What Influenced Writing Scary Stories?
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After contemplating this question I believe a reality moment happened today. You see, before I would always say that I never really had any kind of horror or scary related influence because I was never a horror movie fan. Well, I should clarify that I had seen a few scary movies in my youth such as Jaws, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. but I never considered myself a horror movie watcher. I know people who are hardcore horror buffs, but I never thought of myself as such…in fact, not even close. I spent much of my 20’s thru my 40’s never really looking for scary things to watch or read. It honestly never dawned on me until recently that I actually did have quite a bit of influence growing up…

As a kid, I remember watching shows with my mother like The Munsters, The Addams Family, Twilight Zone (my absolute favorite), Tales From The Dark Side, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Outer Limits, and late night weekends watching Elvira. I also remember movies like Dark Night of the Scarecrow (Made for TV, still one of my first favorites), The Lost Boys (one of my all time favorites), and funny enough…even eating the famous monster cereals Frankenberry, Count Chocula, Yummy Mummy, Fruit Brut and Boo Berry. …and do you remember Freakies cereal?

I believe honestly, I spent a good 20 years of my life in denial when it came to the horror or scary genre of books, movies and shows. Not exactly sure why. In my mid-40’s I got hooked…and I mean hooked…on all the new ghost reality shows that came out; Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Haunted Towns, Haunted Asylums, Paranormal Caught on Camera, My Haunted House, Haunted Woods, and on and on.

Now with all of that, I have to give the biggest credit to my daughter Sadrie. She’s really the one who “jump started” my spooky story writing. It was a night on the screened in porch the fall of 2017. My wife, son and daughter and I had dinner on the porch and somehow we got to talking about scary movies and stories. I think I mentioned something about writing some type of spooky story (never honestly thinking the idea would go any further) but having doubt on whether I could actually pull it off.   And my daughter just says, “Why don’t you just write one Dad.” So, I replied, “You know what, why don’t I.” and as if a bolt of lighting hit me (figuratively) I grabbed a notebook and started writing.

When I sat down on the porch to write I heard the train that often goes by our subdivision. A story suddenly and immediately popped into my head and my hand couldn’t write fast enough for my churning brain. My first spooky story “Stone Hollow” (In Wicked Harvest: Michigan Monsters & Macabre – Series One) was born. And to this day it’s still my favorite of all my stories. 

​Writers Block
I get this question quite a bit…Is Writer’s Block real?
Well I can say without a doubt that it is real for me. I believe it is different for every writer and it affects them different ways. No writers are exactly alike. Some may never get punched in the face with writer’s block, while others get a daily dose of it. I can tell you what it’s like for me.
The official definition:
The condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing.
And
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. ... The condition ranges from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years.
I have a mix of hours, days and weeks where I get overloaded with ideas and I am constantly and frantically writing them down on notepads or typing them into my phone and then I have days where as they say, “The struggle is real” where I have no thoughts or ideas to write down. I have moments where I can sit down at the computer and type for hours and then I have moments where I sit down at the computer, type about 10 words, then get up and walk away…because I have nothing. Literally (and I hate using that word) nothing.
Some writers find ways to break though bouts of WB and have done it successfully. I myself may have done it a time or two. At times you absolutely have to find a way to break through because you may have a deadline to meet. Results can be disastrous at times. You read through what you wrote and think, “What the Hell is all that?” and start all over again.
So I say to you that yes, writer’s block is a real thing and if anyone tells you different, they are either lying or are not writers. Just my opinion of course.