Helen Grant Interview

Completely forgot to link to this interview, which appeared at the Swan River Press site when Helen's collection The Sea Change was published a while back. The interview, conducted by Jason E. Rolfe, includes this point. Some people do indeed like to be scared, and from that, much follows.

Well, I’ve heard a theory that supernatural stories are all about confronting our most deep rooted fears: of death, mutilation, insanity and disease — e.g. vampire stories would represent a fear of infectious disease. I think there is some truth in that. Since ghost stories often seem to involve the settling of a grudge or retribution, I suppose they are exploring the question of whether there is any kind of ultimate justice. But basically I think you can split people up into two groups: the ones who absolutely hate to be scared, and the ones who like it! I know people who say “How can you watch films like that/read books like that?” That is one half of humanity. The other half are comparing notes on which is the scariest movie/novel ever, so they can get it . . .