Horror Verses crime Anyone??

[becky brown]

Does anyone else out there read alot of horror as well as crime? I do, and i find the two genres blend in well together. As a big fan of Richard Laymon, i often find myself having a hard time putting his works into one or the other catagory. Anyone else have this trouble with there fav authors?

[Christa Faust]

I read (and occasionally write) horror and find there to be a ton of crossover. Are Steve Niles' Cal McDonald books horror because they contain supernatural monsters or are they hardboiled pulp because they are about a classic hard-drinking down-and-out PI? Is Hannibal Lecter a "monster" or just a crazy man? What about Huston's Joe Pitt? Why is it that a supernatural romance and a supernatural mystery are both called "horror?" When does a serial killer story become gory or explicit enough to stop being crime fiction and start being horror? Is there a manual?

Honestly I have no idea. As a reader I don't give a damn. I read what I want and let God (in this case B&N) sort em out. As a writer who violates the genre boundries all the time, I sometimes worry about what book should go on what shelf because I wonder how it will effect sales. In the end, I still have no idea, but I find that there are a lot of similar emotions evoked by both crime and horror fiction and those are the kinds of emotions I like to experience while reading.

[Daniel Hatadi]

I wrote an article called (plug, plug, plug) CRIME+HORROR=THRILLER?, which should appear in the next Crimespree, so I best not copy that here, but this has been a particular fascination of mine of late, both with my reading and my writing. Personally, I couldn't give a rat's arse (Quaint Aussie Expression TM) about genre, but I am generally drawn to the darker works of fiction, thus crime/horror is a perfect match.

Some authors I've read who are doing great work with this mix include: John Connolly, Charlie Huston (probably my fave of the bunch), Mo Hayder, Crimespace's own Anne Frasier, Nick Stone, Steve Mosby, Robert Gregory Browne, and Alexandra Sokoloff (I'm yet to read these last three).

But I want MORE. Any other suggestions, anyone?

[Donna Moore]

I can't read horror because I am a total wuss. I also can't watch horror films because I have to sleep with the lights on for about a week afterwards if I do. I used to read Stephen King but when I discovered I was whimpering as I read one of his books I stopped and haven't read once since. Yes, I know I'm pathetic :o) I was away at friends over New Year and one evening they made me watch Dracula. After seeing my reaction (basically sitting behind a cushion and jumpin at every noise) they decided it would be fun to put a rubber skull in my bed. I'm still traumatised :o)

Of the ones you mention Daniel, I can't read Mo Hayder at all, I read and loved Nick Stone - it was creepy and totally thrilling, and I really want to read Charlie Huston (although I think I am going to start off with his non horror stuff).

[Daniel Hatadi]

I quite liked MR CLARINET too, more for the atmosphere than the PI hijinks.

You know, my mum's Romanian, and when I was a kid I convinced myself she'd helped kill Dracula. At the time, I used to hide behind the door to watch snippets of the vampire whenever he appeared on TV (which in my mind was regularly).

Then again, I was scared of shadows too. My own shadow in particular. Seriously.

[Julie Morrigan]

'Then again, I was scared of shadows too. My own shadow in particular.'

I'm not surprised - I'd cack myself if that thing was tailing me!

On a more serious note, I used to keep an eye on shadows, too. I was convinced they did weird shit when they thought I wasn't watching. And they still catch me out sometimes and make me jump.

[Simon Wood]

I write in both genres, but more crime these days, while there is some crossover with readers, I have found it somewhat confuses readers to what kind of writer I am. This applies in my case though...

[EDWARD C MORGAN]

I read a great deal of horror as a teen, but the last few years, not so much. I do enjoy the Agent Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I believe they are a blend of horror and mystery.

[Don Anderson]

Tom Piccirilli certainly comes to mind. His stuff blends horror, suspense and crime.