Horror Is Not A Joke, Right?

It's time to step up the game. Horror is not a joke, to me at least. 
From from time to time a situation comes up where I am asked what I do. The reaction is what I'm afraid of. 

There's the day job, yeah, but I don't consider that my career--my dream, I put that lower on the list. 

I drudge through the day job to give me time to write, to create, but writing is what I do. Creating. 

Of course when this is brought up, the inevitable question rears it's head. 

"So what do you write?" 

"Uh, horror." 

"Say that again-" 

"Horror, like scary stories--sort of like Stephen King, you know?" 

Who doesn't know him... 

So it can go in two directions at this point. Either they like "scary stories," or fake a smile and nod and try to find something nice to say. 

"Oh, yeah! I love Stephen King." 

Of course they do. 

Not impressed huh, thought I was an academic writer, literary perhaps? 

Well, let me tell you, horror can be all that and more. But it gets a bad rap sometimes because of how it's presented.  

Every genre has an aspect, or element of horror within. Horror, true horror, can be anything. 

It can be cheesy, too, but that's where things fall apart and why the frowns are given when someone asks what I write. 

(Side thought: I guess there can be an argument that every genre has its lower end, now that I think about it.)

You see, I've noticed a lot of horror fiction can be related to B-Rated movies. And there's nothing wrong with b-rated horror. 

It actually has it's role in the horror community. 

But the more serious horror, mainstream horror, gets labelled as sellout. Or gets labeled as cheap because of the b-rated stuff. 

Does that make sense? To someone it does.  

I like to be scared. It's what attracts people to the genre. 

Human nature. 

Then there's the gross horror. B-Rated does well here. 

There are movies that play all October long that cater to this type of horror. Limbs ripped from bodies, knives through sections of the chest and head. Little laughing dolls and such. (I personally think Chucky started out serious, but it moved into a more playful territory--for better or for worse.) 

And there is nothing wrong with this. I enjoy it all. 

It's fun. 

You get grossed out with some friends, or by yourself on a Friday evening, or whenever. 

But when I sit down to read a story I tend to lean more towards a serious novel than a B-Rated one. Personal preference. Everyone has this. 

What angers me at times is when I pick up a story that looks like it's going to be serious, but turns out to be a parody, or some hidden message that is blatantly obvious. Political. Or just some garbage that wasn't edited or read by anyone else before putting it out. 

Ugh. 

Like I said before, there are times for these things, (well, not the unedited garbage haha) but, well, I guess you can say it's sort of like click bait. You see it and think it's one thing, but then get something totally different if you choose to click, and click, and click... 

It's one of the reasons we get strange looks. Whether you agree out in the open or not. Just think about what I'm saying. 

Of course there are many factors and roads to this subject, but I'm curious to hear what others think. 

What do you prefer? B-Rated horror, somewhere in between, or the more serious flavor? 

Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter here

Can't wait to see you there. 

WCM 

And check out the latest episode of Horror: with Marchese and Buller below. Click Here link to subscribe if you like what you see. 





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