Horrifying Horror Stories
For Halloween
Not for the cozy mystery reader or writer.
Halloween is the time of year for horror stories, but they still don’t appeal to me. There are enough horrifying stories in the real world. I don’t need someone’s imagination running wild with a horror story to give me more nightmares.
You may disagree. Maybe you’re looking for more thrills and excitement than real life gives you. It’s harmless fun if it’s only a book or a movie. And there are some very creative storytellers working hard to deliver the unexpected, terrifying and shocking you for your pleasure.
Do you have a favourite storyteller? Is Stephen King the King, or have you found another? Maybe the original gothic master, Edgar Allan Poe.
I don’t like to read or write horrifying tales. That’s my choice. You may find my Dale Hunter Thriller Series not thrilling enough. My editor has told me that if the scene is horrifying I have to make it horrifying for the reader. And so I did. Not by adding descriptive details of the blood and gore while it’s happening, but by showing how the characters feel and how they relate to each other, victim to predator, during the scene.
I recently read The Third Victim by Lisa Gardner, an award-winning, bestselling novel that I found hard to read even though it is well written with engaging characters and intriguing plot twists. It was just too horrifying for me. I wanted to turn away but the author kept me turning pages in the hope of a satisfactory ending. Gardner does it well. The story is about a school shooting, motivated and manipulated by a serial killer to make the trauma for the families and community even worse and the main characters have their own tragic histories that also get drawn into the plot. Non-stop drama from the opening to the last pages.
Enjoy your reading and writing, even if we’re celebrating Halloween with different choices!
Del
Del Chatterson
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