Christian and horror are not words you typically hear in the same sentence. Given the graphic nature of many horror novels, many Christians are turned off, or feel guilty reading them.
Chris Morrow was one of those readers, but now he is dipping into the subgenre of Christian Horror with his new book “The Devil’s Choir.”
“I was just going to write a secular horror novel when I sat down to write ‘The Devil’s Choir,’” Morrow said. “But if I have any talent at all, I wanted to write a story that I thought would show my Christian worldview.”
Stephen King and Ann Rice were inspirations to Morrow. He had the opportunity to speak with Rice a few years ago and discuss the balance between Christianity and writing secular horror novels.
The answer he received from her was that she could not justify balancing both. At that point in time she had ceased writing horror novels.
Morrow believed it was possible and felt he had to try.
“I can tell a story and I can talk about things like death, suffering, and pain and why they have to deal with those things and do it in a way that detaches the reader,” he said. “I can take a reader into a place where those things exist, but the reader can’t be necessarily hurt by it.”
The Devil’s Choir is set in Oak Springs, Kan. More specifically a small, private liberal arts college called Calloway University.
The story is about a young college student with special abilities, Melanie, and Ari, an investigator of the supernatural that poses as a campus security guard. The two come together in search of a campus killer.
Morrow spent his first semester in college at Ottawa University, majoring in Psychology. He came from southwestern Missouri on a baseball scholarship.
Morrow said he is glad he attended OU and his time here was transformative. He went from a not so good high school student to someone who loved to learn.
“Ottawa really does give a well-rounded education that focuses on the learning, not the cookie cutter ‘here’s the information, now pass the test’ like some state colleges,” he said.
Professors at OU gave Morrow the confidence he needed to succeed. He said he probably would not have graduated college if not for his semester here.
Most of “The Devil’s Choir” takes place on Calloway’s campus, but the climax of the book happens during the town’s Halloween event.
Morrow said he did write the novel with Ottawa, Kansas and the university in mind.
The Devil’s Choir is also a mystery that does not get revealed until the end. Morrow has started a sequel that will continue on with these characters.
The novel is available now for e-readers. Print copies will be available in January.