When twins Oliver and Trisha must trek through the woods to find medical help for their injured father, they stumble upon a spooky town with a strange scarecrow watching over it. Relying on folk horror tropes to set the scene, It Watches in the Dark is a hair-raising romp through the woods filled with humor and thrills.
Nicole Ransome: It Watches in the Dark is a fun middle-grade horror story following twins and their injured father as they attempt to survive not only in the wilderness but also a strange village they stumble upon. How did you come up with the premise for the story?
Jeff Strand: I’ve written a lot of books, so my starting point is often “What haven’t I done yet?” I’ll figure out a horror trope that I haven’t yet tackled, and put my own crazy spin on it. In this case, the answer was “Folk horror.” I’d also never done a scarecrow book—an underused monster in horror fiction—and the two went together perfectly.
What is your favorite part of writing a spooky story for the middle-grade audience?
In my adult books, I have a fondness for humor and action, and I think it translates really well to works for a younger audience. If I’m writing a book about a giant living scarecrow, I’m not interested in the scarecrow merely giving our heroes an uneasy feeling in a quiet, atmospheric manner—there’s going to be a wild, elaborate chase through the village at night! I want kids to talk to their friends and say “You won’t believe what happens next!” I’m there to give the readers over-the-top thrills with plenty of laughs.
As a horror writer, how do you know when a scary plot has reached the maximum amount of fear for your audience?
It’s always about “Is this fun?” If I’m writing for kids, I don’t want it to be nihilistic or traumatizing. Now, I also don’t want it to feel safe—when our heroes are being chased by the scarecrow, I want the reader to feel like the danger is real. But I’m only looking to deliver fun scares, not a cold gaze into the darkest depths of the human psyche. I’ll also admit that there were a couple of times where my editor asked me to tone things down a bit. Oops.
Which character do you find yourself relating the most to in your story?
Trisha is a bit braver, smarter, and more competent than her twin brother Oliver, so I find myself relating most to Oliver.
Jeff Strand brings scares and giggles in his new middle-grade horror listen
Branching into folk horror for the first time, the author spins a goose-pimply tale of twin siblings who stumble upon an isolated, eerie town.
