Interview with Guido Henkel, Author of the "Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter" Series

LL: How did you become interested in the horror genre? Did you like scary stories as a boy?

GH: For some reason, horror has always held a weird fascination for me. I always liked scary stories and I read books in the horror genre even before I was allowed to watch the movies in TV. Especially gothic horror - like that in the old Universal monster movies or the Hammer horror films - has always been the holy grail of the genre for me. I've always felt that atmosphere was more important to good horror than graphic violence. I find that the evocative imagery of these films gets my imagination going and early on I developed a very strong affinity to it.

LL: Tell us about Jason Dark. What is he like? How did he become a ghost hunter?

GH: Dark comes from a family of ghost hunters. It is a profession that has run in the family for generations. It is not only a choice, however, Dark has also developed kind of a sixth sense for supernatural occurrences as he's been exposed to - and affected by - them since his early childhood.

He is an affable gentleman in the London society during the Victorian age, though he does not care too much about things such as peer pressure, social classes or the expectations of correctness that society makes at the time.

He does not like the limelight, though, because he feels it would be detrimental to his work. As a result he will always try to avoid finding his name in the newspapers and stay in the background.

LL: What price does he pay for his special knowledge and skills?

GH: There's not really any price, other than that he has to face all those nasties and is on the Devil's personal payback list.

LL: What kinds of supernatural entities does Jason Dark come into contact with?

GH: The series features a wide variety of entities, including demons, vampires, ghosts, witches, angels... anything you could think of, really. There are no limits and whenever I have an intriguing idea, I just run with it. Many times I try find an interesting spin on the existing folklore and mythology of these entities to make them a little more interesting. At the same time, I always try to create an atmosphere and setting that conjures up familiar imagery. It helps me tremendously to create the illusion of depth despite the limited length of the dime novels.

LL: There are currently 9 books in the series. Each one deals with a particular case Jason works on, correct?

GH: Yes, each book stands on its own entirely. While it is fun to read them all and catch the little references I make to connect them, and to see how the world and characters evolve, I want every volume in the series to stand on its own. That way people can easily pick any adventure at any time and read without having to have any knowledge of the series as a whole.

LL: As the story progresses, does it surprise you with some turns it takes? When you wrote Book 1, could you imagine what would take place in Book 9?

GH: Because I treat every volume completely separately, not really. I usually focus singularly on the story I am currently working on. Once it is finished I sit down and think about what I could do next - usually consulting my writer's journal for ideas. Whatever idea intrigues me the most at that point in time is the one I'll pursue. There are a few plot strands that I work into the stories with more of a long-term view, the recurring Dr. Watson references come to mind, as well as some other developments, but most of the time I do not plan the series ahead in too much detail. Instead I try to see where it leads me.

LL: Book 8 is titled The Blood Witch. Who is it? Is she based on a historical figure?

GH: Yes, the character of the Blood Witch is based on a historical figure, indeed. In the early 1600s, Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian countess, came to morbid fame and went down in history as one of the first serial killers. According to accounts she may have killed over 600 people and bathed in her victim's blood, which gave her the nickname the Blood Countess.

I have used this general history to build my character of the Blood Witch upon it, with a slight variation to explain how she could still be alive in 1881, the time when my story takes place. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but let's just say that when Jason Dark meets her, she's still at it.

LL: The series has recently received an excellent review in Fangoria, America's leading horror magazine. Was that inspiring? What part of the review did you appreciate the most?

GH: In many ways, it was like a dream coming true. I've read Fangoria for many years and to be featured in the magazine was more than I could have hoped for. In the wake of it, the editor of Fangoria actually approached me to see if I might be interested in writing a 5-part "Jason Dark" serial exclusively for the magazine, and starting in issue #302, there will be an installment of the story on the pages of Fangoria.

LL: Do you think a book can be too frightening? Do you have certain limits, or there is no such thing as "too much horror"?

GH: Absolutely. I have read material that made me cringe. I find that for me it is usually not monsters or so but certain kinds of disturbing violence that make me very uneasy - brutal, urban serial killers, that kind of stuff.

Monsters are a little too far removed from reality for me to get really frightening but things that I can directly relate to, yes, I think they can get a little too strong.

At the same time, I understand of course that certain readers are looking exactly for that kind of uneasiness when reading horror books. It is just not down my alley. I prefer a nice creepy chiller instead.

LL: Before you started writing novels, you worked as a computer game designer and interactive fiction writer. What is "interactive fiction writer?" And how does this experience help you with the Jason Dark series?

GH: When you write for computer games, particularly for role-playing games, you are dealing with an entirely different world. In games, the story is never linear, which means, it is never unfolding in only one predefined way. Instead, players make choices all the time, many of which will influence how the story plays out.

As a writer you always have to keep that in mind and accommodate this. You can never predict what a player will do. You can never even predict if the player will even get to see or read certain things or how they got to the current point in the story.

As a result in computer games must have a variety of options and alternatives ready to serve up to accommodate all these unpredictable states. As a result, the drama or plot of a computer game is never as tight as in a novel where the writer can direct the reader very strategically.

I am not sure if this experience has helped me write the Jason Dark series other than catalyzing my desire to write traditional fiction where I have full control over the experience.

LL: Have you thought of a Jason Dark computer game?

GH: Naturally, the thought has come up but due to time restraints I have so far never had any real inclination to tackle it myself. I'd rather write more Jason Dark adventures instead at this point in time. However, if someone else is interested in creating a Jason Dark game, I am certainly open for discussions.

LL: Your books are available electronically on Kindle, Nook, and other e-readers. Do you plan to have the series released in paperback as well?

GH: All Jason Dark adventures are available in print also. For a number of reasons they are not going through regular distribution channels like Amazon, however, and are currently available for purchase on the official Jason Dark website only.

Seeing how print media are really going the way of the Dodo, and because the revenue proposition is simply bad in print any which way I turn it, I don't put too much effort into opening up new distribution outlets for my print versions.

LL: What advice do you have for an aspiring writer?

I am not sure if I am in any position to make recommendations for anyone, really - I see myself as an aspiring writer myself. However, I think one cannot overstate the importance of professionalism. You are not just someone who writes a book, you will also have to sell it - to an agent, a publisher of the public. In order to do that you will have to treat it properly, as a business, in a professional manner.

LL: Thank you Guido for taking the time to do this interview!