This is where I step outside of fiction to wrestle with the real world. Here you’ll find personal reflections, cultural commentary, and explorations of the themes that echo through my horror writing — fear, memory, and the South’s complicated shadow.
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Halloween hands us easy monsters: plastic fangs, rubber masks, store-bought blood. They’re safe because we know they’re not real. Real monsters dress better. They keep tidy lawns and shake your hand at the ballgame. They’re at every community service event. They spend their weekends helping neighbors with yard work or driving someone’s grandma to church.
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Being scared is a natural part of life. But it’s never been my favorite part. Which may sound odd considering my chosen form of storytelling. But like the subject matter itself, I’m full of contradictions. I don’t enjoy the sensation of fear, but I can’t stay away from horror.
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You don’t have to squint too hard to see horror in the South. It’s stitched into the landscape, layered into the culture, and hidden in plain sight.
R.D. Sellers 