Sometimes, the day job gives you pearls. I was sitting in a seminar on Childhood Anxiety when I realized I was looking at something important for me as a writer. Here was the dais upon which all the boogeymen and terror tales were based. Here was the essence of Lovecraft laid out in clinical terms….
Everyone has anxiety in life. Call it stress, if you like. Horror fiction, oddly enough, creates stress for its readers but in a safe dosage that is enjoyable (and ironically, again, can lower your stress level in a cathartic way). I know, personally, I never seek out horror fiction when I’m overstressed. I usually reach for a good mystery novel, then. But, as summer holidays lull me into a quiet calm, when days are long and the problems of life seem far away, I delve into a good horror tale. We all need some stress in our lives, or we would simply die of boredom. Anxiety in manageable chunks – an exciting film, a roller coaster ride, a hard-fought sporting event – is desirable. These are called entertainment. As is the horror tale.
Read the rest:
