REMAINS TO BE TOLD – An interview with Kiwi author Helena Claudia 

In this unique interview series, we chat with the contributors of Kiwi horror anthology Remains to Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, edited by five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press, 1 October). 

Today, we welcome author Helena Claudia, whose historical short story “I’m a Gemini” appears in the anthology. 

Tell us about your story in the anthology.  

I was interested in writing about the “horror” that manifests in the heads and actions of people who have an incredibly negative reception of the world, such as our unnamed protagonist, who suffers from PTSD, drawing on my own experience. New Zealand is in the midst of a mental health crisis, and accessing help is particularly difficult for younger people and students who rely on overburdened university services. Our protagonist has suffered a great personal loss and is deeply combative and critical of everyone she encounters, yet still holds a deep desire to be appreciated by them. She generally wants the same things as the people around her, but her desire to protect herself prevents her from trusting them. The only way forward she can see is back.  

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Emmett Nahil is a writer, narrative designer, game developer, and literary jack of all trades living in a haunted town north of Boston, Massachusetts. He’s interested in intersectional analysis, diverse representation for other queer Middle Easterners, and bringing more nuanced work to genre fiction. He’s been known to favor horror, along with sci-fi, fantasy, and really weird speculative literature. Let Me Out is his debut graphic novel.

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REMAINS TO BE TOLD – An interview with Kiwi author Gina Cole 

In this unique interview series, we chat with the contributors of Kiwi horror anthology Remains to Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, edited by five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press, 1 October). 

Today, we welcome award-winning author Gina Cole, whose murderous short story “Blind Date” appears in the anthology. 

Tell us about your story in the anthology.  

My story “Blind Date” began as a very creepy short film script about murder and assassination. In the process of editing and turning it into fiction I ramped up the horror aspect and it morphed into a completely different and terrifying story.  

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REMAINS TO BE TOLD: An interview with Kiwi author Denver Grenell
 

In this unique interview series, we chat with the contributors of Kiwi horror anthology Remains to Be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, edited by five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press, 1 October). 

Today, we welcome Denver Grenell, whose action horror short story “Ngahere Gold” [Bush Gold] appears in the anthology. 

What, in your view, are the core elements of Aotearoa horror? What makes Kiwi horror unique? 

Our landscape, our history, and our voice—all of which are intertwined like a complex raranga / flax weaving. There is a darkness to the history of Aotearoa, which hangs over us like a long (white) cloud and often seeps into our art—from the cinema of unease to certain musical stylings and, of course, our written word. 

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