Hello, and welcome to The Monster & The Child, where childhood studies and monster studies collide! I am Dr. Kathleen Kellett, and I am happy to welcome you to our second installment of interview weekend. Yesterday, I released an interview with middle-grade horror author Ally Russell, who I met at an author event at Thrillerdelphia (and was told about by horror writer and creative Wi-Moto Nyoka, all appropriate links in the description below). At that same event, I met Laura Parnum, the author of Peril at Price Manor and The Haunting of Bellington Cottage. I have read and very much enjoyed the latter of those two novels. Her writing has also appeared in S’more Spooky Stories: A National Park Anthology.

I asked Laura the same set of questions that I asked Ally, so you can get two very cool perspectives on the whys and wherefores of writing monster stories for young people. Children’s literature is my background and my greatest passion, so it was very exciting to discuss this topic with someone doing really cool work in that space. So, once again kindly overlooking the webcam quality, please enjoy this conversation with Laura Parnum.

KATHLEEN: Alright, so, to begin with, um, please tell us a little bit about your books. Um, who are the kids, and who are the monsters?

LAURA: Yeah, so I’ll start with, um, Peril at Price Manor. I’ve got my copy right here. Um, Peril at Price Manor is my sort of tribute to old B-movie creature features. Um, the kids are Halle, Paisley, and Argyle. So, Halle is the true, like, heroine of the story. Um, she loves horror movies, and she loves them so much that she wants to be an actress in a horror movie, um, when she gets older. So she, um, practices all the things you need to do to be in horror movies, like screaming and fainting and, um, running through the woods and tripping and falling. So, um, you know, she’s practicing. She wants to play the damsel in distress, um, in horror movies. Um, so, you know, she gets this opportunity one day to go to Price Manor, which is the home of a famous horror movie maker, and she’s, you know, hoping she’ll be discovered. So, um, so that’s Maximus Price. He’s, um, you know, sort of this, this famous horror movie maker, but he’s got two kids, um, Paisley and Argyle. So they are twins, and they are, um, you know, they have led a very sheltered life. Um, they… their… their dad has been very overprotective of them, so they have this enormous household staff that does everything for them, um, so much so that they can’t even, like, get their own snacks or, you know, uh, pick out what clothes they’re gonna wear and things like that. Um, so they…so they’ve led this sheltered life, but they also have their own skills, as well. So Paisley is very athletic, um, and she’s also very schedule-oriented and rule-oriented, so she’s, like, you know, keeps everyone on track. Um, and then Argyle is very smart. He reads a lot, and he’s very curious about the world around him. From which he’s been sheltered from.

Um, so now, the monsters of the book are, um, these slimy, tentacled creatures, called tredecapuses, And they, um, they are, uh… they need a host in order to reproduce, so they have been attacking the household staff. Um, so… um, so they… what they do is they… they have these…these tentacles. There’s 13 of them, so they’re called tredecapuses, and they don’t have eyes or ears or noses, but they can, um, they can sort of sense sound, probably sensing vibrations. Um, and they can smell, so maybe there’s a nose in there somewhere. Um, but what they do is they’ll, um, they can jump. They, they jump on the heads of people and sort of attach themselves and put those people into a zombie-like state, so that they’re kind of walking around like zombies, unable to see or, um, talk or communicate in any way. Um, so…

KATHLEEN: Incredible.

LAURA: Um, so once they sense, like, so once they’re attached to somebody and they sense a potential host nearby, um, they’ll actually split in half, and another creature will come out and try to attack the next person. So, you know, there’s the potential that they could replicate uncontrollably and take over the world, you know?

KATHLEEN: Yep, classic, classic, uh, problem to solve there.

LAURA: Right. So basically, Halle, um, uses all of her horror movie knowledge, um, and specifically her knowledge of how to survive dire circumstances. Um, and then Paisley can use, like, her athletic abilities and her, um, her sort of regimented, um, ways to sort of keep them in line. And, um, Argyle uses, um, his knowledge of animal behavior from all the books that he’s read, um, so that they’re all using their skills to sort of figure out how these creatures work and how to stop them.

KATHLEEN: I love… I love the… the animal behavior bit that’s, like, shades of, uh, Nope.

LAURA: Yeah, right, exactly. Um, so that’s… that’s Peril at Price Manor. Now I’ve got, um, The Haunting of Bellington Cottage, which is, uh, the main character is Iris. Um, she’s… she’s the shorter one there. And she has a broken arm, um, and she’s going on a ski trip with her family, but unfortunately, broken arm and ski trip don’t really go together. Um, so, it turns out, though, that another family is going with them, and they have, um, Violet, who Iris met a few years ago when their families got together, um, for another vacation, um, and stayed at a rental house in Cape May, New Jersey. Um, so Iris is excited to see Violet, because the last time they got together, uh, they turned that rental house into a haunted house to scare the grown-ups. So she wants to recreate that hilarious and fun time and make another haunted house even better and scarier than the first one. But unfortunately, when Violet arrives, she’s changed, um, and she’s, you know, dyed her hair black, and she’s very moody and grumpy, and she, you know, um, insists on being called Vee instead of Violet, so she’s changed her name, um, and, you know, she kind of doesn’t want to have anything to do with Iris or the haunted house. Um, but then, of course, strange things start happening in the house, um, which make it… make them realize that they don’t need to make a haunted house, because it actually is haunted. So this is my… my monster, um, the ghost, and I won’t tell you too much about the ghost, because, um, it’s sort of a mystery that the girls have to, um, solve over the course of the story, who… who they are and what they want and how to help them. So the girls, you know, have to set aside their differences, um, to figure out what to do about this ghost. And of course, you know, the parents all think that they’re creating a haunted house, so any of these hauntings that happen, they just, oh, they’re just, you know, uh, the girls are making this haunted house. So, you know, there’s…there’s lots of, uh, lots of havoc wreaked on the rental house that the ghost is causing, and the girls are getting blamed for.

KATHLEEN: Yes. I’ve got my… I… my camera’s so fuzzy, but I’ve got my little ghost earrings on.

LAURA: Nice! Oh, and I also have my own little ghost here to go with my tredecapus, so they’re… they’re there.

KATHLEEN: I love that. Yeah, I… so, uh, the… the latter book is the one that I’ve read, um, and I really, really liked, um, how… and this kind of leads into my next question about middle grade. Um, I really liked how one of the sort of central internal conflicts for Iris was, like, are my friends all outgrowing me? It’s like, what a… what a violent throwback to feeling 12.

LAURA: Exactly.

KATHLEEN: So, I thought that was very well done.

LAURA: Thanks.

KATHLEEN: All right, so that leads into, um…do some of these questions a little bit out of order, but If you would like to, uh, define what middle grade…what middle grade means for any unfamiliar audiences, and then what made you want to put monsters into your middle grade.

LAURA: Yeah, so middle grade is, um, the books that fall in between…so there’s, you know, picture books and early readers or, um, chapter books, then there’s middle grade, and then there’s YA, or young adult fiction. So, uh, specifically, middle grade is for kids around ages 8 to 12 or 13. Um, and as the name suggests, it’s for those middle grades. It’s not middle school, which is, like, 6th, 7th, 8th grade, but it’s more like the middle grades, 3rd through 6th or 7th grade. Um, uh, so with the three… with the…the different, um, age categories, excuse me, um, picture books are generally, like, the books that parents read aloud to their kids and there are, um, you know, uh, illustration is a main part of the storytelling. Um, then you have the chapter books, um, or the early readers, which are a lot shorter than middle grade, so they have, um, simpler sentences and simple… simpler words. And they have often, you know, some black and white illustrations throughout the book to, um, to sort of enhance the stories and keep the interest of those, um, young readers who are just… just learning how to read. So, middle grade is, um, the books are getting longer, you know, the reading level is higher. Um, but it’s not just about length and reading level, because middle grade books often deal with, like, the themes that developmentally, the readers that age are starting to go through, so themes like independence, or themes like friendships and family relationships, or coming of age, and those types of themes. So it’s not just about, you know, the reading level, or the length, it’s about the themes, as well.

Um, and how I got to, um, put monsters in my books. That’s a good question. So, I’ll have to… I’ll have to back up a little bit and tell you about my upbringing. So, um, when I was a kid, my dad loved horror movies, and he was a collector, so he collected all kinds of memorabilia about horror movies, and we had a room in our house, um, that was devoted to his horror movie collection. It had posters on, you know, all the walls, posters on the ceiling, um, you know, just covered in posters. Um, he had some of the old classic ones, originals, and then he had, you know, some…some newer ones, uh, some current ones. Uh, he had books, magazines, he would make scrapbooks with, like, movie reviews and all kinds of things, and he had, like, little figurines and those little cardboard, uh, stands that you sometimes see in movie theaters and stuff like that. So, um, so basically, I grew up around monsters. Um, and I would say that it was never really, um, an intentional decision to put monsters in my books, it was just sort of what came out of me naturally. Because, you know, that’s… that’s where I come from. That’s…that’s what I, uh, what I know.

KATHLEEN: I mean, that makes sense, you definitely come by… come by the horror genre, honestly. Okay, so, um…so, on my channel, um, a lot of what I do is talk about, um, stories and narratives, that challenge social constructions of childhood. Um, so are there any commonly held beliefs around childhood, or about childhood, that you hope to challenge through your work.

LAURA: Um, yeah, so I think a lot of what I write about is sort of empowering kids, um, and the readers. Um, I think that in, like, today’s society, um, there’s a lot of people who are trying to shelter kids, and, you know, I know I’m a little bit guilty of that myself with my own kids, um, because there’s a lot of scary and unsettling things out there in the world, in the country, in our communities. Um, but, you know, I think that kids shouldn’t always be sheltered or kept away from tough topics or, um, upsetting realities, um, but that they should be given the knowledge along with the tools to sort of help cope with those and make their own decisions about what’s right and wrong. So, um, so far my books don’t really, um, tackle, you know, tough societal issues, um, at this time, but I know that there are lots of books for middle grade readers that do, and that they’re, you know, really… it’s really important for them to be able to access those books. Um, scary books, I would say, also serve a particular role for kids, and that is… and there’s actually been, sort of, studies about this, but, um, when… when you’re, um, taking in, like, a, um, a fearful situation, but in a safe space – so, like, when you go to the movies, you’re in a movie theater, right? When you read a book, you’re, you know, in your… in your room, or your living room, or you’re in a safe space, um, and it actually, you know, when you experience the sensations of fear in that safe space, it actually sort of helps…helps the reader practice feeling their… or it helps them develop their fear emotions and their fear reflexes, so that, you know, they can cope with, sort of, scary situations in real life. So, um, that’s my hope. Um, you know, my books aren’t super scary, especially, um, this one, I tell people is more funny than scary. They get into a lot of wacky situations. This one’s got a few more scares in it. Um, but, uh, but it’s still not super scary.

KATHLEEN: Yeah, but it… not to… I’m going to avoid spoilers for it, but as the girls, um, like, discover the backstory of the ghost, like, there’s some genuinely sad stuff in there. Like, I was getting emotional reading it.

LAURA: Yeah.

KATHLEEN: so I think that, too, like, kind of goes hand-in-hand, like, allowing, uh, kids to, like, process hard emotions that, like, adults tend to want to shield them from, but it’s… it’s good. It’s good for them to… because you’re not going to be able to avoid fear or sadness. Um, so it’s… it’s good to have that sort of, like, working through it through Art.

LAURA: Yeah. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Experience all the emotions.

KATHLEEN: Yes. Okay, um…so, most of my audience, because most of what I do on my channel is, like, public scholarship, um, about children in monster stories, but not always, like, children’s media. Um, so, like, I’m working on a script right now about, like, IT and A Nightmare on Elm Street, so not really intended for kids, um, but about kids. Um, so most of my audience is not the target demographic of your writing, um, but what would be your pitch for what an adult might get out of reading a middle grade novel, if they haven’t done so since they themselves were a kid?

LAURA: Yeah, so I would say for, um… let’s see, for Peril at Price Manor, um, it’s definitely, like, if you’re a horror movie fan, you’ll find a lot of hidden references to classic horror and 80s horror movies. Um, there’s some Easter eggs in there that you’d only notice if you were a big fan of those movies. Um, you know, the book was definitely written with my dad’s love of horror movies in mind, um, and I think, you know, readers who appreciate, you know, terrible B-movies and creature features and things like that will appreciate this book because it’s sort of a tribute to that. Um, for The Haunting of Bellington Cottage, I think, you know, it really focuses on the relationships, um, and communication that, um, that, you know, can bring adult readers back to their preteen years, and hopefully in a fun way and not a traumatic way.

KATHLEEN: Right. Yes, yes.

LAURA: Because we all navigated those awkward moments, um, and the relationship struggles that we had then. Um, and I think that…that also the readers who have their own kids of this age, you know, if they’re reading… if the adult readers are reading, you know, they might, um, be able to put themselves in the shoes of the characters and what they’re going through and, you know, help them, you know, see what their own kids are going through in terms of friendships and relationships. Both books, I would also say, have really cool settings. So, um, Peril at Price Manor is in this old stone mansion, and, um, it’s in the woods, and it’s kind of got this Tim Burton-esque, like, creepy aesthetic, which is all completely manufactured, because the… because Maximus Price, who owns the mansion has, you know, he’s got, like, fog machines running, and he’s got, like, you know, all these props from his movies that are around the house, and so he’s sort of built this…this, like, home that’s… that’s almost a horror movie setting itself. Um, and then Bellington Cottage is this… another old stone house that, you know, has a bit of creepiness. What… what it has is the, um, the taxidermy, which is, um, very unusual. It’s got, you know, like, two-tailed squirrels and three, a three-eyed owl that’s sort of hanging in front of the door. Um, so the settings are, you know, both weird and whimsical and, you know, a lot of fun for readers of any age.

KATHLEEN: Yeah, definitely. This is apropos of nothing, but it made me remember a ski trip that my family went on when I was probably around the age of the characters. Um, and it was a…a small, weird, old, mostly empty hotel. Um, and in the, like, recreation area, it had one of those claw machines, um, that was just entirely full of Chuckie dolls.

LAURA: Oh, gosh. Wow.

KATHLEEN: Um, so I could relate to the creepy ski, uh, trip very much. Okay. So, um, what are some things that you think frighten kids the same age as the characters you write? Um, and what frightened you when you were that age?

LAURA: Okay, so my characters are… they’re all 12. Makes it easy. Um, and, you know, I think 12-year-olds, they’re not… they’re not as afraid of, sort of, irrational monster-type things, because they’ve sort of outgrown…um, outgrown that era. They’re more grounded in reality. Um, so, you know, they’re not going to be afraid of the boogeyman or, you know, um, whatever. But, so I remember when I was a young child, I was afraid of, um… I thought that Bigfoot lived in my parents’ closet at the end of the hall, so I was always kind of afraid to go past that hallway to get to my room. Um, and I was also afraid of house fires and burglars, um, which are more, uh, real problems that do exist in the world than Bigfoot. Yeah, but he didn’t live in my parents’ closet. Um, so… but then at 12, I think I had outgrown my fear of fires, because it wasn’t really something that was happening a lot in the community, um, you know, people’s houses didn’t just burst into flames and burn down. But, um… but I was still afraid of, um, you know, there were… there were people that we know whose houses were broken into. Our house was broken into a couple times. Um, we lived in the city, and, you know, I knew people who had been assaulted. Um, I was once surrounded by a group of bigger kids on bikes who took my money, and, you know, um, that was very scary. Um, so I think those were my, um, you know, sort of external fears, but then there were also a lot of internal fears, which I think, you know, my books deal with, too. So the internal fears of, um, you know, not being accepted, and, um, friendships changing, um, bullying, or being made fun of just for, you know, something trivial like wearing the wrong brand of shoes, or something like that. Um, and those… those fears are… are definitely real fears, too, um, that… that I… that I, um, include in my books, and, um, that I think, you know, all kids, whether you live in the city or not, you know, experience these types of fears, um, and, you know, I think this is, like, a forever thing. It’s…those fears aren’t gonna go away over time. Um, you know, I mean, I mean, like, in the future. Those fears will still be…

KATHLEEN: Right, right, right. Yeah, hopefully if we’re an individual, they will, but…

LAURA: Right, exactly, yeah. So yeah.

KATHLEEN: Yeah, I think that, like…and this is something that I’ve been thinking about because I’ve been working on the script for my IT video. Um, like, adults really, um, revise their memories a lot of the experience of being, like, a young adolescent. Um, and uh, just, I think there’s a lot of value in, like, remembering what it actually felt like, because the impulse, oftentimes, I feel like, is for adults to be like, oh, it’s not actually that big a deal, but, like, it is when you’re 12.

LAURA: Mm-hmm. I think I have very strong memories of that period of my life, which probably makes it, you know, easier for me to write about, you know, kids of that age, because I, you know, I don’t remember things that happened to me last week, but I sure do remember, you know, what happened to me in seventh grade, you know. So, yeah, yeah, um, and, you know, I know that we all have different memory capacities, so there are definitely, um, issues that kids face that adults don’t…kind of don’t understand, because they’ve sort of lost… lost the memory of those, um, traumatic things from their own childhood. Maybe for the better.

KATHLEEN: Yeah. I mean, it’s… it’s…you sort of, like, as you said, grow past them, and then sort of in your own mind, you’re like, oh, well, it was actually okay, like, because you know the ending. But, you know, when you’re… when you’re in the thick of it, when you’re actually in seventh grade, um, it’s hard to… to see past.

LAURA: Yeah, sure is.

KATHLEEN: All right, you already answered this, um, a bit, but if you want to elaborate, um, what monster stories were the most formative to you, especially in your own childhood?

LAURA: Um, yeah, so I like to tell the story about when my dad took me and my sister to our first horror movie. Um, my… my memories of monster stories are a lot about the movies rather than books, because that’s kind of, you know, that was kind of forced upon me. But yeah, so my dad took us to see, um, our first horror movie. It was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. And, uh, so my dad was a big, big Frankenstein’s monster fan. Um, I have his copy, I don’t know if you can see it, but I have his copy, his, um, autograph of… from Boris Karloff over there.

KATHLEEN: Amazing, that’s amazing.

LAURA: So, um, anyway, so…you know, I’m sure in my dad’s mind, he thought we would love this movie, too, so he took us, and the movie starts, and there’s, you know, all kinds of scary music starting right away, and I think within the first 5 or 10 minutes, um, there’s a werewolf transformation scene, and my sister and I, we just… we were, like, 4 and 5 years old, and we just couldn’t handle it, and he had to take us out of the movie theater, um, because, you know, we were crying or whatever. Um, so it was a little bit of a disappointment for him. Um, but I definitely, like…monsters, since they were sort of a constant presence for me as a child, I did develop, you know, this appreciation for them. I remember in third grade, I was cast as the witch in Hansel and Gretel, um, so that was really exciting for me. Um…uh, we watched scary movies at, like, sleepovers and birthday parties and things like that. Um, probably, you know, my sister and I were definitely more able to handle some of them other, uh, over our friends who weren’t as, you know, exposed. But I do remember that, um, Freddy Krueger was a hard one for me, um, because, you know, I definitely saw it too young. I don’t know how old I was, but I was definitely too young to watch Nightmare on Elm Street. And, um, of course, the whole premise is that he’ll kill you in your dreams, so, you know, I’m not going to sleep now after watching that movie. Um, and of course, you know, so I would be up late at night, and my Dad would have to deal with me because my mom wasn’t gonna deal with me. She’s not a horror movie fan. She… it wasn’t her fault that I was up all night. Um, but actually, by the time the third, uh, Nightmare on Elm Street came out, um, I was… I was pretty hooked. Um, and I think, you know, I love that movie. I think it was the best one of the bunch, but also just, I think, just having the constant exposure really sort of… well, like we were saying about fear, being… practicing fear in a safe space, um, you know, helps you develop those… those fear muscles, and so, um, so by that point, you know, I was… I was all over horror movies. Yeah, so those are… those are my… my favorite monster stories, um, growing up, yeah.

KATHLEEN: I love that. I love that your dad was like, it’s Abbott and Costello, it’ll be fine.

LAURA: Right.

KATHLEEN: And then my last question is, what is your personal favorite monster? And this can either be, like, a specific character, or just, like, a type of monsters, like werewolves or something.

LAURA: Yeah, so my favorite monster is the Xenomorph from Alien, the Alien movies.

KATHLEEN: That’s such a good one, yeah.

LAURA: Um, I love it because, like, it’s… it’s one monster, but it goes through all these different phases, so you have the… the egg, and it kind of, like, flops open with this sort of slimy sound that I can still hear, like, phllt, you know? And then, of course, out comes the facehugger, which is very much similar to my tredecapus. It’s, um, it’s, you know, it…it does that. So, um, and then…and then there’s the chestburster, which is like, you know, this tiny, pale-colored version of the adult, but that it makes this violent entrance into the world, like, psh, you know. Um, and then, of course, there’s… there’s the, uh, it grows very quickly into this sleek and shiny adult that has, like, this double jaw and a vicious, lethal tail. Um, so, yeah, I do have a lot of questions about the Xenomorph, like, what does it eat? You never see it eating, and how does it grow so fast when you don’t see it eating? Um, but I also like them because they are, um, they’re not evil. They’re, um, they’re just trying to survive and reproduce, and they’re not, you know, killing people just for the heck of it. They are… they’re just creatures like any of us that are trying to survive. Um, but that it’s also… it’s… it’s a lot of times, it’s the… the human characters that, um, that can be good or evil, and those, those characteristics come to light when the, you know, when they’re faced with the creature.

KATHLEEN: Yes, yeah, how, uh, in several of my videos, I pointed this out because monster scholars can’t resist the fact that, like, the root of the word monster is, like, to reveal. Um, so that’s exactly what it does. It reveals, uh, the character and the… the goings-on and the secrets all around it.

LAURA: Yeah, and I like, um… I think that when… when I include like, monsters in my books, the monsters… the purpose, of course, isn’t evil. Like, that’s not what they’re there for. So in, you know, Peril at Price Manor, the creature is very, you know, similarly to the Xenomorph, it’s there to, um, to reproduce and survive, um, and it might do so out of control. But it really helps to, um, make the characters, um, you know…it puts them in a situation where they have to, um, have some sort of developmental growth. So, yeah, Halle, she… she thinks of herself as the damsel in distress, and she has to learn to be the heroine. Um, and then Paisley and Argyle, you know, they, um, they’ve lived this sheltered life. They have to learn to be independent. So… so the creature sort of is there as, like, a ways for the characters to develop, uh, and, and, you know, and the same is true for The Haunting of Bellington Cottage, which is… which I mentioned is, like, about communication. Um, and Iris…is having a lot of trouble with communication. Um, so she, um…she’s… not only is she sort of dealing with… with Vee, who is being, you know, distant and cold, but she has… her best friend from school has just moved away, and so she’s dealing with this, um, this loss of a friend, um, and the way she deals with it at first isn’t the best way. She’s a little bit manipulative, a little bit, you know, um, she’s sort of playing games. Um, and when they meet the ghost, um, you know, she… they have to learn to communicate with this ghost. So, the, um, the theme of communication, um, is really…it’s kind of mirrored in the ghost and in Iris, because they’re both trying to figure out how to communicate. So…so, that’s… I, you know, I kind of use the monsters as a way to, um, to help the characters go through their own emotional growth.

KATHLEEN: I love that. I feel like that’s also the story of my life. Just emotional growth through monsters.

LAURA: What monsters are helping you grow?

KATHLEEN: Oh, all of them. I mean, my favorite monsters are werewolves. Um, I love the hybridity, I love the…the versatility of a werewolf could sort of mean whatever you want it to, um, in whatever story. But I feel like just, um…you know, I did my dissertation study on monster stories, and I worked with teen readers, so a little bit older, um, but just, like, getting to know their ideas about what’s important to young people in this day and age, and, like, exploring that through what they find monstrous. Um, it’s just such a useful metaphor for, like, figuring out what’s important to you, what you think is, like, what makes humanity, um, and, uh, I think, yeah, I think just over the years, I’ve had… had a lot of personal growth through monster stories.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, and there’s… there’s just… even… even, you know, the older monster movies, um, you know, there’s… there’s often, you know, that something else that’s going on that’s sort of…um, represented not… maybe not by the monster… well, sometimes by the monster, but uh, you know, you think of all the zombie movies, and the zombie movies and books are, you know, there’s this terrible thing happening. How does humanity react to it? How… how does society react to it? So, yeah, it’s a lot about, um, the… the regular human characters and what they’re going through, um, that sort of get told through the monster situation, or the monster themselves, yeah.

KATHLEEN: And also the stories that allow you to have, like, sympathy for the monster, to sort of exercise that, like, uh… you know, not always believing the… the bad hype around something, actually, like, seeing what the real situation is. I remember my… my early, um, Frankenstein trauma was…I was, you know, older than you were when you saw the Abbott and Costello, but, um, probably, like, 9-ish, um, and saw… my dad showed me the old 1931, uh, Frankenstein. And the scene where he’s with the little girl, and then he… they’re throwing the flowers in the water, and then he throws her in the water, and then she dies. I was inconsolable.

LAURA: Oh, yeah…

KATHLEEN: But I was like, he didn’t know, he didn’t understand, it’s not his fault!

LAURA: It’s very traumatic, it’s very sad. Yeah, yeah, poor…

KATHLEEN: Then when everyone’s going after him, I’m like, they just don’t understand, they’re not taking the time to understand him.

LAURA: Yeah, and I think…

KATHLEEN: And, you know, that sort of set me on this path, I think.

LAURA: I think, and that was the movie where, uh, the monster was getting beaten, right, by a…by… was it Fritz, the assistant?

KATHLEEN: Oh, yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but I did see it, um, oh god, probably, like the better part of 10 years ago now, um, but I was struck by how like, still so upsetting it is, like for… it’s, like, 90 minutes long, made in the early 30s, and it’s still so well done. Like, classic for a reason.

LAURA: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, for, uh, for all our viewers who haven’t seen those movies recently, or at all, check them out.

KATHLEEN: Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Go watch the classics. They’re… they really hold up, a lot of them. Um, all right, so those were all of my questions for you. Again, thank you so much, this was a lot of fun.

LAURA: Well, thanks for inviting me on, and uh, yeah, I look forward to our paths crossing again sometime in the future.

Thank you again to Laura for this very fun and fascinating interview! Make sure you follow the links below to her website and to go purchase her books. It’s really exciting to me that there are such high-quality spooks for kids out there, and I love the chance to support that whenever I can – and if I know my audience, I imagine you do, as well. Drop a comment about some of your favorite childhood monster stories, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share so more people can join in the conversation.

Tomorrow, I will be back with my last interview of the weekend, this time with two of the participants from my doctoral dissertation study, Monster Book Club. We will talk all about their experiences reading and sharing their thoughts about monsters with a group of peers, and then you will learn more about how you can help me create more of those opportunities for young people. I can’t wait to share this with you – my dissertation study was such an incredible experience for me, and I’m so grateful that it was for the participants, as well. So take care, and I will see you tomorrow for more monstrous food for thought.