"Bump in the night" reminds me of Snoopy's opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night". Darn it, I wish he'd finish the book because I love stories that give me that shiver down the spine.
My own last night was an active one and got me to thinking about my comfort zone, not just in what I read and write but the movies or TV I'm comfortable with. To start, it was hotter than hell last night and for some dumb and not to be repeated reason, my dh and I decided we'd prefer the fresh air over AC. Consequently, I spent most of the night sweating. And in there somewhere I had a disturbing dream about a fire in a woodstove that got out of hand. We have a mountain cabin heated entirely by wood and one of my sons is there this weekend which probably accounts for the dream. In it, I did a lot of running around trying to put out a bunch of small fires that sprang up around the woodstove. Finally the flames were gone and things were smoking away so I decided to go to town. (note to self, not a smart idea). Then I was back at the cabin, which was no longer mine, trying to convince the owner that there wasn't much smoke damage.
Okay, so I'm thinking about the disturbing dream when I woke up around dawn. Thunderheads were on the horizon and heat lightning was putting out quite the display. Then with a crash and a boom, a loonngg boom, out goes the electricity and my dog is all over me shaking and whimpering.
The point of all this: I fast-forwarded my thinking to why I can read horror but you ain't never gonna get me in a theatre to watch horror on the big screen. It has to be the visual component, plus feeling trapped in the dark theatre. When I'm reading horror or suspense, I can put it down and walk away. I can look around and see the dust piling up on my furniture. I can pet my snoring on-my-lap dog. In other words, the real world is still there when I'm reading. Not when there's a slasher in the basement and the too dumb to live actress is heading down the stairs.
I write erotica. I love writing erotica. But someday I'm going to tackle a horror story that takes place in a mountain cabin during the mother of all thunder storms and a slasher heading my way.
Or not.
Question: is there a difference in your personal comfort zone when it comes to the written word vs movies or TV?
And as I wander off to fix breakfast for my dh, I can hardly wait for Tues, the 24th when GOING DOWN hits the stands.
