Chase Talks About the Horror Genre: Readers and Protagonists

My original intention for this paper was to get more in depth about the emotions that are associated with the horror genre. However, I found lots of information relating to the readers of horror fiction and how they relate to the characters they are reading about. This angle resonated a lot more with me. When I read, I typically cast myself as one of the characters if not the main character even though some times the author's descriptions don't necessarily describe me. Anyway I thought that was the more interesting approach to the subject.

If readers of horror fiction had an audience watching them, surely someone in that audience would shout, “Oooo, girl, don’t open that book,” much like they would tell a teenage camp counselor to not go skinny dipping alone in the middle of the night. What that sentiment translates into is - why would any sensible reader want to be scared? Essentially, fear is the purpose of the horror genre, which employs various means and devices, and it appeals on “a very deep emotional level.” (Saricks, 2009, Loc 2975) Many of the things that scared people as children find their way into these stories such as monsters in the closets or supernatural forces scratching at the window. The feelings that those type of images bring about stay with the reader even after they set the book down. Horror fiction serves its purpose best when it mixes unexplainable events with unknown creatures that bring threatening peril to the characters and evokes terror in its readers.

The first thing is that you have to separate the readers of horror fiction from horror movie fans. With the written word, the reader is able to participate in creating that world. This makes them already emotionally invested in the story. Once that world is established, they need to connect with the protagonists of the story. There are personal ways that they can connect with the characters such as being a mom caring about her daughter. They can also connect in universal ways. In horror fiction, this could be the fear of death that most people have. The reader must also accept that what's happening to the protagonist is real and is also a threat to them as well. Horror fiction is unique in that it can offer a catharsis for the reader as the characters rise up, face the monster, and come out for the better. In a sense, the reader did as well.

Stephen King explained horror as such: “The work of horror really is a dance— a moving rhythmic search. And what it’s looking for is the place where you, the viewer or the reader, live at your most primitive level.” With that said, it isn't too hard to imagine the reader and the protagonist sharing in that dance.

Chase Talks About Integrated Advisory & the Horror Genre

Typically, the horror genre gets shelved in the mystery/fantasy section, so it’s not always easy to browse the shelves to find a good scary book. October is always a great time to spotlight a library’s horror fiction collection. A fun way to promote this collection, as well as particular books within it, would be to have a promotion called “Capture the Cereal Killer Books.” Essentially, the library would pair up horror novels with popular brands of cereals. Examples:

·      Cap’n Crunch pairs with horror novels that take place at sea such as The Terror by Dan Simmons.

·      Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle, Pop characters translates well into stories about creepy children. A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli involves conjoined triplets who have separate bodies but share a brain along with other oddities.

·      Fred Flintstone is the spokes-caveman for Fruity Pebbles and Coco Pebbles. The horror novel The Descent by Jeff Long explores the horrors of subterranean creatures living deep in caves. Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten brings a paleontologist face to face with a prehistoric creature deep under the sea.

·      Count Chocula/Frankenberry are naturally perfect for this promotion using classic and contemporary monster stories like Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Some themes and cereals may be a stretch, but the main point is to call attention to them. The book selections can either be set up in a specific display with their respective cereal boxes and signage, or they can be left on the shelves with prominent, representing bookmarks sticking out of the top so patrons know the areas to find the horror genre. This would be a month-long promotion and have different type of incentives that would fit various library budgets. For instance, participants could receive small boxes of cereal as they check out one of the titles, or the library could offer up a prize of horror books and movies to patrons who read the most. However, this reading program could tie into a larger program such as breakfast with a local horror writer hosted by the library for participants who read a designated number of “cereal killer” books. An alternate to a horror writer could be breakfast with ghost hunters who talk about their experiences, which have been some of the most successful programs at the library where I once worked.

Chase Talks About "Meddling Kids," a Horror Novel by Edgar Cantero

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Synopsis:

Author Edgar Cantero’s story might be familiar to anyone who has watched a cartoon in the last four decades - A group of “meddling kids” (as the title refers) and their dog spend their summers in a small community solving elaborate crimes committed by someone in a rubber monster mask. What if, though, their final mystery left behind unanswered questions and some real-life monsters?

The “Case of the Sleepy Lake Creature” had been solved during the summer of 1977. The kids of the Blyton Hills Detective Club made the front page of the Blyton Hills, OR newspaper standing in front of the Deboën Mansion with the unmasked criminal. However, the real mystery of the mansion laid masked for thirteen years after leader Peter, brainy Kerri (and her Weimaraner Sean), tomboy Andy, and nerdy Nate split up the club and seemingly moved on with their lives.

Now 1990, Andy decides it’s time to bring the gang back together, tracking down Kerri plus Tim, a direct descendent of her previous dog, Sean, in New York City and breaking Nate out of an insane asylum. It would seem that deceased Peter would be missing except for Nate seeing and speaking to his ghost. The former detective club returns to the town of their summer vacations to confront real life monsters and their own demons one last time in the haunted Deboën Mansion.

Horror Elements in Meddling Kids:

·      The story builds up to the first, ominous meeting of monsters, blob-like creatures with multiple

            arms and sharp teeth.

·      Graphic language may be jarring particularly if the reader is expecting a continuation based on Scooby-Doo.

·      The settings are described in rich detail particularly Blyton Hills and the interior of Deboën Mansion.

·      Supernatural elements of magic and necromancy pervade the story line.

·      The ending is rather vague implying there may be more to come for the characters considering the reveal in the last few pages.

·      Distinctive writing style that uses traditional third person narrative, script-like passages with stage direction, and breaking of the fourth wall.

Read-Alikes:

·      The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero

o   Same author using similar writing style

o   Supernatural presence

o   Rich settings

·      The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore

o   Witty premise with quirky characters

o   Monsters

o   Dark humor

·      Scooby Apocalypse by Jim Lee/Keith Giffen

o   Nostalgia (similar premise)

o   Dark humor

o   Monsters

"'Meddling Kids' is that rarest of things: a brilliant idea wedded to beautiful and perfectly-pitched execution — this juxtaposition of primary-colored cartoon nostalgia with some seriously dark trauma-survivor subtext." - NPR Reviews