They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with author Christopher Krovatin, whose latest book, Frequency, comes out tomorrow, October 2nd, from Entangled Teen!
What does Christopher love when he’s not mashing his love of heavy metal and speculative fiction? Spoiler alert: creepy creatures that deserve a chance to shine, short fiction to sink your teeth into, bands you’ll have a tough time seeing live, and art imitating life. Interested? Read on to learn more!
When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad — these are only a few of my favorite things. As a rule, I always go dark and strange with everything in my life. A story without blood and fire is like a day without fresh air. And for many outsiders, this tendency towards things scary, bizarre, and evil can make me come off as a bleak or troubled person. But it’s quite the opposite — when something’s creepy and insane, it makes my heart blaze with joy, because it’s not for everyone — just like me!
Here are a few of the things that make me feel like I’m not so alone.
The Dance of Death (1493) by Michael Wolgemut, from the Nuremberg Chronicle of Hartmann Schedel
Favorite Mythical Creatures: Despite the bad rap they’ve gotten in recent years due to floofy depictions of them, vampires are maybe my favorite thing in the whole wide world. There’s something about a human soul turned into a hungry, seductive shadow that fascinates me, and I’ve always loved Count Dracula, this tyrannical ghost of the old world who’s always trying to infect ours. Sure, I find a lot of the ways people use vampires to be boring, especially when they focus on things like ruffled cravats or whining about the the eternal curse or whatever. But when it comes to monsters, the undead will always reign supreme in my heart.
I’m also a big fan of satyrs; I actually have the god Pan tattooed on my calf. Satyrs are goat-people from ancient Greek mythology who worship Dionysus, the god of wine. They’re basically the metalheads of ancient myth — stubborn, lusty folk who want to spend their days butting heads, drinking, and playing music by a pond. As a puckish, goatish guy myself, I identify with that on a deep level.
Finally, I feel like there aren’t enough skeletons in modern horror! Skeletons have such a specific place in classic art like the Danse Macabre. They’re pure death magic — what holds the bones together? How can they talk with no lungs? I don’t know, I’m so down! I love that movies like Coco are bringing them into the forefront, but I think we can go darker! I want to see the first great skeleton horror movie!
Favorite Short Stories: I feel like everyone does favorite books, but I’m a short story fiend, so here are some of my favorite pieces of short literature.
“Goal 666” by Stacey Richter is about a blackened death metal band who undergo a sudden and terrifying transformation onstage during their first performance. “The Potable Zombie” by Larry Tritten tells the supernatural origin of my favorite tiki drink. “Ghost Hunt” by H.R. Wakefield is an eerie little tale that you could call an early piece of found-footage horror (read it to see what I mean). “Only The End of the World Again” by Neil Gaiman is about the Wolfman fighting cultists straight out of H.P. Lovecraft, which makes me wonder if Gaiman stole my dream journal. Speaking of which, “The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft is a perfect scary story about dark occultism in backwoods New England with an incredible final monster. “One For The Road” by Stephen King and “Mama Gone” by Jane Yolen are two great examples of contemporary vampire literature done right. And finally, “Homecoming” by Ray Bradbury is a sweet tale of the one human boy in a clan of monsters helping with the once-a-century family reunion.
Favorite Fictional Bands: Nothing’s cooler to me than a band that sooort of exists. Speculative bands are more fun than real bands because the realities of unloading your gear and promoting a record aren’t necessary — they can just exist in a pocket dimension surrounded by adoring fans (and their guitars can shoot lightning!). So, here are some rockers who are true, if not real:
Dethklok, international death metal band and the world’s eighth largest economy, are an awesome force of sheer sonic brutality, and have the most negative bassist in the world. Hedwig & the Angry Inch are a great act when you want some powerful glam rock with gender-bending themes, but their music can be a little heartbreaking. Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem have a wild, foamy sort of sound, and their drummer is an absolute beast. On the gothier side, there’s Bolivar, whose music is fun if a little theatrical (though the singer’s been a bit of a recluse lately…). As far as Antarctican alien metal goes, there’s nothing quite like a healthy dose of GWAR. That said, all of these pale in comparison to the great Spinal Tap, whose album Smell The Glove is one of the most intense rock listening experiences of all time. I saw them once on their re-pre-reunion tour, and it was rad once the band found the stage.
Favorite Personal Item: I have a lot of cool stuff around my office — movie posters, concert posters, a can of cremated remains (long story) — but perhaps the coolest thing I own is this portrait of myself that my fiancée commissioned from our friend Caroline Harrison. Allow me to explain: sometimes, when I’m feel particularly ridiculous, I slip into the character of a cigar-chomping police chief. I loosen my tie, lean forward, and bark something like, “NOW, LISTEN, [whoever I’m talking to], WE DIDN’T HIRE YA ‘CAUSE OF YER FANCY DEGREE, WE HIRED YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE THE BEST.” My fiancé Azara finds this incredibly funny, so for my birthday one year, she had Caroline paint me this portrait. Now I keep it on my desk, and whenever I have writer’s block, I look at it. There’s something inspiring about occasionally hearing your own voice telling you to “CUT THE FUNNY BUSINESS AND GET BACK TO WORK!”
Christopher Krovatin is an author and journalist, whose past works include Heavy Metal & You, Venomous, and the Gravediggers trilogy. Chris’ most recent work is Frequency, a gritty YA retelling of the Pied Piper story full of romance, deception, and rock and roll. Chris lives in New York City in Washington Heights with his fiancée and what he considers to be a pretty solid record collection. Follow him on Instagram at @krovatinist.
Author photo by Jade Morgan.
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Frequency sounds interesting. I’m a fan of both short stories and Jane Yolen, so I really need to track down “Mama Gone.” Vampires, zombies, and werewolves have all had their pop culture moment and I agree that it’s time that skeletons got a turn.
FREQUENCY has a super cool concept Will have to add it to my TBR list. Thanks for sharing, Christopher.