Fear, after all, is one of the great motivators. It has to be. It is what keeps us alive. We feel more alive when we are afraid because our existence depends on it. Blood rushes, adrenaline flows, it can feel good in a twisted sort of way. There are those among us who enjoy allowing ourselves to be fed fear like a junkie wanting drugs.
We tend to be reactive when afraid. We tend to flock together for support and comfort—like sheep herding together to find protection from the wolves stalking them.
Whether the monsters are real or not doesn’t matter, many people are easily manipulated by fear, and that’s what matters. That, my friends, is what’s truly frightening.
When we read a book that makes us afraid, we need to ask ourselves why? Does the monster in the book represent our fears? Do we like scary books because it gives us a mechanism to fight metaphorical monsters?
Author Mike Robinson knows a thing or two about monsters and fear. More cerebral than typical horror authors, Mike is the writer of books that tend to be literary and psychological. Thrillers with a subtext that slice into the core of human existence.
Mike is the author of Skunk Ape Semester, The Prince of Earth, Dream Shores, and The Enigma of Twilight Falls trilogy, and many more. He is also a screenwriter and editor, and he is with us today on Books That Make You.
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