The best debut horror short story collections (Shepherd guest post)
The Social Commentary of DEAD SILENCE (w/Mike Thorn)
“Mike Thorn breaks down Dead Silence as we discuss The Uncanny, controlling others, the art of horror films, and look deep at the career of James Wan.”
Today on This is Horror — Meet the Writer: Mike Thorn
What first attracted you to horror writing?
Reflecting on my earliest childhood encounters with horror, I remember being initially attracted to the genre’s visual iconography, above all else. It seems impossible to separate my desire to write horror from my interest in reading horror. These two things are inextricably bound.
Review of Darkest Hours: Expanded Edition on IndieMuse
“In the short story notes, Thorn cites a lot of influences (both literary, musical and cinematic) that inform his work, but Thomas Ligotti seems to be a name that crops up throughout. While Darkest Hours covers a lot of the same themes (nihilism, anxiety, and the human condition), Thorn’s work approaches them in a far more mainstream and accessible way. Still, I think this says a lot about the prevailing tone of his work, and there are stories here that scared (‘Long Man’, ‘Sabbatical’), disturbed (‘The Auteur’, ‘Fear and Grace’) and disgusted (‘Fusion’) like few other collections have managed for me.”
Thinking Horror: Volume 2 Now Available
Thinking Horror: Volume 2 is now available to order. It includes Mike Thorn’s essay “Collective Abjection: Social Horror in Stephen King’s It,” cover art by Stephen Wilson, interviews with genre giants (Steve Rasnic Tem, Lisa Tuttle, John Skipp and Nick Mamatas) and essays by many contemporary luminaries (including Gemma Files, Michael Cisco and Christopher Burke).
Mike Thorn 