Jade Kane
Supernatural Horror Author
Hi, I'm Jade Kane
I love books, theatre, gardening, food, and, above all, horror. It was Mark Twain who said, “Everyone is a moon and has a dark side, which he never shows anybody.” What happens when that individual shows their dark side, or discovers it’s there, or when circumstances release the beast that’s inside all of us, lurking, waiting, pacing, passing the time until something busts the locks on its cage?
I was educated at home, so I never went to school, but I did sit formal exams.
I’ve always been an avid reader. Since I moved from having bedtime stories read to me and onto reading aloud and then to alone, I’ve devoured tomes of books ranging from ‘Nancy Drew’ to ‘Goosebumps’ to ‘Frog and Toad’ to classics. In my studies, I found the only subjects I had true passion for were English and law. I considered pursuing a career in law, but I opted for writing. I suppose one isn’t too far removed from the other: spin a web of fiction, make it sound intelligent, hope the audience buys into it. It’s all just storytelling.
When did I get into horror? Age ten when I read Jay Anson’s ‘The Amityville Horror’. This interest developed when I watched my first scary movie: ‘The Omen’, followed quickly by ‘Poltergeist’. Before this, my favourite theme park rides were the Haunted Mansion in Disney’s Magic Kingdom
and any roller coaster as soon as I was tall enough to meet the height requirement. Why? Because I screamed. I gargled my heart. I felt like I was going to die. And then, I skipped off, energised and invigorated, and said, “Can we do it again?” I loved being scared. I’m also partial to candy-corn and Halloween…
So, my love affair with all things frightening continued as I delved into the works of the genre’s greats: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Susan Hill, Shirley Jackson, Mary Shelley, Richard Matheson, Bram Stoker, Richard Laymon…oh so many.
So, why do I love horror so much? Because I love the thrill of the chill. “Hell is empty. The devils are here.” That’s Shakespeare in his ‘The Tempest’, and I love the quote because it removes the safeguard. We tell ourselves the monsters are in Hell, or in our closets, or that they don’t exist at all so we can keep them away. I enjoy playing with the common definition of “safety” and removing that padlock, whatever form it may take.
Another great writer, Stephen King, said, “Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” That was in ‘The Shining’.
It’s a frightening idea, right? The monsters aren’t so far away now. Humans can be heroes, humans can be monsters; monsters can be monsters, but sometimes, they can be a little human too; and sometimes, humans aren’t as human as they pretend to be, and monsters aren’t as monstrous as humans perceive them. I love blurring the line between what is “good” and what is “evil”. Humans aren’t always good and monsters aren’t always evil, more often than not they’re both in the same day.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy my book and that I scared you a little, maybe made you wonder what could be lurking in the dark corner of your bedroom at night. Love the fear. Thrive on it. If you see a ghost, ask it if it would care for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine…or scream, throw a book at it and run, whichever feels right.
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Jade Kane
