Blurred Lines

The phrase, “write what you know,” might sound a bit old school. Nevertheless. it’s important, especially if you write fiction. It’s a guiding principle that allows the author to create authentic, engaging, and relatable content. Add research (yes, good fiction takes research) and you have believability. It doesn’t matter how fantastical the setting or characters are, they’ll ring true.

One can’t deny there is an obsession with monsters, supernatural beings, and legendary creatures. It may well have begun when man first began telling stories, evolving from an attempt to make relating a hunt more exciting or to frighten children from wandering off and into obeying clan rules. However, it began, mythology is filled with them. Folklore across the globe teams with such creatures. There’s one common thread among them, they scare. Each species has its own defining characteristics. There are tenets, if you will, that make a monster a particular kind of monster. I am using ‘monster’ as an umbrella term here.

It’s my personal belief that there seems to be a trend today of over-romanticizing, and humanizing what should be terrifying. And reading/watching what should be classified as ‘horror’ makes me wonder if any research was done into the occult sciences, parapsychology, mythology, or cryptology. Let alone there often seems to be an absence of logic.

Don’t get me wrong, the author’s book is their kingdom, and whatever they want to happen can. The author makes the rules. But…there’s a line, and in the last decade or so I have seen it become more and more blurred.

Sparkling, fangless vampires that are not harmed by sunlight? As if simply drinking human blood to survive makes one a vampire. There are many mythological creatures that drink blood and have human form, that are not vampires. This wouldn’t even take a hard dive into mythology to uncover.

Zombies that are not only fast, but are evolving, capable of thought and speech? I don’t even know where to start with why that is absurd.

These are just two examples out of hundreds and seriously, it gives me a headache. I could go on about this willful – is it ignorance? Laziness? I don’t know. I do know that no creature of the night is safe from this cruel stripping of their identities.  What I don’t understand is if you’re reinventing a creature, why not take that small step further and rename them? Make them completely your own instead of bastardizing an established icon.

If this trend goes unchecked the next thing we know it will be a Bigfoot terrorizing campgrounds in search of hair care products.

Judy Snyder