It's time to write my first blog for HorrorWeb, and I should be sharpening my wits--but all I can think about is sewing. And maybe that's appropriate. After all, why does anyone living in the 21st century sew? For the same reason that I fill my pantry with dried goods and take the handgun down to the firing range: because no matter how bright the streetlights, the dark is out there, and I want to be ready for it.

Once upon a time people lived life knowing that on the other side of their front door, wolves and bears and slavering beasties waited with hungry bellies and sharp teeth. Winter didn't mean a higher electric bill--it meant a drawn-out siege against starvation and hypothermia. Being prepared, always and constantly, was a survival mechanism kept well-honed by fear.

Most of us don't worry about preparing for winter or developing the skills to plug a ravening grizzly. That's because most people are content to put fear on a shelf in a museum, just like all those other prehistoric relics.

But not us. Those of us who love horror know that fear is always lurking in the closet, ready to stoke our instincts and stir our limbs. So why not embrace it? It'll get you ready for when the lights go out.

And who knows what's out there in the dark.

~ JimmyZ Johnston