Embracing the Unknown

And giving yourself to the undecided.

I spend a lot of time thinking about why horror excites me. Why, of all genres, it’s got me gripped. I think I might have solved it.

The unknown.

While it’s a concept that’s hard to define, it is one with a distinct feeling. Think back to your favourite horror and what made it scary. There’s a good chance the unknown has something to do with it.

By our nature, humans like to understand things. We like labelling things. Categorising them. Putting them in little boxes. To not know something is to feel threatened. To not fully understand something is to lose control. It’s why we find the ocean so scary or why the endlessness of space is so hard to wrap our heads around.

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The dictionary defines the unknown as something that “requires discovery, identification, or clarification,” and while that’s true, I find it’s on the fringes of those things that horror gets really interesting.

Why? Because the idea of what something could be is as (if not more) unsettling as what it is or isn’t. You just need a little information to get those ideas moving. It’s when you’re on the brink of understanding, where you’ve learnt a little about the monster, heard about the haunted house, or got a glimpse of what a person is capable of, that the sweet spot lies.

I remember when I read Stephen King’s Misery, it wasn’t so much what Annie Wilkes was doing that scared me, but the unknowns of what she could do. That feeling’s true of a lot of stories I love. Glimpses and threads offer answers, but holding back the specifics unlocks a myriad of problematic possibilities. How bad could this get? What is that person capable of? What does that creature look like up close?

In the gaps of knowledge, imagination stirs. Instinctively, we want to fill them. We grow desperate to draw conclusions, but that only invites wild assumptions which, with the right setup, leads to memorable results.

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The thrill of the unknown isn’t tied to just consuming stories. In a lot of ways, it filters through to writing them. Every time I open a blank document, I feel like I’m standing on the precipice of the unknown, and putting down those first words is giving myself to the undecided.

Especially for someone like me, who doesn’t plot every point beforehand, writing is a true exercise in abandon. It’s only by finding peace with the unknown that I can make progress. If I let the fear of it consume me, I’d never get anything done.

Sure, it’s intimidating, not knowing how a story’s going to make me feel or how it’ll challenge me. I just have to trust that the process will be meaningful. I have to hope the unknown will be worth it.

I’m pleased to say that, so far, it always is.

Before you go

My latest book, Waxwing Creek, is out now. It’s a collection of interconnected horror stories about a haunted motel in a small town called Hunt. It’s available in paperback and on Kindle (including Kindle Unlimited).

Feel free to check out reviews on Goodreads or click the button below to grab a copy.

If you’re interested in what I’ve been working on, I’m currently writing my next novella. It’s been tough, but it’s one that keeps pulling me back. After a hefty rewrite, I’m feeling better about it.

I’ve got a couple of micro-horror pieces I’ll be sharing throughout October, and I’m actively thinking about ways I can publish horror stories online more regularly.

If you want to connect, I love hearing from readers. I keep an Instagram updated and post regularly to Threads and Notes. You can also find me on TikTok.

/ JJW