I was trying to think of a suitably eerie topic for my October blog, when my younger daughter plopped down a work sheet for her 7th grade language arts class on the table in front of me. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. A shiver ran through me. It has been at least 35 years since I read the story, but I remember every nuance of the setting. The building tension as the villagers’ nervous laughter turns to silence, then anxiety and dread when they open their slip of paper. The relief that follows for all but one family. The dawning horror as the first rock is thrown and my imagination takes over. All without a single drop of blood shed. Hollywood could take lessons from Ms. Jackson.
Hollywood has gotten it right a few times. Who can forget the look on Jack Nicholson’s face in The Shining? Yikes! Has anyone ever watched Jamie Lee Curtis walk down the dark street in the original Halloween without feeling their heart pound in their chest? It’s the anticipation of knowing what waits in the dark that gives us goose bumps and nightmares. We don’t need to see the violence. Our imaginations are our own worst enemies—or best friends if you like having the pee scared out of you! LOL
I don’t write horror, but I do write suspense. The same principles apply to both genres. My editor offered me a contract for my latest effort not long ago, but she wanted me to add scenes from the killer’s POV to build tension and add to the creepy factor. A Deadly Love is about a serial killer stalking women through the redwood forest of Northern California. I grew up there, so I knew the habitual fog and drizzle made a suitably chilling background. But did I want to witness murder and mayhem first hand? Shudder. Still, I had to write those scenes…
I drew inspiration from The Lottery. I wrote about what the killer was thinking, his frustration and anger because no one understood his motives. I showed the women waiting for their fate to play out, how the reactions of each reflected their different personalities. I’m please to say my editor loved the new scenes. A Deadly Love won’t be published until sometime next year, but you can tell me then if I managed to send a little chill down your spine…
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