It’s spooky season and we would be remiss if we didn’t explore a bit the things that make us unsettled and feel that four letter word FEAR. Our guest this week, Tim Waggoner, is a horror and dark fantasy writer who has been recognized in his field with awards such as the Shirley Jackson and the Bram Stoker Award. He is also an educator at heart. He is a professor at Sinclair College in Dayton OH where he teaches a wide variety of writing classes from basic composition all the way up to novel writing and tips for getting published. He has recently published a book that is a comprehensive guide to the craft of writing horror fiction called Writing in the Dark.

Tim talks to us about why dinosaurs were the thing as a little boy that made him first interested in reading, how empathy is an ingredient that distinguishes good horror from bad horror writing, why the darkness is blank space to inspire his imagination, and all about the devil’s bargain that writer’s make.

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

1- Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner2- The Men Upstairs (novella) by Tim Waggoner3- The Winter's Box (novella) by Tim Waggoner4- Dark and Distant Voices by Tim Waggoner5- Alone with the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell6- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir7- Unleashing the Artist Within: Breaking Through Blocks and Restoring Creative Purpose by Eric Maisel8- Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel9- The Shining by Stephen King10- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill11- Kill Creek by Scott Thomas12 - The Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery series by Lawrence Block 13- The Terror by Dan Simmons

Movies mentioned--1- The Babadook2- Hereditary3- The Terror (series)on Hulu4- Finian's Rainbow (musical on film)