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Danse Macabre is Stephen King’s deep dive into horror, almost a history of the genre, and his personal take on the genre as a whole.
As we go from literally page one through each section, I’ll comment on:
~ the writing process, the monsters, the horror, the other topics King brings up;
~ how those topics have impacted my career;
~ how they might impact your writing career;
~ or how they might impact you as a viewer or reader of this particular genre we all know and love so much.
We’re going to see where it goes because it’s fun.
Epigraph
Stephen King’s Danse Macabre, copyright 1981. On the first page, the very literal first page, no page numbers or anything, is just a couple of paragraphs pulled from the book, also called an epigraph.
King opens with…
Actually, let’s clarify that right now, because it’s something apprentice authors and most readers may not realize about the publishing industry:
This is not King opening the book. It is King’s publisher opening the book.
This is a decision the design team made for the book. These are choices the editor and/or design team will make. It is unlikely that King decided, “Oh, hey, use these quotes from the book for the very first page.”
Never forget that publishers are in business, and they make design choices for specific business reasons — usually whether you like them or not.
Here’s the epigraph: “I recognize terror as the finest emotion. And so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify. And if I find that I cannot horrify, I’ll go for the gross-out. I’m not proud. Here’s the final truth of horror movies: They do not love death, as some have suggested. They love life. They do not celebrate deformity, but by dwelling on deformity, they sing of health and energy. They are the barbers, leeches of the psyche, drawing not bad blood, but anxiety.”
Does this set the stage for you? Is this a “successful” epigraph?
I have been toying with adding epigraphs or prefaces in my novels moving forward for the sole purpose of priming my reader, getting them in the mood for what’s to come, because I write across so many different genres.
What do you think? Good idea or bad idea?
Reviews, and Where To Start
Next come two pages full of reviews from various publications:
“Danse Macabre succeeds on any number of levels — as pure horror memorabilia for longtime ghouly groupies, as a bibliography for younger addicts weaned on King and as an insightful noncredit course for would-be writers of the genre.” That’s from the Baltimore Sun.
As a horror author, especially as an older horror author, it’s hard to keep up with so much content, particularly with so many independent creators. Never mind just trying to keep up with what comes out of the major Hollywood studios, which is not that much. But now you throw something like Tubi.TV in there, and you are deluged with horror options. Never mind Kindle, never mind your local bookstore, never mind any number of different fan fiction sites or independent publishing sites like Wattpad.
The options for the horror fan, for any fan of any genre, are endless. As endless as King’s white space in the Jaunt. Longer than you think, Dad…!
So where do apprentice writers or readers start?
Go back to the beginning. Read the old classics. Watch the old classics. Understand where you come from.
“An insightful noncredit course for would-be writers.” Yeah, if you’re going to write horror, you need to know the stuff King is talking about in this book, which is why I have chosen to share it, because I’m confident that the material in this book, plus my more recent insights into traditional publishing, independent publishing, and the horror genre as a whole will be beneficial.
Here’s another: “A search for the place where we live at our most primitive level.” The Chelsea, Michigan Standard.
A search for the place where we live at our most primitive level? Yeah, I’ll buy that.
This is something a lot of people may not know about King: he started off as an educator. He was an English teacher for a couple of years. He also was a scholar. He went to college and got his bachelor’s degree in English. Carrie was his first novel, published in 1974. That means he’s going to school in the late sixties, early seventies, right? And he was reading what we would consider classic literature. As I’ve watched him speak at events online and write books like Danse Macabre and On Writing, I’ve started to appreciate how deep his bench of knowledge of words and literature as a whole really goes.
In On Writing he’s referencing stuff I’ve either never heard of or certainly never read, and I’m like, “But you’re Stephen King, you’re not supposed to read this classic stuff. You write horror stuff. It’s scary, bloody pulp fiction!”
And maybe it is, or at least some of it, but he’s calling upon resources that go way back. I think that’s another important aspect for writers to be aware of, is to go back to those things and be educated in the literature.
Be Frictionless
“Danse Macabre is a conversation with Stephen King. It’s comfortable and easygoing. At the same time, it’s perceptive and knowledgeable, a visit with a craftsman who has honed his skills to an edge that cuts clean and sparkles with brilliance.” That’s the Milwaukee Journal.
It is a conversational book. It’s easy to read. It’s frictionless, one of my favorite words. This is a term all writers should embrace, whether they are writing hardcore literary fiction all the way down to your bottom-of-the-barrel “I crapped this out in a week and put it on Kindle” type of thing.
Regardless of the genre, regardless of your style, your writing should be frictionless for the reader, at least within the context of the genre. There is such a thing as a “elevated horror.” And there’s such a thing as “elevated literature.” I’ve read some, I’ve liked some — not all of it. Same is true of horror. As the creator, you shouldn’t have any speed bumps for your reader or for the viewer. So “frictionless” is the take-home word of the day. And I think that’s kind of what the Milwaukee Journal is saying here, as “a conversation with Stephen King.”
Conclusion
We haven’t even gotten to the book yet! Be sure to follow along for each week’s new insight.
RESOURCES
These are affiliate links. I only recommend and endorse material I have personally read or viewed.
DANSE MACABRE
Danse Macabre on Amazon
101 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU’RE MURDERED
101 Books to Read Before You’re Murdered on Amazon
Also, follow Mother Horror on Instagram:
Mother Horror on Instagram
SKELETON CREW
Skeleton Crew on Amazon
NIGHT SHIFT
Night Shift on Amazon
MONSTERS IN AMERICA
Monsters in America on Amazon
THE MONSTER SHOW
The Monster Show on Amazon
GRIMM’S GRIMMEST
Grimm’s Grimmest on Amazon
And here is one of my own horror novels, a Bram Stoker Award Finalist: HELLWORLD
Hellworld on Amazon
