Tag: gothic

7 Reasons Readers Love Scary Stories

Article written by Rayne Hall in celebration of The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways

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In real life, we seek to avoid fear, worry, panic, and terror. Yet in book form, they grant delicious thrills, and we choose to spend our time with the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, or Anne Rice.

As an author and reader of Gothic tales, I’ve identified seven psychological reasons why we’re drawn to scary tales:

1. ESCAPISM

Exciting stories distract us from the unpleasantness of real life. While reading, we become so absorbed that we forget about our everyday worries and looming threats. More than most other genres, Horror fiction offers excitement.

2. PERSPECTIVE

The suffering of fiction characters makes our own troubles seem less severe. Problems which normally drive us crazy—the arthritic twinge in a knee and the leaking roof suddenly seem minor inconveniences after we’ve spent time with characters who’ve had their legs ripped off and survived a snowstorm without shelter.

3. ADRENALINE RUSH

In dangerous situations, the brain releases a cocktail of adrenaline and other chemicals into the bloodstream to give us the stamina and courage needed to face the threat. These chemicals induce a high—a mild one for some people, a powerful surge for others. Horror fiction provides the same thrill as real danger, but in complete safety. The pleasure is similar to that of bungee-jumping, and it can be addictive.

4. EDUCATION

Horror stories teach valuable lessons about good and evil, about ethical conflicts and moral risks, about unseen dangers and disguised threats. Sharing the fictional characters’ adventures, we readers learn from their experiences, without making their mistakes and taking their risks. This is especially useful in stories for children—it gives kids the chance to learn without getting into danger—and for teenagers who may not heed parental warnings but like a scary story.

5. REASSURANCE

Many Horror stories—although not all—show that in the end, good triumphs over evil. Humans need that reassurance. In this respect, Horror stories are for adults what fairy tales are for children.

6. PERSONAL GROWTH

Story events put the fictional character’s strengths, resolution, ethics and courage to the test. As the character grows through experience, so does the reader. Dark stories invite readers to ask themselves what they would have done in the same situation, to compare the character’s courage with their own, to probe their consciences and explore their own ethics.

7. CONTROL

By reading, we gain control over our fears, at least temporarily. Whatever scares us, we can face this danger in fiction, reading as much or as little as we like, and are able to close the book when we’ve had enough. This sense of control can be empowering, especially for people who suffer from phobias and irrational fears.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What kind of horror fiction do you enjoy—creepy ghost stories, shocking tales of violence, extreme splatterpunk, disturbing fantasy yarns, or suspenseful Gothic tales? What draws you personally to Horror? Which of those seven reasons apply to you? Can you think of others?

Share your thoughts in the Comments below.

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Want to read some creepy stories but don’t know where to start? Find out if The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways is the right fit for you by visiting Anna Faúndez’s book review. Or visit her blog to find new great books to read!

7 Reasons Readers Love Scary Stories was written in celebration of Rayne Hall’s upcoming short story collection featuring trains!

About the book The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways

Come on board for a Gothic journey in a funicular railway in Victorian England, a freight train in the Carpathian mountains, a high tech sky train in Bangkok, an underground railway in Tokyo. Visit stations which lure with the promise of safe shelter but harbour unexpected dangers. Meet the people who work on the tracks—stationmasters, porters, signal-men—and those who travel—commuters, tourists, dead bodies, murderers, and ghosts.
In this volume, editor Rayne Hall has collected twenty of the finest—and creepiest—railway tales. The book features the works of established writers, classic authors and fresh voices. Some stories are spooky, some downright scary, while others pose a puzzling mystery.
Are you prepared to come on board this train? Already, the steam engine is huffing in impatience. Listen to the chuff-chuff-chuff from the locomotive and tarattata-tarattata of the giant wheels. Press your face against the dust-streaked window, inhale the smells of coal smoke and old textiles, watch the landscape whoosh past as you leave the familiar behind and journey into the unknown.
But be careful: you can’t know the train’s real destination, nor your fellow travellers’ intentions. Once you’ve closed that door behind you and the wheels start rolling, you may not be able to get out.

The ebook is available for pre-order from Amazon at the special offer price of 99 cents until 31 January 2023.
(After that date, the price will go up.)
The paperback edition will be available soon.

『••✎••』

About Rayne Hall

Rayne Hall writes fantasy, horror, and non-fiction, and is the author of over 100 books. Her horror stories are more atmospheric than violent, and more creepy than gory, and often leans towards the Gothic, e.g The Bride’s Curse: Bulgarian Gothic Ghost and Horror Stories.
She is also the acclaimed editor of Gothic, Fantasy and Horror anthologies (e.g. Among the Headstones: Creepy Tales from the Graveyard, and Fiends: Ten Tales of Demons), and author of the bestselling Writer’s Craft series for advanced-level writers (including Writing Gothic Fiction, Writing Dark Stories, Writing Scary Scenes, Writing About Magic, Horror Writing Prompts, Writing About Villains, Writing Short Stories.)
Born and raised in Germany, Rayne Hall has lived in China, Mongolia, Nepal and Britain. Now she resides in a village Bulgaria. The country’s ancient Roman ruins and the deserted houses from Bulgaria’s communist period provide inspiration for creepy ghost and horror stories.
Her lucky black cat, Sulu, adopted from the cat rescue shelter, often accompanies her when she explores spooky derelict buildings. He delights in walking across shattered roof tiles, balancing on charred rafters and sniffing at long-abandoned hearths.
Rayne has worked as an investigative journalist, development aid worker, museum guide, apple picker, tarot reader, adult education teacher, belly dancer, magazine editor, publishing manager and more, and now writes full time.
Visit her on her website, her Facebook author page, on Mastodon (new) or Instagram (new), Subscribe to her newsletter here.

January 27, 2023
The Haunted Train

The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways
Edited by Rayne Hall

First off, I love that the editor left each story it its original American or British English! I really feel that adds to a reader’s impressions, perceptions, and assumptions when consuming literature. I was also very happy to see a decent selection of stories from a variety of writers with different genders, heritages, and landscapes to take inspiration from.

I’ve done my best to avoid a terrible amount of spoilers for every single story, but for some it was unavoidable. So please, read at your own spoiler-y risk.

Now then, all aboard!

“Beware of Tuesdays”
By Frederick Langridge

I love the mundane, going to work every day, atmosphere. It’s not even a particularly scary story. You make an assumption, just like the narrator does, and you go about your life. But then the phenomena keeps happening, and there’s no history of the incident in the story, and I began to wonder, “What if . . .” And sure enough. The ending paragraph got an audible “oof” and cringe out of me. I’m not typically verbally emotive while reading, so that’s a good mark for the story in my opinion.

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“The Drowned Subway”
By Clint Spivey

I didn’t really like two disaster stories in a row. The little boy had far less to do with the story other than seemingly conjuring the other ghosts, which was a letdown because the child was obviously dead and the reader never learns the why. Since the narrator isn’t part of the disaster, why them? What was the point of them seeing these ghosts who stare with jealousy at the living? I had another issue too: I’m assuming this author is a native English speaker, so I’m a bit confused about some of the language and sentence choices. The story uses a huge amount of fragments, and some longer sentences I had to read twice or thrice to understand. The confusion was enough to diminish my enjoyment of the story, and I didn’t find it creepy since there were no real consequences to emotionally attach to.

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“Lost in the Fog”
By JD Beresford

Written by a long dead author, this tale was less creepy and more thought-provoking. I liked the train as a ferry into the unknown. All the mist and fog made it seem as though the narrator really had entered a different world and the lone man at the station stood as a sentinel of sorts to warn them away from exploring the strange new place, that was just off-center from reality, further. The story served as warnings against the familiar: what are people capable of when pushed? What happens when want overcomes the niceties of our lives and morphs into “take” instead?

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“Why Are Trains Always Late?”
By Nikki Tait

Weird little story. I’d have liked it more with some kind of subtle hint to the narrators more sinister intentions. As it is, the story’s end felt too abrupt, much like a passing train, sure, but since the narrator radiated no signs of malice, it felt unearned.

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“A Journey”
By Edith Wharton

Loved this one! Again, not really creepy, but there’s an incredibly good sense of space and character. I’ve never dealt with the narrators woes personally, but I feel I have a good grasp on how she felt about her duties, obligations, guilt, and wants. The idea of being stuck, trapped, with someone you love who’s a hollow of themselves is terrifying in its own right. This story is an emotional train ride! My only (non) issue is the ending, really. I simply wasn’t a fan. But it doesn’t detract from the rest.

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“11^th Hour Ghost Train to Siam”
By Morgan A. Pryce

A good story. Clearly written recently as it mentions the COVID-19 pandemic; though, I suppose, it could be something straight from fiction. The story starts off at a good pace, and the writing is sound and enjoyable. While I figured out what was going on pretty quick, I still read to the end looking for some closure and possible surprises.

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“Funicular Fare”
By Rayne Hall

Great addition! I adored how minor decisions made by many people culminated in disaster for everyone in the car. I liked the werewolf’s system of control and how, after the change, he went from concern to damage control to survival and back again as his humanity returned. I didn’t even realize this one was written by the editor of the collection until I got to the author bio at the end of the story.

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“Wolf Station”
By Andrew M Seddon

This was an interesting read. I’m still trying to figure out if the train’s fireman was one of the werewolves too or if he’d been attacked and bitten and also barely made it back to the train. Either way, I was happy with the suspense and the ending. Although I wouldn’t complain about a part two for this one! Maybe an “us versus them” story if the fireman actually was turned. Imagine the tension on the train ride home.

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“Gallows Curve”
By Petina Strohmer

This is my favorite story. It is so emotionally poignant, and the grief is palpable. The writer does a wonderful job making you feel for the narrator. As usual, when I read stories where a child dies, I think of the quote, “No parent should have to bury their child,” and it makes this story hurt even more. I can’t imagine the grief. The flow of the story is perfect, and I honestly didn’t expect the ending even though in hindsight it seemed obvious. That’s the mark of an engaging story when I’m too busy reading to analyze!

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“The Four-Fifteen Express”
By Amelia Edwards

This was a fun little mystery. The story doesn’t really try and hide that a man had died, but I didn’t expect the twist, so that was nice to experience! I did feel this story was too drawn out; it definitely could have been shorter with no loss of content or tension.

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“Bon Appetit”
By Pia Manning

This story . . . is freaking weird with no explanations, and I’m oddly okay with that. Sasquatch, hilariously, I can make sense of. Random soul-eating train? Not so much. But I loved the idea. The author totally missed an opportunity not naming the story “Dead On Arrival” though. No, I don’t think it would be too on the nose.

◇──◆──◇──◆

“Better Late than Never”
By Zoe Tasia

Honestly, this was super cute for a ghost story. Bittersweet. Somehow, I didn’t see the twist coming, so I had a nice “awe” moment. This story started off a bit slow, but it’s worth sticking with.

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“The Coffin Express”
By RJ Meldrum

OH, BIG YIKES! My first thought was the coffins were carrying bodies of those dead from plague or something similar. What it actually was didn’t even cross my mind, and I can’t think of many other things more horrifying. I wish this one was longer. I needed a lot more!

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“Unleashed at the Terminal”
By Krystal Garrett

This wasn’t the best story in the collection. It was kind of your usual poltergeist. I’d have liked more detail in the backstory to make me care more about the woman and Thomas.

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“Between the Ties”
By Joseph S. Walker

Uh, what? I’m a little confused on the editing of this one. I can’t tell if it was on purpose or not, to be honest, but there were some POV issues I noticed that jarred me out of the story. And it wasn’t part of dialogue—you can forgive a lot if it’s between quotation marks. I liked the story, but I ended it a little frustrated because of the technical things.

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“The Man with the Watches”
By Arthur Conan Doyle

As usual, I struggled through Doyle’s writing. It’s not bad, but for some reason, this guy puts me to sleep. I feel like it’s the language mixed with dragging story; one day I’ll figure it out. But even then, I find it weird as an avid reader who’s read lots of classics in so many genres and not dozed off. Sorry, Doyle. Better luck next time with me.

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“Blood Lake Train”
By Cage Dunn

Another big yikes. I loved the narrator’s descent into madness. I’m pretty sure his wife committed suicide by stepping in front of the train, and all the other people who died to it were accidents. However, in his grief, the engineer blamed the train, because how could he ever blame his beloved wife? Or I’m reading way too much into it and we had a jealous, murder-y train on the loose. But I like my interpretation better.

◇──◆──◇──◆

“Seven Stations in Tokyo”
By Michele Cacano

WELL THAT WAS SAD! I’m a little confused about how Tim died; I guess he was trying to help someone and fell on the tracks and got hit? Or electrocuted? I don’t know, but the ending was bittersweet and just a little hopeful, which I liked. It felt human.

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“Out of Order”
By Karen Heard

Yay, I guessed this one! My first thought was culling a disease everyone on the train had been exposed to. The vampirism was a fun twist though. Where’d it come from? Who knows. Or maybe werewolves. Though probably not. Even if this one left me a little confused, I still enjoyed the tension and enclosed space the narrator was forced into. It’s difficult to write a story with so little space for a character to exist in.

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“The Signal-Man”
By Charles Dickens

Ah, yes, Dickens. I won’t get into how I feel about Charles Dickens as a person, but, as usual, his writing is fun to read for me. The random rhymes and twisty lines of dialogue are almost lyrical in some places; it’s not something one associates with trains though. However, it could be said the rhythm of the piece denotes trains. Story-wise, I like how eerie it was. There was no blood and gore—which wouldn’t bother me either way—but the atmosphere creates the tension. The dialogue sustains it.

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The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways definitely had some gems hidden in its pages. My personal favorites were “Beware of Tuesdays” and “Gallows Curve.” I loved the unknown in “Beware of Tuesdays.” I’m usually a fan of the mundane being twisted on its head, and the reasoning was sound. Well, sound enough for a ghost story. “Gallows Curve” definitely wins my top spot for this entire collection. It’s emotionally grounded, and so, so sad. The premise alone is enough to have you sit in horror for a little bit, and the story simply drags that out and makes you care. Which, of course, makes it worse. The author gave us all that and also created a memorable environment!

Overall, I liked this collection of stories quite a bit. More than I expected to, actually, since I’ve never been big on reading short stories. But after reading some of these, I’ll be thinking about them instead of happily saying “train!” and counting the railcars next time I’m stopped at the railroad tracks.

Curious why people seem to love creepy stories so much? Check out what Rayne Hall herself has to say by visiting 7 Reasons Readers Love Scary Stories.

~ Anna
(Entry 28)

-ˏˋAbout the book The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railwaysˊˎ

Come on board for a Gothic journey in a funicular railway in Victorian England, a freight train in the Carpathian mountains, a high tech sky train in Bangkok, an underground railway in Tokyo. Visit stations which lure with the promise of safe shelter but harbour unexpected dangers. Meet the people who work on the tracks—stationmasters, porters, signal-men—and those who travel—commuters, tourists, dead bodies, murderers, and ghosts.
In this volume, editor Rayne Hall has collected twenty of the finest—and creepiest—railway tales. The book features the works of established writers, classic authors and fresh voices. Some stories are spooky, some downright scary, while others pose a puzzling mystery.
Are you prepared to come on board this train? Already, the steam engine is huffing in impatience. Listen to the chuff-chuff-chuff from the locomotive and tarattata-tarattata of the giant wheels. Press your face against the dust-streaked window, inhale the smells of coal smoke and old textiles, watch the landscape whoosh past as you leave the familiar behind and journey into the unknown.
But be careful: you can’t know the train’s real destination, nor your fellow travellers’ intentions. Once you’ve closed that door behind you and the wheels start rolling, you may not be able to get out.

The ebook is available for pre-order from Amazon at the special offer price of 99 cents until 31 January 2023.
(After that date, the price will go up.)
The paperback edition will be available soon.

January 27, 2023
‘Salem’s Lot

‘Salem’s Lot

By Stephen King

’Salem’s Lot is a book you could take and plop into any time period you wished, and it would still work. It’s your typical genre piece that I feel every writer gets around to at some point. That’s not saying it’s bad. Not at all. I quite enjoyed my read of King’s ’Salem’s Lot. However, I was able to take it at a leisurely pace, put it down for a few days without thinking about it, and go about my life without wanting to get home and pick the book up.

The genre on the back says “fiction/horror,” and I’m actually inclined to disagree somewhat. You’ll remember if you read my blog post on The Shining that I’m a notorious and life-long chicken. I don’t do scary. Reading scary books now is my way of trying to desensitize and branch out of my comfort zone. So either I’ve had too much success with that, or ’Salem’s Lot isn’t all that terrifying. Creepy? Yep. Unsettling? You bet. Scary? Eh. A good read? Absolutely!

As usual, King has some delightfully unique imagery. In ’Salem’s Lot, he skirts the line between dramatic and serious well, never quite falling into either one. Of course, a clear voice through a novel is essential, and no one can say King isn’t good at that!

Which brings me to the characters of ’Salem’s Lot! I loved them. All of them. The characters in this book are the driving force to keep reading. The characters are the reason I enjoyed ’Salem’s Lot more than The Shining. Even the people that showed up for a scene or less, I could remember. Why? Spectacular characterization! Each one felt like a person, and that’s so, so important. Usually a novel can get away with some cardboard-like side characters. King didn’t bother with that. Nope. Every person with a name got a little backstory—sometimes less than a sentence, but it’s enough if done well—and it really brings the novel up to another level. Every main character had unique trauma reactions and displays of disbelief. It’s been a long time since I read a book that I could see the characters so clearly.

The only, and I mean only, issue I had with the book was the name of one of the characters: Jimmy Cody. Periodically, King will call characters by their last names, which is fine if your last name isn’t also a first name. This led me to a few different instances of confusion in the final quarter of ’Salem’s Lot. In one sentence, Jimmy would be called Cody, and in the next, he’d be Jimmy again. It was the one thing I had to actively remember. He’s not two people! In scenes with three or more characters—and there are a fair few written this way—it’s really easy to forget that Jimmy Cody is one person. But hey, maybe you’ll remember better than I did now that you’ve seen this!

Even if the plot of ’Salem’s Lot isn’t super intriguing on its own, or too surprising, the characters, the ordinary people that King creates and throws into a terrible situation, are worth the trouble. Ask me if you should give it a go? Read it for yourself? My response: Yes!

Next time, we’ll be taking a look at a childhood favorite of mine: Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Just Ella!

~ Anna

(Entry 6)

March 22, 2022
The Shining

The Shining

By Stephen King

Oh boy, oh boy, was this book nothing like I expected. I’ll start by saying I’d never seen the movie and that I knew . . . well, essentially nothing about the book. Actually, the only thing I knew about The Shining was the few seconds of it shown at the drive-in theater in the movie Twister. And that was only after my mom said, “Hey, look, it’s The Shining.”

I’ve never been a horror connoisseur. Probably the opposite. I was the kid that jumped and yelped when tapped on the shoulder, and the scariest thing I’d seen was Alien through my fingers at age fifteen. But after meeting my significant other and his love of most things dark and spooky, I found myself at the tip of a compromise to watch more horror so long as I got to watch something cute after—though my love of movie romances died very quickly upon the re-watch and analysis of a few old favorites. But we’re not here to discuss that.

We’re here for Jack Torrance and his family. This isn’t a book review. Really. I don’t have enough exposure to the horror genre of books (this was the first of its kind I’ve picked up) to give an actual review. But I can tell you what I thought was neat and (probably the biggest reason this blog post might make someone argue with me) why I really disliked the movie.

So let’s jump in! I’ll do my best not to be super spoiler-y, but take this as your warning, just in case.

As far as horror goes, The Shining had a surprisingly sedate pace. This isn’t a bad thing; it was just the exact opposite of the “BOO! AH!” I had been expecting. Instead, The Shining takes on the slow, steady feel of something approaching you from behind. Which . . . okay, that might be worse. I freely admit I had to put the book down at least twice from getting so creeped out. Anytime Danny was alone, I braced for impact.

Jack’s rather rapid descent (that’s not a spoiler, right?) into the realm of those-that-are-very-mentally-unsound wasn’t a surprise. Even if I wasn’t sure who exactly had that axe when I saw the snippet of film, it wasn’t hard to figure out from about page—and here’s a laugh for you—thirteen.

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered I’m one of those people that once they know what the source of “the scary” is, they’re not really that scared anymore. Fun facts about Anna. The scariest part of the book, for me, was well before the climax of the story. That’s not a critique in any way. Quite a few instances after the spoiler-y part I’m talking about—think outside with snow and, if you’ve read it, you’ll get it—were pretty unsettling.

I definitely preferred reading the sections that were from Danny’s point of view. King does a nice job letting us into the child’s head without making him seem too much like an adult. That’s a hard balance to strike.

Now . . . the movie. I was well on my way to strongly disliking The Shining in movie format long before a friend told me that Stephen King hated it. I know. I know. It’s a “classic.” But it really shouldn’t even be called The Shining as there is very little to do with King’s book within that screenplay. I was, and continue to be, disappointed. Most of my major complaints are complaints King had about the movie himself, so let’s get into a few of those.

Problem #1? Jack Torrance’s character. In the movie, you know immediately that Jack is out of his mind. There’s no mystery. No saying to yourself, “Hey, this guy is genuinely trying to be better, even if he’s sorta failing at it. He’s owned up to his mistakes (mostly) and a begrudging try is better than none at all.” Trying is a huge part of redemption arcs, and King’s novel gives Jack tons and tons of chances to be better. Jack not taking every opportunity to be better is a part of Jack being human. It allows for a rounded and character-driven story.

Problem #2? The movie made Wendy look like a terrible mother. If you’ve read the book, you know she showed care and love for her son and would do anything to protect him even if she was frightened too. Movie-Wendy may as well have been a cardboard cutout placed on set.

Problem #3? Danny has almost nothing to do with the plot of the movie besides a few takeaways adjacent to the novel’s content. As I said for #1, The Shining is a character-driven novel. You have nothing without those characters and their flaws and feelings and fears. This is the main reason the movie flopped for me. It was just a two and a half hour calliope loop of incoherence with no character development anywhere in sight.

Now, before someone comes after me, unlike Stephen King, I didn’t hate the movie with a passion. I can appreciate the cinematography and Jack Nicholson’s unhinged performance along with the creep factor, but the movie credits really should have said “inspired by” rather than “based upon” Stephen King’s novel.

~Anna
(Entry 1)

March 22, 2022