Things that go bump in the night!

The Occult Story World

As a writer of paranormal thrillers, the world of the occult fascinates me.  On looking at the dictionary definition of the word occult, I can see that it can mean esoteric knowledge, secretive mystery and supernatural.

To me the world of occult is mainly associated with the supernatural. It can include such things as Extra sensory perception, spirits, special powers, demons and devils, doppelgangers, possession and special powers ( such as telekinesis, telepathy etc). All these things are great fodder for the supernatural thriller writer. However one thing that is uppermost in my mind when I write is that, irrespective of the supernatural elements, the story must still hold together as a well plotted tale with good, believable characters. It must have the elements of a thriller with rising tension, conflict and suspense and a character in jeopardy.

I also do believe that stories centred on the occult world should grip readers and the supernatural element should be unnerving, scary and even a little terrible. Readers of these kinds of stories expect to be transported to an alternate reality where supernatural abound and yet are still pretty scary.

In the readers mind a little voice poses the question, at least for the duration of the story,”could this possibly happen?” Suspension of disbelief is what keeps horror and supernatural writers going, as well as the enjoyment of heightened sensations if the story scares as much as it should. The fear, I believe comes from the not knowing.

After all, we really don’t know what awaits us in the afterlife and the possibility of spirits, ghosts etc is not that unbelievable to many people. And lots of perfectly rational folk do indeed believe in the Devil and Demons (for that matter many religions do too). I guess it is this notion of belief and the outside possibility of these things actually happening that captures the imagination of so many supernatural thriller readers – including me!

So can you suspend disbelief to read a supernatural thriller? Does the occult world scare you?

Demons, devils and other deadly spirits...

The Devil's in the detail.

“Willingly, I too say Hail! To the awful unknown powers which transcend the ken of understanding.” Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Demons are subversive spirits. They exist in the folklore of every society on earth so whatever your religious convictions there are many ordinary people who think that in the natural world there are things which defy explanation. What a rich source of material for a fiction writer to mine!

This unknown quantity (and a belief in greater powers we know little about) has led some to believe in all sorts of mythical creatures. In this scientific day and age, those beliefs are less common than they were centuries ago but they still thrive today on every continent in the world.

Fiction writers – and especially horror, supernatural writers - have used those beliefs to good effect in their writing. If you cannot disprove a belief then you have to acknowledge that there is always the slim chance that the belief is true! Enter the world of ‘what if’! A world of fairies, angels and demons.  These kinds of scenarios are common in tales of horror

A demon/evil spirit of some kind may be wreaking havoc in a story or it could even be that a demon is the main protagonist. Or perhaps a demon is simply a messenger - the henchman of the devil, carrying out his will. These kinds of scenarios are common in tales of the supernatural and, indeed, horror in general.  

Throughout the history of the world, demons have been held responsible for every natural disaster that ever befell humankind. Whatever a demon is or does there is a certain categorisation of them in folklore that may be worth looking at. Every demon has their own relevant characteristic according to patterns and habits and what they stand for. For example there are demons associated with water, mountains, deserts, buildings etc. They are as invisible as bacteria, slipping inside people’s minds and commandeering their will. They are full of trickery and deceit and can be vengeful and destructive.   They are also used as a signpost for morality – underlining the fight between good and evil.

In the traditional story telling of ancient times the demon was usually the villain of the piece. Nowadays, we are a bit more discerning and take a rather more cynical view of such things but if we appeal to the deep subconscious part of our minds the primal fear of demons and all things evil are still there.

In my opinion, to write about such things as demons, evil spirits or similar entities and to construct a tale so powerful that readers will suspend disbelief and enter your story world, is a thrill indeed. This is the challenge for writers of the supernatural thriller.

Do you read these kinds of stories? Do you find them a bit too much?