Rachel Harrison is outright horror literature royalty. Her brand of horror, which some call cozy, or feminist, or fun, or relatable — however you classify it, she definitely has her own brand. She may touch on relatable characters found in fun summer reads featured on Reese Witherspoon’s book club, but as a horror author, she is not afraid to go there: the gory, the uncomfortable, the bloody, the miserable, the shocking. She has written about werewolves (SUCH SHARP TEETH), vampires (SO THIRSTY) and witches (CACKLE). She’s also written about, well, family (BLACK SHEEP) and friends (THE RETURN). Those last two are much more ghastly than they sound.
HOWLS read BLACK SHEEP as part of our Book Club in April of this year. We asked Rachel to answer a few questions about the book, and she agreed! She also talks about writing, about horror, and about her novel coming in September of this year, PLAY NICE!
13 Questions:
Question 1: What draws you to the horror genre?
It’s a safe place to feel big feelings, to explore the monstrous parts of ourselves we’re not allowed to in our everyday lives. It’s also just the most fun!
Question 2: Your playground is so fun! Witches, vampires, werewolves, cults; but you bring such good relatable drama along for the ride! Do you have a process for coupling the drama and the monsters?
The drama typically comes first. There’s an issue or some question I have in my life that’s gnawing at me, and then the right supernatural element will present itself in the wake of my emotional turmoil.
I really love a lake monster.
Question 3: Do you have a favorite cryptid?
I really love a lake monster. One day, I’ll write a lake monster story.
Question 4: Horror lit is a genre often dominated by men. Your success is inspiring. Any advice for women trying to get their work out there?
This is a hard question to answer because I don’t really have an answer; I’m just figuring it out as I go. I don’t feel inspiring. Sometimes, I attempt to answer these women-in-horror questions in a neat, polite way, and it never feels authentic.
My best advice is to find your people. Message someone if you enjoy their work, or a reviewer if you have similar taste in books, or a podcaster if you listen to their show. Shoot your shot. Build community, people who will uplift you regardless of your gender identity, and people who you can uplift and find joy in their wins.
Community will carry you through any inevitable frustrations and help you press on.
My best advice is to find your people. Message someone if you enjoy their work, or a reviewer if you have similar taste in books, or a podcaster if you listen to their show. Shoot your shot.
Question 5: Do you have any advice generally for writers who are beginning their journeys?
Same as above, find your people! Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum. And also, make sure you hold on to the joy of writing. It’s supposed to be fun. Don’t lose that in the pursuit of publishing–protect it at all costs!
Question 6: Your upcoming book is a haunted house novel! We love haunted house books — two of our recent club picks focused exclusively on haunted houses What inspired this? Can you recommend other haunted house books?
THE MILITIA HOUSE by John Milas is genius. Love that book. I read THE AMITYVILLE HORROR in preparation of writing my novel PLAY NICE, and it is…definitely not genius, but bonkers. It’s really wild and fun to read. I recommend buddy reading so you can chat about it. As for what inspired PLAY NICE, it was a variety of things, but I’m sure that discovering the horrors of home ownership myself was a factor.
Question 7: Do you remember your first horror movie? What horror movies and shows would you recommend?
My mom showed me JAWS and ALIEN + ALIENS when I was very young, like three or four. Explains a lot about me, for better or worse.
I’d recommend the horror comedy DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY on Netflix, the dark thriller DEAD MAIL on Shudder, and the supernatural drama PRESENCE, which is available to rent and I think worth it–it’s one of my all-time favorite movies.
Question 8: How is the horror scene in your town? Do you have a favorite spot / local bookstore?
I just moved to Jersey City, so I’m discovering new places around here! My two local bookstores are now Little City Books in Hoboken and WORD in Jersey City. I grew up in New Jersey reading Weird NJ, so I’m happy to be back, and it’s great to have access to Manhattan and Brooklyn, where there are always horror happenings.
BLACK SHEEP Book Club Questions:
Question 9: Some readers wished to know a lot more about the mother figure in BLACK SHEEP, Constance. Have you ever thought about delving more into her character via a prequel, or can you talk about choosing to keep her as a sort of ambiguous presence in the book?
It was definitely a conscious choice. We can never really know another person, and that can be frustrating, especially with our parents. The book isn’t about Constance; it’s about Vesper. Vesper’s experience of Constance is that she’s cold and withholding, and that’s how it should feel to the reader. That was my intention, anyway. I made her a horror icon to give the reader some point of interest, because otherwise she’s just rigid and difficult to access.
I wanted readers to be intrigued by her and see some redeeming or compelling qualities, but I didn’t want the reader to know her. We don’t get to know her. She doesn’t want us to.
Lovely, next-door-neighbor types. I think that’s terrifying.
Question 10: We really appreciated how you waited until the last minute to let readers know that the religious community was satanic! Can you give us a little more insight into how you conceptualized that community? Was it based more on research, or on playing off of traditional Christian communities to make a point about extremism, or something else?
A little bit of both. I watched the documentary HAIL SATAN? And was really moved and inspired by the work the Satanic Temple is doing. I was raised Catholic, so I have my own specific relationship with religion and experiences that have shaped how I view religion. But I didn’t want the book to be about religion; I wanted it to be about belief, and where that can lead us. It was fun to play around with preconceived notions of Satanism in a horror novel, pentagrams and all that, but I wanted the Satanists to feel like real people. Lovely, next-door-neighbor types. I think that’s terrifying. To meet a nice friendly person and find out they believe in some horrific shit.
Question 11: Vesper’s time waitressing gave some of our readers flashbacks to nightmare serving jobs. Did you have a job as a server that gave you some inspiration? Any nightmare stories of your own you care to share?
I did work as a server! I worked at an English tea room, Sally Lunn’s in Chester, NJ. I got stiffed once by a very nice family. I couldn’t believe it. Everything went well! At least, I thought it did. I also worked at a pizzeria, a candy store with an I Love Lucy conveyor belt. I may or may not have stolen a lot of candy. I’ve worked many, many jobs over the years, and I think that reflects in BLACK SHEEP.
Question 12: What inspired BLACK SHEEP? Can you talk about the genesis of the work and how it developed, whether it started with a scene, character, or something else entirely?
I was in a place in my life where I was thinking a lot about both belief and nature vs. nurture. How does belief influence us? I was in church at two years old–I didn’t choose that. Those beliefs were foisted upon me. What if I never broke out of that?
And then, are we destined to become our parents? Who are we related to, and what does it mean to share DNA with someone, if anything? And that led me to think about the antichrist. We can’t choose our parents, our family. What would it be like to find out your dad is literally Satan? How do we become individuals with all these external factors we can’t control?
Question 13: What’s on the horizon for you?
My next novel, PLAY NICE, is out September 9th, available for preorder or for request at your local library. It’s a scary one! I’ll be going on tour in the fall for that novel, so, more soon! I’m over on Instagram @rachelharrisonsghost and my website is rachel-harrison.com
Thank you so much!
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Peter Ong Cook
Peter Ong Cook has published stories in 2 HOWLS anthologies so far: HOWLS from the Dark Ages and HOWLS from the Scene of the Crime. His short fiction can also be found in Cosmic Horror Monthly and the anthology Trouble In Paradise. His husky resembles a wolf, the wolf featured in the HOWLS logo, but receives no royalties. The husky would just spend it on the dog-equivalent of booze.
