Beyond the cartoons I grew up with such as Bugs Bunny and his pals, Tom and Jerry, Baby Huey(the most likely serial killer) was this gem of formative development, Creature double feature. One could argue the symphony and production of saturday morning cartoons was dark. Obviously. The Barber of Seville in which Elmer Fudd belts out my favorite lines of, “Kill the rabbit, kill the rabbit, kill the rabbit right now!”to a symphony can be considered dark. Slapstick comedy of Daffy Duck and Scooby Doo, kept me entertained too.
But I can remember the impact that The Creature from the Black Lagoon had on my desire to write horror. Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, Dark Shadows. Frankenstein, the Werewolf, Dracula and they would face Abbott and Costello. The old classics were created amazingly at a time when the ways of today’s cinematography were non-existent. Couple that with on location filming such as Tarzan or old westerns, 10000 Leagues Under the Sea and you can realize where my vivid writing comes from. Graphic violence has been more like a roller coaster. Today the best shows often are remakes with a new twist. Regurgitated story lines and concepts that previously worked.
My novels are mostly counter to that thought. Original and new while borrowing simplistic ideas from the past. When I heard people saying vampire novels have worn out ideas I felt challenged. With my debut novel about Lamia(latin for vampire) and few people knowing it. I felt it was too original. Merchants of Blood nails the Bram Stoker setting for Dracula with power struggles and swordplay. No werewolves– only seductive vampires capable of becoming wolves and bats. In the absence of Anne Rice, i assure you I’m not your multi vampire story replacement. Witches of the Underground is being edited now. Clowns with RVs(the theme not the title) and then a sequel to A Serpents Love are all in the works. Beyond that a werewolf story, only because it has nothing to do with Lycans. My writing improves with each novel but the profound storylines have mostly been in my brain since I was a child.
DAGilberthorrorwriter 