Melissa Stanziale’s short story “The Children of Ororo” will appear in the Gothic Blue Book: The Revenge Edition this month.

1. Vampires or Zombies? Which do you prefer in fiction?
Definitely vampires. Zombies are mindless corpses that, in my opinion, cannot believably be endowed with a personality. There is, however, a broad spectrum of vampire personalities in literature.

2. Haunted House or Haunted Mental Asylum? If you had to spend the night in one to write about your experience which would you chose, and why?
Haunted House. A Haunted Mental Asylum is frightening, but seriously lacking in the romance department. Give me a dilapidated Victorian mansion with a dark European secret!

3. Have you ever read a book or a fictional story that frightened you so much you had to put it down at least once while you were reading? If so, what was it? What frightened you?
Yes. “Pigeons from Hell” by Robert E. Howard. I was actually frightened by this short story and had to put it down for a moment. Howard’s style is so great that you forget you’re reading.

4. Why do you enjoy writing Gothic/Literary horror/horror/paranormal fiction? Or just, why do you enjoy writing in general?
I’m not sure that I do enjoy it. It happens whether I want it to or not.

5. What other projects do you have in the works?
I’m working on a few short stories.

MELISSA STANZIALE lives in Rhode Island with her husband and their two pets. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Rhode Island in Providence. Her short fiction has appeared on websites such as Microhorror and Flashes in the Dark. It has also appeared in online magazines such as Black Petals and Death Head Grin. The Gothic Blue Book Volume Two is her first print publication.