Editor’s note: Hi all! Your friendly neighborhood editor, Stuart, here. This doesn’t reflect the views of Horror Tree, just one of our staff members. I’m going to take full responsibility for this piece going live. Anyone following our newsletter or TWF updates knows that I’m slammed with my MBA classes at the moment. While I have editorial coverage on our fiction section, I, unfortunately, do not have editorial coverage on our articles, so I have been allowing some of our long-term writers to have their pieces go up without the usual due diligence that they deserve.

This is 110% on me.

It is a mistake I made as I should have done an approval on all topics and not just time slots, and I should have figured out some extra steps in our editing prior to this.

I’ll be writing something a bit longer to take full responsibility and post this to the site within the next week. I cannot do this today as the deadline for a huge paper I’m working on right now is literally tomorrow. I understand anyone who will want to stop reading the site over this and agree with your decision.

This post will be removed soon.  

I apologize that I let this go through; if it had been a clickbaity headline that ended with the answer being no, I would have let it be a valid post. Horror Tree’s views on AI do not agree with this one, and I apologize.

Can ChatGPT Be Your Developmental Editor?

Edited: The short answer is No.

The Haunting Effects of Time: Exploring Aging and Anti-Aging in Horror Stories

Horror literature is infamous for exploring the darkest corners of human — and inhuman — existence. Daring authors tap into primal fears to craft haunting stories of the unknown. Aging is a universal and inevitable aspect of the human experience, yet it remains one of the most feared and haunting concepts in our collective consciousness. In most literature, you’ll find themes of mortality, isolation, illness, bodily changes, and even the afterlife that weave an intricate web of what it means to be human and the fear that makes us so.

 

For years to come, stories will very likely tackle this real-life topic in varying, evolving ways. The following is an exploration of the implications of how horror literature has depicted aging and how it may do so going forward. 

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Screams on Wheels: How To Launch Your Terrifyingly Thrilling Horror Bookmobile for Younger Readers

Bookmobiles can be instrumental in spreading enthusiasm for reading, especially in places where bookstores and libraries aren’t readily available. Genre-specific versions are a unique twist on the classic. A horror bookmobile can be a great way to ramp up your passion for horror fiction and share the chills and thrills with your community. Bookmobiles have been traversing the roads for over a century. As of 2019, 671 vehicles serve their communities with library offerings. Consider starting your own bookmobile with a horrifying spin to put screams on wheels and share your love of horror fiction far and wide.

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The Essential Horror of the Body

The stench of decay fills the air, you hear the sound of bones crunching in the distance, a many-limbed figure stumbles through the mist, something wicked this way comes . . . 

 

Body horror has been a staple of the horror genre since Mary Shelley published the genre-defining “Frankenstein” in 1818. Over 200 years later, audiences have been disgusted and disturbed by an array of unsettling aberrations, transformations, and mutations. 

 

As an author, you can use the essential horror of the body to explore classic themes and push the genre forwards. Body horror is particularly powerful today, as advancements in biotech and artificial intelligence have changed what it means to be human. 

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Understanding the Science Behind Fear & Stress for Fiction Writing

While technological advancements like artificial intelligence and chat programs are making it easier for writers to get their thoughts and words down on paper, some things can’t be replicated by robots, like fear and anxiety. As a fiction writer specializing in horror, you need to understand the science behind these dark issues to make an authentic and compelling case in your books. 

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How Technological Innovations Are Changing The Way We Write

Technology like artificial intelligence (AI) has long been the subject of horror flicks and scary short stories. There’s something innately freaky about programs becoming self-aware and using the power of the world wide web to problem-solve at light speed. 

 

However, AI is entirely dependent on its training and is confined by the algorithms that underwrite its programming. So, we probably won’t have to contend with iconic hostile programs like Hal, Wintermute, and Neuromancer.  

 

In reality, technological innovations are designed to help us lead more productive, fulfilling lives. Writers, in particular, can benefit from the wealth of brainstorming, writing, and editing tech that AI has to offer. 

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Stephen King’s 3 Most Influential Novels

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It’s difficult to put together a list of the best writers of all time. But you’d have to make a heck of an argument for leaving Stephen King off this list. Stephen King is undoubtedly one of the best writers and novelists this world has seen. 

 

He’s contributed many exceptional short stories and novels, keeping readers on their toes from the first word until the last. Luckily, we aren’t attempting a list of Stephen King’s top three stories of all time, period, because we probably couldn’t choose just three. He’s that good. 

 

Although it’s still a massive challenge, this article will focus on novels and explore Stephen King’s three most influential. 

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