MASTERS OF HORROR: MARY HOLLOW
1. What first drew you to horror—and was it something you experienced, feared, or imagined?
My whole opus is based on a psychological theory according to which we all, as a species, are born into an incomprehensible world of unutterable dread that we only later begin to structure into the consensus reality we live in as adults. But of course this provokes the follow-up question of what drew me to that theory in the first place. Maybe I didn't succeed as well as most of us in forgetting that existential dread, because I remember very vividly what the horrors of childhood were like – I don't mean to say my childhood was particularly horrible, just that childhood by definition is a realm of horror. I want to tell that story.
2. How do you tap into real fear when writing—do you draw from your own nightmares, or do you create new ones?
There's no difference between the two, is there? Each individual is legion, we contain multitudes of conflicting viewpoints and perspectives on the world. There is one part of you that looks on the world and sees the psychotic horror that is inherent to every aspect of your existence. Normally this part is drowned out by the majority of other psychic processes that worry more about paying the bills and what to cook for dinner, but that dread is there somewhere. If you go looking for it, you will find it. If you are a horror writer, there's much to be gained from such an endeavor.
3. Have you ever written something that disturbed even you—a moment where the story took a darker turn than expected?
I think my fans would expect me to say something about "The Slough Room", but the thing is that I set out to write something that challenged the boundaries of how disturbing a story can get without going over the top. In other words, it could never have been darker than expected, because the expectation was maximal. On the other hand, I regret writing "Neural Mechanisms of Analgesia", and I further regret releasing it into the wild. There are very real ethical considerations about that text that I should have contemplated beforehand that I didn't. I was too pleased with myself about the creative idea of it. I apologize.
4. If your stories had the power to summon something into the real world... what do you think you've already unleashed?
Hopefully I have unleashed some validation for people who suffer mentally. I fear I might have induced a specific phobia here and there.
5. How do you keep horror feeling fresh and terrifying when so many tropes are well-trodden?
The tropes aren't the horror, they're just building blocks for atmosphere. And atmosphere never loses its freshness because if you do it right, it's visceral. Wow, the hubris. What I mean to say is, in any creative project, the whole is more than the sum of the parts. The fun part of writing is figuring out how to put the familiar parts together in new and strange and disturbing ways.
BONUS: Tell me about your latest project and where we can find it.
I am still waiting for my horror collection "No One Came For Me" to gain serious traction, but in the meantime I am slowly inching forward on both new short stories as well as a novel.
As always, a big thank you to Mary for indulging me and taking time out of her busy writing schedule to do this interview with me. I truly appreciate it!
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