The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now #343 -- Making Monsters

When you write horror, what goes into making a creepy, horrific monster?

In all my horror stories, even in those with creatures such as zombies and monsters -- especially in those with monstrous creatures -- one thing remains the same for me as a writer. People make the best monsters in fiction. You don't need claws and fangs to bring on the evil, creepy, or scary. For example, in my first published zombie story, the big bad isn't the zombie itself, but the man who has created an art project of his late wife's undead corpse.

I think it comes from the influence of Gothic horror movies. Sure, the castles were filled with ghosts and monsters, but the evil that always seemed to be most at play was that of the living humans. Greed brought out the ghosts. Lust ignited the passion of vampires. The human evil always trumped the supernatural one.

I think that's a trait of much of the best horror fiction.