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Are horror writers horrible? 3/16/2018 4:27:47 AM
This question underpins the base hypothesis of two research psychologists, Doctors I G Norant and H P Y O’Crite. But they do not stop there. Their research embraces an important range of other author behavioural issues.
For instance, they ask: are crime writers criminals; mystery writers hiding something; drama writers drama queens; thriller writers thrill seekers; science fiction writers aliens – their list seems endless.
The doctors claim that their research is of international significance. They cite their population wide survey of a largely deserted volcanic island just left of the Marianas as proof of public interest – indeed of public concern.
Although the survey produced a 16.2% ‘don’t know’ response (with an accompanying 83.6% ‘don’t care’) the doctors dismissed these as freak results as the cow needed milking.
They felt that, overwhelmingly, their hypothesis was proved, not least by the highly significant finding that writers write what they and their readers like. They quote Descartes’ ‘I think, therefore I am’. By extension, if a writer thinks horror, or romance, or mystery or any other specific genre, that writer must be that genre.
The doctors call this ‘genre-absorption’ – a chronic psychological condition that currently remains largely untreatable. Where treatment has been attempted, it has resulted in uncontrollable outpourings of wild cross-genre writing.
Not surprisingly, this was reflected in the public concern highlighted by the volcanic island survey. Almost 0.2% of islanders who expressed a view said that cross-genre writing was inherently dangerous. They foresaw the risk of zombies attacking detectives on the hunt for serial romantics seeking thrills aboard ghostly alien craft – and this, they feared, was just the tip of the iceberg.
Clearly Doctors I G Norant and H P Y O’Crite have made a valuable contribution to the science of writing and are to be commended.
