In Search of Fear……with Tom Halford

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This week I’m joined by author of Deli Meat a darkly humorous crime novel. Tom also contributed to the second volume of Dark London, the charity anthology from Darkstroke Books of amazing stories by amazing authors about my dear love London. Again my need to dredge the brains of others for the truth about what scares them has led me here to this place where I can again see what scares me in others fears aswell. Tom my dear let’s get to it…..

What movie/book scared you as a child?

I was at a friend’s house and they had older siblings. One of them played Nightmare on Elm Street. I was way too young to see that movie. I was terrified.

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What was your biggest fear as a child?

I was terrified of a monster that I thought lived in the toilet. It only came out at night. Maybe I’ll write about it at some point.

Do you like scary movies? Which one is your favourite?

I like scary movies that don’t take themselves too seriously. I like Sam Raimi movies like Drag Me to Hell and Evil Dead, but I’m not really into super serious scary movies.

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I am usually most freaked out by ghosts when I’m reading a book. Have you ever had a paranormal experience in real life? 

When I was old enough, I used to live by myself at my parents camp over the summers. At night, I would hear this scratching at the window. It was every night, and it terrified me. One night, I jumped out of bed and looked out the window. Whatever it was, I was going face it head on. Turns out, it was just a bug scratching the window, probably looking to get inside.

Has a book ever really scared you?

The Chain by Adrian McKinty is absolutely terrifying. It’s not that I’m afraid that it will actually happen. I’m more afraid by what we’re all capable of if put in terrible situations. That’s an amazing novel.

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Can you share with us an example of fear in one of your own novels?

I generally try to undercut fear with humour. In a short-story that I recently published, I have an armed robbery undercut with extreme politeness. I’ll link it here: http://www.bigwhoopiedeal.com/fiction/violent-man-in-a-dodge-caravan/

In real life what is your biggest fear? Do you use that when you write?

I can barely talk about it. Something happening to my loved ones. I couldn’t use it. There are certain thoughts where there is no art. There’s just anxiety and pain. I couldn’t even begin to open up that one for writing.

Ok goddammit I want to know about the toilet monster!! What foul beast did your brain create? Sam Raimi is a dude, I struggled with all the chin sucking in Drag Me to Hell but Evil Dead scarred me for life. Ash is just the coolest.

You can find Tom’s books Deli Meat and Dark London over on Amazon here – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tom-Halford/e/B07DY7D35C?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1605900983&sr=1-1

If you want to know more about Tom and his work follow him over on Twitter!

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