Capturing Ghosts On The Page: Writing Horror & Dark Fiction

Capturing Ghosts On The Page: Writing Horror & Dark Fiction
Author: Kaaron Warren
Publisher: Brain Jar Press
Total Pages: 57
Release: 2021-06-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 192247911X

“Don’t write merely to shock. People are used to shock-horror. You need to get beneath the skin. Use a flensing knife and keep it sharp. It’s good to shock, but only as part of the story you tell.” In this chapbook, Kaaron Warren—the Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer behind Slights, The Greif Hole, and Into Bones Like Oil—explores the craft and philosophy of trapping dark and disturbing fiction on the page. Drawn from essays, workshops, and articles about the craft and business of writing, Capturing Ghosts On The Page feature’s Warren’s tips on writing ghost stories, overcoming professional jealousy, working to an anthology brief, tapping your dreams for inspiration, and more. Whether you want an insight into the creative process that drives Warren’s dark and enchanting fiction, or you are an aspiring writer seeking tips from one of the most talented authors of horror fiction writing today, this chapbook is a peek into the mindset and practice of a celebrated Australian author.

The Art of Fear

The Art of Fear
Author: James Colton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 89
Release: 2020-01-14
Genre:
ISBN: 9781656836045

Do you want to give your readers goose bumps? Do you want to inspire nightmares? Author James Colton shares everything he's learned from a decade of writing ghost stories, including: The Principles of Terror Discover the basic qualities that make something scary Learn how to apply the unknown, uncanniness, subtlety, and more to your writing The Ghost Story Process Crack the secrets of idea generation to craft a story that is both original and terrifying Understand the structure of a ghost story for maximum fright impact Creepy Case Studies Study examples from novels, short stories, and films Dive deep into one of my own ghost stories to see how it all works in practice Practical Exercises Stretch your creativity and train your spooky skills with specially crafted writing assignments Put together everything you've learned to write your own scary ghost story

Ghost Eaters

Ghost Eaters
Author: Clay McLeod Chapman
Publisher: Quirk Books
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2022-09-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1683692187

“A Gothic-punk graveyard tale about what haunts history and what haunts the human soul. An addicting read that draws you into its descent from the first page.”—Chuck Wendig, New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Accidents One of Vulture's Best Horror Novels of 2022, this terrifying supernatural page-turner will make you think twice about opening doors to the unknown. Erin hasn’t been able to set a single boundary with her charismatic but reckless college ex-boyfriend, Silas. When he asks her to bail him out of rehab—again—she knows she needs to cut him off. But days after he gets out, Silas turns up dead of an overdose in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, and Erin’s world falls apart. Then a friend tells her about Ghost, a new drug that allows users to see the dead. Wanna get haunted? he asks. Grieving and desperate for closure with Silas, Erin agrees to a pill-popping “séance.” But the drug has unfathomable side effects—and once you take it, you can never go back.

Widow's Point

Widow's Point
Author: Richard T. Chizmar
Publisher:
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2018-02-28
Genre: Ghost stories
ISBN: 9781587676475

Longtime residents of Harper's Cove believe that something is wrong with the Widow's Point Lighthouse. Some say it's cursed. Others claim it's haunted. Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse's construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. That tragic accident was never explained, and it was just the beginning of the terror. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds. The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until tonight. Thomas Livingston is the acclaimed author of thirteen books about the supernatural and this evening he will enter the Widow's Point Lighthouse, searching for material for his next bestseller. He will be locked inside for the weekend with no way of contacting the outside world. And although no human has stepped foot inside the structure in nearly three decades, Livingston will not be alone.

In Search of the Paranormal

In Search of the Paranormal
Author: Richard Estep
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2015-09-08
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0738747009

From exploring the Tower of London to investigating a haunted Colorado firehouse, paranormal researcher Richard Estep takes you behind the scenes for an up-close-and-personal encounter with a fascinating legion of hauntings. This collection reveals some of the most chilling, captivating, and weird cases that Richard has investigated over the past twenty years, in England and in the United States. In Search of the Paranormal is filled with rich historical detail, present-day research, and compelling eyewitness accounts. You are there with the team at each haunted location: walking through a desecrated graveyard, shivering in a dark basement, getting thrown into The Clink, watching a "ghost-lit" stage in an old theater. Employing a variety of investigative methods—from high-tech gadgets to old-fashioned practices such as dowsing, table tipping, and Ouija boards—Richard Estep and his team uncover the dark mysteries of the paranormal realm. Praise: "This book is written from the heart. Believe in the paranormal or not, Richard Estep's words ring out with sincerity and integrity."—Patrick Burns, star of Haunting Evidence "Within these pages, you can join Richard on his ghostly adventures, from the UK to the US and experience with him what it's like to be a Paranormal Investigator."—Paul Bradford, star of Ghost Hunters International

On Writing Horror

On Writing Horror
Author: Mort Castle
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2006-11-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1582976937

The masters of horror have united to teach you the secrets of success in the scariest genre of all! In On Writing Horror, Second Edition, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Harlan Ellison, David Morrell, Jack Ketchum, and many others tell you everything you need to know to successfully write and publish horror novels and short stories. Edited by the Horror Writers Association (HWA), a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature, On Writing Horror includes exclusive information and guidance from 58 of the biggest names in horror writing to give you the inspiration you need to start scaring and exciting readers and editors. You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as: • The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack Ketchum • Why horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert Weinberg • Tips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing—predicable clichés—from Ramsey Campbell • How to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort Castle With On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.

Make Room! Make Room!

Make Room! Make Room!
Author: Harry Harrison
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2010-07-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0795311656

A detective hunts down a killer in a dystopian, overpopulated NYC in this classic science fiction novel that inspired the film Soylent Green. Originally published in 1966, Make Room! Make Room! imagines a world at the end of the twentieth century where Earth is so overwhelmed by rampant population growth that it teeters on the edge of self-destruction. In New York City alone, thirty-five million people are squeezed into its packed boroughs, scrambling like rats for the world’s dwindling resources. The only food available is a product called soylent. And while the government tries to maintain order, the rich get richer and the poor stay underfoot. Finding a killer in this broken world is one hell of a job. But that’s exactly what Det. Andy Rusch has been assigned to do. If he can stay alive long enough, he might just solve the biggest case he’s ever been on—unless humanity finally fulfills its promise and destroys itself first.

No Good Deed

No Good Deed
Author: Angela Slatter
Publisher: Brain Jar Press
Total Pages: 33
Release:
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Angela Slatter’s No Good Deed is a dark fantasy tale of magic, ghosts, and marriage set in her World Fantasy Award-winning Sourdough universe. Isobel assumed her wedding would be the grandest day of her life, but when she wakes in a ghost-filled tomb still wearing her bridal veil, it’s clear events have taken an unexpected turn. With the assistance of a vengeful spirit Isobel escapes her imprisonment, but her new husband Adolphus will not be pleased to discover his wife is alive. As Isobel comes to understand her husband’s darkest secret, the newlyweds begin a deadly dance that only one will survive. This chapbook presents a stand-alone Sourdough story that does not appear in any of the three mosaic collections devoted to Slatter’s world of myth and magic, plus a chronology for all the publications that have appeared thus far.

The Best Horror of the Year

The Best Horror of the Year
Author: Ellen Datlow
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2022-12-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 159780665X

From Ellen Datlow (“the venerable queen of horror anthologies” (New York Times) comes a new entry in the series that has brought you stories from Stephen King and Neil Gaiman comes thrilling stories, the best horror stories available. For more than four decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror readers crave. Now, with the thirteenth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. Encompassed in the pages of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as: Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Stephen Graham Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Laird Barron, Mira Grant, and many others. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. But this light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows. It is a catalog of terror, fear, and unpleasantness as articulated by today’s most challenging and exciting writers.

Time for Andrew

Time for Andrew
Author: Mary Downing Hahn
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2007
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780618873166

When he goes to spend the summer with his great-aunt in the family's old house, eleven-year-old Drew is drawn eighty years into the past to trade places with his great-great-uncle who is dying of diptheria.