the Human Tornado of course.

My intro to the premier issue of Shroud pretty much covers this, bit I shall summarize it.

As a Navy brat we moved a lot and books were my refuge. I was particularly fond of fantasy novels set in real world and contemporary locations. This lead me to horror, particularly Lovecraft and Poe, Machen, Dunsany, Derleth. From there it was Koontz, Straub, King, McCammon, Grant, and the list goes on.

What excites me now is that there is a whole new cadre of modern horror authors that have unprecedented levels of accessibility: Brian Keene, Michael Laimo, Tim Waggoner, Tom Piccirilli, and more.

Horror to me represents escapism within a tabooed world--the opportunity to explore themes and situations that had been previously off limits.

I read mostly fantasy as a kid with a healthy helping of SciFi. I didn't dig on the little horror I'd seen, but I grew up in Bemidji, MN, which has more churches than bars, and that's saying something.

When I was in the army, I ran out of books that looked interesting and grabbed a King novel. I had seen the TV movie Salem's Lot when I was pretty young and impressionable and it scared the shit out of me. I couldn't sleep for a week, and the scene that did it was that kid vampire floating at the window. So I was anti King until on a whim I bought the book. It was The Gunslinger, when it first came out.

I was hooked for good. I bought more and spread out. I love the old Maccamon stuff and read everything of his, King, Rice, and Koontz when he came on the scene.

When I started to write seriously, some stories come out horror and some are more dark fiction, some humor and some just suck.

I was always a horror fan. I used to weird out the neighbors who'd visit when I was tiny tiny by watching Nightmare on Elm Street and laughing. Seriously, Freddy is pretty funny. When I was in elementary school my 3rd grade report on a writer was on Stephen King. Had to dress up like him in a red sox cap and all.

I was also the only kid in second grade reading Edgar Allen Poe for fun. Biggest book anyone in that class was reading I tell you that. But I also grew up in a great time for horror themed TV and Cartoons. Tales from the darkside, the ghostbuster's cartoons, Monsters, tales from the crypt, all that stuff was always there, and my mom loved horror stuff too so she would even read horror stories to me at night when I'd ask her to.

And thanks to my love of comic books I was able to read at a much higher level than the other kids around me, and comics also introduced me to other writers I wouldn't have found on my own for years. Lovecraft, Howard, etc.

I came to horror rather late in my reading life. I had always read SF and fantasy and weird stuff, and while I might have come across the occasional issue of Twilight Zone or a story by Edgar Allen Poe, I never really sought out horror. Then I discovered Clive Barker. I was blown away by his early stuff, and he is still one of my favorite writers. He is probably my biggest influence. I try to write the most disturbing, darkest, twisted things using the most beautiful language.

Resurrecting this thread a lil bit.


I think it's always a little pretentious for a newer writer like myself to start waxing about "influences", but...for what it's worth... I think my major influences are Tim Lebbon and a *slew* of non-genre writers. I love the way poets play with words, especially the beat poets and Sylvia Plath.

I love the dark imagery of Plath's "Lady Lazaurus" (a horror poem, if ever there were one).

I love the sound of words -- the sound of the individual word itself and the sound of the word ringing against other words.

I love character-driven stories embedded in a deep texture of description.

Since this was resurrected I'll add my bit...

I have been a horro fan since I was 4 years old and caught a showing of THE MUMMY'S HAND on late night Tv while waiting for my Dad to return home from his shift. He & I and my Mom had a ritual of staying up late weekends to watch the Chiller Theatre type shows that were all the rage in the 70's...(Where the hell are they now when the kids need 'em?!?!?!?)

From there it was issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS, EERIE and CREEPY when we happened upon a bookstore that carried them, GODZILLA movies and KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER...

I started writing horro at the age of 12 and sent one of my first stories to Stephen King...I got a standardized reply card back , but written in blue inkpen on the was a little note that read, "Great idea, needs work, keep at it. SK"

I went onto boxes of unfinished or unhoned stories, abandoned books and scraps of dark poetry, all the while stuffing my gut full of as much horror in print or on screen as I could.

I stopped writing in the early 90's and have only recently begun again.

HOW I BECAME A HORROR FAN:
I saw "Cujo" when I was 10. It's not a horror movie per se, but the name Stephen King on the movie box clued me in to the man behind the story. So, while shopping with my mother, I passed the book aisle in Roses and saw that name on a bunch of books. Stoked that I was suddenly interested in reading, my mother let me get several. In the course of a few months, I had read "The Shining", "Pet Semetary" and "Christine." Pet Semetary scared the shit out of me (I was 11...gimmee a break). By the time I was 14, I had read everything the man ever wrote. I read NOTHING but King for like 3 years. (I read "It" during a summer where I had broken my hand).

After that, I got into Koontz. Well, I tried to. "Whispers" had a pretty big influence on me and then, when I got older, "Strangers" had me hooked on Koontz. ("Strangers" is why I check out most of his new stuff despite the fact he's only released ONE good book in the past 6 or 7 years, imo). Anyway, somehow I ended up stumbling across Lovecraft and Matheson while in this King/Koontz phase.

HOW I KNEW I WANTED TO WRITE.
One book did it for me. "The Great and Secret Show" by Clive Barker. After reading this (before the release of "Everville"), I went back and re-read King's better stuff. And I started really digging into horror. As the next few years rolled on, I digested Straub, MacCammon, Laymon and on and on and on. But then I came across Bentely Little and I was hooked. With King on one end, Little on the other and Barker in between, I knew that I HAD to be a writer.

Wow...didn't mean for that to be so long...

I've never read any Stephen King or Clive Barker. I like Jane Austen. Despite this, I tend to write horror. I have no idea why.

I am heavily inspired by music. Heavy metal and prog rock mostly, but all other genres create lavish, vivid images and emotions in me.
I am also a comic nerd from the young age of 6. I grew up reading Marvel's Xmen, Conan, Fantastic, Four etc, etc.
Zombies and the undead have always been my favorite to read, watch and write. When you combine that with the post apocalypse, ingredient, that's what I call a good time. I am just drawn to whole concept of "what would you do if this happened to you?" scenario. Then you mix in the dead are crawling out of their graves and feeding on flesh.. man oh man, that is golden to me.
My favorite authors are Tolkien, Salvatore, Keene, King, Matheson, just to name a few. I am new to serious horror reading and I am adding more great authors all to time to my bullpen.
-Tom

I would have to say growing up my first real thoughts of being influenced by horror would be watching TV...then later reading Stephen King and Richard Matheson. As for specific shows or movies...the ones that stick out in my mind are: The Night Stalker tv series(the original not the terrible remake), and the TV movies Don't Be Afraid fo the Dark, Gargoyle and Duel.