STEPHEN VOLK

Notes from Horror Expo, Dublin (2016)

27/7/2025

 
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Over Halloween weekend 2016 I was at the Freemason’s Hall in Dublin’s fair city as one of the invited guests at the first Horror Expo Ireland, hosted by Dr Sarah Clearly, designed as a crossover event welcoming horror writers, film-makers, academics, and fans to a day of talks, panels and movies.

I enjoyed it immensely: it was illuminating, and great fun shooting the breeze with those who love the genre as much as I do – whether practitioners or professors. Here are a few of my hastily-scribbled notes, scrawled in the bar between glasses of Bushmill’s Black Bush…

1) M. R. James: “We are still in his shadow” – Stephen Jones

Whether through the original texts or, as many of us discovered him, via the immaculate and unforgettable TV adaptations by Lawrence Gordon Clark, James's "repressed and intensely civilised works" live on. And when all is said and done, we can always learn tricks from the masters – and mistresses. Shirley Jackson penned the classic The Haunting of Hill House, but “never had to raise her voice”.

2) “Increasingly, the horror is here anyway” – Dr Dara Downey

The standard trope for horror was setting up a perfect place, a nice family, and the evil invades normality. But slowly that has changed (probably with Robert Bloch’s Psycho in 1959), to say: “Hang on, what if the monster isn’t out there in the woods, what if it’s here, sitting next to us round the camp fire?”

In Peter Bogdanovich’s Targets, a young sniper, picking off random victims, meets his horror film hero (Boris Karloff) at a drive-in. That movie, in a way, represents a transition from the “old” monsters to the new.

3) “People will always be saying there’s something in society that’s out to corrupt the young – and it’s usually art” – Maura McHugh

They tell us it’s bad for us but that only makes us seek it out. Yes, there’s the extreme violence of the controversial recent episode of The Walking Dead in which a member of the regular cast is killed in graphic detail. But this is far from new. In the opening of The Castle of Otranto, the first gothic novel, a character named Conrad is crushed to death by a falling helmet!

4) “In 1980s horror films parents were often neglectful – or vacant” – Sorcha Ni Fhlainn
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In the eighties, Spielbergian children got to “chastise” their parents. Stephen King developed a child’s eye view of scary things. The danger of not listening to the children was all-pervasive. The young have a better idea of what is going on than those in authority because they are closer to their emotions. 

5) “Anything with a synth on is an abomination” – Kevin Corstorphine
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Talking about Stranger Things: remember “to film and TV companies we (who remember the 80s) are first and foremost a demographic.” Yes, Stranger Things is a retro remake, but let’s not forget the great horror movies of the 80s – The Fly, The Thing – were also remakes.

6) “Oh my God, have you seen this?”

There’s always an element of self-testing in horror. How far can the director push it? How much can we take, watching it?… As such, far from being a corrupting influence, is the horror movie form a valuable source of development and identity? And now, as we slip into an ever more conservative era, will we see the banning of so-called “Video Nasties” come back in some different form, responsible for the ills of society as fear tightens its ugly grip?

7) “Horror has always been respectable” – Stephen Jones
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Or, it has been to fans. It’s only that other people – the mainstream – are now catching up with us, and realising what we’ve always known: that it’s a genre with great integrity and a unique ability to stretch the imagination that speaks (inevitably, even unintentionally sometimes, but always) about the anxieties of the times we live in.

Article first appeared on Bang2Write.com 
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Horror Movie (1984)

21/7/2025

 
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By remarkable coincident yesterday, whilst on a country walk near Mells in Somerset, I bumped into my old friend who worked in the art department on Gothic, Peter Ettedgui, now an esteemed film producer, and he told me he'd had access to the vaults at Paramount and had come across old script coverage of Horror Movie, the film I had in development at Goldcrest in the mid-1980s. It was planned to be produced by Alan Marshall and directed by Marek Kanievska, who had just made Another Country starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Sadly the film was never produced, but it came close, until literally the day before Goldcrest went under. It was part of the excitedly announced Goldcrest renaissance of British film, alongside Revolution starring Al Pacino and The Mission starring Robert De Niro. I even appeared on News at Ten! Anyway this was the coverage and I'm taken aback to see, at the young age of 29, I got such positive feedback for my writing from Paramount! 
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The 20 Best Quiet Horror Writers

21/7/2025

 
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I'm honoured to be on this list of the 20 Best "Quiet Horror" Writers, according to Book List. Here's the List in full...

Quiet horror is a subgenre of horror that features more of a psychological, more subtle, quieter tension instead of overt shocks and violence.

Quiet horror fiction writers do not depend on the more usual shocks and violent episodes that one expects in horror fiction but exploit eeriness, unsettling atmospheres and, above all, character. For example Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle) uses the everyday elements of the house and difficult situations to explore the dark side of human nature. Charles L. Grant, known by fans as the “father of horror,” played a major role in his Oxrun Station series, which combined supernatural forces with deep emotional themes. Contemporary writers such as Ramsey Campbell and Susan Hill continue to focus on form and meaning, suggesting that what is implied is more frightening than what is said.
Here are twenty of the top writers of quiet horror fiction:
Henry James (1843–1916)
James’ work has great psychological depth. He is known for the ambiguity of his ghost stories. The novella, The Turn of the Screw is his most famous ghost story.

M.R. James (1862–1936)
James is famous for his scholarly approach to horror, often using the setting of the antiquarian profession. His most notable work is Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.

Arthur Machen (1863–1947)
Machen blends mysticism and horror,  focusing on the unseen, often ancient forces that lie beneath the surface. His most famous novel is The Great God Pan.

Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951)
Blackwood is renowned for his atmospheric supernatural stories. His most notable work is The Willows, which illustrates his skill in evoking dread.

Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)
De la Mare expresses a sense of the uncanny, using poetic language. He explores the inner lives of his characters. The Return is one of his best works.

Robert Aickman (1914–1981)
Aickman’s “strange stories,” are renowned for their dreamlike atmosphere. His collection Cold Hand in Mine is one of the most famous works in this genre.

Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989)
Du Maurier’s novels often blend psychological tension with the supernatural, creating an atmosphere of suspense and dread. Rebecca is her most famous work, embodying her skill in quiet horror.

Shirley Jackson (1916–1965)
Jackson celebrates the darker aspects of human nature, using everyday domestic settings. Her most famous novel is The Haunting of Hill House, an American classic.

Charles L. Grant (1942–2006)
Considered the “father of quiet horror,” Grant’s work is known for its atmospheric, character-driven approach. His Oxrun Station series is a hallmark of the genre.

Susan Hill (1942– )
Hill’s writing is characterized by its Gothic sensibility and chilling atmosphere. The Woman in Black is her most famous novel, a classic ghost story that exemplifies quiet horror.
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Ramsey Campbell (1946– )
Campbell is known for his ability to create an oppressive, unsettling atmosphere through psychological horror. His novel The Grin of the Dark is a notable example of his style.

T.E.D. Klein (1947– )
Klein is known for his meticulous, slow-building horror that emphasizes atmosphere and psychological tension. His novel The Ceremonies is a key work in quiet horror.

Robert Dunbar (1950– )
Dunbar’s fiction is known for its lyrical prose and haunting atmosphere, often delving into themes of isolation and the supernatural. The Pines is a significant work in his oeuvre.

Lisa Tuttle (1952– )
Tuttle’s work often focuses on the psychological and the personal, blending horror with a deep sense of emotional resonance. Nest of Nightmares is a standout collection of her stories.

Reggie Oliver (1952– )
Oliver’s stories are known for their elegant prose and subtle, creeping horror, often drawing on his background in the theater. The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini is among his best-known works.

Thomas Ligotti (1953– )
Ligotti’s fiction is philosophical and surreal, often exploring themes of existential dread and the uncanny. The Last Feast of Harlequin is one of his most acclaimed works.

Stephen Volk (1954– )
Volk’s work often merges psychological horror with supernatural elements, creating an unsettling and thought-provoking atmosphere. His novella Whitstable is particularly renowned.

Joel Lane (1963–2013)
Lane’s stories are noted for their bleak, atmospheric tone and their exploration of urban decay and psychological horror. His collection The Lost District is a key example of his style.

Lynda E. Rucker (1967– )
Rucker’s writing is marked by its rich atmosphere and deep psychological insight, often exploring themes of loss and displacement. Her collection You’ll Know When You Get There is a notable work.

Priya Sharma (1972– )
Sharma’s fiction blends the psychological with the supernatural, often focusing on complex characters and emotional depth. Her novella Ormeshadow is a standout work in the genre.
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Soon...

14/7/2025

 
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    Stephen Volk

    Screenwriter and author

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  • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Feature Films:
    • The Awakening
    • Octane
    • Superstition
    • The Guardian
    • The Kiss
    • Gothic
    • Unproduced Films
  • Short Films:
    • Baby on Board
    • The Deadness of Dad
  • Television:
    • Midwinter of the Spirit
    • Afterlife S2
    • Afterlife S1
    • Cyclops
    • Massage
    • I'll Be Watching You
    • Ghostwatch
    • Unproduced Television
  • Books:
    • The Confirmed Bachelors
    • The Good Unknown
    • Lies of Tenderness
    • Under a Raven's Wing
    • Coffinmaker's Blues
    • The Dark Masters Trilogy >
      • Leytonstone
      • Whitstable
    • The Little Gift
    • The Parts We Play
    • Monsters in the Heart
    • Vardøger
    • Dark Corners
    • Gothic
  • Short Stories:
  • Plays/Audio:
    • Afterlife: Lost Loved Ones
    • The Chapel of Unrest
    • Don't Go There
    • The Hallowe'en Sessions
    • Answering Spirits
    • Other Plays
  • Contact