A terrifying experience with a basement when this author was a child still influences how she creates the settings for her novels.

by Diane Bator

I hate basements.

I’ve had an overactive imagination from the time I was a kid, and never bothered to tame it as an adult since it only enhances my writing. My first real memory of being fascinated with mysterious settings—and scared silly by them—was when I was a kid and had to use the washroom in the small Buy-Rite store where my family shopped for groceries.

In order to get to the washrooms, a side-by-side pair of cramped stalls no bigger than a small closet, customers had to walk down a narrow set of creaky wooden stairs into the musty basement. Back then, basements of old stores weren’t finished with drywall, tiles, and a coat of cheery paint. This one in particular was dirty, musty, and had a series of narrow, rickety boardwalks on the dirt floor where you had to walk between stacks of boxes on pallets. Old basements were notorious for seeping walls, bugs, and flooding. Fair enough, but anything could have been hiding behind those boxes. Even creepier were the bare light bulbs hanging every few feet—just far enough apart to cast brief, elongated shadows. Those shadows alone were enough to make anyone reach for Mom or Dad’s hand. That place was downright scary for anyone under ten.

The safest place in that creepy old basement was locked inside those little water closets with nothing but a toilet, a sink, and a bright light. Then again, one could never be too careful about what might crawl out of the sink or toilet …

Take a place you loved or hated as a child and exaggerate it to the point it either enchants or terrifies a reader.

By far, the scariest part of the whole experience was the song that looped through my head: “Where Evil Grows” by The Poppy Family. If you’ve never heard the lyrics, it’s worth a listen. Make sure to turn out the lights before you play it to get the full effect. Looking back, I believe that combination of song and musty basement laid the foundation for my lifetime of fascination with suspense and mystery.

Eventually, anyone wandering into the cellar would have to leave the safety of the bathroom. Sometimes, I’d have to wait for my little brother or a parent who was, hopefully, in the next stall. That’s when the song became even louder in my head. My anxiety would heighten and my heart would thump in my chest. I was never so happy to climb back up those rickety stairs and into the brightly lit store to bother my parents for a treat!

Why am I telling you this? It’s all about setting the story.

Did you picture the basement in your mind right down to the odd spider and the musty smell?

Could you see yourself as a young kid having to wander into that space alone with your heart pounding and having to pee so bad you were sure it would trickle down your leg any second?

This is one example of writing what you know, especially when it comes to creating a setting for a novel or story. Taking a place you loved or hated as a child and exaggerating it to the point it either enchants or terrifies a reader.

Could you see that same setting in a romance novel? A kids’ story about overcoming fear? A mystery novel, for sure. A horror, definitely!

What about camping at night along a rocky lakeshore with a moonless sky, the wailing of coyotes in the distance, a roaring campfire, and the flickering of fireflies all around you? A setting like that could fit into any genre depending on plot and characters.

Whatever setting you choose, be sure it suits your story and can act as a whole other character at times. Rather than taking away from the fright factor, the mystery, or the romantic overtones, it should enhance the story and play into the plot. Perhaps even amp up the emotional intensity for your reader.

The Buy-Rite is gone now. While I haven’t set foot in that old store in many years, it seems a part of my imagination brought the whole experience with me. I guess it shows you never know where evil grows and how it can become a part of a writer’s psyche.

And by the way, I still hate basements.

Diane Bator is a mom of three, book coach, and author of over a dozen mystery novels and many works-in-progress. She also hosts the Escape With a Writer blog to promote fellow authors, and is a member of Sisters in Crime Toronto, the Writers Union of Canada, and a board member of Crime Writers of Canada. When she’s not writing and coaching authors, she works for a professional theater. No surprise she’s written her first play, which may lead to more.

You can visit Diane at her website and find her books through her publisher, Books We Love.