An Interview with WM Parslow

WM Parslow is a horror writer based in Oxford, UK. He is inspired by his own experiences (including some time working in a prison), folklore, and ghost stories. He is owned by two cats and has a Venus flytrap called Steve. He can often be found walking Oxford’s streets, looking for a nice pub to sit in and write. The Standing Dead is his debut novel, and he is currently working on the next part of the story.

The Standing Dead is planned for release on Halloween 2025. You can get further updates on Instagram and Threads at @wmparslow.

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What inspired you to start writing this book?

I’ve written, on and off, for most of my life (more off than on overall, but I’m working hard to change that). I can’t remember exactly where and when the inspiration hit. I know that part of my initial drive to actually start structuring and writing the book came from my own mental health. The central character of The Standing Dead, William Lees, struggles with his own guilt and depression during the story, and I have drawn on my own mental health battles to create those scenes and sequences.

As far as the book’s setting goes, remember the old cliche ‘write what you know’? Well, as I’ve worked inside a UK prison, that’s how I came up with my starting point and setting. I am also a big fan of M R Carey, and his book Fellside is also prison-set and is a very good read (highly recommended). With that title and my own knowledge of life behind the walls, it could never have been anything other than a prison-set tale. Once I knew I was writing a horror inside a prison, I needed a good primary threat. I was a big fan of Robin Jarvis as a child—titles like The Dark Portal and The Witches of Whitby were a big influence on me. I love how Jarvis used traditional English and British folklore to create his antagonists, and so I wanted to do the same. I won’t reveal the actual threat in this interview; you’ll have to get the book to find out!

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The Standing Dead was the second title I tried out for this book, and I just felt that it was a good fit for the story. The title works on two themes: first is that you could view the prisoners themselves as a kind of walking dead, or at least stuck in some form of limbo. The other is based on a historical precedent, in that I know of at least one prison that would bury the bodies of unclaimed executions vertically in order to save space. So it stayed in place and it’s what the book will be published under.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Oh, I love this question! OK, let me think…

1) “Hurt,” Johnny Cash (I know it’s a cover but his version is devastating)

2) “A Wave Across a Bay,” Frank Turner

3) “I Am Disappeared,” Frank Turner

4) “Let It Burn,” Volbeat

5) “Numb,” Linkin Park

That’s my first five, but I’m going to have to try and create a playlist for the book now!

What books are you reading (for research or comfort) as you continue the writing process?

There are so many titles. Whilst I was writing The Standing Dead, I read the Indian Lake trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones, which is an astounding series of books. I also read a fair bit of folk horror, including Withered Hill and Scuttlers Cove by David Barnett and Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley. I also read short stories by M R James and Edgar Allan Poe. One other book that I found helpful whilst writing The Standing Dead was a non-fiction title called Ghostland by Edward Parnell.

I’m now working on two titles—one is the follow-up to The Standing Dead, and the other is a historical novel called The Ghosts of Newgate. I’ve always enjoyed reading historical mysteries and thrillers and so I wanted to write my own contribution to the genre. So my current read is An Honourable Thief by Douglas Skelton. After that I think I’ll start When The Wolf Comes Home. The best book I’ve read recently is The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. It is an actual masterpiece in my eyes.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I have always enjoyed reading spooky and scary stories, even if some of them have left me a little scared of the dark (I think the ultimate example of this was reading Pet Sematary in my teens). I remember I used to have an anthology called Asimov’s Ghosts and Monsters, and I loved so many of the tales in that volume.

In terms of people who have inspired me, Stephen King is absolutely up there. I’m also a huge fan of John Connolly, and the sheer range of M R Carey’s work always staggers me. Ultimately, though, the key inspiration has to be my parents. They always encouraged me to read and would give me feedback on the various short stories I authored as a teenager (I remember some kids at school would sometimes ask me to recite some of my stories). My mum and dad both gave me books from their collection, telling me ‘you’re old enough for this one now.’ Some of the titles I remember are To Kill A Mockingbird, The Chrysalids and IT.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Well, my author bio is true—I can often be found looking for a nice pub to write in! I do have some favourites but I won’t give them away here. But I can write in a lot of places. I do need at least a bit of quiet, so sitting in a pub whilst the football’s on wouldn’t work. I like sitting in my local library as well, or at home in the kitchen, looking out over the garden. If I’m out and about, I’ll likely have at least my notebook with me, probably my laptop as well, just in case.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

I hope that my protagonist stays with them after they’ve closed the book. If some of the battles he faces resonate with them then I hope that it is helpful in some way.

Also, I hope they get scared!

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