We're thrilled to have author, Stephen Howard as a Haunted Trails featured creator on 31DaysofHaunting! Stephen, please tell us about yourself.
I’m a writer of speculative fiction originally from Manchester, now living in Cheshire. I’ve
published one novel, a comic fantasy titled Beyond Misty Mountain, and one multi-genre
short story collection called Condemned To Be. I think my short fiction has always tended
towards the bleak and dark, though I occasionally throw in a dash of hope to keep people on
their toes. I love creative writing and prose but also storytelling techniques and breakdowns
of how writers achieve certain effects, so I guess I’d call myself (only somewhat douchily) a
student of writing. Hopefully that passion comes across in my work!
I’m a keen runner and still play football regularly, though my legs are slowly giving up the
ghost (Halloween pun intentional…). I also love quizzing, though I don’t do it so often these
days as parenthood keeps me busy! But I did appear on Mastermind in 2017 and would love
to have a go at more quiz shows in the future.
We'd love to hear about any recent projects you've released or completed.
I have a story coming out in the next Lost Boys Press anthology, Empire of Beasts, which
should be published towards the end of this year. It’s called The Wind Howls, the Willows
Weep. It’s a sequel to The Wind in the Willows and is a ghost story. The theme of the
anthology is anthropomorphised animals and I really liked the idea of taking a children’s
classic and taking it down a dark path that felt logically possible given what people know of
the characters. In my version, Mole has died in mysterious circumstances and Toad is in too
deep with some nefarious characters. I do find it’s great fun to play around in someone else’s
sandbox. I’d love to be able to write a tie-in novel one day, maybe in the Predator or Alien
universe.
I also had my flash story, Out of the Darkness, published as a reprint by Metastellar. This
story won the Northwich Lit Fest short story contest in 2022, so it’s one I’m proud of. You
can read it here: https://www.metastellar.com/fiction/out-of-the-darkness/
What's next for you? Are you working on anything new right now?
Well, I have a short story collection coming out through Alien Buddha Press on 1st December
of this year, which I’m super excited to share with the world. It’s called Ophelia in the
Underworld and Other Melancholy Tales. There’s everything from the gothic and creature
features to epistolary nightmares and monstrous families. If you’re a horror fan, there’s
something for you in there!
I’m also querying a novel of mine called The Dilettante, which is about a man who has
retreated from social life being asked by his childhood sweetheart to search out the source of
her musical talent, which she believes to be malign. In between, I’m editing another novel,
and keeping ticking over writing flash fiction. I’ve popped up in the last few Crystal Lake
Publishing Patreon contests, so I’m hoping to continue doing that as it’s a great little
community of horror writers stuffed with talent!
Horror is widely varied with a variety of sub genres that includes supernatural, folk,
psychological, slasher, weird and many more. Which sub-genre are you most drawn to and why?
While I’m most definitely a fan of almost all horror, I do adore a creature feature. I’m always
intrigued by the folklore surrounding creatures, from the more popular like werewolves and
vampires, to the less commonly filmed. There’s a fantastic YouTube channel called Storied,
which does a series titled Monstrum, and it delves into a really wide range of creatures and
it’s endlessly fascinating how these ideas form and take hold within cultures around the
world.
Is there anything you'd like to see more or less of in the Horror genre, and is it something you
try to reflect in your own work?
One thing that horror is doing really well right now, especially in the indie and short fiction
scenes, is diversifying. So I just want to see more and more of that, really. I’ve been able to
read stories by authors from around the world – authors such as Ai Jiang, Suzan Palumbo, Stephen Graham Jones, Alex Woodroe, Somto Ihezue, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Thomas Ha, Gabino Iglesias, and so many more. This has really enriched my reading experience and, hopefully, will continue to inspire me to think deeply about my own stories and what I want to achieve with them.
It's been a treat getting to know you and your work! Since we're Halloween obsessed here on
Haunted Trails, there's a few more things we need to know!
Favourite films and books for the spooky season?
Alien probably remains my favourite horror film of all time, so I’d definitely have that in
there. Make it a sci-fi horror double bill and throw in Event Horizon too and you can’t really
go wrong. Books-wise, I think I’d have to go with something by Stephen Graham Jones.
Maybe The Only Good Indians or My Heart is a Chainsaw. He’s just one of my favourite
writers, is endlessly creative, and he has such passion for horror (especially slashers!) and it
really comes through in his work.
Who would be your perfect squad to go trick or treating with?
Vampires would be perfect because they aren’t likely to eat sweets, meaning I’d get to keep
the lot, and they’d charm some extra stuff from people. So let’s say Dracula, Blade, Selene
from Underworld, and Edward Cullen, just for variety!
Forget costumes, you can swap bodies with your favourite horror character for Halloween.
Who is it?
This is a toughy! If I’m thinking monsters, it’s a Xenomorph or Predator, and a Predator body
would probably be a lot of fun to be for a day, so I’ll go with that.
What's the one Halloween candy you'd rather fight the scariest of monsters than hand it
over?
Ooh, well, I’m a chocolate fiend these days, so I’d say either the Maltesers from a box of
Celebrations or a Lion bar.
Give us one song that should be on everyone's Halloween playlist.
Astro Zombies by Misfits – although you could probably pick anything from their
discography!
Finally, what's your ideal way to spend All Hallow's Eve?
I’d probably go with the classic of getting a takeaway in with a couple of beers and watching
scary films with my wife. Once upon a time, I loved going out partying, usually deciding to
do so at the last minute and ripping up old clothes and stealing my sister’s make-up to dress
as a zombie, but my partying days are over!
I’m looking forward to my daughter being a few years older and taking her trick-or-treating,
too. That might become the ideal soon!
Thank you so much for being a part of our Halloween celebration on 31DaysofHaunting, Stephen!
We enjoyed chatting with you and look forward to checking out your work! Hopefully we'll see you around on Haunted Trails!
Happy Haunting!
To check out Stephen's work and for updates on future projects, you can find him here :
www.stephenhowardblog.wordpress.com
Twitter - @SteJHoward
Instagram - @steh917
If you read any of Stephen's stories, drop him a comment on his socials and be sure to share your thoughts with Haunted Trails @31DaysHaunting!
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