On Horror

“The 3 types of terror: The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it’s when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it’s when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It’s when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there’s nothing there…”- Stephen King

What defines the horror genre? What sets it apart from the rest of speculative fiction?

Render Unto Caesar (A Chuck Wendig Challenge)

I almost didn’t make it in time for the challenge this week (working on another long form story, and having a hard time getting my head space in order. My mashup is supposed to be the spiritual child of DIRTY HARRY and THE WIRE.

Errm. Yeah, not in my usual wheelhouse, but maybe tangential to it. Without further ado, RENDER UNTO CAESAR.