I agree with Jennifer about horror books. But, one horror-adjacent book I love is Michael Crichton's 'Andromeda Strain.' I know it's science fiction but it scared me when I was a kid!
I read horror and true crime, in addition to just about everything else. Patricia Cornwell’s book about Jack The Ripper fascinated me. I write historical fiction though. I love the whole range of literature, music, and art. I will definitely follow Jennifer.
Thank you, Gayla, for giving me a chance to guest post. What an awesome thing to do for your fellow Substackers!
New subscribers to ALH should know that every other week is free, so while you'll find a paywall break in this week's post, next week is a free-for-all.
Great issue, I enjoyed it very much although I'm a scaredy cat and don't read or watch horror. I blame my sister, who made me watch Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? when I was about nine years old. I don't know if that counts as a horror movie, but it sure was scary.
Nice write-up! I enjoyed reading that. I’m particularly interested in the psychological speculation about why lovely people (like you and me) enjoy reading about crime and horror. It’s an easy question to ask but a difficult one to answer. I’d love to read anyone’s thoughts on the subject.
I had a very similar introduction to horror, but it was an accidentall viewing of The Birds that scared the bejesus out of me. Then later I started reading short stories by Alfred Hitchcock, which freaked out and enthralled me in equal measure.
But true crime is mostly a no go for me. My mother loved it but reading a recounting of real people suffering horrible deaths was just too much for me...
I loved this! I viscerally remember my first horror movie, too, and those Schwartz books can still scare me from the illustrations alone. I also have such a strong pull toward true crime (why I wrote the book I did!) but have such complicated feelings around it, too. Great essay!
I did a long stint with true crime and horror back in my 20s, but when real life started casting a slight shadow I steered away. This article inspired me to try it one more time. Great read, thank you.
I agree with Jennifer about horror books. But, one horror-adjacent book I love is Michael Crichton's 'Andromeda Strain.' I know it's science fiction but it scared me when I was a kid!
I read horror and true crime, in addition to just about everything else. Patricia Cornwell’s book about Jack The Ripper fascinated me. I write historical fiction though. I love the whole range of literature, music, and art. I will definitely follow Jennifer.
Gayla, I identified so much with your first sentence! Thank you for broadening my horizons. :-)
Thank you, Gayla, for giving me a chance to guest post. What an awesome thing to do for your fellow Substackers!
New subscribers to ALH should know that every other week is free, so while you'll find a paywall break in this week's post, next week is a free-for-all.
Great issue, I enjoyed it very much although I'm a scaredy cat and don't read or watch horror. I blame my sister, who made me watch Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? when I was about nine years old. I don't know if that counts as a horror movie, but it sure was scary.
Nice write-up! I enjoyed reading that. I’m particularly interested in the psychological speculation about why lovely people (like you and me) enjoy reading about crime and horror. It’s an easy question to ask but a difficult one to answer. I’d love to read anyone’s thoughts on the subject.
I had a very similar introduction to horror, but it was an accidentall viewing of The Birds that scared the bejesus out of me. Then later I started reading short stories by Alfred Hitchcock, which freaked out and enthralled me in equal measure.
But true crime is mostly a no go for me. My mother loved it but reading a recounting of real people suffering horrible deaths was just too much for me...
Horror and true crime are so big right now. Mirrors our society.
I loved this! I viscerally remember my first horror movie, too, and those Schwartz books can still scare me from the illustrations alone. I also have such a strong pull toward true crime (why I wrote the book I did!) but have such complicated feelings around it, too. Great essay!
I did a long stint with true crime and horror back in my 20s, but when real life started casting a slight shadow I steered away. This article inspired me to try it one more time. Great read, thank you.