As I mentioned yesterday, while I am going to have a slew of Why I Love Horror reruns this year, I did solicit a few people to bring their perspectives to the long running conversation. Ally Russell is one of those authors. Her bio:
Ally Russell is the author of It Came from the Trees. She grew up on a steady diet of Halloween parties, horror films, Unsolved Mysteries, and Goosebumps books. She has always loved scary stories, and got her MFA from Simmons University and, eventually, a job working in children’s publishing. She hails from Pittsburgh—ground zero for the zombie apocalypse. Ally lives with her husband and her two black cats, Nox and Fury. She’s afraid of the woods, the dark, and heights.
I first met Russell a handful of years ago through Sadie Hartmann and Emily Hughes. She wrote about Horror for both of them at that time.
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The legend of Bigfoot gets a bone-chilling update in this scary story about a young girl and her scout troop who are willing to brave the woods to find her missing friend when no one else will. Perfect for fans of Daka Hermon and Claribel A. Ortega!
The wilderness is in Jenna’s blood. Her Pap was the first Black park ranger at Sturbridge Reservation, and she practically knows the Owlet Survival Handbook by heart. But she’s never encountered a creature like the one that took her best friend Reese. Her parents don’t believe her; the police are worthless, following the wrong leads; and the media isn’t connecting the dots between Reese’s disappearance and a string of other attacks. Determined to save her friend, Jenna joins a new local scout troop, and ventures back into the woods.
When the troop stumbles across suspicious huge human-like footprints near the camp, scratch marks on trees, and ominous sounds from the woods, Jenna worries that whatever took Reese is back to take her too. Can she trust her new scout leader? And will her new friend Norrie—who makes her laugh and reminds her so much of Reese—believe her?
After the unthinkable happens, the scouts, armed with their wits and toiletries, band together to fight the monster and survive the night.
I love Middle Grade Horror. I think it is where some of the best stories are being explored in the genre right now, and this book is a stellar example of that.
I am offering a giveaway of a hard cover, finished copy, courtesy of Russell, that you can add to your collections immediately.
Click here for rules on how to enter. The winner of this book will be the second winner picked this coming week.
And while you wait to see if you won, why not help me welcome Ally Russell to share Why I Love Horror.
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Why do I love horror?
Because...
Why limit yourself to just one spooky season when you can live in dread all year?
Who doesn't like the sound of their heartbeat in their own ears? As Ash might say, that's the music of life, baby, live and in stereo!
Why sleep peacefully when you can read just one more page and have heinous imagery delivered to your brain right before you turn out the lights? It’s called nightmare fuel and it’s delicious…if you like the taste of cough syrup.
Why settle for the next "great” American novel when you can read splatter punk or body horror or gothic fiction?
Who doesn’t enjoy watching movies through the gaps in their fingers?
Why watch an Oscar “worthy” film when you can watch The Omen? And actually, The Omen is an Oscar-winning film thanks to its original score.
Who doesn't like walking through their home after midnight to lock every door and window after watching a home invasion flick?
Why wouldn’t someone want to be a part of something so scary that it triggers their gag reflex? (Dear, Allison, that gag at the prospect of splitting up the group was warranted.)
Why wouldn't you want to be paranoid to the point of habitually checking the back seat and under the bed and the closet because of every urban legend and slasher and babysitter story you’ve ever heard?
Who doesn't want to be pranked and discover if they're a freezer, a faller, or a final girl? I’m a freezer. Any fallers out there? Despite what you shout at the TV screen, none of you are final girls. Sorry.
Why relax when you can gasp?
Who needs a good skincare routine when you can simply rake your fingers down your face for that flushed, youthful look?
Why wouldn't you want sweaty palms? Moisture is good for your skin.
Why wouldn't you want your stomach to be full of caterpillars that never turn into butterflies? They’re just in there…wriggling.
Why be happy when you can worry about the uncanny?
Why calmly contemplate life when you can panic from existential dread, especially after the US government was like, “there are UFOs and we don’t know what they are.”
Why fawn over cute, cuddly wildlife when you can fear the many reported sightings of cryptids from all around the globe?
How else would you spend your time if not cowering beneath your blankets as you consider the few inches of glass that separate you from things that aren't supposed to exist? Because what if vampires don't actually need an invitation? What if they just need a reason?
Who doesn't enjoy working up a cold sweat as they lie in bed in the dark trying to figure out if that thing across the room is a balled-up sweatshirt or a head? (Did it just move?)
Why sleep alone when you can share a pillow with your worries? Don't have any worries? Not to worry! Horror will give you something to worry about.
Why tremble with delight when you can do so with terror?
Why would you want peace of mind when you can have pure adrenaline and panic?
Why take deep, calming breaths when you can pant like a terrified cat?
Why smile when you can scream? Better yet, why scream when you can cry?
If these things don't sound terrible to you...you might love horror too.
I'm sure there are a lot of good reasons to love horror, and you'll get to read about them throughout this blog post series. But I like horror because I'm always afraid—like, all the time—and at least horror makes some of that fear justifiable.
I would love to live life much further from the edge of terror, but that’s just not who I am. Never has been. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love horror, and if I could sum it up in a few succinct paragraphs, this blog post would have been much easier to write.
Anyway, it’s nearly 2:00 AM and the cats just perked their heads up to look toward the stairs. I don't see anything but that doesn't mean they don't. Some things exist outside the spectrum of human vision.
See?
You live for the horror too.
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