New writing HORROR Guest Editor MURIEL GRAY introduces her pick of poetry and prose on the theme of horror IT WOULD be helpful to know precisely when and why it was decided by the literary world that the genre of horror musch be regarded as an inferior art; a trashy, mindless, empty entertainment for spotty boys in Parkas who enjoy heads being severed and guts being spilled. Perhaps it's this unjust preconception that has dissuaded women authors from attempting to express themselves within the genre, and with a few notable exceptions, kept horror as an almost exclusively male club. As Margaret Atwood demonstrated with her insulting protestations that she writes 'speculative' fiction rather than (heaven forbid), science fiction, 'serious' women writers can't bear the idea of having their books displayed on shelves beside gold-embossed dragons or drooling monsters. This genre bigotry is all the more curious when we consider the rich literary pedigree that horror writing has enjoyed for centuries. Names like MR James, Ambrose Bierce, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Walter Scott, HG Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens and countless more quill-wielding heavyweights, all understood the irresistible draw of the dark. And all this before we consider the contribution made by female writers bold enough to tackle horror instead of drawing room manners. How can we dismiss the genre as shallow, exploitative rubbish, when horror's origins embrace Mary Shelley, include the dark, terrifying tales of Flanner O'Connor, the disturbing fiction of Joyce Carol Oates, and boasts possibly one of the greatest short story writers of the 20th Century, Shirley Jackson? For the complete essay, and for Muriel's full selection of poetry and prose on the theme of horror, read issue 23 • Subscribe! Read a story selected by Muriel Gray: The Crying by Heidi Amsinck For more on MURIEL GRAY, go to www.sundayherald.com
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