There's a new literary genre anthology published this month (just in time for the Halloween season...), focusing on horror stories set in Virginia.
As the foreword for Dark Corners of the Old Dominion observes, Virginia is for lovers, but it is also for horror lovers.
I had the opportunity to discuss this new collection of riveting macabre stories with author Joseph Maddrey (To Hell You Ride, The Haunting, Nightmares in Red, White and Blue).
Joe not only serves as an editor on this project, he also contributes one of the ghoulish tales.
Tell me how you came to be involved with editing the new literary anthology Dark Corners of the Old Dominion?
When I moved back to Virginia in 2021, I immediately starting looking for like-minded writers. I found my tribe in the Virginia chapter of the Horror Writers Association and a few of us started cooking up ideas for collaborative projects. The idea of a Virginia-based horror anthology had been floating around for several years, thanks to a writer named Dee Southerland, so we took the ball and ran with it. Luckily, three members of the editorial team—Red Lagoe, D. Alexander Ward, and Querus Abuttu—had more experience with anthologies than Mike Rook (my co-editor) and I did. We also had a lot of help from fellow authors Bryan Nowak and Nicole Willson.
You are Virginian, born and bred, so this idea of horror stories set in that state is a natural for you. Did you grow up with any scary stories about Virginia, and if so, what were they? Do you have any local legends that still haunt you?
I certainly grew up loving ghost stories and urban legends. Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was a big deal for me, as were Mary Downing Hahn’s early novels. Now I’m re-reading those with my daughter and also discovering new titles like the Virginia Mysteries series by Steven K. Smith and the Ameri-Scares series by Virginia native Elizabeth Massie.
I know you are a student of local history. Why do you think Virginia makes a good match with horror?
I think what makes Virginia a good breeding ground for horror is its long history and wide variety. It’s a state that has seen a lot of change, a lot of wartime and political conflict, a lot of tragedy. And there’s so much variety in terms of landscape, geography and regional culture. The D.C. suburbs are worlds apart from the Shenandoah Valley, which is worlds apart from Hampton Roads. Unique places breed different kinds of horror stories.
Each of the stories is set in some town in Virginia, like Danville (“Odditorium,”), Gordonsville, or Church Hill (“The Song Between the Songs.”) Was there any discussion about which towns would be included in the collection? Did you try to cover a wide geographical area, or just let the authors choose the locations that inspired them?
We invited specific authors to submit to the anthology but didn’t give them any guidelines other than “your story / poem has to be set somewhere in Virginia.” As submissions came in, I was mapping the locations and excited to see we had stories set in most of the major regions of Virginia. The only exception was the Appalachian Plateau in the southwest corner of the state. We just didn’t get any stories set in that area. Eventually, we decided to organize the stories by region and Red Lagoe created a map showing where all 23 pieces were set. I love that map!
You set your own creepy story, “This is How Your Garden Grows” in Leeds.
In my mind, the fictional town of Leeds is somewhere in Madison County. That’s where my family lived when I started forming my earliest memories and I was somewhat inspired by my experience of growing up as a preacher’s kid in small-town Virginia. The story is also kind of a reaction to re-reading Ovid’s Metamorphoses a few years ago. It got me thinking: “What if things like this—people being turned into plants and animals—started happening to God-fearing people in small-town Virginia?”
The stories here range widely in terms of horror sub-genre, with some being ghost stories, others being kind of “road trip gone wrong” tales and featuring urban legends. Did you try to cast as wide a net as possible in terms of horror content?
Again, we didn’t give authors any specific guidelines about what type of stories to write, but we wanted stories that were strongly rooted in the Virginia setting. It wasn’t enough to use a familiar place name; they had to express something unsettling about being in that particular place. And a lot of Virginians will be familiar with the settings in the anthology: Luray Caverns, Skyline Drive, the Crozet Tunnel, the Bunnyman Bridge in Clifton, the Dismal Swamp... There’s also a fun nod to Virginia native Edgar Allan Poe.
What are three stories in this anthology that surprised you the most, and why?
Right off the bat, “The Bride of Dream Lake” by Catherine Kuo was a story that worked for everyone on the editorial team. That was exciting and it’s why the story appears first in the anthology. I personally love the twist ending of William R.D. Wood’s story “Cave Kisses.” To me, it perfectly captures that E.C. Comics tone of horror. Valerie B. Williams also wrote a genuinely shocking tale called “A Mischief in Gordonsville.”
What three authors surprised you the most, and why?
I met Charles E. Wood before I read his submission and he’s such a humble guy that I think I underestimated him. His story “The Girl Who Sleeps in the Room Next to Me” is so short but so damn effective. That’s the mark of a good writer. I think Brad Center’s story “A House’s Tale” is brilliantly conceived. I was also impressed with Clay McLeod Chapman’s “Keep It Civil,” which is a very timely story and different from his novels.
What story scared you the most, and why?
I have a weakness for what I think of as Twilight Zone horror: mind-bending, often metaphysical stories rooted in human emotions. There are several good examples of that in the anthology: “A Holler You Can’t Call Home” by Paul Michael Anderson, “The Wrong Time” by Ivy Grimes, “The Song Between the Songs” by J.T. Glover, “Doom at Dragon’s Roost” by Stephen Mark Rainey…. I was thinking about these stories long after I first read them. “Dragon’s Roost” was my introduction to the world of Mark Rainey’s fictional Sylvan County, which I think of as the Virginia equivalent of Stephen King’s Castle Rock. Once I realized Mark has been writing about that fictional place for more than thirty years, I fell down a rabbit hole.
You have edited manuscripts before, but was it difficult this time contending with so many different voices, genres, and ideas? What was your guiding principle as editor?
I’m a compulsive organizer so I enjoyed the process. The seven members of the editorial team met and discussed our thoughts on each submission, then democratically decided which ones to accept. We were looking for strong writing, distinct voices, and compelling Virginia settings above all else.
What is Scares that Care, and how does this book fit in with that organization?
Red Lagoe had the brilliant idea to make this a charity anthology with all of the author and publisher proceeds benefitting Scares That Care, a Virginia-based 501c3 charity. Every year, the organization puts on a horror-themed convention in Williamsburg to raise money for children and families afflicted by cancer or severe burns. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They are constantly hosting events and rallying horror fans to benefit people in need. You can learn more about the organization at https://scaresthatcare.org/ and support them by buying the anthology.
What is next for you, after this anthology?
I’ve spent the past three and a half years writing a comprehensive biography of Wes Craven. I interviewed over 100 people, including some who have never spoken publicly about Wes before. I also studied quite a few rare scripts and manuscripts by Wes, so I think this book will be an eye-opener for even his most ardent fans. I hope to get it out into the world by mid-2024. I’m also co-writing an essay for an anthology called Theorizing Stephen King. The essay will be closely related to a pair of books I wrote about adapting King’s work to the screen.
What do you want readers to take away from this book?
In a way, I can’t believe Dark Corners of the Old Dominion is the first Virginia horror anthology. There’s a lot of untapped potential here and I hope the book will prompt readers to pay more attention to local talent. I’d just love to see more horror novels and anthologies by Virginia writers.
Where can readers find the book?
It’s available from the usual retailers, in print and e-book editions. You can find a list of links on the publisher’s website at https://deathknellpress.com/2023/09/08/dark-corners-out-now/
No comments:
Post a Comment