Biblical Themes and Horror Fiction Don't Mix, Huh?

As the readers of this blog have probably noticed, many of the authors I review classify themselves as Christian authors. Even some of the ones who don’t openly market themselves as such, are in fact Christians. Recently, Mike Dellosso tweeted an article from CNN Belief Blog. The article, written by John Blake, focuses on the Biblical themes and trends through out the novels of the one and only, Stephen King.

Don’t believe me? Check out the article for yourself:

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/02/the-gospel-of-stephen-king/

Now, whether or not I’ll be chilling with King in Heaven is not the main point of the article (or this blog post), but it does make an appearance. Blake notes that, “King…has talked about his faith before. He describes himself as a Christian on his website and elsewhere has said he was raised as a ‘hard-nosed’ Methodist taught to believe in the Antichrist.” However, as far as King’s personal beliefs, that’s about all that’s mentioned. What is discussed is how Biblical thoughts and beliefs are blatantly evident in many of the novels by one of the most-famous Horror Fiction writer’s…ever.

Blake writes that as hard to believe as it is, “…there is an actual body of literature devoted to King’s religious sensibility. Several pastors and authors say King displays a sophisticated grasp of theology in his books, and his stories are stuffed with biblical references and story lines taken straight from the Bible.” King is quoted from an interview in 1988 saying “I’ve always tried to contrast that bright, white light of real goodness or Godliness against evil.” The quote continues stating that King actually despises “organized religion” and believes “it’s one of the roots of real evil that’s in the world.”

While I don’t agree with that last statement, the article gives some pretty secure, solid evidence of the Biblical references in King’s work.

Blake focuses on the words of the now retired Episcopal priest, Reverend Paul F.M. Zahl. Three themes are pointed out: “A child shall lead them,” “God can be cruel,” and “‘God chose the weak things’.” Zahl backs each of these ideas with the story lines of some of King’s most famous works. The first, “A child shall lead them,” is supported by the novels Salem’s Lot, The Talisman, and It. The next, “God can be cruel” by Desperation and The Green Mile. Lastly, “‘God chose the weak things’” is supported with The Stand.

For the details of each claim, you’re going to have to read the article yourself. But I do urge you to read it. Especially if you doubt how Christianity and Horror Fiction can mix, and even more so if you are a fan of Stephen King.

While I wasn’t completely aware of how deep the religious references ran in King’s work. Although we cannot be sure if these themes are truly what King had in mind when he wrote each book, I’m not going to be surprised if they are. Many authors (Horror Fiction and other) draw from the Bible for their own writing (positively and negatively).

In the two King novels I’ve reviewed for this blog, God seems to play a role. No, the characters are not portrayed as devout Christians, but the question of God, religion, the goodness behind it all, seems to always be looming in the background.

So, as John Blake says, “The best way, though, to understand King’s faith is not through his words, but through his stories.” You can judge for yourself whether or not you agree. But as I said, I’m not surprised at all.

There are probably a lot of people saying a lot of things about this article. The point I want to get across here is that even the author who has been distinguished by and famed for his ability to create works that scare, disgust, terrorize, appall, and horrify readers has found ways to incorporate subtle and not-so-subtle Biblical themes into his writing.

So those of you doubting the possible collision of the two seemingly opposite worlds… Read this article. It might give you something to think about. 

The Distinguished Talent of Artful Horror

I’m always intimidated to start a Stephen King novel. I mean, come on, it’s Stephen King.

His books usually take a little time for me to get in the rhythm of reading. You know, that niche you find when you just can’t stop reading. King’s work is heavy; there are a lot of details to take in. It’s not a turn-off, just takes me a bit longer, but I always find it.

I can trust King in the regard.

Bag of Bones was no different. It started off with a slow build; gradually, the true horror of the story revealed itself and didn’t bother to take a break. At first, I kept waiting for the good stuff to happen. I wasn’t upset with the book, I was still compelled to read on, but I felt like King wasn’t dealing out the terrifying factor as fast as he should be. Soon, (and maybe too soon, now that I think about it) I realized I was more scared then I have been from a book in a long time.

I actually put the book down for a minute to comprehend just how scared I was.

All at once I was terrified, amazed, and dumbfounded by Stephen King. He’d done it, once again.

How had he utterly freaked me out without my knowledge?

(I didn’t even know that was possible.)

Suddenly, I found the walk from my bedroom, through our living room, to the bathroom, a tad more than I could handle without sufficient lighting. I found that I became nervous if one of my arms or legs happened to be hanging over the edge of my bed. The last time I felt like that I was 6 years old and my uncle had just brought by his catch of the day (a ginormous blue shark), ergo igniting my life-long fear of sharks. Lying in bed, I was horrified a shark would be tempted out of the floor by one of my dangling limbs.

How had King re-manifested this fear without me even knowing he was doing it?

Subtlety.

The glorious act of subtlety.

Bag of Bones isn’t composed of “believable-only-in-context” terrors or over-the-top horror novelties. It’s strung together by real-life fears and phobias. The horror of Bag of Bones lies in simple occurrences twisted into a wider web of overpowering uneasiness. It’s an astounding take on the quintessential ghost story. Instead of an outrageous monster ransacking a city, King uses small town secrets, refrigerator magnets, thumps from the basement, and connections to those who’ve passed to construct a trap where the reader is progressively (and gently) lured into a fear they can’t escape.

(I don’t even believe in ghosts.)

Bag of Bones takes place in Maine following a man named Mike Noonan. Mike has made a living writing novels and has built quite the life for himself and his wife, Johanna. However, when Jo dies tragically and unexpectedly, Mike is left to his work. Four years later he decides to break away from his life in Derry and moves back to his lake house, Sara Laughs, in Maine. While the change of scenery seems to fix his problems, Mike soon finds himself in that same inescapable trap of fear.

The intricacy of this novel astounds me. For about two-thirds of the book I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I was entangled in a story that unfolded around me, allowing me to see bits and pieces of a great picture still mostly invisible. If you like a good story that leaves you guessing till the last few chapters then definitely pick up a Stephen King novel. His talent for this continues to amaze me.  

61! Wow, Congrats King.

So it may not be news, but this is the first I’m hearing of it, so I thought I’d pass it along.

While I’m sitting here reading away, book after book, letting summer go by slow. One of my ALL-TIME favorite authors Stephen King is working on a new crime novel titled Joyland. It’s apparently a thriller set in North Carolina in an amusement park.

The new book is going to be released in June 1013 (personally, I’m marking the calendar).

For more information you can check out The New York Times blog:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/new-stephen-king-thriller-coming-next-june/

Book Trailers...A New Thing??

If you didn’t already know, someone (who, I wish I knew) came up with the brilliant idea of advertising a book with a video.

Yea...It didn’t make sense to me at first either.

I kept wondering how in the world it was possible? Apparently it is. Book trailers seem to be a growing trend.

Why not, right?

So if you’re interested, here a few featured on my wish-to-read list, advertised through the fascinating world of visual entertainment.

Under The Dome by Stephen King

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7esxXlyIk

Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yXgkNP889E&feature=youtu.be

Demon by Tosca Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXr_TrkMLrE&feature=youtu.be

Reading By Numbers

From the minute I held it in my hands, I knew that Faces in the Fire was going to be a book I’d never forget.

Confused initially, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. The first chapter was numbered “34.” It had to be a mistake, right? Part of a series, I thought. Flipping through the pages, I was sure that this was a sequel and I had somehow over looked the first book. As I searched the stacks leaving myself with only false hope, I realized this was the only one.

Immediately, I was intrigued.

The chapter numbers followed no noticeable pattern. They jumped around, seemingly at random.

The incoherent chapter numbers struck a note in my horror-hooked mind and I couldn’t help but read it. (I would LOVE to tell you the sequencing, but it gives too much away.) Faces in the Fire was written by T.L. Hines. Hines is famous for leaving it to the readers to tie up the lose ends. It’s a risky move to create a story with so many questions and neglect to answer them. If done wrong, you might just be labeled a lazy writer…Not Hines. Shockingly, once I’d read the final page, satisfaction was all I felt. In some strange, un-geometrical way it had come full circle.

Unfortunately, about two minutes after I finished, I reflected on the puzzle piece story line and the almost mystical characters. Suddenly, intrigue turned to rage. It hit me almost simultaneously as I went to put the book down. All the questions I had gathered from the book, had been ANYTHING but answered. I found myself saying “Hines, really? You can’t do that to me!” Slowly, I began to see the genius in it. My rage transformed into astonishment and admiration.

I've quoted Steven King about this in an earlier post, and I’ll do it again.

"All the arts depend upon telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation” (Steven King, On Writing). In this same book, he states, “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s” (Steven King, On Writing).

Hines accomplishes this beautifully. Faces in the Fire showcases that every reader can and will make their own interpretations of a story. Each can take what they want from it and decide for themselves what they want it to mean. Reading Faces in the Fire is like those Paint by Number kits? You get a picture and you match the paint colors to specific numbers. But no one really uses those numbers, the real pictures come from those who make it up themselves.

It's sort of like that.

Hines provides a general guideline for how the story plays out, but ultimately, the colors, the details, the answers it’s all up to the reader.

Another aspect of Hines writing that deserves a moment of our time is his ability to make the unbelievable believable in the span of about two pages. The main character is a man named Kurt. Kurt has a special talent that is usually only portrayed as entertainment. He can hear ghosts in the possessions of dead people. Kurt takes control of this situation by collecting the clothing or objects that speak to him. Typically, I’m laughing at this sort of thing, but in light of Faces in the Fire, it only added to the eeriness and excitement of the story. It seemed perfectly normal that someone could hear the ghosts of people in their old things. This simple ability of getting people to believe whatever idiocy you put in a book, is fundamental to any story, especially to a horror story. (Not to say Hines book is idiotic nonsense, but hopefully you get my point.)

I would not describe Faces in the Fire as graphic or gory. It’s not openly scary as most stories try to be. It is one novel I would definitely place on the Thriller end of the scale. Instead of blood and guts or psychological panic attacks, it is composed in a fashion that draws the reader in. It’s mystery captivates and allures, until your dependent on knowing how it ends. This bewitching power is why I consider it to be a great story. Faces in the Fire is twisted and strange (therefore qualifying it, in my book, to be considered among other Horror/Thriller/Suspense novels). The way it mesmerized me as I read was fascinating. It managed to blind me with my own addiction.

You will be forever annoyed and in love with the nonsensical set up of Faces in the Fire. T.L. Hines is a lyrical enchanter who will leave you with the satisfaction of uncertainty.

Perplexed Trepidation

Stephen King wrote The Shining, a classic horror story about a family of three desperate for money and to be reconnected. Jack, the father, has been fired for some recent anger outbreaks. He’s a recovering alcoholic trying to get his life together. After being let go from his good-stature teaching position, he’s searching for the quickest, highest paying job he can find. Wendy (his wife) and their son, Danny, are willing to follow him anywhere he goes. When Jack is offered a job as winter caretaker of The Overlook Hotel he sees it as his best option. Him and Wendy decide it will be good for them. The Overlook would give them a chance to grow closer and for Jack to finish writing his play. King has crafted strong, passionate characters who carry the story beautifully.

Sturdy characters are vital. Especially when an author like Stephen King is writing the plot line. It took me a while to get through The Shining. The writing is a little thicker than other books I’ve read. Not to mean that it’s boring in any way, shape, or form. Or that the subject matter is hard to digest. It’s just thick, or heavy, which in the case of thriller or horror novel isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I like that his books aren’t the one-sitting kind of books. It takes time to read and digest what King writes. The Shining takes a good amount of time to enjoy. I’m not going to whip through it and forget everything I read the next morning.

In fact, I love that aspect of this book. Honestly, it took me quite a while to read through The Shining. Each time I started though, I could recall exactly where I was and what was going on in that scene. While still remembering all that had elapsed beforehand.

(Something I struggle with a lot.)

I must admit, with this book I have to be EXTRA careful about accidental spoiling. Which is one trait I ABSOLUTELY love about it! It’s impossible to figure out the ending (least it was for me). The reader is left in confusion for the majority of the book.

For example, pretend you’re walking down a hallway, at the end there’s a sharp turn. You’re in complete darkness. You absolutely have no way of knowing what’s coming to meet you when you reach that turn (unless you’re a psychic, but for the sake of this example, you’re not). Indulge yourself on that feeling for a minute. Complete and utter ignorance. Uncertainty crashes over you again and again like waves in the ocean.

That is what it’s like to read The Shining.

You just don’t know what’s going to happen.

Furthermore, besides being a lightless hallway, it’s also a bad car accident. You know, the kind you don’t want to look at, but you just can’t help it? As The Shining obscures your reasoning, changes everything you thought was going to happen, and creeps into the deepest corners of your mind, it captivates you. You have to keep reading. After every twist and turn of the plot King finds one more way to mystify and confuse and coax you into reading another chapter.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any devoted fan of fright. The Shining is a classic horror story seething with suspense.

Books or Movies?

Separating genres is difficult. For the most part, when I reference “Horror Fiction” I include anything falling under that category, but I also tend to take into account anything labelled as “Thriller,” “Suspense,” or sometimes even “Speculative.” I am obsessed with anything scary. Books or movies. However, there is something about a book that makes the whole experience come full circle. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never pass up a late night filled with terror and panic on the TV screen. Yet watching and reading are two EXTREMELY different adventures. For one, with a movie, what you see is what you get. While the director can leave some things up to imagination, ultimately the interface between you and the horror depends mainly on how much you can take or how much the director wants to show.

On the contrary, a book is practically on the opposite end of things. While the author creates a framework and a plot, your mind (your subconscious even) fills in all the details.

If a director points the camera at a room during a crazed man’s fit of insanity ending in a violent massacre that leaves an innocent bystander dead, the viewer is subject to only what the camera shoots. Suppose a writer, on the other hand, portrays that same episode in a novel. In this case, the scene, when read, will look surprising different to all who read it. In my opinion, this intensifies the fear factor greatly. Suddenly, the readers are viewing the frenzied outburst through their personal filters, implanting their own fears and apprehensions.

No two people will undergo the exact same experience.

This, to me, is the magic of books. They are unfinished, incomplete works of art.

In his book, On Writing, Stephen King argues that telepathy is quite a normal occurrence. King writes, “All the arts depend upon telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation” (King 95). He goes on to explain by using On Writing as an example. “I’m writing the first draft of this part at my desk…on a snowy morning in December of 1997. … So let’s assume that you’re in your favorite receiving place just as I am in the place where I do my best transmitting. We’ll have to perform our mentalist routine not just over distance but over time as well, yet that presents no real problem;” (King 95, 97).

King goes on to explicitly describe a table supporting a cage that contains a rabbit, using distinct detail. After the illustration he asks, “Do we see the same thing?” (King 97). He states yes, in fact for the most part everyone who reads that will see the table upon which sits a cage housing a rabbit. (To enforce my point that no two experiences are the same, King also says that minor details will probably have changed, such as the exact shade of the red table cloth.)

For books to be concluded, they need to be read and experienced. The images must come alive in the reader.

If you’re not a big reader, then by all means, continue satisfying your horror addiction through the TV screen. I have no objection to a dark room, the aroma of popcorn and Chinese food. The wafting light of silver screen-nightmares nurturing short-term fixes. However, to the truly fear-wrought adrenaline junkies, the suspiciously devout bookworms, and the read-between-the-lines aficionados, may your habit never be kicked and may your desires never be completely indulged.

SOURCES:
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York, NY: Scribner, 2010. Print.