New and old-time revellers of the Legion will know (unless you’ve been captured by dementia) that the main reason I quit writing horror and answered the call of fantasy was that I encountered something of a creative bottleneck.
That still remains the #1 reason why I jumped ship.
What most people don’t know, however, is there was also another reason for my departure.
One only Lady Laura and a couple of close friends knew of… until now.
In fact, the main reason I didn’t publish my last supernatural horror novel was that I didn’t want to have to go through the draft again. It’s not that the story was inherently haunting or evil (actually, it’s quite mild in comparison to some of the stories I’ve read in the genre).
Rather, I noticed somewhere after publishing three or four books in Horror that I started getting plagued with some rather unpleasant dreams.
DREAMS OF A “DARKER” KIND.
It started with the occasional nightmare I’d be able to shake off in the morning.
Then they grew more ominous and trod closer to home (quite literally).
I would start dreaming of things stirring in the house; of cupboard doors slamming and long, chalky faces appearing in the mirrors. One night, I even stepped into the POV of someone (or something?) watching over ME as I slept precisely in the position I was sleeping.
How did I know?
Because when I awoke in a fit of gasps, that was exactly where I found myself.
TALK ABOUT CREEPY.
Anyway, this went on for months and years while I penned horror shorts and novellas.
Heck, I still occasionally get them now (hence why I’m writing you this email today) and call me Freddy Krueger, but I blame my immersion in Horror for why I started encountering these dreams in my nightly adventures.
I know. Sounds ridiculous. And maybe it is.
But the older I get, the more I don’t believe in coincidences.
Wait… what’s that I hear?
Mockery?
A jibe?
“Jeez, I thought you were this chest-beating, troll-roasting, cold-hearted Overlord? “A couple of bad dreams and you abandon an entire genre? LOL.”
How predictable.
Dissenters who harbour similar thoughts have clearly only been exposed to stories of the fluffy kind. Had they read books or watched movies with even an ounce of realism, they would know that:
EVERYONE — VILLAIN OR HERO — HAS THEIR KRYPTONITE.
Mine just so happens to be frequent visitations from unwelcome demons.
If that makes me a wuss, then I am guilty as charged.
So there you have it… the somewhat “embarrassing” reason I quit horror, second only to the creative limitations.
In many ways, I’m glad I felt suppressed creatively. Otherwise, I fear I would have kept going deeper and deeper until, well, God knows. This doesn’t mean I won’t dunk my quill in this genre again, nor does it deter me from revisiting — and dare I say, publishing — old manuscripts (of which there are plenty on my hard drive).
I simply like my horror the same way I enjoy social gatherings these days:
In doses.
However, just because that’s my tolerance level doesn’t mean that it is yours.
Plenty of readers in the Legion have snagged my chilling supernatural thriller duology, The Curse of Abbey Ruins, and have had plenty of fun.
Who knows, maybe you will, too.
Only one way to find out:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/COAR
DJJW
P.S. I am NOT responsible for any nightmares that might follow. You’ve been warned.