The Queens of Dark Fiction
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
By Seth Voorhees
Why do we read Horror? Dark Fiction? Suspense? Thrillers?
As a writer myself, I am compelled to know how the author will deal with the main character’s journey in finding hope and purpose while surviving an extreme circumstance. I want to be pulled in by the elements of the narration, descriptions, and dialogue, and see how well I can accept the fictional reality the characters take part.
I’m frequently asked during podcast, “Who is your favorite author?”
In the world of horror and dark fiction, I’m thrilled that there is a variety of authors. That number has increased dramatically since I was younger.
In years past, it was dominated by white males. Ann Rice and Mary Shelly were the only two female authors with whom I had been exposed early on. My greatest desire would be to list as many authors as possible, because we want everyone to have a moment in the sun.
As a fan, the good authors are those whose scenes make me fear, get me excited, and hook me into wanting to know what will happen to the character next. I enjoy personifying the adventure. If I’m reading at night under the dim light of my reading lamp in my reading chair and I look up towards my office door, I can imagine it opening or believe someone is looking through a window at me. Or when I get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, and my mind replays what I read, and I then experience that familiar childhood urge to run to my bed as fast as possible and get under the covers. I believe the covers will protect me like a shield. If your words, characters, and events can achieve this, then you will keep me as a fan.
When in the middle of my own writing sessions, I benefit greatly by scanning my bookshelves. What books are there? What Authors? Why are these books and authors on my shelves? These are the works that I admire, and that have filled me with fright and hooked me with their engaging characters. Interestingly, I noticed that the majority of those authors are women. I wish to give them all the credit. But for the moment, I’ll list my top three: Darcy Coates, Catriona Ward, and Jennifer McMahon. Yes, for me it seems that women are taking over the genre of horror, dark fiction, and suspense. It is a wonderful thing, and I’m all for it.
In the game of chess, the Queen has superiority over all other pieces, including the King. Why is that? So, what makes their work so great? Let’s start with “description.” They strike the right balance.
You need description to draw you into a story, to paint the picture, make you believe you really are there, to feel what the character is experiencing through their senses. But description shouldn’t be overdone. I can recall reading many scenes that were stuffed with so much description that it caused me to forget what the character was doing, left me scratching my head, wondering, “what?”, or made me roll my eyes and scream out loud, “Ok, I get it, lets move on.”
Another plus is engaging characters. It is clear in a lot of instances from what I’ve read, is that women write men better than men write women. Not that there are no men who write great women. Rarely have I encountered instances of reading a male character written by a woman and thought to myself that the author is enforcing a stereotype, may have a personal beef with men, or doesn’t have an honest picture. That is not the case when the role is reversed. Even as an author, I do my best to write my female characters as genuinely as possible. And though I love any good review, if a female reader compliments my female characters, I take a special pride in that feedback.
Another reason I’m drawn to their stories is that it seems that they don’t dwell on unnecessary backstory. Yes I get discouraged with long-winded back stories of a secondary character, maybe one that is not even that high up in ranking -- or the kind of character that only shows up on four pages and most likely dies or is cast off. I can think of several instance that I have encountered this phenomenon. When it has happened, I would say, “Stop boring me with this.” Nothing ruins a storys great pace like a sudden, unnecessary backstory.
As I said previously, if you can get me to feel chills and fill me with fright, you will win me over. Now, because I read so much of it, I may be desensitized. This desensitization also tends to cause me to give authors a break when this is not achieved. Nonetheless, the fact remains that women authors have caused more chills and moments of wanting to read with the lights on than male authors. So, next time you’re scanning the dark fiction or horror section, I encourage you to pick up a story from one of these amazing women.
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