Are weird fiction fans more likely to be creators than other genre fans?

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by Ibrahim

To answer the question in the thread's title directly probably needs statistics to be anything other than the expression of a vague hope or idea. It would be nice if ours was a special community, wouldn't it? It probably isn't. But if we pursue the thought anyway, then the suggestion above, that faith lost or found has something to do with it, might be a key insight. The mind of one who feels like having 'failed at being human in some deep-seated way' is, for all its apparent dispondency, an active mind, that questions its assumptions, works with them, through them; it is only natural, then, that this activeness does not end when confronted with art or entertainment; that, these, also become things to reflect upon, then work with. Most people i've known or spoken with at some length, from all walks of life, have 1. admitted to having (from their own experience) at least one anecdote about some ghost or apparition 2. an unfinished manuscript in a drawer somewhere.

Sadly, I've never experienced #1, though I would certainly like to, even if it were horrifying or destabilizing in some way.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

I'm actually not comfortable with the idea of weird fiction appealing mostly to creators, because it then seems like it will always have a small audience that writers will struggle with.

But then who knows how many people can potentially be artists? I've heard people say printed words destroyed storytelling and recorded music and radio forced most musicians into retirement.
But I also heard an Indian film director say that lots of Indian families tell each other fables at the dinner table to this day.

[Mr. Veech]

Quote Originally Posted by With Strength I Burn

It depends on the intent of what the piece of weird fiction is meant to induce. I agree with Druidc that fans of weird fiction need sensitivity to language and atmosphere, but in regards to wonder, not all weird fiction aims to instill that. For example, Machen's works do instill wonder, but in general, I'd say Ligotti's work are more akin to an unfurling into an impersonal bleakness -- generally so. So the point I am making is sensitivity to atmosphere and language is a necessity, but the third variable depends on the artist in question. Sensitivity to atmosphere, language, and X. X is variable but encompasses a range of themes.

There's definitely little room for "wonder" (in the traditional sense) in Ligotti's work. Nevertheless, I still enjoy wandering through its desolate ruins.