Horror writer identity crisis?
by morgan on Jun.01, 2009, under Kim Harrison
Hi Kim. You can’t read horror? Wait a minute! You have vampires, werewolves and demons in your stories. Doesn’t that make you a writer of said “horror” genre? What’s the scoop? Demanding readers want to know!
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June 1st, 2009 on 8:39 pm
I would argue that just having vampires, werewolves, and demons in your story doesn’t make your story a horror. I think it falls under “Urban fantasy”, (Like Simon Green) whereas a good ‘horror’ story needs to have a horrific mood and feel…not just elements of the supernatural.
Another example, from White Wolf’s RPGs: Vampire the Requiem…horror. Mage the Awakening: Fantasy. Werewolf the Forsaken: Urban Fantasy/Horror mix. Of course you can argue these broad categories, but I think they made sense. And each oof these games has elemetns of the others in it. It’s just all about the mood of your world, rather than what what’s in it.
June 1st, 2009 on 10:57 pm
I wonder if it’s the ability to suspend disbelief. Even badly done horror like evil dead scare me. A few years ago I watched “The Ring” (not that it was a badly done horror movie) because I was really intrigued with the story line. I couldn’t sleep all night until I figured out that I was afraid to dream about it. At night I still consciously try not to think about horror story lines.
June 2nd, 2009 on 9:16 am
Erin, I totally agree with you about what defines horror. I’ve got some of that in mine, but it’s not the point of the work, and so I don’t consider my writing under the horror umbrella. –Kim
June 5th, 2009 on 1:33 am
The vampires, werewolves and demons in the hollows are not written as classic horror characters. They are business people, lawyers, insurance adjusters and even the demons have casual Fridays. Normal “people” who just happen to have some supernatural powers. Piscary was the closest character to pure evil, in my opinion, followed closely by the two Banshees. In the Hollows, characters, relationships, mystery and action are center stage.
January 5th, 2010 on 1:56 pm
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