Is Alex R. Knight III's Fiction Really "Horror?"

Time was when there was no actual genre labelled "Horror." Sure, there were "horror stories" in short form, and anthologies of same, but it wasn't until the late 1960s and early 1970s when books like Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby, William Peter Blaaty's The Exorcist, and Stephen King's Carrie came along that the publishing industry effectively distinguished horror as a separate marketing category all its own amongst the "speculative" genres. Prior, science-fiction had its own universe, as did high fantasy (back then, a world populated almost exclusively by JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis), but most tales of the scary variety were lumped in with mystery, adventure, and even crime fiction. Horror novels (before they were even officially referred to as such) were, from an industry perspective, one-shots that various authors banged out as anomalies in the midst of writing careers that otherwise centered around other types of stories. It was King, above all others, who demonstrated to the publishing world that a popular, salable author could write horror stories -- and almost nothing but horror stories -- and still have an extremely successful career...one of longevity, even. (Yes, King has written some non-horror fiction -- but the ratio has been one of inverse proportion relative to the writing career norm prior to his arrival on the scene). King's triumph was a game-changer, and book publishing has never been the same since.

But what is "horror," really? Are all horror tales strictly horror, per se? The short answer is no, and the further short answer is, of course not. We can go all the way back to Mary Shelley's excellent classic novel, Frankenstein, and see a horror novel -- or perhaps the first science-fiction novel. Clearly, it contains strong elements of both. What it is not, however, is a theological novel in any way -- as is, say Dracula, or any number of other horror tales in which a Good vs. Evil Judeo-Christian theme predominates. In other words, it all depends upon what kind of a lens you wish to view Frankenstein through. It is, no matter, still a creepy and terrifying tale either way.

Fact is, a lot of subgenre classifications have come into being over time in order to both more effectively describe prominent themes in stories, and to concomitantly act as marketing tools. There is now not just fantasy, modern fantasy, or high fantasy (medieval-style swords and sorcery); but there exists also dark fantasy (often just a euphemism for horror itself), and science fantasy (a blending of sci-fi and the purely fantastical of whatever variety). Science-fiction has its steampunk vein, along with "hard" sci-fi and other variants. Even horror has not been immune, with splatterpunk arriving in the 1980s, and monster-specific subgenres (vampires, zombies, etc.) predominating in the catalogues of certain writers.

At day's end, "horror" is anything that gives you a good scare -- fiction that shocks and thrills you like a good roller-coaster ride at the amusement park will. That there are not necessarily hard and fast ready-made definitions for certain kinds of stories because they also happen to contain elements of fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, western -- whatever -- is not of paramount importance (although it may be fun to observe and speculate about these characteristics). What matters is that, after all is said and done, you leave the experience entertained, enriched, maybe a little wiser -- and able to see the world in a slightly different way. That's my aim, every time. And if I'm doing that, I'm doing my job. You can call it whatever you will after the fact.

Why not explore my website some more by clicking some of the links at the top of the page? You'll find my entire book catalogue, my Twitter feed and Facebook page, along with a place you can sign up for my e-mail list so you can stay updated on the latest happenings. I'm always brewing up more speculative tales, and here is where you can obtain them for your very own. If you do pick up any of my titles, and enjoy what you read, why not let me know with a short review on my Amazon page? Again, you'll find it on my homepage too, along with a link to my whole catalogue on Smashwords, as well. I always like to hear what you're thinking, so don't be shy!

All right, that's enough for now, sports fans. We will chat again soon. Meanwhile, read some good books, have a few laughs, and beware of the dark. Okay? Chow for now, children.

Very Best,

Alex

From Fawcett Gold Medal's PAN BOOK OF HORROR STORIES, 1966.