My latest publication, “Glass-Walled Cabin” has appeared on The WiFiles. As is my custom, I devote a post to the story to share with readers what went into the writing process.
The WiFiles publishes fiction with a paranormal bent. That fits the horror genre particularly well since few people take sasquatch seriously. To write a story like this, however, requires some first-hand experience. At least in my case it does.
Many years ago I went to visit a forest ranger fire spotter in a lonely observation tower in the northwest United States. Most people are aware that the western part of this country suffers from perpetual drought, making the mountains, especially in summer, a potential tinderbox. The fire spotter had to live in this glass-walled cabin for four months at a stretch. Short visits were okay, but long-term guests would be a distraction.
Climbing to the tower meant hiking to the top of one of the tallest peaks in the area. And you also had to know the ranger. The first thing that struck me was how incredibly alone this guy was. He had to be okay in his own head. You need to look out through the glass constantly. If you can look out, others can look in.
Horror, for me, takes place in isolated locations. I’m not the kind of guy who has lots of friends, but I know the necessity of reaching out when trouble strikes. So the aging protagonist finds himself isolated in a fire tower. Instead of preventing a fire he finds himself on the inside of a cage.
Are sasquatch real? I don’t know. Taking aside the pranks there seems to be some reasonable evidence. While today’s eyewitnesses tell of seeing one, the miners in Ape Canyon in 1924 claimed to have been attacked by a whole tribe of them. I took this story, modernized it, and brought one man alone to face the fear that others claim doesn’t exist.
Without having traveled to this region myself, however, I doubt I would’ve felt compelled to write such a story. For me, horror begins with personal experience.
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