GHOUL SCHOOL

Horror writers owe a big thank you to Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer for piquing the public's interest in all things supernatural. Even Drew Barrymore's portrayal of a terrified babysitter in Scream helped revive the teen-slasher genre, says Jonathan Maberry, author of nonfiction compendium The Vampire Slayers' Field Guide to the Undead and horror novel Ghost Road Blues. This weekend, Maberry will lead a four-hour workshop on the business of writing horror fiction and nonfiction. Despite their penchant for spooky stories, Maberry says, writers work to develop characters before shocking readers with ax-wielding, blood-swigging Fangorian tricks. "The main thing about [Buffy] and genre-type things is that this isn't necessarily about monsters; it has a more important subtext," he says. "Horror has always been used to tell other stories." Maberry, who's also the executive director at the Writers Room of Bucks County, says the original Star Trek series engaged viewers for what it said about politics and romance; similarly, each episode of The Twilight Zone was set up like a fable with a moral lesson at the end. Just like real life, the challenges faced by the most believable characters are seldom black and white. "Darkness isn't always scary," says Maberry. "Harry and his friends are learning sorcery. They live in dark, haunted castles, but these are places where they feel comfortable." He jokes that he wishes his students a fraction of the wealth enjoyed by J.K. Rowling, but says the recent resurgence means publishers are more willing to look at horror than they were even five years ago. Check, please.

The Horror… The Horror: Horror Writing Workshop with Jonathan Maberry, Sat., Aug. 13, 1-5 p.m., $75-$85 for nonmembers. Register online at www.writersroom.net or call 215-348-1663.