Why do you write about the monsters who live inside of us?
“We stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside us”
~ The Joker
Why do I write about the monsters who live inside of us?
That’s a very interesting question, I have to say. When I first started writing horror, I was transfixed with werewolves, zombies, monsters, vampires and the usual assortment of mythical/supernatural creatures and beings…
That’s what I thought horror was all about, back then. I’d grown up on 80s-style horror films, which mostly depicted the aforementioned baddies or waking nightmares. I’m sure I’m not the only horror author who started their writing career by penning stories with such qualities.
After all, zombies and the alike are awesome!
And I’m not saying I won’t write about such vile things in future works.
Horror is such a versatile genre, don’t you think? You can pretty much take any subject, and twist it into a nightmare scenario. For me, that the genre’s biggest appeal – that resourcefulness.
As I grew up, so did my thoughts towards my writing. Just like The Joker points out in his quote, when I realised there wasn’t any monsters living under my bed, I turned to thinking about people in general, and how our minds turn.
By this point, I was heavily reading anything I could get my hands on by Richard Laymon. He designed a ton of ordinary characters, who did out of the ordinary things, to good people. His style of writing instantly clicked with me, as his use of graphic violence and sex were the types things I was used to viewing in horror movies; his work, for me, had that 80s quality horror about it, which was mixed with his own, excellent ideas.
After I created Harry and Crystal, the main characters from White Walls and Straitjackets, I started to look at occupations. I thought it would be pretty cool to have a nutter in an ordinary job, which, in turn, created this whole ‘Writing about the monsters who live inside of us’.
Without giving too much away, Crystal and Harry seem like an ordinary pair of performers, until it is discovered they have recently gone on a killing spree. Why? Because they are disgruntled – pissed off at the fact their show has been torn to shreds by a pack of hungry critics.
The idea for their story came from watching a talent show one evening – the idea is also loosely based on my own life, as I’ve had a numerous amount of hurtful comments said about my work; unlike Crystal and Harry however, I, like all creative types, have learned to harness the anger and feeling of deflation.
It’s only human that I would feel aggrieved from being torn down, right? After all, my works are my babies.
With the idea of aggrieved people doing bad things to good people, I looked for other work-related scenarios that I could use. I have to say, Psycho and Norman Bates have also been a big influence on my ‘work-related’ stories, as this is a loner who runs a motel in the middle-of-nowhere.
I find Bates fascinating – the character is disturbing in a multitude of ways. Not only does he kill woman at the dead of night with a butcher knife, but also has a split personality, dress as his mother, and lives like a hermit.
This is something I try to do with my ‘Monsters’ – I like to give them a catalogue of interesting malfunctions. Most of my work-related tales can be found in my collections Choice Cuts and White Walls and Straitjackets.
My thoughts have slightly veered away from writing about the monsters inside us, as I look at creating new and discussing horrors. But, having said that, I still continue to write about people, and the awful things we tend to do to each other…
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About David
David Owain Hughes is a horror freak! He grew up on ninja, pirate and horror movies from the age of five, which helped rapidly install in him a vivid imagination. When he grows up, he wishes to be a serial killer with a part-time job in women’s lingerie…He’s had several short stories published in various online magazines and anthologies, along with articles, reviews and interviews. He’s written for This Is Horror, Blood Magazine and Horror Geeks Magazine. He’s the author of the popular novel “Walled In” (2014), along with his short story collections “White Walls and Straitjackets” (2015) and "Choice Cuts" (2015). After discovering Richard Laymon, David set out on a path to become the best writer he could, holding a BA and MA in creative writing.
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2 Book Lovers Reviews
2 Book Lovers Reviews