Scream! Scream!! Scream!!!

Twenty years ago, two friends and I decided to write, produce and direct a series of three short horror plays for Halloween. The trilogy was called Scream! Scream!! Scream!!!, and it enjoyed at least one rather lukewarm review. What was remarkable about it was the range of our ideas. One of the plays was a moody serial killer thriller, another was a sliver of weird horror straight out of the Twilight Zone, while the third was a bizarre slasher-pantomime that climaxed with the audience throwing Halloween candy at the blood-drenched actors. None of the plays had much in common, yet they all lurked beneath the Horror banner.
 
Fast forward twenty years, and Litro #138 has the same Horror theme. Of all the issues I've edited of the magazine, this is probably my favourite. In part that's due to the quality of the writing. We have a fantastically haunting tale by Toby Litt, a sliver of near-future horror from Richard Thomas, and a deeply disturbing story about toys from Adam Nevill - to name just a few. The writing is some of the best I've been involved with, and I'm proud to put my name to the issue as editor.

There was also a more personal connection, though. Editing and selecting this compendium of horrific tales took me back to that trilogy of plays in the early 90s. Just like then, the horror comes in many different shades. We have hauntings and mythological deities, mad scientists and weirdly creepy trips to the cinema; some will leave you subtly unnerved, others will have you cowering beneath your duvet.

October is turning into a truly horrific month. In addition to our Horror issue, I'm also taking part in SCARdiff - Cardiff's horror convention - on Sunday 19th, as part of a writers' pitching panel. Then I'll be reading from my story 'Among the Pines', as part of Listen Softly London, on Monday 27th - be prepared for some Lynchian weirdness at that one.

As for Scream! Scream!! Scream!!!, our horror-themed Halloween trilogy, I won’t be expecting a West End revival any time soon. It’s interesting to note, however, that one of my fellow playwrights, Tim Collins, is now the author of the Wimpy Vampire series of children’s books. Sometimes the horror stays with you long after the screams have died away.

Chairing a pitching panel at SCARdiff 2014, with Adam Nevill, Scott Harrison and Christopher Teague