Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Over And Done, And Overdone...

Seems to me that everyone jumped on the vampire/love triangle bandwagon, and now there is just so much of it saturating the market.

How do you pick and choose from so many?

Personally, I'm tired of the whole vampire thing. More importantly, I'm tired of the glorification of these age old monsters.

Vampires, werewolves, zombies, all of it, were not. Meant. To be. Cuddled.

I might lose a few followers here with this, but to be honest, I'm not much of a zombie fan. And now they've become a creature to be loved as well.

Seriously?

When did horror become so... squishy? (Pardon the pun for the undead...)

These days, if I pick up a vampire book, it better have a good story. And please, for-the-love-of-all-that-is-merciful do not let. Them. Sparkle.

These are creatures that started legends and traditions. People feared that which goes bump in the night or can drain you of your blood in a matter of moments. Next thing you know, someone is going to write up a love trilogy over a Frankenstein-type monster and the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Even though, technically, the hunchback is not some creature of the night...

Those traditions stemmed from people's fears. Now, what is there to fear? Oh, wait... most everyone's biggest fear these days is that the power will go out.

Meh. Light a candle and write a letter.

Don't get me wrong, I'd be scared if the power went out forever as well. But we'd just have to go back to the old ways of communicating. Not a big deal, just no instant gratification.

But seriously, when did these nightmare monsters become so soft and over done? Why do most people choose to write them this way? What are they truly afraid of? Is this how they cope with their own fear of these creatures?

5 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

When they sparkle, they aren't so scary. Maybe by making them less scary it provided access to a wider audience.

Savannah Rayne said...

I couldn’t agree more Mel! A good friend of mine who wrote an amazing werewolf story actually got some not so nice reviews because the readers felt there was “too much violence”! I seriously had to laugh…it’s a book about werewolves, not a pound-puppy picnic!
I think if a reader is choosing a book from the horror genre, they’re expecting to be scared in some sense, otherwise what would be the point?
Great blog my dear!

Mel Chesley said...

@ Alex ~ it is quite possible you hit the nail on the head. Not everyone wants to be scared when reading horror and this offers up a way for that to happen.

@ Savannah ~ Wow, I can't believe she got a review like that. Nothing about the story itself or character development? Too much violence in a world where people are so desensitized to violence?? Hmm....

dolorah said...

I'm not one for fluffy monsters either. I don't like them full of angst, and rejoining the living. Well, Were's are living; but I like them as meat eaters. Shifters are cool.

And yes, should be scary. I read horror b/c it is scary :)

.......dhole

Artemis Grey said...

Totally with you on this. I mean, I'm even fine with a little romance, if it's done right, and whatever monster is involved doesn't lose its monstrousness.

My favorite vampire ever, is still the Night Flier. I adore him because of the monster he is.