As the 2022 blog-a0-thon winds down, I am happy to present a post from my friend and colleague, Meghan Arcuri, a talented writer and the current VP of the HWA. While the President leads the organization, the VP of the HWA does the bulk of the work day to day work of making sure all for he wheels are turning. And with a new President about to begin his term [more on that in a few days], Meghan has been busier than ever.
She is a rising writer to watch and I greatly appreciate the time she has taken to be a part of my Why I Love Horror series, especially because of the story she has chosen to tell. This is not your average "Why I Love Horror" testimonial of a life long fan. But I will leave that for you to discover below.
By Meghan Arcuri
Confession time: I’m afraid of the dark. I’m afraid of disease. I’m afraid of sticking my feet over the edge of the bed (because the monster will grab them … obviously). And I’m afraid of scary movies.
Coming from a horror writer, this might seem odd.
Always a sucker for irony, I think it’s hilarious.
I did not grow up wanting to be a writer, let alone a horror writer. Hell, I didn’t read much horror at all. But one thing led to another (read: when I became a stay-at-home mom, I started reading tons and tons of books and thought, “I could do that!”), and I found myself at Borderlands Boot Camp – a three-day writers workshop. Since the founders were Tom Monteleone, F. Paul Wilson, and Doug Winter—giants in the horror writing community—most of the attendees I met wrote horror. I was surrounded by horror writers. Fortunately, these were some of the nicest people around, and they encouraged me to take a stab at the genre.
At first, I was like, “Ewww … horror.”
But then I actually sat down and gave it a try, and, well … I loved it.
Writing horror allows me to explore characters and situations entirely outside my realm of existence. I’ve written about some deplorable people who have done and said things I would never dream of in real life. And guess what? It’s kind of fun. It’s fun to play around in that headspace, roll around in their evil, get to be a baddy for a second. I imagine it’s akin to an actor sinking her teeth into a juicy, villainous role.
It also, at times, helps me to lean into my fears. Explore them. Look at all the possible angles and outcomes and, ultimately, help me deal with them.
This is one of the reasons I like reading horror, as well. Watching a character battle demons, go to hell and back, and overcome a variety of obstacles can be satisfying and self-affirming.
Reading horror also reminds me that sometimes things are messy. Sometimes there is no happily ever after. And that allows me to reflect back on my life and acknowledge that—much as I might try—everything does not have to be perfect.
And sometimes? I just love a cool speculative concept (see Josh Malerman’s Unbury Carol), amazing world-building (see Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation), or a strong heroine (see Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic).
I’m living proof that you can be a fraidy-cat and, at the same time, enjoy the void.
But I’m still not sticking my feet over the edge of the bed…
Two Recent Projects:
1) I edited a small collection of Charlotte Riddell stories. If you love Victorian ghost stories, you can't go wrong with Riddell. A past master who deserves more attention, she knows how to keep the pages turning. It was a limited run, but you can find out more about it here.
You can also hear me talk about it on the Weird Christmas Podcast.
2) I was asked by the director of my local high school drama club to adapt one of my stories for the stage. They wanted to do something for Halloween. I was honored to be asked and enjoyed the process of adapting the story. I chose “Green with Hunger,” a tale based on the Wicked Witch. You can find the original story here.
Meghan Arcuri is a Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Her work can be found in various anthologies, including Borderlands 7 (Borderlands Press), Madhouse (Dark Regions Press), Chiral Mad, and Chiral Mad 3 (Written Backwards). She is currently the Vice President of the Horror Writers Association.
Prior to writing, she taught high school math, having earned her B.A. from Colgate University—with a double major in mathematics and English—and her masters from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
She lives with her family in New York’s Hudson Valley. Please visit her at meghanarcuri.com, facebook.com/meg.arcuri, or on Twitter (@MeghanArcuri).
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