8 Writers on What They Fear
Oct 13, 2016 • Joseph Nacino
8 Writers on What They Fear
By Joseph F. Nacino
Ever wonder what scares horror writers (or writers who write horror stories)? Here are eight of them who’re willing to ‘fess up.
As the days become shorter and the nights become cooler this October, we thought of amping up the scary feels for the coming Halloween.
That’s why we asked a couple of horror writers—and writers who’ve written horror stories—on what scares them.
After all, these people create stories that we not only love but also scare the bejesus out of us. So it should be good to pick their brains to see how they define fear.
8. Yvette Tan
“I grew up scared of the supernatural. It was only recently that I realized that I fear the ‘gulat’ more than the ghost itself. So I guess my biggest fear is getting frightened.”
7. Eliza Victoria
“I think my greatest fear in writing horror is it’ll come across as ridiculous instead of believable and terrifying.”
6. Don Jaucian
“Fear is a very subjective thing but the kind of fear that I gravitate to is always about the unknown — be it in the vastness of space or a dark corner in a room. The unknown always leaves a feeling of immense danger, at least for me, which is why the supernatural has always been an effective genre for me in maximizing horror tropes. Although ghouls, haunted houses, and demons have been used many times by many writers and filmmakers, you always have that creeping sense of dread when you see an empty space that something bad is going to happen. It’s better to be unsettled than to be scared, because that means you’re questioning your reality, which is what good horror fiction should do.”
5. Oscar Bryan Alvarez
“Dark forests where little light passes through. Abandoned skyscrapers. Basta anywhere you could be killed and nobody will notice days, months or years after. Also inside the car with a killer/monster/being and people just pass by. Feeling of helplessness. Ganun.”
