The only thing we have to fear is…

I respect Franklin Delano Roosevelt immensely, but he was dead wrong with his "only thing we have to fear is fear itself" bravado. FDR never had to plan for a zombie apocalypse or battle the nefarious forces of the underworld. Hell, I bet Mr. Roosevelt would have sung a far different tune had he so much as dipped his toe in the murky waters of Asylum Lake.

But that's neither here nor there. I may not agree with his statement about fear, but I do take it as a personal challenge to make my readers suffer with horrifying delight as they turn the pages of my novels – fearful of what they may find, yet giddy at the very thought of how terrible it may be.

That being said, it's not as easy as it used to be to scare people. Thanks to television, movies, video games, and the walking horror that is LADY GAGA people have become desensitized to most things frightening. I have even fallen victim to this epidemic of numbness. There was a time when Vampires were scary. Stephen King's Salem's Lot introduced readers to Straker – quite possibly one of the most frightening vampires ever imagined. Now, thanks to Twilight, we have the new breed of vampire. You know, the kind that wears make-up, uses hair-gel, sports six-pack abs, and makes teenage hearts swoon. We now have an entire generation who will never understand the darkness, depravity, and unquenchable thirst of the vampire.

We still have zombies, right? I hope so (crossing my fingers), although recent treatments of the undead including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has me questioning how long these flesh-eaters have before they too become nothing more than a punchline.

So with vampires out of the equation and zombies tap-dancing precariously close to the edge of coolness, what does that leave? Easy – only the darkest, and most twisted of all things to fear – man. Let's be honest, monsters are fun, but the reality of what one man is capable of doing to another is by far more frightening. Man is the one monster that reigns above all others. And, the one monster whose actions we will never become numb to. We know their names and faces – Manson, Bundy, Dahmer, Gacey – and we remember their crimes. I'll see your zombie and raise you one Jeffery Dahmer!

With monsters you know what you're getting. Fangs, pale skin, and a penchant for moonlit strolls – probably a vampire. Rotting flesh, guttural groaning and a limp – I vote for zombie. But with the human monster, it's what's going on inside, behind the toothy grin and sky-blue eyes, that you have to fear.

So what do you fear? I'm dying to find out…muah ah ah ah!

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