I’ve been on quite a few podcasts at this point, and one of the questions that typically arises is - So, what got you into horror? I don’t usually put a whole lot of thought into my answer. I rattle off the horror-related things I enjoyed as a kid, and of course drop Stephen King’s name as a major influence. Only on the Dead Headspace podcast did I really try to give an in-depth answer, and even that was lacking genuine contemplation.
But it is a question worth exploring. What did get me interested in horror? And more specifically, why did I become a horror author?
Neither of my parents were (or are) fans of horror. While both of them are artistically talented—my dad even dabbled in writing some—neither was interested in, or even took a cursory glance at, the darker side of art. So why has horror become my chief artistic focus?
This post is the first in a series I will write, taking a deep dive into this question. A deep dive into my history and psyche, trying to pinpoint the things that influenced who I became creatively. Should be fun. And perhaps—for me, anyway—enlightening.
The first influence I want to talk about is one I still very much enjoy today: Unsolved Mysteries. You remember it, right? The show about real life mysteries, about murder and missing persons and the unexplained, with Robert Stack’s uniquely deep voice suggesting “Perhaps you can help solve a mystery.”
Unsolved Mysteries first aired in 1987 and ran all the way through the nineties and into the 2000s. I remember being enamored by it from the very beginning, before I was even ten. The show filled me with a sense of wonder and unease. As advanced as the world seemed—with science and religion both claiming to have all the answers—there was still plenty of stuff out there that defied explanation.
While I enjoyed every segment that aired, I was always particularly drawn to the episodes about UFOs or the paranormal. Even now I can see the episodes on the Bentwaters UFO and Roswell clear in my mind. And the one detailing the disappearance of Frederick Valentich is one of the most convincing cases about UFOs to this day.
I remember being terrified by the episode on the Black Hope Curse. The segments on ghosts at the Comedy Store and Resurrection Cemetery were equally frightening. I remember the nervous feeling I got in the pit of my stomach watching those episodes. Well after the original Unsolved Mysteries was canceled, I purchased the DVD collections of all the UFO and ghost story segments.
From an early age, Unsolved Mysteries, with Robert Stack leading the way, had me all-in on mystery and intrigue, sparking curiosity, making me question the world around me. Perhaps that movie I watched about ghosts harbors a grain of truth. Maybe that story I read about aliens isn’t complete fiction. These were the thoughts that Unsolved Mysteries contributed to.
I even wrote a short story specifically because of an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. You can read “It’s in the Blood” in my collection 5 Tales of Tantalizing Terror.
To this day I still watch Unsolved Mysteries regularly, rewatching episodes I’ve seen a hundred times on the Roku Channel. Netflix recently revived Unsolved Mysteries, and the new version is fine, but it’s not quite the same. I miss looking forward to a new episode every Wednesday night. I miss not knowing what the show had in store for me. I miss hearing Robert Stack tell me I might be able to help.
Did you watch Unsolved Mysteries? For those horror writers out there, did it influence you? What else influenced you?
It’s hard to say how much Unsolved Mysteries influenced me, but I know it had quite an impact. Perhaps as I keep exploring, it will become more clear.
I watched it with my mom when I was a kid, but don't remember any episodes specifically. I was drawn to the eerie feeling it gave me, starting with that great theme music. I have watched the new ones, most of them anyway. My earliest influences were the darker parts of old Disney movies, Halloween, and looking at Fangoria at the magazine rack while my mom shopped at the grocery store. And maybe the creepy theme music to Unsolved Mysteries...