Christopher Ropes is a man of many talents.
I previously interviewed him about his musical ambitions under the name of Alocer Christus, where he detailed release plans for his experimental, compositional pieces.
It turns out he's a pretty damn fine writer.
With his own poetic, traditionally beautiful style of writing combined with brutal, disturbing imagery, his style is very much his own.
Interviewed him about his upcoming publication and just why The Creature From The Black Lagoon is so great.
Let’s start with something broad. What does horror as a genre mean to you? What does it offer the literary portion of your soul?
My definition of horror is almost as broad as this question. Most of Crime & Punishment horrified me far more than any run of the mill horror. And if your definition doesn't include Kafka, you've got a ridiculously restricted definition of the horrific. By the same token, I realize that the average horror reader is a lot like me and wants to read an actual "horror" novel and not The Trial when they are in a horror mood. So most of us who are fans of the genre have an unspoken acceptance of certain guidelines that fit a horror story. As for me and my writing, I just try to slot myself under that umbrella and do so with quality work.
But what horror means to my soul? Freedom and the ability to get away with anything I want, no matter how disturbing. And also, often, to punish the wrong doers in some fashion, though that is not a law in my work. The ability to stretch my imagination and make points about the worst parts of this world we live in while simultaneously freaking out and entertaining people.
Your horror works tend to be fairly short, mainly short stories and an upcoming novella. The pieces I’ve had the pleasure of reading, one of which is due for publication with J. Ellington Ashton Press, are best served by their short lengths. It adds to their tense, claustrophobic quality. Do you ever want to do the opposite write anything longform? Is that something we can expect in the future?
My novella could bloat up into a novel very easily. Though I think it is somewhat closer to dark fantasy. Splatterpunk dark semi-historical werewolf fantasy. Weird and violent and fun, but none of this YA or supernatural romance werewolf stuff, this is good old flesh ripping stuff!
I wouldn't say all the best horror work is short fiction, by any means, but much of my favorite stuff is just that. And I'm also more confident in a shorter form; long works require a great deal of a different kind of discipline than short stories do. Short stories for me are almost like poetry, with compact word usage that cuts to the bone and leaves you with more of an emotional impression than the feeling of a story neatly wrapped up and the knowledge of what has happened to your most beloved and most detested characters.
But I guarantee if this werewolf tale does not become a full novel, one will be attempted eventually!
Although your stories, being horror fiction, contain a lot of disturbing imagery, you still bring a very literary, poetic bent to the genre. Do you ever have to curb this aspect to preserve the horror? Or visa versa?
I think I amplify the poetry because I truly think the beauty automatically also amplifies the horror. Especially when for a sentence or two, the poetic aspect is dropped entirely in favor of a straight up punch in the gut with something really awful. It is letting my word choice and style choice play good cop, bad cop! I try not to curb anything, unless it is something that would actually be a lousy literary choice. Every writer has times where a word selection or plot idea or something screams, "THIS WOULD BE SO AWESOME!!!!" and two seconds of reflection reveal it to be the worst idea since the Battlefield: Earth movie. But that is all I curb. If I want to be poetic, which I guess I must, I figure out how to draw the most horrific effects out of that rather than change my writing style.
Is there anything too depraved for you to write about?
Not that I'm aware of, in a very general sense. I do believe that some things are too depraved to write about in a way that glorifies them. But no subject is per se completely off limits and, if I stumble on one, you can bet I will try to write about it immediately!
Your work, especially the new novella, takes inspiration from some rather obscure supernatural historical events. How does research play into your creative process?
This one I can answer very simply. I write what I know unless my normal reading causes me to stumble on something too good to pass up! That is what happened with the werewolf novella. I wouldn't call reading about historical werewolves research, I would call it pleasure reading that resulted in being research. But when there is a story in progress, I do any necessary research to make it work, of course.
If we could touch briefly on your spirituality. You identify as a satanist and, to some, that is very much connected to horror. What would you say to these people? How does your spirituality influence your writing?
My variety of Satanism is very positive, in direct opposition to most people's notions of the Satanic. I do actually believe in the occult but I inject more of the flavor of the hellish and the concept of suffering as purifying into my work than any sense of my actual beliefs or practices. My beliefs and practices are pure beauty and goodness, to me, and only the abstract sense of the evil in opppsition to a demiurgic concept of goodness is really used in my writing, as the rest is not at all horrific to me. I find the final, staggeringly beautiful "yes" at the end of Ulysses to be far more Satanic than most horror fiction. Likewise with the poetry of another Modernist: despite being a devout Christian, Eliot's poetry is so spiritual to me that I cannot help seeing it as Satanic in my own eyes and heart.
Dracula or Frankenstein?
Dracula, particularly if played by Christopher Lee, but see below for more on this.
The wolfman or the creature from the black lagoon?
The Creature, a wonderfully Lovecraftian beast, is my favorite classic Universal monster by far; possibly my favorite monster ever. But... The Wolfman would come in second, and werewolves over vampires in general for me, so even though he lost this battle, he wins against the other monsters mentioned. Also, in a literary sense, I think a written version of the Creature, where you aren't actually watching a guy in that deliriously delicious costume, would suck. So in novels and stories, werewolves trump them all for me.
One last thing: I will find a way to dirty bomb Hollywood if any of those assholes decides to do a remake of Creature! No defiling the most precious memory of my childhood!
Any final words?
I'm sure I could think of lots. I guess just feel free to connect with me on Facebook at the Christopher Ropes Splatterpunk Emporium. If you have any further questions for me, you can just message me on that page! Hope you all enjoy the sick and hopefully filled with heart and soul journey I try to take you on!
https://www.facebook.com/SplatterpunkEmporium/info
