"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927) - H. P. Lovecraft
Yes, my dears, it is that time again. My favorite holiday, Halloween draws nigh and with it I start thinking about the many fictional scares that I have enjoyed through the years! I love Horror writing with a true passion, however there seems to be a dearth of truly scary stuff out there these days. Many contemporary horror writers seem to equate gross violence with suspense or terror and that approach just doesn't work for me. Violence is scary, but that isn't the kind of scare I'm looking for from suspense or horror writing.
So, if like me, you are seeking a different sort of scare. A scare that creeps up on you and makes you leave a light on at night and double check your doors and windows even though you know that locks won't stop what scares you. If you're looking for a book to provide that kind of scare then you're going to love my week long celebration of Halloween! For the next eight days, I'm going to offer up my favorite scary bits. These titles are perfect for this time of year. When the winds howl outside and the frost is on the pumpkin, what more can you ask for than a warm cozy spot and a terrifying read?
We're going to start off this week of terrifying titles with a classic work of short fiction by the immortal British horror master, M. R. James. James is known as the originator of the antiquarian ghost story. Most of his stories deal with gentle, scholarly protagonists who stumble onto antiquarian objects and manage to call down the wrath of the supernatural on their poor unsuspecting heads. Such is the plot of one of his most famous stories, O' Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad. The link I've provided will take you to a lovely free copy of this simple, yet terrifying, tale. When you read this classic, and hopefully more by James, notice how much restraint he practices. He leaves plenty of room for creative readers to fill in the blanks and we lovers of horror know all of the terrifying possibilities that our own minds can conjure up.
Reticence may be an elderly doctrine to preach, yet from the artistic point of view, I am sure it is a sound one. Reticence conduces to effect, blatancy ruins it, and there is much blatancy in a lot of recent stories.
-M. R. James
Enjoy the story! And don't forget to check back every day this week for a new spooky title to get you ready for All Hallow's Eve next Monday!
PS. Check out one of my fave authors, Neil Gaiman's blog featuring his modest proposal for celebrating halloween by giving away scary books! I love this idea and certainly Neil is an expert in all things spooky!
Oh and be sure and leave me your favorite horror or suspense titles in comments! Share the scares people!
