THE HORROR OF MY LIFE: ERIC LAROCCA

Eric LaRocca holds an MFA in Writing for Film and Television from Emerson College. His fiction has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies published in the US and abroad such as, Stiff Things and Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Volume 2. He is also the author of several plays which have been developed and produced at theaters across the country including, Gadfly Theater Productions, Hartford Stage, La Petite Morgue, and Love Creek Productions. He currently resides in Cambridge, MA. Follow him on Twitter @ejlarocca.
 
Starving Ghosts in Every Thread is his debut novella.
 
THE FIRST HORROR BOOK I REMEMBER READING
 
Although I can recall reading The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs and some Lovecraft during my formative years, the first horror book that resonated with me greatly was Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I was not only bewitched by Gaiman’s prose, but I was completely mesmerized by the fantastical world he had created. Though often labeled as a children’s book, Coraline is definitely one of the more unnerving pieces of fiction I’ve ever read.
 
 
THE FIRST HORROR FILM I REMEMBER WATCHING
 
I’ll never forget watching The Creature from the Black Lagoon per my mom’s recommendation when I was 9 years old. I’m sure my parents later regretted the decision to let me watch the film when I kept them up most of the night because I thought I heard “webbed feet approaching from down the hall.”
 
THE GREATEST HORROR BOOK OF ALL TIME
 
Though I’m inclined to reference one of the immortal classics like Stoker’s Dracula or Shelley’s Frankenstein, I can’t help but think of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Touted as the pinnacle of the “haunted house” sub-genre (and for good reason), Jackson’s prose is unparalleled and deeply unnerving. Not to mention, Eleanor Vance is such a pitiful and tragic character. One can’t help but become totally engrossed in her plight.
 
 
THE GREATEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME
 
The Exorcist. Without question. Not only is it a deeply harrowing horror film, but it’s quite simply an excellent film in general. The Exorcist excels in all aspects – narrative, direction, and acting. I’d be hard pressed to think of another film that could match The Exorcist’s flawlessness. Perhaps Kubrick’s adaptation of King’s The Shining?
 
THE GREATEST WRITER OF ALL TIME
 
Though he’s undoubtedly one of the most problematic figures in horror fiction, I’ve always been mesmerized by the prose of H.P. Lovecraft. I can’t defend his viewpoints, but I can certainly argue for his talent as one of the finest – if not the finest – authors to operate in speculative fiction.
 
THE BEST BOOK COVER OF ALL TIME
 
The original release of Clive Barker’s magnum opus The Books of Blood has one of the most striking covers I’ve ever seen. Appearing as if it were a modernized rendering of a Hellish painting by Hieronymus Bosch, Barker’s original cover design is a grotesque bacchanal of perversion. Not to mention, The Books of Blood is one of the greatest collections of short horror works ever published.
 
THE BEST FILM POSTER OFF ALL TIME
 
Andrzej Zulawski’s 1981 cult classic Possession has been a favorite of mine for many years. I was initially introduced to the film through its spellbinding poster art. Although the design is relatively simple, the silhouette of a nude Isabelle Adjani is so captivating and alluring as we notice a pair of claws resting on her shoulders.
 
THE BEST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN
 
I think my upcoming release, Starving Ghosts in Every Thread, is a decent illustration of my voice as a writer. Although I first completed the work several years ago, I’m very proud of the piece and it’s quite nostalgic for me when I look back at it with fresher eyes. I wrote the piece as I was going through a massive change in my life and it was quite painful. Writing Starving Ghosts healed me in so many ways.
 
THE WORST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN
 
When I was in my final semester of my MFA program at Emerson, I wrote a truly dreadful feature length screenplay, entitled Devilment, about a possessed virtual reality simulation chamber. I can’t bring myself to even open the file on my computer because I’m so embarrassed of the project. I wrote it during a very difficult time in my life and I associate a lot of unpleasant memories with the project, unfortunately. I get hives just thinking about it.
 
THE MOST UNDERRATED FILM OF ALL TIME
 
Another hat tip to Zulawski’s 1981 film Possession. One of the most visually striking and bizarre films I’ve ever seen. Not to mention, a frenetic and deeply affecting award-winning performance by actress Isabelle Adjani. Possession is a film unlike any other and definitely does not get enough credit as a truly distressing horror film.
 
THE MOST UNDERRATED BOOK OF ALL TIME
 
One of the most underrated books of all time has to be Tim Lucas’ Throat Sprockets. A deeply shocking tale of obsession, author Tim Lucas’ novel is a chillingly effective descent into madness. It’s no surprise famed anthologist Ellen Datlow selected Throat Sprockets as “The Best First Horror Novel of 1994.”
 
THE MOST UNDERRATED AUTHOR OF ALL TIME
 
Novelist and screenwriter Michael McDowell is top of my list for most underrated authors of all time. Not only did McDowell succeed as a fictionist with highly lauded releases such as The Elementals and The Amulet, but he also wrote several popular Hollywood films like Beetlejuice and Thinner. For those unfamiliar with McDowell’s prose, you won’t be disappointed. I always describe McDowell as “Tennessee Williams meets Clive Barker.”
 
THE BOOK / FILM THAT SCARED ME THE MOST
 
I’ll never forget how haunted I was by Frank LaLoggia’s 1988 cult classic, Lady in White, when I was a child. I recall watching it at my grandparent’s house and being absolutely terrified to even leave the room when the film finished. I felt as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have been watching. Of course I re-watched the film years later and some of its creep-factor no longer resonated with me as some of the special effects are slightly laughable. Regardless, Lady in White remains a genuinely intriguing mystery with some powerfully credible scares.
 
THE BOOK / FILM I AM WORKING ON NEXT
 
After finishing up a short story or two, I’m setting my sights on attempting to write a novel for the very first time. I’ve already spent a decent amount of time outlining and taking notes so that all I have to do now is put pen to paper. I’m very excited to begin working on this idea. It feels like a very natural progression in my creative journey and I sincerely can’t wait to share it with readers in the hopefully not too distant future.
 

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STARVING GHOSTS IN EVERY THREAD BY ERIC LAROCCA

She's so consumed with guilt that it compels her body to literally unravel unless she feeds off the emotions of others. Teddy’s parasitic condition is usually tempered easily and is invisible to most, unless she feeds from them. However, her insatiable hunger has already begun to threaten her safety. Trapped in her tiny Connecticut hometown thanks to a careless mistake which cost her a prestigious scholarship, Teddy grieves her father’s death and cares for her neurotic mother, Mercy, who is convinced scorpion venom is the only remedy for her own peculiar skin ailment linked to her daughter’s sadness.

Once an aspiring songwriter, Teddy now merely alternates between shifts at the local market and visits to the house of her eccentric neighbor, Mr. Ridley, for fresh scorpions to bring to her mother. It’s during one of her routine visits to Mr. Ridley’s subterranean grotto of exotic animals that Teddy meets an unusual young girl named Kiiara. Immediately enamored with one another, Teddy soon discovers that Kiiara is hiding a gruesome secret, too – a secret that will threaten to undo everything Teddy has ever known and loved, and violently touch all those who cross their path with disaster.

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