I love October. As someone who dabbles occasionally in
horror fiction, I find it a season bubbling over with mood-filled inspiration.
As someone who grew up in eastern Canada, I remember it as the month when the
seasons abruptly change. Cool air descends, leaves color, then tumble to the
ground. The combination of all these things – cold weather, dry leaves
crackling underfoot, blustery winds – contributes to my childhood memories of
Hallowe’en.
Hallowe’en holds equally as much nostalgia for me as
Christmas. Simmering below the surface, fueling the anticipation of treats –
and maybe some harmless tricks – and the creative problem of how to make a
costume, there was always his low-grade terror. Bigger kids stalked the night,
perhaps meaning to take away our precious candy, but there was something else,
too. Something intangible. A frisson, the French would say.
I’ve learned more about the history behind Hallowe’en
over the years. I think it is important for us genre writers to know where our
fiction comes from. Most genres have a rich tradition and we do well to
understand that history. We may not use it consciously – though we might! –
but it will enhance our writing
A while back I wrote a rather perverse little story called
“Harder,” a tale of retribution from the point of view of a man who feels
his former girlfriend has done him wrong. (Sounds like a Country song, doesn’t
it?) I decided to pay homage to Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” a
brilliant and amazingly concise tale that is the archetype of the revenge story.
Much to my delight, a British magazine of erotic horror
called Peep Show accepted “Harder”. While responding to a couple of
questions from the editor, I grew to realize that he had enjoyed and accepted my
story without having ever read Poe’s. I strongly encouraged him to seek it
out. There are a few Poe stories that I believe everyone should read, even if
you don’t particularly like horror, because they are such excellent examples
of how much you can pack into a few short pages.
Raise your hands if you are familiar with the Celtic
origins of Hallowe’en! It comes to us via the pagan ritual known as Samhein,
the pronunciation of which – like all good Celtic words – bears no
resemblance to the actual letters used. The feast celebrated the end of the
harvest and the onset of winter and was the Celtic New Year. On this day, the
veil between our world and the world of the dead was thinnest and it was
possible for them to cross over. They would try to trick humans into becoming
lost, so people would disguise themselves to keep the dead from recognizing
them. Offerings of food were left for dead ancestors – if they were forgotten,
the dead might play mischievous or harmful tricks on the living. Gourds were
used as candleholders to ward off the spirits – only when the tradition moved
to America were pumpkins used in their place, hence jack o’lanterns.
Imagine how much more frightened we would have been as children out on those dark, cold Hallowe’en nights, if we’d known all of this!