From May 7-10 I went to World Horror Con in Atlanta. I can’t even begin to tell you what a great experience it was for me. I could write a long blog post just on that alone, but I’ll spare you. Instead, I’ll share the words of horror authors (and one editor) far cooler than I.
Somehow, I worked up the nerve to approach these horror rock stars during the con and get quotes from them for this blog compilation. Everyone I met was incredibly gracious. These fourteen took the time answer the question “What’s your biggest fear?” (Note that their answers were actually voice memos, which is why they sound like speech instead of writing—because they were!)
I just thought, “How cool would it be to hear what scares some of the scariest folks around?” Well the answer is… pretty freaking cool. Their replies varied from playful to somber to simple to downright funny. I hope you enjoy perusing them as much as I enjoyed hearing them! And many, many thanks to all who contributed a quote.
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“My biggest fear is the mysteries of technology. That scares me more than vampires or monsters or anything else. I’m a techno geek; I write techno thrillers. I’m always afraid that we’re not mature enough to use the technology that we currently have. My latest novel, Predator One, deals with the mysteries of drones, which is kind of ironic because here in the conference center there’s a conference going on about drone technology. So I feel like going in there and just warning them: No! And that includes AI and autonomous drive systems and all that. It scares the crap out of me because it’s so easy for someone to use it badly, and I know that somebody will.”
—Jonathan Maberry (@JonathanMaberry), World Horror Con Toastmaster, New York Times bestselling and multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author of Ghost Road Blues and Rot & Ruin
“Spiders.”
—Patrick Freivald (@PatrickFreivald), two-time Bram Stoker Award nominated author of Jade Sky and Black Tide
“I had a recurring dream when I was a child that actually happened over and over again until I was well into my teens, where I would be standing in place and need to move, whether it was to run away from someone or to run towards someone to help them, and I could not move. So paralysis.”
—Sydney Leigh (@thespiderbox), Bram Stoker Award nominated author of “Baby’s Breath”
“Alzheimer’s. No question about it. I’m terrified of losing my mind and not being able to find it.”
—Jack Ketchum (@JackKetchum), Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author of Off Season and The Girl Next Door
“My greatest fear is flying.”
—Kami Garcia (@kamigarcia), World Horror Con Guest of Honor, New York Times bestselling and Bram Stoker Award nominated author of Beautiful Creatures
“As a child, my recurring nightmare was about all of my teeth falling out and choking me, and I would wake up feeling choked or nauseous.”
—Lisa Morton (@cinriter), Horror Writers Association president and multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween and Zombie Apocalypse!: Washington Deceased
“I guess my biggest fear would be disease and illness.”
—Usman Malik (@usmantm), Bram Stoker Award winning author of “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family”
“Clowns. Get the clowns away from me, man. I can’t sleep because of the clowns.”
—Lucy Snyder (@LucyASnyder), multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author of Softy Apocalypses and Shooting Yourself in the Head for Fun and Profit: A Writer’s Survival Guide
“My biggest fear is loss of control.”
—Ellen Datlow (@EllenDatlow), multiple Bram Stoker Award winning editor of The Best Horror of the Year and Fearful Symmetries
“My biggest fear as an adult is waking up and not being able to move but my mind’s all active but my body’s frozen. I’ve had that dream waking up not being able to move and it’s just terrifying. So, don’t like it; don’t want it.”
—Linda Addison (@nytebird45), Bram Stoker Award winning author of How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend
“My biggest fear is something awful happening to my daughter.”
—Lisa Tuttle, World Horror Con Guest of Honor, author of Windhaven and Familiar Spirit
“My biggest fear is being asked that question. [laughter] I hate to drive and I hate traffic. I hate traffic big-time. I don’t like to drive anymore. It’s so scary. I’ve had an accident or two. But it’s never to do with like bugaboos under your bed or monsters in your closet or stuff like that.”
—Marge Simon, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Artist of Antithesis and Dangerous Dreams
“I’d say that I’ll become sort of a mindless ghost when I die. And my spirit will float around with snatches of bad memory in it.”
—Bruce Boston, multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Guardener’s Tale and Resonance Dark & Light
“My biggest fear is that someday people will discover that I can’t write.”
—Charlaine Harris (@RealCharlaine), World Horror Con Guest of Honor, New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Vampire Mysteries
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Thanks again to all of the authors and editors who shared their fears with me and my readers. You all helped make my con rock!
So blog readers, now it’s your turn. What’s your biggest fear?
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