Interview by Pat Black
Booksquawk: Infrasound is a fascinating
topic. What prompted the idea of linking it to people's experience of
supernatural phenomena?
Simon Kearns: Years ago, I saw a
“Secrets of the Dead” episode wherein they investigated the possibility that
megalithic monuments were designed to amplify sound, and perhaps to
purposefully create infrasound. It was this programme which introduced me to
the work of Vic Tandy – a scientist who discovered the link between subsonic
sound waves and the classic symptoms of a haunting.
Booksquawk: I see a lot of parallels
between this story and some modern classic ghost stories, such as The Stone Tape. Was it difficult to
balance the idea of scientific inquiry with the traditional set-up of a spooky
story (the key tension of the narrative)?
Simon: Yes – it was difficult balancing
the two. I had initially wanted to write a completely rationalistic narrative,
one in which science trumps all other beliefs, but the supernatural aspect of
the tale would not allow it. As I progressed I found the disturbances in the
cellar infiltrating other areas of the book, and my own thought processes. I
think this helped enormously with the arc of the story.
Also, by setting up the
protagonist as someone so sure of himself and his scientific method, it was
fairly easy to maximise the extent of his “fall”, as it were.
Booksquawk: Like sightings of UFOs,
Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, advancing technology seems to be killing off
popular perceptions of what was once seen as the "unexplained" or
"world of the unknown". Where do you see the ghost story going in the
future as advancing technology makes it easier to debunk phenomena?
Simon: I see the ghost story adapting to
the technology we produce. Take, for instance, the example you mention of UFOs.
If one looks at representations of UFOs from before the invention of the
airplane, they largely resemble dirigibles. The height of the UFO craze
coincided with the Cold War, a time when humanity lived with the fear of mass
destruction caused by something that comes from the sky.
It is true that as we
understand more and more about the world around us, we are losing elements of
its mystery. Then again, science has leapt so far ahead of the common person’s
comprehension that it is creating new mysteries. Horror usually dwells on
archetypal fears, but I find the most engaging scares come from those stories
that play with new technologies and the grey areas that surround them. Frankenstein is a classic example of the
how to utilise the anxiety caused by scientific advances. More
recently, we have had Stephen King’s Cell, and the stunning Korean
horror film (and book) Pulse. My favourites of recent years, Primer
and Ex-Machina, are a great melding of sci-fi and horror.
Booksquawk: Were you aware of the
British tradition regarding ghost stories when you were writing, or was it
something you were consciously trying to avoid, or subvert?
Simon: That British tradition is very
much ingrained. I was consciously playing with clichés: the old English inn,
the cellar, the denouement with the protagonist alone in the dark. At the same
time, I wanted the characters to be thoroughly modern — the almost fetishistic
reliance on gadgets, the fact that their first reaction when spooked is not to
think of ghosts, but psychological explanations. Also, the narrative is often
at pains to explain the neurological processes of fear, as if it too needs to
lean on something it considers factual.
Booksquawk: Finally, tell us a bit about
your next project.
Simon: I have another
science-meets-horror book that I am currently submitting to publishers. It is
about recording dreams, and, (a new experience for me), it is written in the
first person singular, which I found to be surprisingly liberating.
Other than that, I have
tentatively started a book about god and death which will very subtly toy with
ghostly goings on. When I get the chance, I would like to write a book about
quantum computers, entanglement, and AI — plenty of grey areas there to exploit.
Read the review of Dark Waves here.
No comments:
Post a Comment