Authors to present secrets behind scary stories

Lou Columbus reads at Writers Gallery

PANAMA CITY — The stories were ghostly and ghastly at Chez Amavida on Tuesday.

Among them, Lynn Wallace told of the fearful zombies hiding from costumed children on Halloween, Wayne Garrett told a spooky story of a traveler on a rainy bayou, and Lou Columbus related what happens when someone gets fed up with Facebook posts.

From their tales in the new ghost story anthology, “Between There,” Anthony Buoni read aloud a tale of haunted and hated pet, and Ruth Corley read the opening section of a story of ghostly vengeance. I read part of a tale of Jack Kerouac facing the zombie plague on the road in 1953, from my new collection, “Tales of the Awakening Dead.”

But the storytelling is far from over for the season. A more scholarly approach will take place Oct. 25 at the Bay County Public Library in Panama City, as three local authors explore the nature of evil in literature — and try to drum up support for “Friends of the Library.”

Michael Goldcraft, Ann Marie Knapp and Carl Lee, members of the Panama City chapter of the Florida Writers Association, will present talks on vampire legends and literary trends, the nature of menace as a literary effect, and other secrets of writing horror tales. Each will give four short talks over the course of the afternoon and read excerpts from their books.

Presentations start at the top of each hour — noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. — and end with about 15 minutes to chat with audience members and possibly sign books. No hour is the same.

“The objective is to support the Friends of the Bay County Library by trying to invite more people to become ‘Friends of the Library’ by buying memberships at this presentation,” Goldcraft said. Memberships are $10 for individuals, $20 for families, $100 for patrons and $200 for corporations.

Here’s a peek at their presentations:

Michael Goldcraft

l Goldcraft (a pen name for Michael Brim) will discuss the creation of his horror works, including the short story collection “Thirteen Tales of Eclectic Evil,” and his “Dark Lyfe Trilogy” — “Ascent of Evil,” “Inherited Evil,” and “Arcanum of Evil.”

Ann Marie Knapp

l Knapp (the pen name for Dr. Kelley Kline) will discuss “The Myth of the Vampire,” “The Modern Fictional Vampire.” “The Concept of Menace” and “Murder Most Maddening.” She’ll start with a focus on the etiology of the vampire myth from Sumer in 4000 BC to the legendary acts of Vlad the Impaler, which set the stage for Bram Stoker’s depiction of Dracula.

Her second talk will focus on the dramatic shift from vampires as antagonists to protagonists with the groundbreaking release of Anne Rice’s “Interview with the Vampire” (1976). Her latter sessions will cover homicide, menace in literature, and include excerpts from her book, “Ascent of the Immortal.”

l Lee’s four sessions will be based on “the four M’s” of horror writing. Three are being kept secret, but one is “Menace.” Self-described as a lifelong lover of science fiction and horror writing, Lee is currently in the final stretch of finishing his debut novel, “The Voice in My Head,” while working to complete his psychology degree at FSU-Panama City.

“The definition for ‘menace’ is a person or thing that is likely to cause harm,” Lee said. “After all, the most memorable killers captured within the pages of a good horror book have exuded menace in varying degrees. Take Hannibal Lector, Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein’s monster or Dracula as examples.”

Lee added that sometimes fear can permeate an entire novel as a faceless, discorporate dread, giving the Harry Potter series as an example.

“From the very beginning, (Voldemort’s) presence runs throughout the plot’s entire tapestry like a storm cloud threatening to rain,” Lee said. “But he never regains his actual body until the end of book four. Up until that point, his menace is conveyed through hushed whispers and talk of dark deeds.”

Like ghost stories told in the black of night.

Peace. 

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(This is my Undercurrents column for PanamaCity.com and The News Herald this week.)