Horror Favorites, With Paranormal Mystery Writer Heather Elizabeth King
Heather Elizabeth King was the girl at the sleepover waiting for the perfect time to tell a scary story, guaranteeing a sleepless night for all. The author of dark fiction has about 14 novels where she indulges romance with her monsters in paranormal universes. The biggest lesson she's learned about the world-building process is to always write a story the way it wants to be told. Never force characters into spaces they do not want to be in. I've heard this truth from many writers. This is one of the reasons I wanted to respond to Heather's kind feedback with a free associative follow-up about what makes her horror loving heart pump life into her consciousness and creativity. The Virginia dweller keeps the flow here short, sweet, and consistent in how what she's loved for a lifetime has majorly influenced her work today.
Favorite horror film score? Queen of the Damned [by Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs]
Favorite pop song written for a horror film? It wasn’t written for the film, but every time I hear Blue Moon, it makes me think of The American Werewolf in London.
Favorite horror novel? It by Stephen King. I’ve read it 3 or 4 times. A runner up would be The Good House by Tananarive Due.
Favorite horror work of non-fiction? The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L Shirer.
Favorite example of a horror/romance blend? Bram Stoker’s Dracula with the ever sexy Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder.
Favorite horror films with dolls? Child’s Play! One of my favorite horror movies, though, I don’t know why nobody just kicked Chucky. He was like a foot tall.
Favorite horror film with ghosts? Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, The Ring. I could go on. And yes, they’re all my favorite.
Favorite horror film with witches? The Craft
Favorite horror film with demons? The Conjuring
Favorite horror film with mirrors? Mirrors
Favorite horror film with snakes? Anaconda
Favorite horror film with aliens? Aliens, Fire in the Sky, The Thing (circa Kurt Russell)
Favorite horror film franchise? The Conjuring [universe]
Favorite horror sub-genre? Supernatural horror
Favorite horror film hero? Ripley
Favorite horror film villain? David Kessler, because he was so tragic. He didn’t even know he was a villain. And to this day, that’s the scariest werewolf I’ve ever seen in cinema. That howl still gives me chills when I hear it. Best transformation, too.
I also love Benicio Del Toro’s character in The Wolfman because again, he didn’t know he was a villain at first. And he’s an absolutely brilliant actor. The transformation scene in the insane asylum comes close to the transformation scene in An American Werewolf in London. I have a thing about tragic villains.
Favorite horror film comedy? The American Werewolf in London
Favorite horror film scene? The alien/chest scene in Alien. Especially since I learned that the cast wasn’t prepared for what was going to happen in filming that day, so the reactions in the movie are about as real as could be captured.
The last five minutes of Mirrors. I put it as a favorite because it’s so scary that I’ve never actually watched the entire ending without covering my eyes. True story.
Favorite horror film kill? When the children think they’ve killed Pennywise in It. They’re so proud of themselves and so relieved. It makes it that much more horrible when they find out, as adults, that Pennywise isn’t dead.
Favorite horror TV show? Supernatural and the first two seasons of Sleepy Hollow.
Horror film that you love but many people seem to hate? The Manitou. LOVE!
Horror film character that you dislike that many people seem to love? Jigsaw and all things related to the Saw franchise.
Horror film character that you love but many people seem to hate? Mike Lawford (Nicholas Cage) in Pay the Ghost.
Favorite horror anything at this very moment? Author Darcy Coates. And I’ll always love Tananarive Due’s book, The Good House. Very scary!
Facebook | @HeatherK_author
http://heatherelizabethking.com/
Image: Woman writing a note on her notebook By Mauro Grigollo