Transcription

 

Kirsten (K): Thank you so much for letting me interview you for this oral history project. This project's theme or title is about why horror? And its kind of what appeals to people about darker fiction. So, to get started I just wanted to see if you would give a little brief introduction about who you are and what you do?

Shawn (S): Hi. Thank you for letting me do this. This is awesome. Um, my name is Shawn Salzman. My professional name is S.W. Salzman. I am a writer, audiobook narrator and an actor/voice actor.

K: The first question I have for you is what do you feel like draws you to horror books and darker fiction? What is it about horror that really calls to you or resonates with you?

S: I guess what initially drew me into horror, what still draws me in to this day, is the fear of the unknown. There are so many things out there that we do not know about or understand. Um, there are a lot of subjects that people do not like to talk about. We, as kids we fear, you know when we are little, we fear the monsters, we fear the boogeyman under the bed, we fear the thing that might be living in our closet. Stuff like that. And I think it's that fear and in general for people, their innate fear of the unknown, I think is what initially draws me into horror, and I'm sure draws a lot of other people into it as well. 

K: My next question is, do remember when you first found out you were interested in horror books? Or in creepy darker fiction? 

I know for a lot of people there's like that aha moment, especially when they are kids or young adults when they read their first horror book, usually Stephen King or something like that and it just clicks for them. So, when was that for you?

S: My a-ha moment actually never came from books. It actually started out with the old universal monster movies; The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Phantom of The Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, stuff like that. And then after that was when I dove into books. I found Mary Shelley's original copy of Frankenstein and I read that and that's more of a tragic tale than horror, but it drew me in. Then I jumped to Stephen King, and I read Cujo, other authors, I jumped to Clive Barker and Robert McCammon who has always resonated with me. I love his horror. But yeah, my aha moment actually came from the old black and white universal studios monster movies. 

K: Okay, next I wanted to ask you do you feel there are unfair or incorrect stigmas or stereotypes around horror books? I know we both read horror and darker fiction, so we've probably seen them, but which ones do you think you've seen the most where people just have this idea of horror and its totally wrong? 

S: The one thing I've noticed most about people is that they tend to dismiss horror as not literary. They think that its juvenile, they think that the writers have a skewed view on reality, that it's not real writing. I've heard so many things like that. It's not intelligent. Lately with splatter horror and extreme horror and stuff like that, the stigma has gotten even worse. Now it's just that they think the writing is just there for the ultra-violence. There is no story, there is no purpose for it. But what I was once told and it resonated with me throughout is it doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter if its horror, it doesn't matter if its comedy, romance, mystery, whatever. Everything is drama in disguise. So, to just summarily dismiss horror or give it this stigma is an unfair conclusion because you're really just dismissing another form of basic literature. 

K: And my last question for you is what emotions do a good horror story make you feel? So, when you're reading something, what emotions let you know that that is a good, well done horror story?

S: I think for me the two main things that I take away with from a story that really makes me believe that the story I just read is really good is that I'm left thinking about what happened, and I question everything that happened. And if I can start to see some of that I might you know pinpoint something that I just read in the book out in reality and I'd be like wow, this really reminds me of that book. Or, um...the fear. If I still feel uneasy after I finish reading a book. Those to me are what makes an excellent horror story. There always gonna be the same things that you get from every book regardless of what genre it is. Youre gonna feel the story. Youre gonna feel the character arcs throughout.  You're gonna want that redemption and youre gonna witness the sorrow and every other type of emotion that goes through. Horror books have that as well. But for me the main thing is if I'm left thinking about it afterwards and if I'm left with a sense of fear or dread afterwards that resonates long after I've finished the book. 

K: I do have on additional follow up question. Because you are a horror author, you write horror stories and books, what things about horror do you love to include in your stories? What really inspires you with your writing?

S: I think for me what I like to include and lately it has gone more towards the what ifs, the unknowns. What if this creature is really lurking out there among us and it hides itself and we don't see it? Or what about the average guy that you talk to on the street? What kinda secrets is he hiding? Could he have done something so horrific and able to beguile everybody because he's so good at what he does? It's those type of things. I love that about horror. There's always the what ifs, there's the mysteries of the unknown, the fear. There's all that aspects and as time goes on really trying to incorporate all of those into my writing. And I hope I succeed. 

K: Many thanks to Shawn or S.W. Salzman for letting me interview him today and talking about dark fiction and horror. Please be sure to check out his books and audiobook narrations on Goodreads and Amazon. Happy reading!