Pittford Cemetery was maybe the first character I sat down and properly thought out: its atmosphere, its location and, most importantly, its history. They all started with the graveyard itself. How did you go about creating the different ghost characters? Linked anthologies are in some ways the best of both worlds, as it allows the gradual development of a longer narrative without having to sacrifice the bite-sized format that serves it so well. This does mean it sometimes struggles in longer form, as the scares can feel drawn out or inert. Because of this, it excels in short form, as the story doesn’t need to outstay that climax too long (and the protagonists don’t need to survive!). The atmosphere and dread need to build up to a crescendo point, then (ideally) land on a terrifying moment or dreadful piece of imagery. Horror is an interesting genre, in that to be effective the rhythm of it is just as important as character or plot, arguably more so. Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims The Graveyard Route is a horror anthology, like some of your previous work, including The Magnus Archives podcast and your novel Thirteen Storeys.

The series I wrote doesn’t interact with the gaming side of Zombies, Run! directly, but the requirement to keep the listener active and “playing” adds a really lovely momentum to the writing.

It’s a really interesting challenge to write for as well, especially the shorter and quite rigid scene lengths, and the fact that you always have to keep in mind the presence of the player as an active, silent, presence. I’ve always been a big fan of Zombies, Run! and used it myself while doing a couch to 5k a few years ago.

How is writing for the Zombies, Run! format different to writing regular audio drama? Did you enjoy the gaming aspect? I also find it a wonderful genre to explore darker and more complex themes – plus it’s just great fun to write! It’s a genre that continually finds new ways to intrigue me and scare me out of my wits. Online creepypasta came into its own as I was starting my own writing, and recently the rise of unfiction and YouTube horror has been fascinating to watch.

In my teens I graduated to classic gothic horror, then to the movies of the 80s and 90s as I went to university. Some of my earliest favourite stories were from a ratty old copy of MR James’ tales. It’s always been a genre that has compelled me. We talked to Jonathan Sims, writer of our five-part horror New Adventure The Graveyard Route, about the evolution of the horror genre, historical influences, and the unique challenges of writing for fitness! What do you particularly like about the horror genre?

13 stories jonathan sims