As I may have already said in my letters, I’m on a crusade to cut down the amount of time I spend in front of computer/laptop/phone screens working. This has had a lovely side effect of pushing me back towards some of my older hobbies, drawing/painting, photography and reading.
I’ve been re-reading some old favourites and today I want to share with you my top five horror stories. Some spoilers are below so make sure you are careful if you don’t want certain stories spoiled for you. I have done my very best to keep spoilers to a minimum though and have put warnings throughout.
So without further delay and in no particular order…
Today I want to talk with you about a well-known horror story, The Amityville Horror. This story has come to us in the form of a book and a series of films, it is the novel I want to talk about today.
The book by Jay Anson was published in September 1977 by Prentice Hall publisher and is loosely based on the experiences of the Lutz family. While being based on a true story is hardly anything new in fiction this particular story has faced lawsuits due to its bending of the truth.
Due to this controversy, I’m adding an extra section to today’s letter, this section will briefly touch on the events that are the basis for the book.
On 13th November 1974, Ronald DeFeo Junior shot and killed six members of his family, at home while they were asleep in their beds. In December 1975 the Lutz family moved into the house where DeFeo murdered his family but fled the building within a month due to claimed paranormal phenomena.
The Lutz’s did not work directly with Anson when he was writing the book, but they did give him hours of tape-recorded recollections which he used to write the book.
Today I want to talk to you about World War Z. This is a novel by Max Brooks, published by Crown Publisher in 2006. It was also made into a film that starred Brad Pitt and was released in 2013.
The book takes place during a zombie apocalypse and is broken down into five chapters. It’s an interesting book to read, not just for its content but for how it is presented, the five-chapter structure is interesting as is how information is relayed to the reader. The book has a narrator but is a collection of individual accounts which take place across the globe. I particularly enjoyed how the accounts don’t just focus on the ‘ahh’ factor of the zombies but other ramifications including social, political, religious, economic, and environmental changes.
The book is a sequel of sorts to Brooks’ other novel the Zombie Survival Guide. The audio version of the story is performed by a cast rather than a single narrator.
The story begins approx. 20 years post the start of the zombie ‘pandemic’ and 10 years post the end, we won. The story follows Max, the book’s narrator ad agent of the USA’s post-war commission as he travels the world interviewing other survivors.
Today I am writing to talk to you about The Ballad of Black Tom, which was written by Victor LaValle and published in 2016.
Being a Lovecraftian fan when I heard about this novella, I was all in there and it is safe to say that I was not disappointed. It is a reworking of Lovecraft’s “The horror of Red Hook.” But it builds on the original story and themes to explore racism, prejudice and isolation.
The novella won a slew of awards including but not limited to the Nebula and Hugo Awards.
The novel follows Charles “Tommy” Tester who lives with his sick father and runs schemes as a street hustler in Harlem in 1924. The first part of the novella is told from Charles perspective and the second is seen through the eyes of Detective Malone.
Today I am writing to talk to you about a story that’s been adapted many times, I know that doesn’t narrow it down all that much lol. But this was recently adapted by Netflix, into the series The Haunting of Bly Manor (fantastic series, go watch it). At least it was partly adapted by Netflix in this series as the series was more an amalgamation of two of Henry James’ stories.
The story I want to talk to you about today is The Turn of the Screw.
This novella was released in Colliers Weekly in a serialised format in 1898, it was later collected in the same year by Macmillian and Heinemann.
Stories can affect us emotionally; most good stories make us feel something. But they can also affect how we see the world, and help us form our opinions on ‘real world’ issues and problems. They can help us relate to people or situations we might not otherwise have ever experienced. As a 30-something year old, white, English woman there are certain things I will never experience myself and absorbing a wide range of stories, told from different viewpoints and by a diverse range of people can help me understand those experiences better. I often find voracious story consumers to have higher levels of empathy.
Stories can also help us get through difficult times via escapism or by giving us the tools to handle our own challenges. As a massive fan of horror, I sometimes get confused looks when I explain to friends and family that I can take real comfort from stories they might find frightening. But any genre can do all of the above.
Stories come in many mediums, that’s why this website looks at books, films, videogames, online mediums etc. Today I want to talk to you about books. In particular my top five books.
There are some spoilers in today’s letter so make sure you are careful if you don’t want certain stories spoiled for you. I have done my very best to keep spoilers to a minimum though and have put warnings throughout.
So, without further delay and in no particular order…
I know I don’t normally do this in our correspondence, but today I wanted to share an article from the Guardian that made me happy.
Horror fiction, says author Stephen Graham Jones, is booming right now. “It’s blooming, it’s blossoming. I mean, night blooms, of course, with a bloody centre. Probably some flies crawling over those petals.”
Jones, a Blackfeet Native American, should know: his terrifying tale about a spirit out for reveng, The Only Good Indians, swept the boards at last year’s horror fiction awards, taking both the Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards for best horror novel. Opening as Ricky is beaten to death by white drinkers at a bar, the novel moves back in time to show how he and his friends slaughtered part of an elk herd on their reservation as teenagers, including one pregnant elk. Now they are dying, brutally, as adults, while asking if their past is catching up with them.
Today I am writing to talk to you about Watcher by Dean Koontz, while this is not typically thought of as a horror novel, rather it is listed as suspense, I feel it works well enough as a horror to look at it here.
The book was published in 1987 and is credited as being on of the books that raised Koontz’s status to that of a best-selling author.
Our main character Travis is a former solider and retired real estate salesman, who has become depressed due to his previous life experiences and now feels that his life is pointless. While on a hike, he encounters a golden retriever which follows him, and they take an instant liking to each other. Travis takes the doggo home and calls him Einstein due to the pooch’s high intelligence levels. The dog does not speak but clearly understands English and can respond in such a way that his intelligence in unmistakable.
We also meet Nora, who is being stalked by a creepy asshole, Arthur. Eventually Travis and Nora meet when Travis rescues Nora from Arthur, with Einstein’s help. Travis, Einstein, and Nora become a family and Travis and Nora keep working to find better ways to communicate with Einstein.
However, through the story it is apparent that Einstein is afraid of something. That something is the outsider. Einstein and the Outsider are both genetically modified creatures, hence Einstein’s intelligence. However, where Einstein only had his intelligence modified the Outsider is an amalgamation of various animals with the soul drive to kill Einstein.
Federal agents are also in pursuit of Einstein, and finally they are also pursued by an assassin who was hired to kill those who know how to kill the Outsider but also wants Einstein to sell.
I don’t want to spoil the ending here, it’s best experienced first-hand. There’s a reason this book is credited with being on of the ones that made Koontz a best seller.
Letters from a Horror Writer 