A Scary Interview with Jeff Wood

The Black Beacon Book of Horror 2 will be released on the 1st of October, but in the meantime, the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads TBR list. To get you pumpkin-spiced up for an unforgettable Halloween 2026, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Step into the corridors of their dark minds, if you dare!

Hi Jeff,

That classic question to get started. Do you have to be a horrible person to write horrible things?

I won’t speak for others, but I think there’s a certain amorality to writers, horror or otherwise. I’m not saying writers have no morals (although…), but rather, a writer is willing to examine all possibilites and motivations, no matter how dark (or light). In other words, a writer doesn’t let morality blind them of their darkest notions. They explore everything.

Which horror writers do you admire—old or new, famous or hidden gems?

He’s not a horror writer, but Ray Bradbury has an ability to start you off in the everyday world, and subtly twist the details so that mundane objects and events take on fresh meanings. He inserts the uncanny into the everyday. It’s magical realism, even if no one ever calls it that. A huge influence.

Can you describe your perfect horror-themed night in, out, or away?

I like the weeks just before Halloween, when horror books and movies dominate conversation and media. You’re allowed to binge three horror movies a night on your safe, comfortable couch next to your wife.

Are there any urban legends, folktales, or real-life tales of horror that happened (just maybe) where you live or grew up?

I grew up in Iowa, with cornfields everywhere. Cornfields look pretty, but they are genuinely scary places. Animals (including lots of rats and who knows what else) are scurrying around making unsettling scuttling noises. You can’t see them, only hear them. Corn itself is said to make a rustling sound at it grows. In addition to the sounds, by mid-July the cornstalks are so high you can’t see what’s right in front of you, and it’s difficult to walk. So: can’t see well, mobility is limited, and you are surrounded by unidentifiable noises. Deeply liminal, disturbing places.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Sit down with my laptop to write every morning, after coffee. Doesn’t matter where. Just show up, every morning. I don’t get ideas about writing unless I’m actively writing.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

I once hitchhiked from Iowa to New York City, by way of Canada and the Great Lakes (that’s a really long distance, if you’re not from here!). A true adventure.

Where can we find you online?

My Substack, The Oort Cloud, can be found at
https://jeffwood.substack.com/
My website is at https://jeffmwood.com/

Horror Anthology: Jeff Wood

The Black Beacon Book of Horror will be released on Friday the 13th of October; the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads list today. To get you in the mood for a particularly spooky Halloween this year, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. The first Black Beacon Book of Horror is bound to give you the creeps!

Hi Jeff,

Why do you write horror?

I’ve written in several genres, and horror may be the most elastic. It allows me to shape a story to fit any number of traumas and tropes. I can write about my life and the world around me, and grapple with my own fears and desires within the context of fiction.

Is there a story behind your story in this anthology?

I was raised Southern Baptist, but my family left the church when I was a kid. What I was left with was a conflict between a desire for religion and a deep distrust of it. The story comes from that ongoing battle. I was also raised in the Midwestern US in the 60s and 70s, when there was a casual cruelty toward animals, and insects in particular. That easy way of guiltlessly snuffing out the lives of other living things is an influence on the story as well.

Do you have an all-time favourite horror tale?

I remember two stories as being particularly influential. My sister brought home Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery" after school one day, and made me sit down and read it immediately. My memory is of sitting on her bed, cross-legged, realizing for the first time that somebody wrote this. Meaning, it wasn’t just a story, there was a sensibility behind the story. Someone had thought about what story they wanted to tell, and the best way to tell it, and then wrote it. I had a similar reaction to Bradbury’s "A Sound of Thunder", and the description of the T. Rex specifically. Somebody wrote this. They wanted to tell the reader this story, and figured out the best way to present it.

What books did you grow up reading?

I loved Bradbury and Jackson, as I have mentioned. I also devoured H.G. Wells (I got a hardback collection of his sci-fi novels as a kid) and those goofy Tom Swift Jr. books (“Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster”!). There was a short story called “Wide O–” that had a huge impact, and I thought about it all the time.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I really don’t. I write 1000 words nearly every day, but it can be anywhere, any time, regardless of what chaos might be surrounding me. The only ritual is the writing itself.

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

I hitchhiked from Iowa to New York City twice, once by way of Canada. The second time I hitchhiked to NYC, I stayed there for 12 years.

Where can we find you online?

My website: https://jeffmwood.com/
My Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B007AW3W9C
My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/clowncarpublishing
My Instagram feed: https://instagram.com/jeff.m.wood
My Twitter feed: @clowncarne1

Thanks for answering our questions.