WHY THRILLERS ARE POPULAR

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 96, 20 October 1934, Page 25

WHY THRILLERS ARE POPULAR

An. authority on the subject I have been looking- up informs me that both detective story proper and the tale of horror are very ancient in origin, says Mr. Sydney Horler, the well-known writer of thrillers, in his book, "Writing for Money." As a matter of fact, the latter has really a noble lineage, for it has flourished in practieallly every age and in every country. Whether. the highbrow likes ttf confess it or not, the fact does remain that the story which iaa the quality of making the cold epasm pass up and down yonr spine, especially if read at' the appropriate time and h. a proper atmosphere, has from ithe beginning of history, claimed a very real;attention upon the niind of the human race.

To this fact I traco tho reason why, Since the war, there has been, n' phenomenal boom in shockers of all descriptions. Of course, circumstances have helped. Worry and anxiety demand relief, and, providing tho tale is sufficiently well written, there is no better way of escaping from monotony than to be transported for an hour or so to those magic kingdoms conjured up by

the imagination uiicl ingenuity of a master story-teller. ,

It is due to this .cause, then—the desire- of peoplo-'to be taken out of themselves for a time—that I attribute the present: inordinate demand for exciting fiction. This type of story is symptomatic of the age. Each generation produces its own particular typo of literature. In the leisurely days of the Victorian era, the threevolume novel, with its almost interminable descriptions, was tho vogue; but now that everything is sharp, swift, and snappy, the public demand in their fiction tho type of reading matter that is in keeping with .their lives. ■.'....

If I were., asked to name the six best writers of -shockers today • the following would bo my choice: —John Such an,' A. B. W. Mason, Valentino Williams, Victor Bridges, "Sapper," and Francis Boeding, All theso men have made much money out of the "shocker"—and, let n.e tell you, they have joify well- deserved to do so.

Mj\ Horlor's book ig full of prac tical hints and suggestions to wouldbe authors. ,