Horror films? Oh, No! Save the Children!

Paul Kramer, screenwriter of Crave (Slamdance Horror semifinalist), makes an interesting point in the comments to an earlier post:

"...when I was young, my parents wouldn't allow me to watch horror films, which of course made me seek them out all the more."

My parents, too, did not allow me to see horror films. Violent images were strictly censored. We rarely went to movies and did not have a TV for many years. When we did watch television, we were not even allowed to see Speed Racer because it was, you know, shockingly violent.

And yet I grew up to write Red Wedding, one of the most violent, depraved, disgusting scripts ever written (I hope).

The only explanation I can offer for this bizarre turn of events is that, instead of watching films, I read books.

Lots and lots of books.

My parents approved of this.

Even if the book was written by, say, Stephen King.

Or H.P. Lovecraft.

Or Edgar Allan Poe.

Or Bram Stoker.

Or Dante.

The great thing about reading horror literature, as opposed to watching horror films, is that your imagination is actively engaged in creating the horrors.

Hollywood special effects will never equal a terrified reader's imagination.

So if you're a parent and you'd like your child to grow up to be a horror writer, my suggestion is to ban all horror movies and give your innocent little darling something stimulating to read.

Like, say, Macbeth.

Written by William "I have supped full of horrors" Shakespeare.