Discussion on Horror.

 These are complaints I've gotten, largely from the rural Midwest, about the horror genre. Here's what id like to say. 

1: Why not write about happy things?"

Because happiness requires no explanation. Fear reveals truths that joy politely ignores. Literature that never gazes into darkness understands only half of existence.

2:  Why not write family-friendly things?"

Not every book is written for every reader. We do not ask astronomers why they neglect gardening, nor historians why they omit fairy tales.

3: Why not write for children?"

"Children possess imaginations more powerful than adults suspect. Yet I write for mature minds that may contemplate the unknown without demanding comforting conclusions."

4: "Why encourage people to look at darkness?"

One does not create darkness by describing it. The abyss exists whether we acknowledge it or not. Horror teaches humility before the mysteries of existence.

5: Horror is for gross, malicious people."

Quite the opposite. Those who contemplate imaginary horrors are often seeking to understand real fears safely through fiction.

6: Horror is for suspicious people."

A healthy imagination asks 'What if?' Civilization itself advances because curious minds question appearances.

7: You just want people to hate everything.

No. Horror often deepens one's appreciation for ordinary life. One cherishes sunlight more after wandering through shadows.

8: Books are dumb.

:)

Books built civilizations before moving pictures were imagined. If books are foolish, then humanity has accomplished its greatest achievements by means of folly.

9: "It's devil worship."

:0

The monsters I describe are neither devils nor gods. They are indifferent forces. Horror literature concerns imagination, not religious devotion.

10: It's unpatriotic.

:/

A nation secure enough to tolerate every kind of literature demonstrates confidence rather than weakness. Patriotism has little to do with ghosts.

11: Christmas!!!

;)

I fail to see why the existence of one holiday should prohibit the existence of haunted houses.

11: It's weird.

Yes.

Indeed. The weird is precisely the point. Familiarity comforts; strangeness awakens wonder and dread.

12: It's too close to home.

Excellent. Horror that resembles nothing is merely fantasy. Horror becomes effective when it whispers that impossible things may dwell just beyond familiar fields and ordinary streets.