Things that Scream in the Dark

It’s Halloween week. Do you read horror? Have you written any? Why or why are you not a fan?

Spooky Spice ...er... Brenda here.

I have always loved Halloween and all that goes with it. Jack 'o lanterns, trick or treating, ghosts and goblins. But don't ask me to watch a horror movie or read a horror book. These are not some of my favourite things.

I write about murder and yet, I do not read true crime or watch shows like Criminal Minds. It's not the actual murder that interests me, more the puzzle and the people involved in a crisis. The psychology. What drives a person to kill somebody else, and how do they live with what they've done? What is the impact on those left behind? How do the detectives figure out whodunit? 

Amp these plot lines up a few notches to the horror level. Chain saws. Clowns. Screaming. Deranged people. Running and more running. Hiding. Blood. Lots of blood. The times I've sat through a horror movie have led to a sleepless night with bizarre dreams, some might say nightmares. I can picture the scenes in my head long after they've ended. Reading produces the same reaction. There's enough horrible stuff going on in the world that I don't need to let more into my brain.

I've had this kind of imagination since I can remember. When I was seven or so, I used to hide behind the floor-length curtains in the living room if I came home from school and my mother was out and siblings hadn't made it home yet. (Back in the days when helicopter parents weren't a thing.) And don't ask me to go tromping around in the woods after dark -- not going to happen. One of my childhood friends told me that wolves circled our houses at night, howling and trying to get inside, enough to give me a reoccurring nightmare (that I appear to have outgrown). Still, you won't find me hiking through the forest after the sun sets.

Okay, deep breath.

My fellow bloggers will likely recommend books in the horror category, and I tip my hat to them. I won't be since I don't read much if at all in the genre. The Halloween shenanigans give me an annual dose of spooky, and that's more than enough scary for me.

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