The Draw of Horror

To be honest with you, I don't know why I'm so drawn to horror. Maybe it started when I stayed up late with my father and brothers as a young boy. If memory serves, which it should, the whole obsession began when Gilbert Gottfried was hosting Saturday Nightmares on the USA channel.

This of course was back in the late 80s or early 90s when we were downstairs, shrouded in darkness as our eyes were glued to that old Zenith. Blood and guts would explode onto the screen and we would shreik as we covered our eyes. From my father's belly, a laugh as we hid under the large comforter that could accommodate all four of us kids.

Why I was ever allowed to watch people's eyeballs yanked from their sockets or improvised decapitations, I'll never know, but one thing is for certain.

I watched it then, and I watch it now. But it doesn't stop there. I'm drawn to so many aspects of the craft that it's hard to pin down one reason why I enjoy it so much.

My mother knows I'm a published author, and is very impressed with that. What she's not impressed with, however, is my content. I like my blood, the chunky gore, and all the violence I can get. But--just why? Why do I like it so much?

The violent killers in the movies--what is it about them that intrigue us so much? Is it their twisted morals? Their lack of compassion? I don't think so. Call me crazy, but I think it's the fact these insane villains feel trapped. They're scared and backed into a corner. I can't speak for every movie, because some of them have been wronged and others are just violent because "they"re demonic/evil,' what have you.

Personally, I like the power aspect. These villains are power hungry. In a book I wrote called "Hold On", we have a character named Jericho Campbell who has graciously allowed our hero Thomas to stay at his apartment. Thomas has been dealing with feelings of regret for spending the last 15 years of his life with a woman who has been giving him more of the same routine. He's bored--tired, if you will, of it.

After two weeks at Jericho's apartment, things begin to sour. Jericho becomes something of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, which only leaves Thomas to ask him what's going on. Jericho starts slamming doors and cupboards, retreating to his triple padlocked bedroom.

Only when Thomas discovers what lies behind the door does the true horror begin.

That said, maybe it's the mystery of the horror that gets our gears turning. We like to find out if the bad guy is who we think it is, or if it's someone else. We want to know why he's doing the things he's doing. Is he mentally ill? Is he possessed? Is it a contract killing?

People like all kinds of horror, and lately the grisly horror has been king. Franchises like Saw and even Hostel have been extremely popular as of late. Is it the blood and gore or the storylines?

Dario Argento and Stephen King bring the suspense, which builds and soon explodes. They both utilize excellent story telling

but have also been known to have supernatural content, which has been successful in the horror genre.

In short, maybe it's all of these things that draw me to all things dark and mysterious. Am I a horror geek? Yes. Am I a horror enthusiast? Absolutely. Will I ever stop writing, eating, living, and breathing horror?

Never.