What is a stereotypical horror author? My inspiration for today’s blog post came from a chat with someone recently about my writing. The person asked what genre I write and after I mentioned that I write ghost and psychological horror, they looked taken aback and said, “You don’t look like a horror writer.” I reacted with amusement; this simple comment got me thinking, what are horror writers like?

Do I look like a horror writer?

What is a stereotypical horror author?

  1. Stereotype 1 = more horror authors are men. I think this assumption has some basis in truth, as I have asked around on the perceptions of authors, depending on their genre. Just as most readers assume that more men write horror, they perceived that more romance writers are women. If you want to read more on this topic, check out the following: why not female horror authors; why do women writers write about monsters or ghosts and considering the legacy of women writers in horror fiction.
  2. Stereotype 2 = Horror authors are psychos. Some folks might assume that if a writer has a dark imagination, they might actually act on those impulses in real life. In actual fact, horror is an innocent way to explore the nastier side of life in a speculative sense, making horror authors quite mentally-balanced folks, rather than deranged! Check out this article, Why horror makes us good people for more.
  3. Stereotype 3 = Horror authors all believe in the supernatural. Not all. A belief in ghosts or the afterlife is not a prerequisite for becoming a horror author, any more so than an author must have a creative writing degree to write. Nope, a good imagination is all you need. Want to know which authors believe in the supernatural? Check out this article, 9 authors who believed in ghosts.

You can check out my earlier blog post that I wrote in September on a related topic: Why is there a stigma about writing horror?

Posted by on April 2, 2025 in Writing and tagged , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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