Are you scared of clowns?
Well, my Mom is. That’s probably one of the many factors that inspired the idea of this horror novel – ‘Ghost Train’, which may or may not feature a killer clown.
Clowns have never really scared me as they have many people, but there is one exception to this. Do you remember how, in the build up to Halloween in 2016, a ‘killer clown’ craze swept across the US and the UK? People dressed in clown costumes stalking and chasing people in the streets. It was in the papers, in the news, condemned by Stephen King (who created perhaps the scariest clown of all time), and was understandably scaring people. I had just started university while this was happening, and felt it could happen to me now that I was in a city. One night, while I was sat in my room (I lived on-campus), I heard some talking outside my window, followed by shouts of “a clown!”. Watching from my window, I saw students and security gather. It was a while before I left my room to ask my flatmates what had happened. Turns out there was no clown, but the very thought of someone in a clown costume standing and watching you in the dark is terrifying – even if they are just a person, don’t you think? After this, I hated walking across campus in the dark after a late lecture, because of that thought.
Anyway, this incident had some inspiration on my next novel, but there are also others.
I have a strong interest in serial killers such as Jack the Ripper or John Wayne Gacy (who was a ‘killer clown’ of sorts, himself), and to this end have always enjoyed TV shows such as ‘Dexter’. Crime, therefore, is a major theme of this novel. This is where I think it differs to many other of my stories and ideas – it is not purely based around horror.
However, as you may know if you’ve followed and read my short story book ‘Slasher’, this interest of mine has also led to my viewing of serial killer inspired horror films such as ‘Halloween’ (my favourite ‘slasher’ film). This theme will play a large part in the second part of ‘Ghost Train’, where crime becomes secondary (a reverse of the first half of the novel, in which crime will play a larger part than horror).
Enough spoilers for now.
I’m aiming for the book to be released in e-book and paperback sometime over the summer: August, maybe September. It will be available on Amazon, like my other books ‘BITE’ and ‘Slasher’.
You can keep up-to-date, as always, by checking this blog on my website or my social media profiles.
As ever, you will not walk away without a taste of what horrors you can expect: if you’re not enticed yet, here is what the blurb for ‘Ghost Train’ will probably be:
Detective Sergeant Jackson knows he is on the right tracks in his investigation. He has found what could be a crucial link to the axe murders that took place weeks ago: a travelling fairground attraction. But his superiors will not let him pursue it. On Halloween night, only the second night of the fairground tour, he decides to visit the attraction himself, determined to prove that his theory is right…
College student Chloe and her friends want to celebrate Halloween night together, preferably away from their families. Luckily for them, a touring, Halloween-themed fairground attraction is setting up near them for Halloween night, and they plan to go, determined for a fun night out…
But in the shadows, something is watching them. Something with a white face and red lips and colourful clothes. It is stalking, watching, determined to get them inside the Ghost Train…
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