SCARY

When did the term 'horror' become dirty? I am finding more and more that publishers, especially new and young publishers, steer away from the word 'horror' in favor of 'scary'. I don't know 'scary' seems to me to be a bit of a childish word. If the aim of these publishers is to water down content I wouldn't be surprised. It is the nature and has been the nature of all entertainment in this country to be watered down. In sports we talk about parity, which is a synonym for mediocrity; in music we talk about 'pop' which really equates to homogenized and modulated crap. I know many adults have complained to me that they cannot read some of my stuff because it scares them....Well isn't that the idea? And while I do write satire/comedy -- stick with that; if your senses are too fragile don't read the horror. I am just afraid we are going down the road to 'babyness'. Look Chris Christie cried when he met Bruce Springsteen. Really? I met and spent time with Jerry Lee Lewis. The Killer is certainly more influential and important to the fabric of Rock and Roll. I didn't cry. Heck, Jerry Lee would have kicked my ass. SO where are we headed? Will "The Tell Tale Heart" become "The Tell Tale Tennis Elbow" with a guy getting a twitch every time someone mentions the trophy he won? Will "Incident At Owl Creek Bridge" become "It Happened At The Mall". This also comes on the heels of so many prohibitions issued by these publishers--no graphic violence; no vampires; no this; no that...Come on can we just get back to good old kick butt horro and fear. And if you are too sensitive to read it---then don't; sit down with the Governor of New Jersey and watch the Hallmark Channel.