Welcome to Some Cozy Horror

I recently finished reading Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn’s Jones. I was familiar with the 2004 Hayao Miyazaki animated movie, but had never read the book. It was delightfully cozy - probably the coziest fantasy book I’d ever read. The book and the movie match maybe a third of the way through the beginning before both go off into their own adventures. Though, Calcifer does get the last word in about rain in both versions.

Typically, when I think of fantasy stories, I think of grand adventures, good versus evil, and epic battles (even when the stakes aren’t very high). Cozy fantasy was new for me and I loved it. Though, if I really think about it, a lot of Miyazaki films are fairly cozy in nature (like “My Neighbor Totoro” or “Ponyo”). Much the same could be said about Science Fiction, too, with the likes of “Castle in the Sky” or “Nausaicaä of the Valley of the Wind”. 

That got me thinking about other genres that occasionally have the cozy sub-genre attached to it.

 Mystery, is probably the best well-known genre to have a cozy sub-genre. There are a ton of cozy-mysteries out there (usually starring a middle aged female protagonist with a bookshop, a pet, and a cop boyfriend - though that’s not always the case).  My personal favorite was The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun (which starred a retired male newspaper columnist with his two cats 500 miles north of everywhere).

Romance might also have a lot of cozy sub-genre stories. I’m not super familiar with the romance genre, but I’d say that a lot of Jane Austin and the movie “The Princess Bride” are cozy romances. However, I’d probably have to ask an actual romance reader for their opinion on the genre.

Now horror seems like it shouldn’t have anything to do with the cozy sub-genre. Yet, I would argue there are several horror stories, films, and books that could count as being a part of the cozy horror sub-genre.

Gather around the campfire kids.

I’m not the first to ponder the cozy horror sub-genre. I’ve seen conversations on the-app-formerly-known-as-Twitter, posts on Instagram, and YouTube videos all discussing the idea. I identified a few children’s movies (mostly Disney or Disney Channel Original Movies) and books that could fit the bill. Think “Don’t Look Under the Bed”, “Phantom of the Megaplex”, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (the animated short), “Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman” (which has a lot of great callbacks to the original movie and Frankenstein book), “Over the Garden Wall”, R L Stein’s Goosebumps books, and Coraline (the movie and book). These stories may scare kids (and some adults), but they focus more on atmosphere rather than cheap jump scares.

A good balance of cozy mystery and spooky horror that usually spring boards kids into either adult versions of the genres would be Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo typically starts the mystery out with a spooky legend, curse, or ghost story that leads the gang on a merry chase looking for clues that culminates with the reveal that there wasn’t anything supernatural at all going on (minus movies like “Zombie Island” and “The Witch’s Ghost”).

During the Halloween season, “Hocus Pocus” and “Halloweentown” are fairly cozy movies - though, maybe, only “Hocus Pocus” could be considered a horror movie.

But what about the jump from children to adult horror. Sure adults can enjoy Scooby Doo and the animated or TV-movies of their youth, but are there any strictly adult cozy horror movies?

This Batman likes cozy horror.

Well, I think that depends on what we define as cozy. A quick Google search brought me to Kim Berkley’s 2022 blog post where she links readers to a 2021 Nightmare Magazine post by Jose Cruz where he lays out what defines cozy horror (I know that was convoluted, but it’s accurate to my search history). There are four basic components:

1. Familiarity

2. Sensuousness 

3. Distance

4. Fun

These four components, when applied to horror, allow people to have a safe space to explore all things spooky without causing true trauma. Much of this can be applied to children’s horror like the above named media. 

Cross stitch cozy horror!

It’s a lot harder to see how these apply to adult horror media.

Except, sometimes I do crave a spooky movie that’s not meant for children, but also mind numbingly scary. These might be “Practical Magic” (granted this is a bit of a romance, too), “Sleepy Hollow” (the Tim Burton movie that was described like being on a Scooby Doo movie set), “House of Wax” (the Vincent Price version), “Crimson Peak”, “The Woods”, “Willy’s Wonderland” (don’t ask), many Hammer Horror movies, and (probably most odd) “The Ring”. All can be scary, especially for the younger audience, but overall are just delightfully spooky after multiple viewings.

Books might be a little more difficult, but I’d argue that Abram Stoker’s Dracula, Mexican Gothic, and Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead are good examples of cozy horror (I also recognize that two of those books mentioned prominently feature mushrooms). Why Dracula, you may wonder? There are parts of Dracula that are oddly quaint - once you get past the first third of Jonathan’s “wacky fun times” in Transylvania (that quote is from Overly Sarcastic Production’s summary of the book).

The manga “Another” and video games like Silent Hill (at least the first one) and Luigi’s Mansion would also fall under cozy horror - in my not so humble opinion. They are atmospheric, spooky, and, most importantly, fun.

And remember these are my opinions. What I find cozy versus what someone else finds cozy in the horror genre might vary greatly. It’s all subjective and relative anyway.

If you enjoyed this post (or if it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Tragedy Story

 Tragedy: trag-e-dy (noun)

1. an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe.
2. a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

Source: dictionary.com

Back in Shakespeare’s, plays that had a happy ending were called comedies. These are the As You Like Its, Merry Wives of Windsors,  and Much Ado About Nothings. Plays that had an unhappy ending (i.e. where everybody died) were called tragedies. These are the Anthony and Cleopatras, Hamlets, and Romeo and Juliettes. The tragedies were also what my education primarily focused on (though I preferred the comedies).

I have a distinct memory of my 9th grade class reading Romeo and Juliette and realizing how dumb said characters are after being promised this amazingly beautiful tragic romance. I have been disappointed in the play ever since.

My question is why? Why are the tragedies so famous and beloved (or at least built up in popular culture)? Why is Romeo’s and Juliette’s relation held up as the greatest romance when the snarky relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is right freaking there!

At least Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy and Liza Bennet are much more fondly remembered as good couple goals (mostly by woman) compared to Charlotte Brontë’s Rochester and Jane. 

Regardless of the quality of the relationships, tragedies and tragic stories hold a place in our story telling back pockets.

I recently saw the ballet Swan Lake, one of the most famous ballets (I’m told it’s more famous than The Nutcracker, but that’s another argument I’m not getting into) in the world. I was somewhat familiar with the story, having seen The Swan Princess (the Disney knock-off movie) as a small child. That movie gets the whole Disney treatment with a “and they lived happily ever after” and a million direct to video/dvd/streaming sequels.

The ballet ends differently.

Spoilers: the main love characters die.

Though I probably wouldn’t have realized they had died if I hadn’t read the program. It wasn’t the clearest ending other than the bad guy getting his arm ripped off during the final battle. It’s all very symbolic. However there is a final kiss, so if you didn’t read the program you could have easily assumed they “lived happily ever after”.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the ballet. The dancing was wonderful.

“Swan Lake” isn’t the only tragic ballet. In fact, it seems to be a popular genre in ballet. Giselle, Madame Butterfly, and even - sigh - Romeo and Juliette are all extremely popular and well known ballets.

Seriously, what is the appeal of a sad, ten tissue story? I just don’t understand why society, myself included enjoys these stories. Normally, I want something happy to entertain me.

Or maybe I do understand…

In 2019, I was going through a rough time having been laid off and ghosted by some really good potential job leads. A very good friend of mine took me to see Hadestown - an updated story on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the myth, spoilers: it’s a tragedy. Orpheus fails in his mission to bring Eurydice back from the dead.

I went into the musical with only the knowledge that it was an update to the myth. The opening song “The Road to Hell” introduces the characters, their roles in the story, and that the story is a tragedy, but they “were going to sing anyway”. As the play went one, I hoped that the ending wouldn’t be myth accurate. I wanted the things to end happily. 

Then the song “Doubt Comes In” is sung. It’s the third to last song and about how Orpheus has learned so much and he isn’t the happy-go-lucky naive, but determined boy anymore. He’s world weary and uncertain. He knows he could fail.

And he does.

The penultimate song is a retread of “The Road to Hell”. It reminds us that this story is a tragedy and that they’re going to sing it again and again, hoping that the ending will be different, knowing it won’t. “It’s a sad song, but we sing it anyway,” says Hermes - the lead to the Greek Chorus.

I loved it.

It was cathartic.

I wasn’t in the best place in my life and Hadestown allowed me to experience and express my sadness and frustration in a controlled environment. I was able to work through my emotions using characters going through their own trials and tribulations. The characters had failed and I felt like I was failing at life in that moment (I wasn’t but that was the feeling). 

I also loved the jazz music.

I’m currently reading the book Babel: or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang. By the title alone, I wouldn’t be able to guess if the book is going to have a happy or unhappy ending. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to be unhappy and tragic, but cathartic. It’s about magic, the power of words and knowledge, early Victorian England, and colonialism. The main character was saved by a man who might be his father, while the rest of his family died of Cholera. He’s taken from his home in China to England and at first it seems like a wonderful opportunity for the orphaned boy. He’s trained in Latin and Greek and is accepted to Oxford’s translation program. However, the boy has questions. Why won’t the man explain his real relation to the boy? Who was the “previous one” he’s heard about? And why didn’t the man also chose to save his mother like he had been saved?

So far, I’ve only been able to answer one of the questions. Another is speculated at in the book. However, that last question, which the boy has asked over and over, has yet to be explicitly answered. It’s the lack of answer that gives us the biggest hint and allows the reader to infer that the man just didn’t see the boy’s mother as all that important. The boy is what the man wanted, the woman (who was also Chinese) was inconsequential to him.

It is hinted that the only answers the boy is going to ever receive are going to be awful and horrible. There isn’t a happy ending for the boy’s curiosity. So, what choices will he make. My guess, for a cathartic ending, is tragedy.

In comparison, I recently finished a book called Whalefall by Daniel Kraus (the book comes out in August, I won an advanced Readers Copy). This book has a “happy ending”. It’s a horror/thriller novel, so by happy I mean that the main character lives at the end. However, I’d classify this book as a tragedy because the main character, Jay, fails in his mission to find his father’s bones while diving off the California coast. The book covers the break down between Jay and his father’s relationship all while Jay is trying to escape being swallowed by a whale. Jay’s oxygen is getting low. He’s slowly being crushed by the whale’s muscles, depth pressure, and guilt.

It’s a painful book to read, but cathartic. I’d recommend it to people who have strained relationships with loved ones. There were times I needed to put the book down and just sit with my feelings.

And that’s why I like some tragedies. 

I originally asked: why do we like tragic stories? 

My conclusion is that that provide an emotional catharsis. They let people work through their own negative emotions in a controlled environment. It’s okay to cry when the main characters die. It’s okay to feel disappointed when they fail. Life isn’t all sunshine and roses when we forget that the sun can burn and roses have painful thorns. 

After all, everyone’s life story ends in death - which is a type of tragedy.

What are some of your favorite tragedies. Please let me know in comments.

If you enjoyed this post - or it really pissed you off - please like, share, and/or, leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Cozy Mystery

For the longest time, I only read mystery books. 

Nancy Drew books were some of the first - their eye catching art motivating me to learn how to read. The logic was easy to follow and occasionally, I could solve the mystery before the big reveal. After Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown, I jumped right into Agatha Christi. 

Agatha Christi is the Queen of mystery series. She wrote Hercule Poirot, "And Then There Were None", and of course, the little granny knitting away and catching murderers, Miss. Marple. My grandparents had a ton of Agatha Christi books for me to pick from. And when I went through all of those books, I started going through the other mystery series they had stacked up in the many different bookshelves scattered throughout their house. 

Eventually I found my way to "The Cat Who..." series by Lillian Jackson Braun. I loved how easy to read the books were and enjoyed the narration of the main character Jim Qwilleran and hearing about the antics of his two Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. 

It was this series that formerly introduced me to the Cozy Mystery genre and its many wonderful tropes. Since my family seems to be drawn to these types of stories, they are the books I most commonly read outside of school (even to this day). 

My latest venture into this genre was "A Margin for Murder" the 8th book in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery by Lauren Elliott. I'd say the book was fairly standard as far as Cozy Mystery Tropes are concerned, though not all of the big tropes were present. 

An alliteration for the title keeps it in the reader's memory better.

I most associate Cozy Mysteries with the following: 

• Amateur sleuth. Bonus points if this sleuth is a woman in her mid-30s (it seems to be the most popular main character right now in this genre)
• Romantic ties to law enforcement (either a new boyfriend/girlfriend or an ex). Could be a police officer, a government agent, or a lawyer. 
• A hobby that links the sleuth to the mystery. Bonus points for ties to writing, books, knitting, cooking, fashion, or home remodeling (can also be an occupation).
• The sleuth owns their own business or is a writer. I'm lumping these two together because this occupation allows for the main character to go off on adventures without risking their livelihood (at least too much). Typically these jobs are seen as quaint like tea room operators, fashion reporters, columnists, bookstore owners, or wedding planners. Home remodeling can be a hobby or an occupation. Bonus points for coffeeshop owners.
• An animal side kick. Typically this is a dog or a cat, but there was one book I read that included a bird as the cute animal companion. 
• Something to do with the paranormal or psychics. I've read series with witches, tarot readers, and psychics. Even "The Cat Who..." series had a cat that might have had some psychic abilities. Extra bonus points for ghosts and poltergeist activity.
• Small towns or cities - it wouldn't be a Cozy Mystery if everyone didn't know everyone else. That way there are plenty of local suspects as well as shifty out-of-towners to be vary of. Think Cabot Cove in "Murder She Wrote". The majority of "The Cat Who..." books take place in Mouse County which is "300 miles North of everywhere".

There are other tropes that I've noticed over the years. Cozy Mystery titles usually have some kind of pun that centers on the main character's occupation or hobby and the mystery at large. At some point the sleuth becomes a suspect. Or (my current least favorite) the too many boyfriends problem - and it's always boyfriends for a mid-30s super-sleuth. 

However many predictable tropes these series have or how complicated it can be solve the mystery (sometimes its really obvious and other times the author pulls one of Christi's famous last minute clues), I enjoy returning to the genre every so often. When I go into a Cozy Mystery, I expect all of those things (yes, even the too many boyfriend).

What keeps me coming back to the many series in this genre are the characters and how they interact with each other. 

Sometimes its a fun aunt/niece duo, other times its a pet causing all kinds of trouble, or it could be a bored retiree looking for a little excitement. The characters typically have a ton of friends with big personalities. The suspects are all distinct and memorable. And the murder victims sometimes deserve what's coming to them. 

With the Cozy Mystery market so saturated, it takes a lot to stand out in the crowd. I've noticed that more Cozy Mysteries are branching out into other subgenres. I've already mentioned the witches and paranormal angles, but historical fiction is equally becoming a popular subgenre to host a Cozy. 

Personally, I'd like to see more mixing genres for Cozies. Science Fiction Cozies could take place on a space station with plenty of locked room scenarios (there are actually a few Star Trek books that might count as Cozies in this example). Western Cozies could offer a new perspective on law enforcement in the wild west. Fantasy Cozies apparently already exist, but could you imagine the potential for Urban Fantasy Cozies like the "Dresden Files" meets Miss Marple? 

I'm not sure how horror might work as a Cozy subgenre, as a Cozy Mystery is supposed to be relaxing and not high-stakes, but I'm sure some ambitious author (not me) could make it work.

Have you guys read Cozy Mysteries and if so, what were some of your favorite series? Did your Cozies mix genres at all? What are some of your favorite tropes in the genre. Leave a comment and let me know.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Books of 2021

 I had a conversation last night with a friend of mine. She asked me what my favorite books were. That's a tough answer as it varies from moment to moment and genre to genre. We ended up talking a lot about books in the fantasy and science fiction genres with a heavy lean towards queer and LGBTQ+ narratives - likely helped by the fact that I'm currently reading Stina Leicht's science fiction and very queer Persephone Station.

The cover art is amazing for this book!

Growing up my book list tended to be comprised of cozy mysteries and most things written by Agatha Christie. There were a few fantasy books here and there (naturally I was big into Harry Potter - though I am currently greatly displeased with the author). My family also seemed to favor mysteries and I ended up with a whole collection of Nancy Drew books and the "Cat Who" series. 

With few exceptions, it wasn't until high school and college that I began to branch out and read other genres. While in Japan at 11, I read Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series since they were a few of the only English books in my aunt and uncle's home. In high school, I received my first science fiction books with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series (I did not read Extras) and branched out to the fantasy series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (the first few books are great - I don't know what happened in books five and six, but I was too invested by that point not to finish them) by Michael Scott. I even picked up the mid-grade Disney series The Kingdome Keepers by Ridley Pearson.

The only genre I can't seem to get into is Romance. 

I'm fairly certain it's because Romance as a genre relies on trope (all genres have them stop groaning) that I don't enjoy. Lack of communication skills, sappy situations, and important information from people isn't how I like my drama to unroll. 

That's not to say I don't like romance or pairings in my stories. When done well, I love a nice sweet romance. I just want other outside factors to play a roll - like a dragon, scary ghost, or social issues that need to be confronted (*cough* LGBTQ+ *cough*). 

This is just a sampling of the books I like to read and doesn't include my (extensive) manga, graphic novel, or poetry collection. I've collected Astrix comics since I was a little kid and my collection continues to grow.  Yu Yu Hakusho and Fruits Basket (see I do read some Romance) were my jam in high school. In college is was Black Cat and Ronin Kenshin. Now, I've included the works of Junji Ito to my shelf, right next My Brother's Husband and Another. 

My poetry collection is a monster unto itself and I find that I like modern and traditionally studied poets.

The books I read in 2021 reflected my eclectic taste in literature. Some how, in the stressful 12 months that are currently a blur in my mind, I found the time to read 34 books - surpassing my goal of 32. This is 3 more books than 2020.

The books I read consisted of several Goodreads giveaways (mostly non-fiction, but there was a very long horror novel in there somewhere), a poetry collection that featured one of my poems (it needed editing), several graphic novels I found at used books stores, a lot of poetry, a novella that I beta-read for a friend (and I plan on rereading this year), a short novel about ghosts at one of my favorite railroad museums, a couple of classics, and one book about birds with lots of swear words (this one was a lot of fun to read before going hiking in the Shenandoah).

Some standouts from last year include: 

• Harpyness is Only Skin Deep, Hazelhearth Hires Heroes, and Love, Death, or Mermaid all by my friend D. H. Willison. His books and series, Tales of Arvia, are a lot of fun. They're episodic D'n'D style adventures that are engaging and funny. And guess what! He now has a merch store. Go check it out.
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas - probably my favorite read of 2021 this book is queer, Hispanic, and takes place around El Día De Los Muertos. It has ghosts, murder, mystery, fantasy, and (gasp) a great teenage romance. I highly recommend it.
• Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall - a YA novel that takes place on Jamaica and deals with the struggles of poverty, racism, and gangs. 
• Living in Data: A Citizen's Guide to a Better Information Future by Jer Thorp - a mixed back of Thorp's incredible career, how to visualize data, and understanding how data shapes our world. I really liked it.
• Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans which was robbed of it's Goodreads award for best poetry of 2021.
• I am The Rage: A Black Poetry Collection by Martina McGowan.
• Doggolescence: Poems by Kyra The Staffy by Kyra The Staffy and her mama Rachel Oates - I bought this one because I like the YouTuber Rachel Oats and she ran into some trouble when another YouTuber couldn't handle the (very valid) criticism Rachel gave them. I wasn't expecting much, but found that I really liked reading poetry from a dog's point of view. 
• Some Things I Still Can't Tell You: Poems by Misha Collins - actor Misha Collins released a poetry collect? Why yes, I will be adding it to my collection. Fans of the actor will enjoy his poetry - that I can guarantee.

The above list is only a sample of the books I read. 

One of my goals for 2022 is to read 35 books (one more than 2021). I've already mentioned that I'm knee deep in Persephone Station, but I've also started Self-publish a Book in 10 Steps by Hank Quense who is a member of my writer's group in New Jersey. I received a copy in exchange for a review (which I'm happy to provide). 

I have a huge stack of books that need to be read next to my bed - not including all of the books recommended to me by my friend last night. Some are carry over books from last year I haven't gotten to. Some are books that have been in my "to read" pile for multiple years. 

Maybe this year, I can make a decent dent in the stake (before obtaining more books) and surpass my 35 book goal.

Happy 2022 everyone! May you find peace and joy in the new year.

Welcome to the Genre of War

Yesterday, I was able to hear Nicholas Parisi give a talk on Rod Serling. He's an expert on everything Rod Serling and recently wrote a book which compiles everything Serling ever wrote from The Twilight Zone to Planet of the Apes. Parisi tracked down everything, including the first short story published by Serling.

Serling served in World War II, in the Philippines, as a paratrooper. The experience later influenced many of the works he wrote, including his first short story. The semi-autobiographical story centered around having supplies airdropped to his unit's location after 10 days of fighting without any food. One of the unit's members, and a character based off a real friend of Serling's, jokingly narrates the descent. The unit's relief quickly turns to horror as the supplies are dropped right on top of them, with enough force to decapitate the Serling's friend.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso - how he depicted the Spanish Civil War

I wish I could read the original story, but hearing the synopsis got me thinking. I've seen wars portrayed across many genres. From the real life inspired tragedies such as "War and Peace", "Battle of the Bulge (1965), and Glory (1989) to the mysteries such as Stalag 17 (1953) and The Night of the Generals (1967). There are the dramatic autobiographical stories such as "Band of Brothers" and Patton (1970). There are even comedies like "Hogan's Heroes" and "M*A*S*H" (the 1970 movie and TV show).

My dad is a bit of a war movie buff, so I've seen quite a number of war movies. He's particularly fond of the more action heroic World War II movies of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, such as The Dirty Dozen (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968) and Kelly's Heroes (1970). These were movies that I watched a lot as a kid. The good guys always worked as a team to take down the evil Nazis and the Nazis were definitely the bad guys, there was no question.

Just like how monsters in horror aren't just monsters, war in fantasy, science fiction, and even horror isn't just about the war. It's often part of a larger commentary on human society, our technology, our ethics, and our ideologies.

In Harry Potter the wizarding war is about the evils of magical Nazis, while the original War of the Worlds shows how easily a civilization can fall to an enemy with advanced technology (basically it was written to show imperialist countries how easy it is to defeat someone with better technology and exploit their fears of invasion).

The wars depicted in the world of Narnia are often allegorical to fighting on the side of God and defeating evil. The war against the Fire Lord in "Avatar the Last Airbender" is about restoring balance to the world and finding a creative way to defeat your enemies without killing them (I love Aang's solution to this so no spoilers if you haven't seen the show - skip the movie).

Independence Day (1996) shows the tenacity of the human/American spirit in the face of an enemy that's hell bent on wiping us out as well as the horrors of weapons of mass destruction. And Star Wars is a classic good versus evil story.

Why does war one of those catastrophic events that can cross genres so easily?

My guess is because of how ingrained it is in our history as a species.We have historical accounts of war which we study, sometimes in our literary classes such as Homer's "The Iliad",  or to learn strategy such as the works of Sun Tzu "On The Art Of War". Some of these historical events have become historical fiction in the form of the movies like Gladiator (2000) and 300 (2006) - the later of which also includes a number of fantasy elements.

War is apart of our common human history. There hasn't been a civilization that we learn about in school, which hasn't been affected by war and violence in some way. The history of my country  starts with a war for independence.

There's a lot more on this subject that I can write on. I haven't even touched on the many video games that make the player question the ethics of their actions or contemplate how their actions might end up killing or saving millions of people. Heck, I didn't even mention my favorite fandom, the Transformers franchise (ignoring the Bay movies) which is all about the destruction of war on an alien species driven to Earth where they continue to fight.

The reason I chose to write this post is because I noticed that the subject of war easily crosses genres. Some writers use it as a commentary, while others are writing from a place of experience as a need to understand and come to terms with what they went through - like Mr. Serling.

War is horrible. There's no denying that.

And I honestly don't have a good, philosophical, or thoughtful note to end this post on. So I'll repeat the one statement I feel is most true:

War is horrible.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next time!

Welcome to the Gothic: the Appeal of Darkness

The Gothic genre is filled with tales of mystery, macabre, and dark atemosphere. There are plenty of ghosts, monsters, and victims. Though not exclusively tied to the horror genre, most Gothic tales include elements of horror (as I have written in previous blog posts), but why?

What attracts us to that dark atemosphere?

I can only answer this question for myself. Personally, I find the dark side of life to be just as fascinating and beautiful as the dramatic and comedic, sometimes even more so. However, there’s one element that shines through above all else in Gothic tales and that’s mortality. Horror and Gothic stories bring audiences to the edge of death, whether through tragedy, mayhem, or the supernatural.

Everyone dies - it’s a guarantee of life - but we don’t often like to acknowledge it.

Young people often think they’re invincible, that the seductive hands of death won’t touch them for a long long time. Why should the young worry about death? Yet in the Gothic genre, it is the youth who are often facing the most horrific and tragic of situations. They must confront their mortality before the end of the story...or succumb to it.

I haven’t a clue how older people feel about death. I doubt that there is a collective feeling on the subject. Some might welcome it at the end of their lives, others might continue to fear it. I’d rather think of death as the end of one journey and the start of the other. The older individuals in the Gothic stories I’ve read were occasionally the victims of the younger generation’s ambition, such as in A Tale Tale Heart. There are other older people in these stories who help guide the younger generation, such as Van Helsing in Dracula.

Death is the overly dramatic lurker in these stories. It’s not quiet. Most characters know that it’s around, but not how to avoid it.

But death isn’t the only dark figure lurking around. The more Gothic tales I read, the more I feel like I’m being drawn into a twisted fairy tale. Ghosts, ghouls, and fairies all have the potential to pop up in Gothic tales. Magic, spells, and curses all seem more real in the Gothic setting. If I were to guess why, it would be because the main setting of these tales feels so different from my modern world.

Things weren’t nearly as clean and sterile as they are now. Indoor plumbing wasn’t common until the 1900s. Medical sciences are constantly improving, they feel so much more advanced than a hundred years ago, let alone two hundred. We know so much more now than ever before in human history.

I often feel that our modern world takes some of the mystery out of life, whereas the height of the Gothic period seems so very mysterious by comparison. I don’t know if people in the 1800s felt that way as well. Especially since they would have felt that their society was the panicle of modern science and technology.

Yet, superstitions and interest in the supernatural remain, even to today. People continue to try to spot the paranormal during historical ghost tours in some of the world’s oldest cities and as does the fear of crossing a black cat. Some people might laugh at the idea of witches casting spells in today’s modern world, but witchcraft has grown a large following since the early 1900s. Scientists agree that Earth is billions of years old, but some people are still convinced that the earth is actually flat.

I’m very curious as to how the decades surrounding the new millennia will be remembered. What will people a hundred years from now think about our superstitions and omens. Will they think the vampire craze of the mid 2000s meant that people actually thought vampires were sparkly?

But getting back to the topic at hand...

Darkness doesn’t have to be frightening. It can be a chance to conqure the unknown or hide within its mysterious embrace.

Humans have this uncanny need to be both uniquely special and a member of a group. Understanding the mysteries of the unknown, being able to see in the dark so to speak, can make us feel like we’ve stumbled onto information that is only meant for a select worthy few. It can make someone feel more knowledgeable and thus more powerful.

Sure, embracing the darkness in life can mark you as an outsider, but most people don’t go it alone. They have friends who are also interested in these topics, who want to know these secrets. People form their own group who accept their interests and share in their knowledge.

Regardless, it can be fun to Hear stories about the darker side of life...as long as I don’t live them.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please, like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope,you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.