Editor's Note: As
part of our monthly serving of content, Matthew
Warner will cook up columns on craft, marketing, and
other such things related to writing. Matt is the author
of the critically acclaimed first novel The Organ Donor
and a forthcoming story in Cemetery
Dance magazine--neither of which have given readers
indigestion, as far as he knows.
I'll
Have One Large Blood Shake and a Side-Order of Stereotypes,
Please
Ever since my induction into horror publishing, marked by
a secret blood sabbath and ceremonial branding at the Horror
Writers Association headquarters, I've heard a lot of
bitching about the public's perception of Horror (note the
capital H) as the bastard stepchild of literature. They
say that most civilians, fed a constant diet of Chucky,
Freddy, and other cinema splattershtick, perceive horror
as (in the words of Wikipedia.com),
"base entertainment devoid of literary merit"--or
at worst, Satanic. And you know what I say to all those
whiners in our industry?
This article is no longer available online.
Read it in Matthew Warner's new collection
Horror Isn't a 4-Letter Word:
Essays on Writing & Appreciating the Genre
