from Author Galuschak

For August 31, 2020, Electric Spec is excited to feature George Galuschak's story Nobody Gets Out Alive. Here's what the author has to say about it:

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"Nobody Gets Out Alive" was inspired by YouTube and gaming vloggers. Horror writers are not generally known for our mastery of technology, but that isn't really true. We must explain why our characters' cell phones don't work when they're being stalked by the killer, and why there are still no good pictures of Bigfoot when everyone now has a camera and there are trail cams all over the place.

Sometimes when I write, I like to think about the secondary effects of technology (thanks to author Laura J. Mixon, who explained the concept). I went to many rock concerts as a youth, and watched teenagers wave their cigarette lighters during the power ballads. Twenty years later, those selfsame thirty-somethings were waving their cell phones during the same power ballads (reunion tours rule!). Not what cell phones were designed to do, but they get the job done. Nowadays, people can watch rock concerts on their smartphones, if they have the battery power.

"Nobody Gets Out Alive" was inspired by a secondary effect of technology, the fact that a person can now make a living playing video games on YouTube. Vlogging is a precarious existence – posting every day, so your audience won't forget you; pretending to like a game you've played every day for two months straight; obtaining a weird sort of pseudo-celebrity, wherein total strangers act like you're their best friend or even fall in love with you. Then there's the worst-case scenario – that bestselling game you're vlogging about turns ice cold, and you're washed up at the age of twenty-three.

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Thanks, George! Very interesting! Be sure to check out Nobody Gets Out Alive and the other stories on August 31st, 2020!