William Hammett

Walk into any bookstore and you'll find chilling tales about what's been lurking in the basement or attic for decades. Stephen King and Peter Straub are masters at the craft of telling a scary and suspenseful tale, and Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes remains one of my all-time favorite novels.

Horror, however, is meant to do more than frighten an audience. Since the days of Poe and Hawthorne, writers have sought to penetrate the heart and mind in order to sift good from evil and plumb the depths of the human soul.

A good horror story usually operates on many levels simultaneously in order to examine what lies beneath the monster, vampire, ghost, or curse upon a family or town. But first and foremost, horror must entertain. If it doesn't accomplish this primary task, the weightier matters of theme will get lost in the telling.

If you want your protagonist to wander down a lonely street after dark, contact me and we'll talk about writing a book that will make the reader keep the light on all night long.