Horror author Jessica McHugh spooks outdated tropes, encourages fun writing, and teases new works.
Jessica McHugh, author of The Green Kangaroos (Ⓒ photo by Jessica McHugh)
J.G. BALLARD ONCE SAID THE SCIENCE FICTION WAS THE LITERATURE OF THE 20TH CENTURY. IT SEEMS AS IF WE’VE FUCKED THE FUTURE, AND HORROR IS THE LITERATURE OF THE 21ST CENTURY. DO YOU AGREE, AND WHAT ROLE DO YOU SEE COSMIC HORROR PLAYING A ROLE IN OUR AWAKENING AS A CULTURE, OR IS IT JUST THE SCREAMS OF A BURNING SHORT BUS GOING OFF A CLIFF?
I think you’re right on the money about horror dominating the 21st century, and I believe some of that has a lot to do with how honest many of us have become about our inner demons. Because of social media, we’ve come a long way discussing illness, both mental and physical, as well as our checkered pasts. We’ve made ourselves vulnerable, which is both wonderful and horrifying, and this new openness grants horror fiction more shades and levels than ever before. From doxxing and swatting to shit-slicked forums where people are convinced a shadow government is using celebrity lizard people to harvest adrenochrome from aborted babies...or some crazy nonsense...we are surrounded by creepy subgenres begging to be explored. I sincerely hope this is an awakening, for all us, but especially for audiences who haven’t fell in love with the nooks and crannies of this genre yet. To me, horror is an emotional autopsy. It sets aside your organs and points out exactly what started the rot, but it also unifies us. We’re all a little rotten, after all. We might as well celebrate it.
YOUR WORK SO FAR IS A MIC-DROPPER TO ARGUMENTS THAT WOMEN CAN’T WRITE EXTREME HORROR WITHOUT WRITING LIKE A MAN. DOES REACTION TO THESE OUTMODED TROPES DRIVE YOUR WRITING TO FURTHER SHOCKING EXTREMES, AND HOW DO YOU APPROACH GETTING MEN TO READ ABOUT THE TOWERING, OBVIOUS HORROR THAT IS MALENESS? FIRST OFF, THANK YOU FOR THAT, AND FOR THE INTERVIEW.
When I set out to write a story I try not to think about breaking tropes or consciously slipping in fuck you’s to the patriarchy. If well-written, the characters and plot should communicate those ideas without needing to slap the reader across the face. And I definitely don’t try to out-horror the boys, or anyone...except maybe Past Jess. I write extreme horror because it's fun and because it serves the story, and I trust that true horror lovers and voracious readers are down for a good fright, whether it has feminist themes or not. So, yes, I'm writing to entertain and maybe start a discussion, but mostly, I simply write what's fun and gross and cool to me and hope someone else will dig it.
WERE YOU A LOVECRAFTIAN, GROWING UP? MOST OF YOUR WORK (THAT I’VE READ, AT LEAST) IS VERY INTIMATE AND HUMAN, WHICH FLIES IN THE FACE OF MOST NOTIONS OF COSMIC HORROR, WITH ITS EMPHASIS ON THE OUTSIDE AND THE IMPERSONAL. DO YOU SEE THE TWO AS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, AND IF NOT, HOW DO YOU ENJOY MAKING THEM INTERSECT?
I didn't grow up reading Lovecraft, but when I first started writing seriously at nineteen, Lovecraft was my toast and jam. Most of my first short stories followed the cosmic horror vibe of: “I came, I saw crazy shit, and now I'm batshit crazy.” But as I’ve matured as a storyteller, as my career has progressed, I’ve become more focused on the intimate exploration of humanity. I’m a huge genre-masher, though, so I love slipping in cosmic horror elements here and there. It might be because I'm getting older and I'm child-free, but dissecting the notions of creation and immortality in both intimate and cosmic ways is extremely fun for me. My novella Home Birth from Apokrupha has a healthy dose of that mixture, and I hope to explore it further in A Motherfucking Heist Novel.
OPTIONAL "WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? QUESTION...
I hope to start A Motherfucking Heist Novel soon, but it depends on how hard the inspirado strikes. I'm currently finishing up "Hares in the Hedgerow," the sequel to my Post Mortem Press novel, "Rabbits in the Garden." It already has a super rad cover made by Don Noble of Rooster Republic that I'm not quite ready to share yet, but I hope that'll happen in the next few months. I've also started a small town horror/thriller that will prove to be the first novel I've first-drafted on a keyboard. Everything else has been handwritten, so this is a fun and challenging experiment.
