Elou Carroll is a writer, graphic designer & photographer. Her work has appeared in Aloe, 101 Words, Apparition Lit and more. Her short story, “The Great Green Forever”, was shortlisted in the HG Wells Short Story Competition. When she’s not whispering with ghosts and plucking words from the dark, she edits Crow & Cross Keys.
This interview was conducted by IN SOMNIO editor Alex Woodroe.
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AW: Does your story touch on anything personal to you? Alternatively, does it touch on any current events, world fears, philosophy, morality, moods, trends?
EC: Beyond the unnerving certainty that one day in the far future, the world will likely just be one big sea, any reference to current events or the like is purely accidental. Unless you spot a really good one, at which point I definitely meant to do that and it was always part of the plan. Well done for noticing. (Ha!)
No, this one comes more from me than from external forces. When I was fairly small, I really wanted a dog—stick with me, I promise it's relevant—so every time my parents took my brother and I out without telling us where we were going, I just assumed that we were going to get a dog. We never did, not until I was already an adult anyway, but one of those times we left the car at my grandparents' house, hopped on a bus and headed into Oxford. It was dark. I was still thinking that somehow we would be getting a dog at night, after a bus journey and I couldn't think of any other place we might have been going instead.
We ended up at the New Theatre, where Doctor Dolittle was being performed. Those were some of the most magical, life changing hours I've lived through. Since then, I've made it a habit to see at least one show a year, pandemic-willing. (I have some catching up to do.)
There is a character in GHOST LIGHT who owns a museum dedicated to the theatre. He and his museum are filled with all of the magic and wonder that I felt the first time I saw a show on stage. I've always wanted to pay homage to the theatre in fiction, and I will likely do it again, and again, and again.
AW: Do you have a favourite musical?
EC: I have several but there is one that's a teeny, tiny bit more of a favourite than the rest. The Light Princess, with music and lyrics by the ever-astounding Tori Amos, and a book by Samuel Adamson. It was on very briefly at the National Theatre in London. I'm so lucky to have seen it. The cast recording is on Spotify, and I highly recommend it.
AW: I know you have a deep love for publishing. What about it sparks joy?
EC: Big question. I love telling stories in any way I can, whether that's writing my own and convincing lovely people like yourselves that maybe they might like to publish it, or by publishing the work of other writers myself. I'm also a giant production nerd both digitally and in print—especially in print. You can often find me in bookshops, shoving books in my long-suffering other half's face and telling him exactly how they achieved certain finishes or why a certain choice was made or how thick the paper is.
I love type, I love layout, I love finding the perfect image or colour combination, I love paper samples and cover clothes and foiling. I believe every author should be able to look at their work and think it's been presented as beautifully as it deserves to be. So that's what I want to do.
If I had all the money in the world, I would have my own publishing house—at the moment, I have my own online literary magazine and it fills me with warmth and delight.
AW: Do you have any specific formative memories that roped you into Gothic fiction?
EC: Angela Carter. It's all her fault. I stumbled across a copy of The Bloody Chamber when I was much too young to be reading it. I devoured it quickly, and as soon as I finished the final page, opened it back up and started again.
As soon as I touched that book, I was a goner. There was no turning back
AW: Did you ever embrace the Goth culture? Carry a parasol? Do you still? If not, what was your teen ‘scene’?
EC: In secondary school, my friends and I were definitely at the 'goth' end of the spectrum—especially according to other kids. Though I was always too shy to go all out back then. I was often seen sporting a HIM hoodie, a spiderweb or Ruby Gloom bag and very smudgy eyeliner. Let's not forget the shiny purple pentagram necklace. Teen Elou would likely be very happy with how I look in my author photo (shot with my best friend on a day in which we created an insane amount of wonder).
Now, when I have the rare occasion to dress up, I either tend to err on the side of goth or at the very least, try to look as much like Wednesday Addams as possible, or I wear something ridiculous and covered in owls, or polka dots. I'm like a potato: versatile. If I'm not doing anything in particular, I embrace my inner sloth and throw on whatever happens to be in front of me.
AW: Why Horror? Are you and Horror exclusive, and if not, what else do you flirt with?
EC: Oh, I'm a total flirt. I will write anything, or at least give it a good go.
My sweet spot is the humble gothic fairy tale, or just the gothic, or just a fairy tale—slow-simmering terror, more than a handful of wonder. Most of the things I write tend to feel either gothic or fairy tale in nature, even if I don't intend them to. It just seems to be where my writing goes and I love it. I think my 'voice' lends itself well to both genres.
When I write horror, it's almost exclusively gothic. I'm a big fan of rising dread, rather than something overt.
I love a good mash-up though—I'm currently shopping around a sci-fi fairy tale, and writing a gothic retelling of some Greek mythology in an epistolary style. Writing is fun.
AW: Where can people see more of your past/upcoming work?
EC: I post about all of my publications on www.eloucarroll.com and can often be found shouting about them on twitter.
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IN HER OWN WORDS:
Below, Elou reads a selection from her story GHOST LIGHT; and be sure to follow the IN SOMNIO Kickstarter here!