MASTERS OF HORROR: JOE SCIPIONE
1. What first drew you to horror—and was it something you experienced, feared, or imagined?
I was always into horror books—a lot more than movies for a long time. When I was in 4th grade I used to borrow John Bellairs books from the school library. All his books were horror/paranormal based and I loved them. I graduated right from John Bellairs to Stephen King and never looked back.
2. How do you tap into real fear when writing—do you draw from your own nightmares, or do you create new ones?
The things that scare me have changed over the years. Since I’ve had kids, most of my fears revolve around something happening to them. While my books usually deal with paranormal and supernatural elements there are definitely some of my real life fears the make their way into my books.
3. Have you ever written something that disturbed even you—a moment where the story took a darker turn than expected?
Yes. There is an assault scene my most recent novel The Gods Among Them that was extremely difficult to write. I knew the character that did the assault was a bad guy but it ended up being darker and more graphic than I imagined. While tough and uncomfortable to write it made the characters more believable in the long run. If I had left that scene out I would have felt like I wasn’t telling the full story.
4. If your stories had the power to summon something into the real world... what do you think you've already unleashed?
I’m quite certain there is a powerful being out there that feeds off our nightmares and watches over us while we sleep.
5. How do you keep horror feeling fresh and terrifying when so many tropes are well-trodden?
I’ve read a lot of horror for a long time and there is always more great books by fantastic authors that I have yet to read. But I try to read different genres as much as I can and a lot of history books as well. There are story ideas everywhere and I usually find a little nugget of something in a book or movie or a song that can lead to a story.
BONUS: Tell me about your latest project and where we can find it.
I have two books coming in 2025. First is the final book in my Mr. Nightmare series titled Eater of Dreams. The second is a short story collection coming in September called Hell is Empty, All the Monsters are Here.
I’m really proud of both these books and can’t wait to get them into the hands of readers.
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As always, a big thank you to Joe for indulging me and taking time out of his busy writing schedule to do this interview with me. I truly appreciate it!
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