A Published Story and the Lockdown that inspired it

Only a couple days now to Halloween, that day of Ghosts and Goblins when we embrace the dark and macabre aspects of our society more than…well… we already do. A day in which society says it is not only okay to be scared, it is down right expected of us.

And honestly, who doesn’t love a good scary story?

Really any kind of horror story does it for me.

A ghost story? Yeah, that’s fun – ghosts can be pretty scary, and yet because the majority of mainstream society tells us that they simply cannot be real, it’s safe to be sacred of them. There’s a degree of separation from our societal reality and the ghouls on the screen or page. Same goes for Vampires, or Werewolves or any of the other monsters we see children dress up as this time of year.

We might even count the slightly less fantastical horror creatures of serial killers like Hannibal Lector or….I’m sure there are others, but he’d the only fictional one I know off the top of my head. Not to mention the masked killers of the slasher genre. After all, although serial killers do exist and have probably killed a lot of people just like the viewer, the statistic likelihood of you ever meeting one is probably very low indeed. So once again, they’re something scary but separate enough that they don’t seem real for us anymore.

But what happens when the scary thing not only absolutely exists, but is now a daily factor in most people’s realities? That’s right…I’m talking about Lockdown. Which before anyone rips my arms off – not that I think any Wee Reader would, but this is the internet and Trolls abound – I’m not discussing the need or otherwise of Lockdown. Honestly when we’re talking about fodder for fiction, I actually think fear of a pandemic and the fear of isolation and loss of autonomy that can come from Lockdowns, are two different fears entirely. It’s really only happenstance that they often go hand in hand.

However getting back to the actual topic, Lockdown is a thing that has affected and is continuing to affect a lot of people all over the world. People have lost their jobs over it, they’ve been trapped inside their houses – no hope of escape. Psychologically this is really messing with our collective heads. So, when we take all of this into account what we have to ask ourselves is – is this actually a topic we should be making fiction about?

And the answer would have to be, a resounding – of course we should. Not only is fiction a great vehicle to work out and express underlying fears of our realities, but the notion of being trapped somewhere – either by yourself, or with people you’re quickly loosing your patience with, is a fascinating start for really any kind of story. Scary not least among them.

So where am I going with this? Well, stand back in shock because…I’ve just had a new story published! It’s called the Rabbit Hutch and it is a Speculative Fiction about a man that has been trapped in lockdown for thirty years. Ah fiction and reality, how blurred your line has become.

If you’ve enjoyed this advertisement for my new short story – The Rabbit Hutch, please follow the wee blog if you haven’t already and check out my Short Story page, where you should find all my other published stories. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Goodreads and Facebook. Enjoy my story, and until next time Wee Readers have a Happy Halloween and a very bonny day.

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