DARK CAPTIVE
THE QUICKENING
As the winter months quicken and
darkness gains a grip on the world, human
beings sit at their firesides and turn to tales
of weird and wonder to take their minds
off the chill. Strange that at this gloomy
time of year we should be entertained, even
comforted, by tales of apparitions, ghouls
and the grotesque. Some psychologists
would have us believe
that ghost stories
represent a cathartic
release of our fears,
that
fantasy
can
prepare us for the –
usually - lesser terrors
of real life. But maybe
the truth is that, in the
past, a mind fed on
fear would be better
prepared to fight off
the darkness.
FEAR
magazine
has always favoured
literature rather than
film in its coverage
of the fantasy, horror
and science fiction
genres. This is partly
because there are so many film and video
magazines out there; what would be the
point in repeating what they are so ably
already doing? There is, however, another
reason for this literary slant. I have always
believed that, no matter how much
emphasis the media puts on film stars and
directors, it is the writers, the imagineers
who create the worlds that we inhabit
when watching films or reading books.
They are the ones who put the flesh on the
bones of bare concepts, who map out the
landscapes of story and bring character to
life within them. Yet, very often, glamorous
rules in bringing films to the screen that
get honoured in awards ceremonies. Until
recently writers were
usually banned from
film sets and, if a director
shared
the
writing
plaudits with another
writer that writer would
maybe find themselves
forgotten when the DVD
was released.
So, where we can,
FEAR will try to set the
balance right. We will
focus on the literature of
our genres, bringing you
features that you may not
find in some of the bigger
mass market magazines
and treat them in the way
that they deserve. We
will also give a voice to
the ‘small/specialist’ presses that keep the
horror/fantasy genres alive and innovate
where, again, the bigger publishers cannot.
In this issue, for instance, we feature a
Ghost Story competition in which anyone
can take part. We also have interviews
with four writers who are making waves in
the horror field.
2