The Happy Side of Horror

The Cookout is open for submissions until April 30th. We're eager to read your Black speculative works, be it science fiction, fantasy, horror, or related genres. In addition to the cookout theme, we want stories that are uplifting, that celebrate joy and all the way wer embrace our Black cultures and traditions.

Yes, I did say "horror," "uplifting," and "joy," all in the same paragraph. Horror can be cheery, lighthearted, and other positives. This is particularly noticeable in horror comedies.

Sometimes a horror story will add funny segments to break up the tension. For example, a slasher villain chasing the heroes steps on a banana peel, pratfalls, and splits their pants, revealing goofy print underwear.

Other versions lean harder into the comedy aspects. This can manifest as subverting horror tropes, or an affectionate parody of said horror. Imagine the slasher sneaking into the cookout, ready to massacre one and all...

Only for Granny to smack them upside the head with a wooden spoon. "Quit messing around," she snaps, "There are vegetables to chop!" The slasher cows at this most intimidating force, and complies.

A third option is to lean into morbid humor. This is a trickier sell for The Cookout, as we aren't looking for excessive violence, gore, or glorifying hate. That's not to say morbid humor isn't impossible with The Cookout's guidelines. Imagine what a necromancer can do at a barbeque, or what happens when the thing at the back of the fridge comes to life.

If you are looking for more ideas, checkout TV Tropes' Horror Comedy page, as well as its "So You Want to Write a Horror Comedy" advice.

Last, and far from least, check out Key and Peele's White Zombies sketch for inspiration on ways to make cookout related horror comedy.

https://youtu.be/FeTpzn2MkXU?si=lo_xKZoGxpYAJnAd

Bloody (orange) delicious fun