3 minute read
Guest Column
from Uncaged Book Reviews
by Cyrene
“Welcome to the Weird West”
by Kc Grifant
Say the phrase, “Old West,” and several images immediately come to mind. Hats and pistols. Stoic cowboys and daring outlaws. Dusty towns with saloons and horses. The gold rush. Clashes between newcomers and indigenous cultures.
One of my favorite things about writing weird westerns is the freedom to include off-the-wall ideas while finding new ways to tell the stories of this pivotal historical period. The contrast between the romanticized notions of gunslinging heroism and adventure against the realworld violence and tragedies of the Old West further adds to the intrigue. In fact, it makes some weird west mashups—such as with the horror genre—all the more apt. There’s also plenty of history to draw on for inspiration, especially around tales that are not often portrayed in popular media (e.g., those centered around women and under-represented groups).
What you probably don’t think of is monsters, ghosts, magic or other supernatural happenings. But a genre called the “weird west” offers a fresh take on this critical time period in human history. Though the genre has been around for decades, the weird west is having a recent resurgence in books, particularly among small-press publishers.
Simply put, the weird west genre mashes Old West elements with other genres ranging from horror, science fiction and fantasy. Examples include The Wild Wild West, Preacher, Jonah Hex, the Dark Tower series or Cowboys & Aliens. These stories of werewolves, demons, zombies, aliens, and otherworldly elements are set among the endless mountains, unforgiving deserts, and other vast landscapes of the American West.
All my weird west stories, including my recent supernatural novel Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger (Brigids Gate Press), take place in the same alternate history. This world features a location in the late 1800s that resembles the U.S., where a rupture in the earth released an array of monster species. This event leads humans to band together to fend against ongoing attacks. The novel centers around two characters: Melinda, a stoic sharpshooter bent on exterminating monsters, and her partner Lance, an easy-going charmer who gets them out of tricky situations when brute force won’t work. They fight monsters ranging from psychic gremlins, giant flying scorpions, ice krakens, brain leeches and many more.
In addition to creating outlandish monsters, I enjoy using the flexibility of the weird west genre to experiment with some of the archetypes in Old West mythos (e.g., the lone gunslinger, the helpful mystic, the love interest). In this world, a variety of women and other diverse characters –inspired by real-world, under-shared historic accounts—take center stage in fast-paced adventures. Aside from being invigorating and just plain fun, writing these types of stories is a good reminder that history is fluid and changes as our interpretations and collective memory dictates.
New books, novellas, anthologies and other mediums featuring horror and fantasy westerns have been popping up more frequently, and feature everything from dinosaur-fighting cowboys to gnomes and magicians in the Old West. Publishers like Death’s Head Press, Brigids Gate Press, and many others are showcasing horror westerns in particular, including “splatter westerns” (these include more graphic horror elements).
Like many stories that take place at the intersections between multiple genres, there’s a wealth of weird western tales out there that are entertaining and thought-provoking for both writers and readers. Happy reading!
©Copyright 2023 KC Grifant for Uncaged Book Reviews www.uncagedbooks.com
Published with Permission
KC Grifant is a Southern Californian author who writes internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction and weird west stories for podcasts, anthologies and magazines. Her writings have appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Tales to Terrify, the Lovecraft eZine, Siren’s Call Publications and many others. She’s also contributed to dozens of anthologies, including: Chromophobia; Musings of the Muse; Dancing in the Shadows - A Tribute to Anne Rice; Field Notes from a Nightmare; The One That Got Away - Women of Horror Vol 3; Six Guns Straight From Hell; Trembling with Fear Year 1; Shadowy Natures - Tales of Psychological Horror; Beyond the Infinite - Tales from the Outer Reaches; and the Stokernominated Fright Mare: Women Write Horror. A member of SFWA and a co-founder of the San Diego HWA chapter, she enjoys chasing a wild toddler and wandering through beachside carnivals. For details, visit www.KCGrifant.com or @kcgrifant on social.
