If it’s scary—nerve endings screaming, heart banging
against your chest, cross your legs to keep from wetting yourself scary—I want
to write about it. I’ve penned stories about ghosts, physical possession, mind control,
demons, black magic, psychic powers, and even fairies. And, most of the fodder
for the dark places in my mind has originated with stories about the area
where I grew up. For instance, a ten minutes’ drive from my home brings me to
Salem, MA. No reason to think anything dark or scary ever happened there!
Then there are the stories. I’ve grown up hearing
all
kinds of stories about haunted happenings in Salem as well as my own home town,
Marblehead. Ideas percolate as I drive through the neighborhoods, where some old
house with multiple gables will pique my sense of horror. I can absolutely
believe that something unsavory existed or still exists inside. Sometimes, the
sight of a creepy house or place will trigger my memory about some old ghost
story. And my imagination is off!
Writers like Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft have
also been a huge influence on my horror and paranormal writing. Again, both men
wrote about the North Shore where I live, so I have no problem believing that
the unbelievable here could be real.
I’m a very visual writer. Before I write about a
setting, I have to be able to picture it in my mind. The houses in my stories
are usually based on actual places or a mixture of places I’ve seen. My choices
are endless. But all that is going to change, soon. My
husband and I are moving
to Florida! Southeast Florida! We’ve driven around the neighborhoods looking at
real estate for sale, and have even found some we love. My dilemma? Have you
ever looked at a villa, condo, or home in Florida and gotten chills?
Goosebumps? A feeling of being watched? Don’t think so. And I’m not a
light-hearted kind of chick. What will happen to my writing?
I went online looking for help. Where were the creepy
places in Florida? Swamps! All kinds of creatures live in swamps. I found some
stories about a Swamp Skunk, like a smelly Big Foot. That didn’t really get my
fingers twitching, although a story with dark humid bogs of muck might work.
Or, graveyards. I can always get a few shivers about graveyards. Okay, but
wait. There was also something about St Augustine and the most haunted hotel. That
sounded promising. Picture an old hotel flanked by trees dripping with moss.
Imagine what might happen there in the dark when souls are helplessly asleep. Oooh!
Redemption?
Maybe all I have to do is travel a bit and find a new
horror channel for my mind. Once I see a few places and connect them with
creepy stories, I might be able to come up with ideas. Of course, I know that
any place can be a conduit for mind-altering terror. That's always a possibility. And, if that doesn’t work,
I guess I
can always go to my heroes Edgar and H.P. I’ll just picture them
sloughing through the sand with a beach chair and umbrella. Wherever they land,
can horror be far away?
If you know of any places in Florida where I might get
inspiration, please let me know. In the meantime, keep writing!
Great post--man, are we going to miss you! I'm looking forward to wonderfully creepy swamp stories! I would read more about setting and writing--interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic, indeed! I'll probably see you more than I do now! Ha ha… …dark, humid bogs of muck? …trees dripping with moss? I'm not worried about you - at all!!!
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