From Google Images- Playbuzz
Several people have encouraged me to turn The Night Gods into a book. Being that both parts I & II are s study in morality, it would have to include them both, so I thought I'd do a preview of what will likely be the forward, which begs the question... What is evil? Is it what Hollywood would have us believe from movies such as The Exorcist? Or perhaps it's more akin to the Omen series where the antichrist grows up to be a world leader. This is probably closer to the truth, but it still focuses too much on the supernatural aspects... as does religion.
There's an old axiom that Satan's greatest accomplishment was convincing the world that he doesn't exist. Taking this one step further- if Satan doesn't exist, then evil only exists as an abstract concept. As an abstract concept, evil throws the door wide open for any number of interpretations. Evil, however, is not an abstract concept. Quite simply put, evil is merely the absence of morality- evil is as evil does, in other words.
Evil, in fact, is something much more practical- banal, as Hannah Arendt so eloquently put it... it's all around us in our everyday lives. Everything we do is either good or evil- moral or immoral. There is no moral neutrality- no gray areas. Although atheists and humanists argue that good and evil/moral and immoral are subjective terms... they most certainly are not. Without a concrete set of principles, civilization falls apart- if you don't believe me, just watch the news. What you see is the direct result of moral relativism.
Given that both parts of the Night Gods are horror stories, as well the second being a political thriller (I hate that word, I've never written anything that "thrilled" me), some distinctions about the nature of horror are necessary. What is horror? According to Merriam Webster: "horror: a very strong feeling of fear, dread, and shock." In the prologue to The Night Gods II, I pose the question: What's more horrific- Linda Blair spinning her head around and throwing up pea soup... or, a smart bomb going down the chimney of a hospital killing hundreds of women and children? For me it is most assuredly the latter. One is sensational (causing a visceral reaction) the other actually terrifying. A distinction between bizarre and horrifying must be made.
In my stories, I try to weave the truth into fiction... to show evil for what it really is. Evil is not always bizarre... Bad people don't necessarily look like the villain in a Rob Zombie, or Roger Corman movie. They look like you and me. Many hold high offices and are in positions of authority. Sometimes "fake news" isn't fake and more often than not, the "real news" is. Like George Orwell so eloquently wrote: "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
