Daniel DeRock is a writer from the U.S. living in the Netherlands. His work has appeared, among other outlets, in Pithead Chapel, Gone Lawn, MoonPark Review, and Ligeia Magazine. He is the co-author of Spark Bird, a collaborative novel (Thirty West Publishing House, 2024).
His story “Guest Opinion: We must take action regarding the [REDACTED] High School janitor” originally appeared in Body Fluids and will appear in BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror Volume Two, available to preorder now.
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Give us the elevator pitch of your BNW-nommed story, please.
A high school history teacher pleads for the community to deal with a janitor that is very much not a janitor and very much not human.
What does your writing routine look like? Do you have an office? A preferred coffee shop? The back of the bus? Standing under your neighbor’s eaves, avoiding the rain? Are you one of those true modern Weirdos who write your entire novel on your phone?
I tend to write on my laptop, either on the couch or the kitchen table, always with dogs nearby.
What does “Weird” mean to you, in the context of storytelling? And what creators/experiences/influences helped sculpt this definition for you in your creative journey?
“Weird,” to me, is unsettling. Something is off. You try to ignore it—the smudge at the edge of your vision—but it’s already too late. Some stories dunk you straight into the Weird, but I tend to write and read the kind of Weird that seeps in. Unexpected syntax and word choice is a great way to induce vertigo, and Brian Evenson is a master of this. The Weird can also be a bad trip. My Weirdest stories are often inspired by extremely stressful, mind-bending, psychedelic dreams. Sometimes I can rush to my laptop or notebook and frantically record the dream. Other dreams take years to process, and there’s unfortunately zero risk of forgetting the details. One, for example, involves a device similar to a water mill which, upon closer inspection, is in fact a film reel comprised of stills of every moment of your life, but something has been knocked loose and its essence leaks downhill, transforming everything it touches into something utterly alien, and the transformation will be total and unending. How can I put this on the page? That’s the challenge.
On the Tenebrous Discord, we ask everyone to introduce themselves as a Film-meets-Music Artist (Citizen Kane x Metallica, f’rinstance). It doesn’t have to be your favorite, and don’t spend too much time overthinking it; now GO.
Princess Mononoke x Alkaline Trio
The perfect opportunity to once again remind everyone that the black heart/skull combo that I sign off with on social media is a shout-out to Alkaline Trio. So you’re clearly a human of outstanding taste.
What’s the Weirdest thing—capital W—that’s ever happened to you (that you’re comfortable sharing)?
The absolute weirdest things are probably sealed off in a corner of my mind for my own safety. But here’s one thing I’m pretty sure actually happened, although I’m not sure how Weird it is. Maybe ten or fifteen years ago, I got an email from an unknown sender. It was in Portuguese. Somehow, I don’t remember whether or not I translated it, but I vaguely remember the message being brief and pleading in tone. There was a Zip file attached. Inside were countless photographs, all seemingly of the same unfamiliar person from different angles and at different ages, most in black and white; scanned newspaper clippings; handwritten letters, etc. It was inexplicably unsettling. I tried to ignore it, but kept dwelling on it. When I decided to look again, there was no trace of the email.
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BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror, Volume Two, is out June 26th.
