Simon Wood

Posts Tagged: horror

October is Halloween month, so I thought I’d showcase one of my more creepier tales. So October’s Book of the Month is ROAD RASH. It’s one of my few tales that blends horror and crime. So this is what to expect:

James Straley might think his life is cursed, but it doesn’t compare to what lies ahead of him on life’s highway. He’s on the run with the proceeds of a botched bank robbery. It’s all he has. His crew is dead and his getaway car just died on him. He’s on foot with the cash when he comes across a two-car pileup. There’s no saving the drivers, but he can save himself and steals one of the wrecked cars. But he boosts the wrong set of wheels. Within an hour of driving off, he develops a rash that eats away at his flesh. No doctor can help him–only the car’s original owner. If Straley wants his skin back, he must journey on the road to redemption, which ends in the heart of Central America.

“Road Rash is a wild collision of crime caper and supernatural thriller that works on every level. Lightning-paced, darkly funny, deeply creepy, and highly recommended.”
— Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of The Dragon Factory

“Simon Janus understands the darkness inside us all and nails it to the page. Fast-paced and gut-wrenching, pedal-to-the-metal thrills.”
— Scott Nicholson, author of The Red Church &

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing stories and background that led to the writing of this book. Stick around. 🙂

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My horror fiction and my crime fiction have always shared a common trait in that they feature ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, but another trait separates them. My crime fiction in most cases focuses on people who’ve courted danger. My horror fiction usually features people who’ve done nothing to invite calamity into their lives. They’re just merely victims of circumstance. Which I suppose is a little mean of me. So why go there? I suppose I don’t like Hollywood endings. Whether we like it or not, life is unfair and cruel at times. So, it’s not realistic that innocent people escape evil. The good guy doesn’t always win and the bad guy doesn’t always get his comeuppance. Every day the news proves this point again and again. In my own life, I’ve witnessed bad things happen to good people and it would be disingenuous for me not to reflect that in a story.

You could be mistaken for thinking I’m a dour and depressed personality type. Maybe I am, especially if I don’t get my coffee. 🙂 But I’m not. Not really. I have a belief that we can overcome anything, especially when we are faced with insurmountable odds. That’s what my horror fiction is all about. Dark and seemingly impossible forces can strike us at any time, but how we cope, endure and conquer those forces. It’s those people who are ripped from their world and put on the spot fascinate me. How a character deals with a traumatic event or their worst fears is exciting because those people will grow from the experience and ensuring they’ll never be the same person again. Some of those characters will triumph and some will buckle and fail. And in either case survival is never guaranteed, even for those that triumph. The dark side is cruel like that. 🙂

This concludes DRAGGED INTO DARKNESS’ month in the spotlight. I hope you’ve enjoyed these essays and stories. September is another book, but I’ll leave you with one of the stories from the collection—ACCEPTABLE LOSSES. It’s probably one of my most requested stories and really highlights what DRAGGED INTO DARKNESS theme means to me. Captain John Clelland has struck the worst of bargains for the lives of allied soldiers. You can either read the story or listen to an audio adaptation of the tale here.

Thanks for reading.

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DraggedIntoDarkness400Every story has a genesis. Mine usually come from the world around me. Every good writer is a thief and I steal everything. I pinch from the lives of friends as well as my own. The news is always a great source of inspiration. Even other stories can spark a story. It’s the ideas I go for. They’re just the perfect thing to create a story. So for DRAGGED INTO DARKNESS, here are some of the stories behind the stories.

“Runway Three-Seven”

Sitting up late one New Year’s Day watching Rod Serling’s NIGHT GALLERY, I caught a particular episode about a plane in trouble. It was obvious from what was said that the writer didn’t research his subject too well. The story has the character call out a runway number that doesn’t exist in aviation, but the mistake prompted me to consider “what if.” This story was also a chance to exorcise a personal demon.

When I was flying student, I was returning to the landing strip after a mandated solo flight. As I was turning to make a final approach, another pilot radioed in to land. Unfortunately, he misread his location and we were on a collision course. Our two planes were within seconds of a mid-air collision when I spotted his plane descending on top of me. I made an evasive maneuver and when I’d recovered from that, I realized I’d lost my bearings. To compound matters, low clouds swept in and air traffic control and I lost sight of each other. The airport couldn’t switch on its lights because they were undergoing maintenance. I flew around for nearly an hour trying to find my way back, but with no luck. Panic really had a grip on me and I actually considered crashing the plane just so the ordeal would be over.

Luckily, a passing helicopter spotted me and he had the advantage of seeing both the airfield and me. He talked me down and the airfield cleared the runway for an emergency landing. I made a perfect landing in front of a row of fire tenders just in case things didn’t go well.

A lot of this real life experience became the heart of Neal’s plight in Runway Three-Seven. The emotional force this tale carries is what I felt and I hope you feel it too.

“The Sunseeker”

This was first story idea I ever thought of, long before I even thought about writing. It was during one those perfect summer days and I thought to myself, what if I was a total sun worshiper but was denied that pleasure? A story immediately popped into my head with the dilemma of what a sun lover would do if they were cursed to become a vampire.

The story has become one of my most popular, having been published four times. A lot of people ask about The Whistler character and if he will make a return. I don’t know myself, but I hope so, mainly because he was based on a real life person. In the late 80’s, psychiatric patients were being “released into the community.” My hometown was graced with the presence of several such characters, but one guy really stood out. I’d come out of a movie theater one night and I was walking back to my flat. Other moviegoers peopled the street, but one guy stood out. He stood over six feet tall with trousers that didn’t meet his socks, a raggedy Nike sweatshirt and bowl haircut. He didn’t walk; he strode and cut a swath through the crowd. He was some two hundred feet behind me when he started to whistle. I didn’t recognize the aria, but it was operatic. This guy was pitch perfect and possessed the power to project his music like he had a microphone. His ability was stunning to the extent that he stopped people in their tracks while they took in this amazing giant. I didn’t stop. I kept walking and walking fast, because for all the music’s beauty, there was a sinister edge to this man’s whistle. Nothing should have been that perfect. As I hurried, I felt him and his music close in on me. His music, which seemed to be right behind me now, enveloped me and I feared how long it would be before the Whistler got to me too. He caught me up. The intensity of his whistle hurt my ears. I couldn’t deny how much I feared this man and my fear was repeated on the faces of the people coming in the opposite direction. The Whistler overtook me, never once acknowledging my existence. A sense of relief flooded over me. As he left me behind, I felt safe again. I came across the Whistler on several other occasions, but I never heard him whistle again—and I hope I never do.

“Ladies’ Room”

At the 2004 World Horror Convention, I was on a panel about fears. I stated that I feared just about everything. I get nervous in a Starbucks because there are too many choices and the line of people waiting for me make a decision looks ugly. Ladies’ restrooms also make me nervous. Don’t ask why I have visited a ladies’ restroom in the first place. Let’s just move on. There’s something forbidden about a ladies’ restroom, for men leastways. These places aren’t for men, so if one ventures inside, then there should be consequences. What triggered this desire to write about this forbidden place was an incident a few years back when I was leaving a movie theater and I spotted the janitor leaving the ladies’ restroom and he seemed fine with being there. At the time, I was unemployed and the jobs I was willing to undertake didn’t rule out working in places that scared me. Hence a voyage of discovery awaits my hero in “The Ladies’ Room.”

“The Hoarder”

This is a pretty short story, but it’s becoming a crowd favorite at readings. It’s a pretty shocking tale about a woman who can’t throw anything away. What makes this story that much more shocking is that Charlene Casey’s obsessive compulsive disorder isn’t fiction but a fact and so much so that it’s in a category all of its own. Hoarding is a disease. There are people who can’t bear to throw anything away and what seems over the top in the story is drawn from several case histories. It just goes to show the lengths that we can go to. I hope this story is a warning to us all.

The story is seen through the eyes of Dr. Birnbaum, who has made three appearances in my stories. I hope to produce a collection featuring Dr. B’s stranger cases. There are a lot of phobias out there and if one person is equipped to deal with them, it’s him.

“Hungry For More”

This tale is one of my few gross-out pieces and came from one of those daft backhand remarks I sometimes make. Eating in America is an experience. The amount of food and sheer size is intimidating to a small Englishman like myself, so my early experiences ordering food in diners and restaurants usually resulted in the sweats. Diner menus have a habit of showing pictures of food rather than descriptions and what looks big pictorially is usually even bigger in the charbroiled flesh. It’s not uncommon that I’ll receive a burger that I can’t get my mouth around, so my backhand comment was along the lines of, “How do you people eat these things?” The rest is disgusting history.

“In The Eye Of The Beholder”

I find phobias fascinating in a train wreck kind of way. It’s hard to turn away from one person’s inability to deal with a certain aspect of their environment. My fascination with hoarding came out in “The Hoarder.” With “In The Eye of the Beholder,” I was drawn to an article on Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Basically, this is a where a person has a severe distaste for their bodily appearance. They go beyond thinking their butt is too big. In extreme cases, people feel their body is unbalanced and amputation is the only way to even things up. At the time, a story had made the news about a man who’d instructed a doctor to remove a leg because he could no longer live with his scarred leg after a bike accident. The actual scarring wasn’t that bad. I found the surgeon’s comments engrossing. He risked his medical license because he totally empathized with the man’s plight. With this story, I wanted to deal with perfection and imperfection. When I was thinking about where to set this story, there could be only one place—Hollywood.

“Acceptable Losses”

This is probably my most popular short story. It’s been reprinted a number of times since it originally appeared in the paperback. I think the true nature of this story has an affect on people.

In June ’98, I was in Thailand and I visited a British war grave about a mile from the Bridge on the River Kwai. One of the people I was traveling with was an Australian girl. After we left the grave, she told me about her grandfather. He was a World War II veteran and never talked about the war—except once, when he was drunk. He’d explained to her and her family how he’d been one of the men that was charged with the task of picking up the bodies of fallen soldiers after the battles. I was riveted to her every word, which is astounding, considering she was giving the account second hand.

I wasn’t writing at the time, but her story stuck with me. Some years later, Horrorfind ran a war-themed contest and I wanted to use this traumatic event somehow. Unfortunately, I had a first half for this tale but not a second and it was another year before I came up with Clelland’s bargain with Oracle. The bargain creates a powerful dynamic. The story’s format takes on one of “effect and cause”—the effect being the bodies on the beach and cause being Oracle’s need for food. If the Bucket Boys’ task wasn’t distressing enough, the bargain Clelland has made with Oracle makes what the Bucket Boys do a thousand times worse.

“The Head”

This story started out as an experiment. I and three other writers began a round-robin story. We’d write a section then pass it on to the next person until we had a story. Unfortunately, the team lost momentum and the story fizzled out, but I felt strongly about the piece. I believed there was something to be salvaged and I asked if I could finish it. I added a considerable chunk to the story to complete it then pared it down to produce a contiguous and consistent piece. I think the reason why I wanted to see this story completed was that collaborating with three other writers had forced me to write something that I wouldn’t have normally written. This stretched me and I enjoyed the torture. I find it a very satisfying piece.

“The Shower Curtain”

When Julie and I moved from Sacramento to the Bay Area, we lived in an apartment and the shower curtain in the bathroom was made of a silk-like cloth. The bad thing about it was when you showered and got close to the curtain, it would stick to you and it didn’t matter how warm the shower was, the curtain was always cold, clammy and cloying. Its touch felt like skin flayed only minutes before from its owner. I came to hate having a shower in that bathroom fearing its deathly touch and with this hate came an idea. “The Shower Curtain” was written one evening while my hair was still damp.

“Faith”

After starting with a flying story, the collection also ends with a flying story. My flying experience makes me very susceptible to flying tragedies. One such tragedy that sent me searching for more information was the Alaskan Airlines flight from LA to Seattle, which crashed into the Pacific minutes after take off. The FAA published a transcript from the black box. The reports made by the pilots chilled me. I found it hard not to become emotional. These two men, when faced with certain death, were ice-cool under fire. The plane was coming apart on them and they were still making calculated decisions. Personally, I know I would have lost it. Even when hope had abandoned them and the plane was only seconds from impact, these guys were still professionals and the copilot’s last words still chill me.

He said, “Ah, here we go.”

So when I got the idea for “Faith,” a story about what really keeps planes in the air and our feet on the ground, I decided to honor these men and all pilots who’ve died trying to overcome crashing planes. The dialog between the pilots during the crash scene is directly quoting the Alaskan’s pilots. For me, it makes the piece all that more traumatic.

I hope you like these glimpses behind these stories.

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DRAGGED INTO DARKNESS is August’s book of the month. It came out in 2003 and was my first collection of short stories. Unlike ASKING FOR TROUBLE, it’s a collection of Twilight Zone-style short stories and not crime stories. It’s not a title, but a philosophy. Here’s what I mean:

The world is a dark place, even in daylight. DRAGGED INTO DARKNESS features tales of horror from the subtle to the extreme. The characters are ordinary people who are ripped from their daily routines into a dark world.

In “The Eye Of The Beholder,” Dr. Gareth Troy empathizes with his tortured patients’ disfigurements a little too much.

For Dave in “Hungry For More,” the eating habits of Americans are nothing like those of the people in England.

In “Acceptable Losses,” Captain John Clelland has struck the worst of bargains for the lives of allied soldiers.

In “Runway Three-seven,” Neal is forced to land his crippled light aircraft on a runway that can’t possibly exist.

Praise for the book:
“Simon Wood is a powerful new voice in the art of dark storytelling. His prose is surreal, unique…and disturbing. The stories in this collection will indeed drag you into darkness—and you’ll love every minute of it! A promising debut from a future master of terror.”
— Brian Keene, Author of THE RISING and NO REST FOR THE WICKED

“Simon Wood’s fiction is ominously deceptive. His quiet, unassuming voice sneaks up behind you, whispers in your ear the promise of a great story. A chill runs up your spine, but you feel safe. Then, just as you start to relax, Wood bludgeons you over the head with dark twists and turns you never expected. Simon Wood is definitely one hot new writer to watch…but you’d better buckle up for this ride!”
— J. Newman, Author of HOLY ROLLERS and THE WICKED

“Short story writing is a craft few master and when you can pack as much as Simon does into each page…you know you’re reading one of the very best.”
— Elaine Flinn, Author of DEALING IN MURDER

“Simon Wood kept me spellbound with each story in his menagerie of macabre; his surrealist prose is entertaining and equally chilling…While you are DRAGGED INTO THE DARKNESS with Simon you will be pleading for more instead of wishing the ride to end. You’ll indulge your darkened fears and befriend the evil that awaits you around the next corner.”
— Eternal Night

Over the coming weeks, I’ll talk about the origins for the stories and my love of creepy stories.

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I have a love for damaged heroes. I’m not interested in characters who always land on their feet. I think it’s far more interesting for a character to have a few skeletons in his closet, to have done something he’s ashamed of. That way when that character does something heroic, that act has value and depth. I suppose I’m attracted to the concept of redemption when it comes to a hero. It’s easy to hide from our mistakes, but it takes a special person to face up to them and do something about it. and what makes redemption even more attractive to me is that in a lot of ways redemption is a fool’s errand because it can never truly attained. A wrong can never be righted. Forgiveness can never illuminate guilt. A mistake can never be undone. However, it’s something distinctly human to try because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if the damaged hero succeeds or fails in his quest, because it’s about their growth as a person. It’s why I just love the folly of the damaged hero.

In THE SCRUBS, Michael Keeler is my quintessential damaged hero. We meet him as an inmate of Wormwood Scrubs prison. He’s weighed down by his crimes. He’s resigned himself to his life sentence handed down to him. It doesn’t matter that his crime was one of an accidental nature, the crime and its outcome is ugly, tragic and incapable of being undone. He knows he can never make up for the misery he’s caused others, but when he’s offered the chance to volunteer as a guinea pig for a dangerous mission, he sees it as a chance to do something selfless and possibly do something redeem himself in his own eyes, even he can’t in those of his victims. His journey changes him. He starts out as a man trying to save his soul, but by the end, he’s a selfless man willing to make any sacrifice for others.

I suppose my fascination for damaged heroes comes from my belief that with few exceptions, no one is truly good and no one is truly bad. We all have the potential for both. I doubt any one of us can claim to be perfect. We’ve all done something we’re ashamed of or embarrassed by. Even the best of us. What’s truly interesting is how we react to our mistakes and wrongdoings? That’s why a damaged hero will always be interesting to me and hopefully to you.

This concludes the Book of the Month postings for THE SCRUBS. I hope you check out Michael Keeler in THE SCRUBS. You can read the opening chapter here.

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THE SCRUBS is July’s book of the month. It was the first title to come out under my pen name, Simon Janus. Janus is my identity for my darker work.

I’m heavily influenced by the Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected and THE SCRUBS is a tale that takes the story’s hero down a dark road. Here’s a glimpse into the book.

James Jeter, the notorious serial killer with a sixth sense, holds court inside London’s Wormwood Scrubs Prison. He’s the focus of the “North Wing Project.” Under the influence of a hallucinogen, Jeter can create an alternative world known as “The Rift” containing the souls of his victims. Pardons are on offer to inmates who’ll enter The Rift. Michael Keeler has nothing to lose and little to live for. He’s sent into The Rift to learn the identity of Jeter’s last victim.

It’s a mission where the guilty can be redeemed, but at a price…

Praise for the book:
“The Scrubs is one merciless piece of work.”
— Gary A. Braunbeck, author of Coffin Country

“The Scrubs…it’s a journey to a Twilight Zone of our time.”
— Mort Castle, author of The Stranger

“Lean, mean fear machine – The Scrubs is gruesomely inventive entertainment.”
— Simon Clark, author of This Rage of echoes

“This is, simply put, an incredible novella.”
— Michael Arnzen, author of Bitchfight and Play Dead

“The Scrubs is a superb, fast-paced journey through the hell of incarceration…and way, way beyond.”
— Tim Lebbon, author of Dawn

“If you are looking for a quick read that is sure to leave you breathless until the final page is turned, you cannot do any better than The Scrubs.”
— Horrorworld

“This is a fascinating, disturbing journey.”
— Dark Discoveries Magazine

“A surreal horror trip.”
— Horror Fiction Review

In the coming weeks post, I’ll talk about the story’s origins, my split personalities and my love for damaged heroes. In the meantime, you can read an excerpt from the book here.

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