Supernatural. Psychological. Splatter. Comedic. Science gone wrong (Or right, depending on your perspective). Zombies. The kinds of horror stories out there in the shadowy wilds vary as much in content as they do in medium. While it’s not typically a genre that I go out of my way for, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find a certain appeal for at least aspects of horror in the stories I enjoy.
What’s your go-to? Do you like the kinds of stories that really frighten you, or do you prefer ones that are a bit tamer in your estimation, ones that you feel you have some kind of hold over rather than the other way around? For me, I think it’s a mix of both. I like to read and watch stories with elements of horror to them, but ones where the heroes are confident in whatever abilities they have to fight said horrific element: strength, resourcefulness, faith. They can be up against truly terrifying things–and can be terrified themselves–but they need some capacity to fight off the evil and eldritch horrors if I want to go along for the ride. I’ve backed out of stories (games, in particular) where the heroes are helpless and spend the whole time running. I played the demo of the first Amnesia game (The Dark Descent, also available on Steam), and when I got to the part where the invisible man was chasing me and I couldn’t do anything except run, that was my exit point. Game played well, and I remember it being entertaining, but that helplessness was just a bit too much for me.
As a Christian, the most frightening horror for me is supernatural. Where the demonic and occult is concerned, I want to make a beeline in the opposite direction. The more “real-world” it is, the stronger that feeling. If it’s demons in a fantasy setting, I can live with that without breaking a sweat. Set the story in America or Europe somewhere in the last thousand years or so? Yeah, cue the sleepless nights. I have the faith and the assurance that my soul is secure, but that doesn’t mean the body and psyche are invulnerable.
That said, while I don’t typically play a lot of horror games outside of the earlier Resident Evil games (Filed under “Science gone wrong”), there is one game that recently came out that intrigues me despite falling squarely into the supernatural and demonic. That’s Faith: the Unholy Trinity available on Steam. It looks and plays like an old Atari 2600 game, but don’t let that fool you. It has some truly scary moments to it, from the lore to the music that changes tempo just in time to warn you about the well-animated jump-scares on the way. I haven’t had the chance to play it myself, but it’s been a lot of fun watching some online talents play their way through it. I also appreciate that while it shows a lot of profane stuff, it doesn’t do so in an irreverent way. Your mileage may vary on this, but these days I’m very surprised when a game that’s religiously inspired isn’t done in a subversive or mocking way.
For those who want to know more, Wendigoon did a really long breakdown of it (As all his breakdowns tend to be!) recently, which is what attracted my notice. If you want to just get into it without any spoilers, it’s available on Steam.
What’s your favorite horror book, show, or game? What drew you to it?
It Came From the Trailer Park Volume 3 is on the way soon!
And speaking of horror (Or Horror Light in the case of some of the stories), we’re happy to announce that It Came From the Trailer Park Volume 3 is coming along nicely. Look forward to reading it right around Halloween! That’ll be here before we know it, as will Christmas if the retailers have anything to say about it.
In the meantime, if you’re a writer and the least bit interested in writing a trailer park-themed story, you’re in luck! We’re accepting submissions for volume four (To be released Halloween 2024), and the theme is vacations! Because zombie apocalypses don’t always occur on a Monday, and sometimes vampires just want to see how well sunscreen really works down in the Caribbean. Check out the open call page for the full guidelines, and get to writing!
Not sure what we’re looking for? Read Volume 1 and Volume 2 on Amazon and get a feel for what the readers like! They’re also available in audio format!
Three Ravens Online Store, Available Now!
Looking to buy direct from us, whether merch or books? You can! Check out the Three Ravens store at Squaretrade: https://threeravenspublishing.square.site/
