The Fear Factor in Mysteries

There are lots of reasons why people read mysteries. Some like to solve the problem of who done it. Some are interested in the characters and how they handle difficult situations, and some like the formulaic writing that in the end will be satisfying as the evil doer gets his/her just reward.

I went to www.librarything.com/topic/75724 and read the comments on the topic “Why do you read crime novels?” I’m not going to list all of them here, but she_climber wrote “Nothing is as exciting in my life as in the books I read.” I think we can all agree with that unless we lead exciting lives. AHS-Wolfy wrote “I want to pick up tips in formulating the perfect murder.” I certainly hope he/she was joking.

In July 20ll, The Bookseller listed that ten of the twenty-five bestselling books were thrillers. Philip Hensher in this edition states that he thinks the reason thrillers are so popular is because “we turn away from the unspeakable horrors of the newspaper events with no resolution to where a single running policeman can put everything right.”

Although thrillers are at the top of the list of mysteries with frightening events, all mystery writers need to put in some form of the fear factor to create suspense. Some people think the cozy book is the most comforting read, and they may be right to some extent, but the fear factor there is when the safety of a rural or small town is disrupted by murder. If one can’t feel safe in the country or a small town, where can one be safe?

As for the shudder effect in mysteries, I wonder if mystery writers aren’t putting their characters in situations that reflect their own fears or phobias; i.e. psychotic stalkers, facing a killer with a knife or gun, being gagged and bound, a house burning down around them or locked in a small claustrophobic place. All horrible things, I agree.

 

This past week I just finished Sandra Parshall’s book Bleeding Through – an excellent book, by the way – and one of the fear factors she used was a four-foot rattlesnake in her main character’s office. Since snakes seem to be a huge fear factor for many people, I wondered why more people don’t use them in the mysteries they write. Yes, I’ve read about them in other mysteries, too, but not as many as one would think considering the shudder effect snakes produce in most people. I have to admit, I’m not afraid of snakes. In fact, when I was a little girl I used to chase the boys with snakes. I’ve never been afraid to catch snakes, but then there were never any poisonous snakes in my area, and because my mother and grandmother weren’t afraid of them, I wasn’t either.

 

I saw my first rattlesnakes when backpacking about ten years ago. It was a huge one with an enlarged midsection from something it had recently ate, I assume. It was calmly going across a forest road in Pennsylvania. My sister and I thought it was a branch until we got close enough to see it. We were fascinated. Eventually when it decided we weren’t a threat, it slithered off into the ferns lining the road.

The next one was along the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah Valley National Park.  It was an extremely hot day and I was lagging behind when I reached my sister sitting on a boulder waiting for me. She told me we couldn’t go on because there was a rattlesnake on the trail. Now I was hot, thirsty and needed water which was somewhere ahead, and I wasn’t going to let that snake stop me. 

When I got within eight to ten feet from it, I started stomping my feet and pounding my walking sticks on the ground. Snakes can’t hear, but they do feel vibrations. The trail was on the side of a mountain; one side went up rather steeply and the other side went down. I wasn’t going to go up or down and the rattler didn’t want to, either, so we faced off; me stomping, it rattling.  I won. It slithered a short way down the hill and my sister and I went on as it continued rattling its tail.

I’m sure everyone heard about the preacher who handled rattlesnakes and was bitten and died last month. Would I want to handle rattlesnakes? No! Would I want to find one in my house? Another no because I may not have any snake phobias, but I’m not stupid, either. I wouldn’t want any poisonous snake in my house or a constrictor, either. Will I include snakes in my books as a fear factor? Probably not since there aren’t poisonous snakes living in my area.

Another reason for reading mysteries was stated by AFHeart on the topic about why we read crime novels. “One of the great aspects of mystery stories, I suspect is flirting with the danger – safely. It’s a vicarious thrill. The reader is behind locked doors snuggled up with a cat, sipping tea while following a murder.” I can agree with that.

If you’re a writer, what fear factors do you include in your stories or books?

Is it something you fear?

If you’re a reader, what kind of fear factors frightens you the most?