Meet The Maniac #1
A Look Into Leigh and Her Works of Horror
Once again, welcome back my friends, to another Macabre Monday!
First things first, I want to thank you all for the amazing support following the launch of this Substack. If I have learned anything from this community, it is that there is no shortage of the desire to see others succeed.
In an effort to give back to the community, today we feature our first Meet the Maniac interview, a closer look at one of the evil souls that grace Substack with their own take on horror.
Remember, next week authors will be pitching their works down below in the comments, so come and look through all they have to offer and find new talent to enjoy!
Writers! I want to know how your progress is going for the Wicked Writing Contest, so comment down below how its going for you. 14 more days until the deadline for entries is over! If you didn’t see the announcement last week or want to brush up on the rules for the contest, find the post here.
Alright, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.
Without further ado, this week in the hot chair we have
, the author of Halcyon Horror. Enjoy the interview!Meet The Maniac: Leigh Parrish
Would you please take a moment to introduce yourself?
Hello everyone! I'm Leigh. I write anonymously here on Substack, so I'll have to keep things vague. Let's say I'm a human woman under the age of 100.
At what point did you decide you wanted to be a writer/author?
I dabbled on and off as a kid, but didn't really start devoting myself to it until I was in my early 20s. My first big project was a terrible plotless novel that started out a fantasy and randomly became a horror story partway through. I've generally stuck with horror ever since.
I think many of us can relate to this. Was there something that re-ignited the spark for your writing passion in your early 20's?
I was working retail and looking for some sort of creative outlet to make up for the dullness of a depressing, poorly paid job.
What do you enjoy most about writing? About writing horror?
Believe it or not, I really enjoy editing. There's something really satisfying about watching a messy rough draft become a polished story. There are few things I love more than when a story surprises me, and horror is one of the best genres for that. You can't take anything for granted in a horror story, especially if you're the one writing it.
What do you enjoy outside of writing?
I'm a big fan of games, whether they're videogames, board games, or tabletop RPGs. I won't say I'm good at them, but I have fun all the same.
Hell yeah, a fellow gamer! What are your favorite games of the types you mentioned?
My habits are unusual for most gamers. I tend to buy games long after they come out, then play them half to death. Lately I've been playing Morrowind of all things. It's a bit janky by modern standards, but I love it anyway.
Who are your writing inspirations?
I take a lot of inspiration from classic horror writers like M. R. James and Flannery O'Connor. My preference is for subtle horror that implies more than it states outright. Although I do love Lovecraft as well.
Out of the three (James, O'Connor and Lovecraft) what are your favorite of their works?
James- Lost Hearts. It's such an atmospheric story that it has stuck with me for years after I read it.
O'Connor- The Lame Shall Enter First. The ending feels both shocking and inevitable, due to the excellent foreshadowing.
Lovecraft- Tough question, but I've always liked The Colour Out of Space. Monsters are scary, but there's something about the land itself being blighted by unknown forces that's especially unsettling.
What do you find to be the most challenging when it comes to writing in general?
Speed. I can write pretty well or I can write pretty quickly, but not both at once. Each short story I write takes at least a month or two to finish.
What do you find to be most challenging when it comes to writing horror?
Making sure characters have a good reason to endanger themselves. Stories about people going into an obviously spooky place just for the hell of it tend to fall flat for me. Sure, there are thrillseekers out there, but I find it much scarier when someone makes perfectly sensible decisions but still ends up in a terrifying situation.
What is the most difficult thing you have ever written?
My ongoing WIP novel, currently called The Cosmonaut. It needs lots of research because of the setting (USSR, early 1950s) and is much longer and more complicated than my other projects. Maybe I'll finish it someday.
Are you allowed to expand on The Cosmonaut at all? I'm sure readers are interested in what this project entails.
Sure! It's a pretty unusual project because it combines both supernatural horror and the very real horror of living under a totalitarian regime. The main character is a college student in the early 1950s who finds out that her dormitory may be inhabited by more than just students.
Do you have any odd writing habits?
I like to have a simple craft project nearby when I'm writing. Working on it for a few minutes can sometimes help me get unstuck.
That's very interesting. What craft project are you currently mingling with your writing?
Usually either crochet or knitting.
Can you describe your writing process?
Usually, I'll write my short stories without an outline, then go back and edit for plotholes and anything else that can tighten up or clarify the narrative. Then I'll read the whole thing aloud and fix anything I stumble over. For anything longer, I'll definitely start with an outline. Otherwise, I go off the rails quickly.
Is there a specific style that you love when it comes to writing horror?
Psychological horror is my favorite, especially if it's subtle and open to interpretation. I also enjoy a good Gothic horror story, particularly Southern Gothic.
What piece of your work are you most proud of and why?
Although I wrote it over a year ago now, I'm still really proud of my Substack debut, The Inheritance. (I would have linked to it here, but could not find the story!
, if you see this drop the link in the comments!) It's probably the most atmospheric story I've written, and there's an unusual character dynamic between monster and (would be) monster hunter that I really love.
I'm sure many will go and read this now after you mentioned how proud of it you are. What inspired this story, so that readers can keep it in mind while they read?
I hope so! It's broadly inspired by the Victorian Gothic tradition of scary stories set in isolated manor houses, but the kernel of the story just popped into my head one day out of the blue.
Do you have anything you would like to tell aspiring or struggling authors?
I really wish someone had told me to start with short stories instead of full blown novels. It's not that short stories are necessarily easier, but they allow you to experiment with lots of different ideas without the commitment of writing an entire novel.
It was a scary good time to do this interview, thank you
for being the first to introduce yourself in Meet the Maniac! Go check out her work at Halcyon Horror.
Meet the Maniac will back next month to feature another spooktacular author from our community. Make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already so you receive all the greatest updates on the best horror community Substack has to offer!
Your Weekly Horror Digest
asked “What true story have you heard that is stranger, spookier, darker than fiction?”. She follows it with a chilling story about the time she worked at the James Thurber House. 
That’s all I have for you this week! Check back in next Monday to discover work from Macabre Mondays best contributors and another horror digest. Stay Spooky.
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This is brilliantly done! It’s so professional and fun. I don’t know how you managed to juggle all of this, but thank you for doing it!
Thanks again for the interview! Those were some great questions.
Oh, and here's the link to the story I mentioned. It's worth checking out the other stories on the Substack as well. They're all by different authors, so there's a good selection to choose from.
https://open.substack.com/pub/outsideart/p/the-inheritance-by-le-parrish?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1dotg3