The Art of Horror Writing

Horror Book Covers

2012-02-12T04:34:00.013-08:00

I've said before how confusingly few great covers there are for genre books...but I've been looking around anthologies from older horror editors like Aickman, Danby, Lamb, Haining and Sutton for good art and there is some.... (read story at Eaten by Ducks)

'The Innkeepers' (Review)

2012-02-12T04:34:00.011-08:00

The trick of The Innkeepers is the trick of many of the classics of horror: for most of the movie, nothing at all happens. The movie spends a lot of time just living with Claire and Luke. Claire obviously looks up to Luke, who is painfully obviously into Claire despite her ignorance. (read story at The No-Name Movie Blog )

2012 Bram Stoker Film Festival Welcomes Vampires Back

2012-02-12T04:34:00.009-08:00

The Bram Stoker International Film Festival has begun its annual search for fresh cinematic blood to fill the screens in England October 25-28. Set high upon the cliffs of the iconically gothic town of Whitby, the festival draws hundreds of vampire fans and filmmakers from around the world... (read story at Examiner)

Woman in Black Is Scary & Beautiful: Daniel Radcliffe

2012-02-12T04:34:00.007-08:00

Daniel recently sat down with Nylon mag about really defining the genre of the movie. "Its a character-driven horror film, thats how I would describe it (although I am continually reminded to describe it as a supernatural thriller)" (read story at Just Jared Jr.)

Spanish Thriller Dredges Up Dark Childhood Secret

2012-02-12T04:34:00.005-08:00

Spanish thriller "Dictado," depicting a man spooked by a little girl who revives a dark secret from his childhood, had viewers also on edge at its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. When Daniel's childhood friend commits suicide, he takes the man's seven-year-old daughter into his care. But some of the girl's simplest actions... (read story at Yahoo News)

Melissa McBride on Her Character in 'Walking Dead'

2012-02-12T04:34:00.003-08:00

Despite the grimness, "I don't see Carol as sad," says actress Melissa McBride, who plays the downbeat survivor of a zombie apocalypse in the horror series (returning ... "I don't know where the writers will take her, but ... (read story at Naples Daily News)

'The Walking Dead' Returns to AMC

2012-02-12T04:34:00.001-08:00

Based on a comic book of the same eerie name, "The Walking Dead" continues to follow a small group of survivors in a world overrun with zombies. The thrills-and-chills horror show was an immediate sensation when it premiered, appropriately enough, on Halloween night in 2010. (read story at Cleveland Plain Dealer)

'Innkeepers' Offers Retro Scares (Movie Review)

2012-02-03T04:18:00.003-08:00

The trappings may look familiar, but "The Innkeepers" is a new twist on the good, old-fashioned ghost story: It's the bored-slacker horror movie. (read story at Indiana Gazette)

Director Makes Successful, Terrifying Film After Nine Years

2012-02-03T04:18:00.002-08:00

The evil-little-boy genre is a tried and true offshoot of horror cinema, and films like "The Omen" are classics for a reason. However, "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is a much more plausible and disturbing film. There are no supernatural forces at work here...just a malicious little monster of a boy and the mother caught firmly in his crosshairs. (read story at The Daily Texan)

Book Review: Granta 117: Horror

2012-02-03T04:18:00.001-08:00

A trip to your local video shop will confirm that the term "horror" has become synonymous with blood-splattered, chainsaw-infested movies featuring casts of zombies, vampires, werewolves and psychopathic serial killers. But as displayed in this latest issue of Granta, the platform for new writing, true horror can send shivers down the spine without resorting to any gothic apparatus. (read story at New Zealand Herald)

'Woman in Black': Stylish Take on Old-school Horror

2012-02-03T04:18:00.000-08:00

As opposed to modern horror flicks like the Saw movies, where gruesome violence can almost blunt fears, The Woman in Black is a tasteful, old-school frightener, emphasizing suspense and foreboding over blood and guts. (read story at Delaware Online)

'The Vampire Diaries' Recap: How Much Can One Family Forgive?

2012-02-03T04:17:00.001-08:00

The writers of this show have created the perfect mix of personalities ... "Electricity must be out," Matt says, casually, like this isn't the beginning of every horror movie ever. Did they miss the part where there is a ... (read story at Zap2it.com)

Sundance 2012 Review: Horror Anthology Amuses and Thrills with Real Guts

2012-01-26T23:30:00.012-08:00

The brainchild of producer Brad Miska, horror anthology film V/H/S features five shorts (and one wrap-around story) from a variety of genre directors, writers, and actors handily proves that the found footage genre is far from dead and theres plenty of new material to bleed. (read story at Film School Rejects)

Poppascotchs Top 10 Horror Films of 2011

2012-01-26T23:30:00.011-08:00

Without further ado, here are my top ten horror films of 2011. Enjoy! (read story at HorrorMovies.ca)

David Jenkins Meets the Director Behind Unnerving Horror Thriller ...

2012-01-26T23:30:00.009-08:00

Since its premiere at Sundance last year, writers and critics have settled for the term horror movie when describing 29-year-old American director Sean Durkins extraordinarily raw and mystifying debut feature, Martha Marcy May Marlene. (read story at Time Out London)

Exclusive Interview: Filmmaker Jon Russell Cring

2012-01-26T23:30:00.007-08:00

His latest project, Creeping Crawling, is being planned as an independent horror anthology in the vein of Creepshow. ... The sound, the acting, the writing basically have to reach par before you can actually start to be judged and if it... (read story at The Cinephile New York: Writing on Film)

"Writing Excuses" - Advice from Writers for Writers

2012-01-26T23:30:00.003-08:00

I know I'm not posting often, and I've neglected my writing to focus on becoming a character animator and visual ... Dan Wells is a horror novelist and has written among other things "I am not a serial killer" and "Mr. Monster". (read story at Visualize – WordPress Blog)

Werewolves Invade Smalltown, America in Mark Fuson's New Novel

2012-01-26T23:30:00.001-08:00

Mark Fusons new werewolf horror novel Darwinism (published by iUniverse) takes readers into a typical American town with a population problem: werewolves are moving in and threatening to take over. (read story at YAHOO!)

Did You Know....?

2011-09-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

...That the very first ghost stories ever recorded go back to ancient Greece? That Mary Shelly wrote "Frankenstein" on a bet? That H.P. Lovecraft felt that alien creatures were coming to him through another dimension?

Horror has always been one of the most marketable forms of literature -- certainly my favorite to write. Since it is popular in movies, TV, and video games, horror writing can be done for fun and profit.

Learn how the masters do it, beginning with this educational and entertaining online course: The Art of Writing Horror through KSURF virtual university. It's easy and affordable.

If you're ghoulishly good, your stories will be reviewed with commentary by the instructor (me, Laurie Notch). The best ones will be selected for the IdeaGems Magazine Halloween Issue which gives you a publishing credit.

I will be posting as often as I can on this blog with tantalizing tips, 'ooky' updates, freaky facts, weird writers, and creepy conjurings to put the spell on all you potential horror writers out there. Let's begin with a little brain teaser...

Can You write Zombie Haiku?

A haiku is a syllabic poem that doesn't have to rhyme but most contain a total of 17 syllables. The traditional format is 3 lines, first line with 5 syllables, second line with 7, and third line with 5. Here's an example following traditional format:

Leave me be, zombie! (5)

Far away, I have to flee! (7)

Oh, wait. You bit me! (5)

(written by Laurie Notch)

Often, writers stick to the total of 17 syllables, but arrange them differently line by line:

Zombies,

Crawling, catching, eating
The brains of heroes of the unborn.

(written by Archie Richardson)

Writing Zombie Haiku is a wonderful, relatively painless discipline to get your brain power going and the creative juices flowing. (Brains! Yum!). Feel free to post your Zombie Haiku on the comments page of this blog or on our Feed The Zombie group page on Facebook. The only requirements are that 1) you keep to the haiku style of 17 syllables, and 2) zombies must be mentioned. You can write about any theme from sports to food to dating to politics. Here are a couple more examples to give you the idea and keep you inspired!

Theme: the Workplace

Zombie slackers sit
Heads on desks, so bored to death.
The brain dead abound.
(written by Laurie Notch)

Theme: Fine Dining

Brains are delicious!
Since you have no need for yours,
May I dine on them?
(written by Ralph Dumain)

Go ye therefore and (de)compose!