It is without a doubt that the subject of ghosts easily ranks among the top type of horror stories ever written. From the brilliant imaginations of Nathaniel Hawthorne, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allen Poe to the modern-day conceptions of Poppy Z. Brite, Clive Barker, and Douglas Clegg--spectral forms are just as abundant in fiction as they were centuries previous. Ghosts are a mystery to humans, not only in a fiction but in all reality.
There are some who believe in the existence of such spectral forms and others who dismiss their likeliness as mirages of the human mind. Ultimately, ghosts are defined as spectral forces who are bound to reality (Earth, if you will) because the human they once were died before their time. Evidently, these restless spirits have something more to live for because: a) they were violently murdered and seek vengeance; b) they were bound to a love lost that didn't run its course; or c) they were victims of their own hand (suicide). Please note that I'm not an expert on ghosts, I am simply revisiting the scenario of classic ghost stories as they pertain to fiction and urban legend.
As an author of horror fiction I've always wanted to write a ghost story. In fact, I don't know of many writers of the horror genre who haven't made a stab or two at writing and publishing ghost stories. After all, it is a market that will never die (no pun intended). Ghosts will always be around as long as there are children who secretly whisper to each other of the lady who once lived in that age-old house and who group around a campfire on a cool, Spring night.
Of course, the plot of a ghost story can be rather simple. At least its moral, or driving force, can usually be defined by a structure based on vengeance or lost love. Surely, add a grieving widow or unsuspecting innocent and a writer can allow terror to run its course. Yet, in my author mind, I've seen many of these plots before. I've witnessed houses haunted by grueling phantasms hellbent on righting their own timely demise. I've read of widows who are incessantly pestered by mischievous forces during the grieving process.
Surely, amongst the classic theme of ghost stories, there has to be something new!
A couple of years ago, I began writing a ghost story that centered around the concept of lost love. I managed to get halfway through the story and was distracted by other ideas that soon took precedent. Over the past two years, I have revisited that same story, read it from beginning to unfinished middle, and have always dismissed it. Surely, I wanted to write a ghost story but, unfortunately, its time was premature. Perhaps I didn't have the edge I sought. After all, the tale of a spirit at unrest can be a difficult sell in the writing world.
Since that time I have created many stories, even novels. Three months ago, I revisited that same story of a ghost at unease. Finally, I found myself beginning from the middle of the story as if I had never stopped writing it. The characters were still fresh in my mind in the way the aroma of spring flowers remind one of another coming season. Yet, I was still undetermined as to what the edge to my ghost could possibly bring to the literary world. When I asked myself this, I realized that sometimes it is best to go back to basics.
I revisited the concepts of the classic ghost--a human dead before his time, vengeance, love lost--it can never be changed. So it was that I stuck with these primary qualities of a spirit at unrest and simply changed the atmosphere and setting. Sure, the ghost wants to right all that is wrong, but why? Why now opposed to fifty years ago? And it was that particular question that provided the answer to the completion of my ghost story, Joseph's Request.
I discovered the answer to the riddle of my ghost story. It's rather simple (sometimes the answer is right in front of you): modernize with situation and setting, not necessarily the plot. Unique situation can provide a new twist of events to an overdone antagonist such as a ghost. And the setting...hell!..a writer's setting is his domain, his exclusive world that no other person can touch! A contemporary setting can truly take a classic scenario into a new world not traveled by any other.
I am in the process of completing the final edit of Joseph's Request. Afterward, I will be submitting it to Cleis Press' Best Gay Erotica 2009 anthology. Yes, this story centers on homo-eroticism (gay erotica). As you all know, I love to blend erotic elements with the terror of the supernatural. Though it doesn't influence every word I create, heavy essentials of eroticism work best with this particular story. After all, I write what I feel, I convey a moral to be learned, and I create to entertain. Joseph’s Request will move you in one way or another, regardless of your sexual preference.
There are some who believe in the existence of such spectral forms and others who dismiss their likeliness as mirages of the human mind. Ultimately, ghosts are defined as spectral forces who are bound to reality (Earth, if you will) because the human they once were died before their time. Evidently, these restless spirits have something more to live for because: a) they were violently murdered and seek vengeance; b) they were bound to a love lost that didn't run its course; or c) they were victims of their own hand (suicide). Please note that I'm not an expert on ghosts, I am simply revisiting the scenario of classic ghost stories as they pertain to fiction and urban legend.
As an author of horror fiction I've always wanted to write a ghost story. In fact, I don't know of many writers of the horror genre who haven't made a stab or two at writing and publishing ghost stories. After all, it is a market that will never die (no pun intended). Ghosts will always be around as long as there are children who secretly whisper to each other of the lady who once lived in that age-old house and who group around a campfire on a cool, Spring night.
Of course, the plot of a ghost story can be rather simple. At least its moral, or driving force, can usually be defined by a structure based on vengeance or lost love. Surely, add a grieving widow or unsuspecting innocent and a writer can allow terror to run its course. Yet, in my author mind, I've seen many of these plots before. I've witnessed houses haunted by grueling phantasms hellbent on righting their own timely demise. I've read of widows who are incessantly pestered by mischievous forces during the grieving process.
Surely, amongst the classic theme of ghost stories, there has to be something new!
A couple of years ago, I began writing a ghost story that centered around the concept of lost love. I managed to get halfway through the story and was distracted by other ideas that soon took precedent. Over the past two years, I have revisited that same story, read it from beginning to unfinished middle, and have always dismissed it. Surely, I wanted to write a ghost story but, unfortunately, its time was premature. Perhaps I didn't have the edge I sought. After all, the tale of a spirit at unrest can be a difficult sell in the writing world.
Since that time I have created many stories, even novels. Three months ago, I revisited that same story of a ghost at unease. Finally, I found myself beginning from the middle of the story as if I had never stopped writing it. The characters were still fresh in my mind in the way the aroma of spring flowers remind one of another coming season. Yet, I was still undetermined as to what the edge to my ghost could possibly bring to the literary world. When I asked myself this, I realized that sometimes it is best to go back to basics.
I revisited the concepts of the classic ghost--a human dead before his time, vengeance, love lost--it can never be changed. So it was that I stuck with these primary qualities of a spirit at unrest and simply changed the atmosphere and setting. Sure, the ghost wants to right all that is wrong, but why? Why now opposed to fifty years ago? And it was that particular question that provided the answer to the completion of my ghost story, Joseph's Request.
I discovered the answer to the riddle of my ghost story. It's rather simple (sometimes the answer is right in front of you): modernize with situation and setting, not necessarily the plot. Unique situation can provide a new twist of events to an overdone antagonist such as a ghost. And the setting...hell!..a writer's setting is his domain, his exclusive world that no other person can touch! A contemporary setting can truly take a classic scenario into a new world not traveled by any other.
I am in the process of completing the final edit of Joseph's Request. Afterward, I will be submitting it to Cleis Press' Best Gay Erotica 2009 anthology. Yes, this story centers on homo-eroticism (gay erotica). As you all know, I love to blend erotic elements with the terror of the supernatural. Though it doesn't influence every word I create, heavy essentials of eroticism work best with this particular story. After all, I write what I feel, I convey a moral to be learned, and I create to entertain. Joseph’s Request will move you in one way or another, regardless of your sexual preference.
As a writer, I have realized that it isn’t too difficult to modernize the classic ghost. Initially, I had overlooked the basic elements of a ghost story. However, I concluded that situation and setting are key! Adding these components will provide a tale that evocatively lingers as any phantom at unrest.
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andrew_wolter- Andrew Wolter
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