The
Story Behind “They Only Come Out at Night”
(AVAILABLE
FREE ON AMAZON BETWEEN 10/31/13 – 11/4/13)
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Link:
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When most tourists
think of the New York City subway, images of Times Square, Grand Central and
Penn Station will undoubtedly come to mind. These are huge, noisy hubs filled
with thousands of people orchestrating a daily ballet of controlled chaos.
However, the subway system is comprised of 468 stations – the vast majority of
which exhibit the exact opposite environment. Located mainly in the outer
boroughs (outside of Manhattan), most of these stations are dimly lit, sparsely
populated and eerily quiet…and that’s in the middle of the day. In fact, some sections of these
stations have been permanently closed off to the public – presumably because
they were deemed too dangerous. With so much great material to work with, I’ve
often wondered why the subway isn’t regularly used as a set location for horror
movies.
Years ago, I worked
as a photojournalist in New York City, using the subway as my primary mode of
transportation to and from assignments. I became quite familiar with the
stations of the “real” New York subway – the subway that tourists only see if
they’re feeling really adventurous,
or have gotten really lost. I
envisioned so many nightmare scenarios for things that might go bump underground
that I began writing them down. Eventually, I tied them all together in a story.
I’ve always been a big fan of anything horror related, but I’m often let down by
the ending when the reader/viewer is expected to suspend all logical thought and
to “just believe.” Although “They Only
Come Out at Night” is fictional, I wanted to create a story that was
believable and made sense, and where everything is explained in the end. Almost
everyone I know who has read it has told me that they never want to ride the
subway alone again...especially at night.
A word of
warning: Chapter
One is extremely graphic and might be too intense for sensitive readers. It is,
however, pivotal to the story and considerably watered down from my
original version.