Rivolgiamo qualche domanda a Sebastiano Tuccitto, autore di "Ore 23:00 – C’è qualcosa nel buio...", antologia di racconti horror con prefazione di Andrea Cavaletto, sceneggiatore, fumettista e graphic designer italiano, noto al pubblico per la sua collaborazione con Sergio Bonelli Editore come sceneggiatore di Dylan Dog and Martin Mystère.
"Ore 23.00 – C’è qualcosa nel buio..." è composta, come suggerisce il titolo, da 11 racconti che hanno come filo conduttore la paura generata da mostri.
Lo scrittore, qui al suo esordio letterario, ci immerge infatti in un contesto dove la minaccia nasce nella realtà, nella fantasia o nel sogno scatenando una serie di immagini crudeli e azioni efferate che stravolgono all'improvviso la vita dei numerosi personaggi che popolano questa antologia.
Ghosts, insect procreating creatures, witches, the living dead, werewolves, the infected, imaginary friends, and the condemned come to life in Tuccitto's tales, dragging the characters and the reader into a violent and bloody dimension poised between dream, reality, and imagination.
Dalle pagine di questa antologia letteraria scaturisce un orrore genuino, tipico degli anni '80. La lettura infatti evoca ricordi cinematografici ottantiani (Creepshow su tutti) facendo anche trasparire la grande passione che l'autore ha per il cinema e la letteratura horror.
"Ore 23.00 – C’è qualcosa nel buio..." è sicuramente una chicca imperdibile per gli appassionati dell'horror.
In our interview, Sebastiano Tuccitto talks about his anthology of short stories, his influences and his future plans.
"The face was monstrous,
piena di fori da dove uscivano ed entravano colonie di insetti...
The skin was gray in color with green patches,
cockroaches and cockroaches were attached to it as pests."
FUORI PIOVE - "Ore 23.00 – C’è qualcosa nel buio..."
DV: Ciao Sebastiano, parlaci un po' di te.
ST: Sicilian by birth and in blood, I am 39 years old, 40 in August this year, and live in Rome with my wife Grazia Maria, a teacher, and my daughter Chiara, 4.
Electronics engineer, working in the field of information security as a project manager.
I am passionate about mathematics, robotics, electronics and computer science and, wouldn't you know it, to my scientific nature I also associate a strong artistic, musical soul. In fact, I have a diploma in clarinet and, over the years, as a clarinetist and saxophonist I have toured half of Europe. I have collaborated with Roy Paci, Vinicio Capossela, Macaco, and here and there with various more or less known musical formations.
Last but not least, I am a big Fan of yours!!!
DV: Felici di avere un fan come te! Com'è nata la tua passione per la scrittura e cosa ti ha spinto a scrivere "Ore 23.00 C'è qualcosa nel buio...", la tua prima antologia horror?
ST: I read a lot and watch movies like there's no tomorrow. I have always had a ball in my head to try my hand at writing but it has always remained an unfinished idea.
L’anno scorso, durante una trasferta lavorativa durata 6 mesi per la quale mi spostavo da Roma a Fabriano per 3 giorni a settimana, ho avuto l’occasione di rimanere “single” senza moglie e figlia e avere quindi un po' più di tempo a disposizione. Tornavo in hotel la sera dopo cena e chissà, l’inverno, la pioggia e la neve, il freddo, la particolarità del borgo medievale di Fabriano, mi avranno ispirato di sicuro!
There is so much of my life lived in the last few months in the stories. Train trips, job interviews, pub dinners amidst rivers of beer. In short, I'm in it.
DV: La prefazione di "Ore 23.00 C'è qualcosa nel buio..." è a cura di Andrea Cavaletto. Com'è nata la collaborazione con il noto sceneggiatore e fumettista italiano?
ST: I am a comic book fan, fan of Dylan Dog for almost 30 years. I knew Andrea as a writer of a few stories and had been so impressed with his writing for the Nightmare Investigator. During the work trip I was telling you about earlier, one evening, sitting drinking beer in a pub, I decided to message him via messenger to offer to read the few stories I was still writing and give me an opinion.
Since that evening, our "epistolary" communication has always been more intense. I discovered all of his work, outside of Dylan Dog, both for film and comics, and became very close to independent extreme horror cinema.
In the days that followed, he continually peppered me with advice, both for writing and for watching new movies and reading new comics.
I continued and finished writing the anthology also because of him, he spurred me on and pushed me all the time. And then I must say that he was among the few, if not the only one, who was always available.
He was in the beginning and still is now. I will never cease to thank him!!!
DV: Tell us about your anthology of short stories. Why did you choose the horror genre and who is the reader you would recommend it to?
ST: "Ore 23.00 – C'è qualcosa nel buio..." è composta da 11 racconti, numero che si riferisce a quello dell'ora presente nel titolo (23.00)
Nella prima parte rispolvero le figure classiche del genere horror (zombie, bambole, lupi mannari, case stregate, clown). La seconda parte sonda terreni disturbanti e vira sull'estremo, concentrandosi su tematiche forti e brutali.
First of all, it must be said that I am a movie and literature junkie in general, preferring horror and science fiction. Mine is a real obsession with blood, monsters and terror. My father passed this passion on to me. With him, when I was seven years old, I saw my first horror film, Cronenberg's The Fly. The films of Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Wes Craven and the novels of Stephen King and Clive Barker then marked my life.
I would recommend my novel to anyone who likes to read, not just horror stories. Then of course, if that person likes to experience the pleasure of being scared, much better!!!
DV: "Ore 23.00 C'è qualcosa nel buio..." trasmette la tua passione per il cinema horror, soprattutto ottantiano. Se dovessi paragonare la tua opera ad un film la paragonerei a Creepshow, ad un nuovo sequel del celebre film a episodi. È stata solo suggestione oppure l’atmosfera che ricorda il film sopracitato è stata voluta?
ST: That was the goal. The fact that the stories took you and other readers back to the late 1980s means that I was able to recreate those vintage, creepy atmospheres, and that makes me proud.
Who knows, maybe the anthology might actually become a sequel to Creepshow!
DV: Gli undici racconti che compongono l'antologia sono ricchi di personaggi che vanno incontro ad una morte atroce. "It's raining outside" ricorda un episodio di Creepshow, "A pub sandwich" fa tornare alla mente Il ristorante all'angolo mentre ne "The interview" si scorgono influenze del cinema di David Cronenberg. Quanto ha influito il cinema e anche la letteratura di genere horror in questo tuo primo libro?
ST: It has influenced so much. As I told you before, the films of Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and the novels of Stephen King and Clive Barker have shaped my life.
Inoltre, da Cronenberg a Romero per il cinema, da Garth Ennis a Tiziano Sclavi per il fumetto, da Clive Barker a Charlee Jacob per la letteratura, sono sempre stato affascinato dal terrore dell'uomo di fronte alla mutazione del corpo, all'infezione e contaminazione della carne, dall’estremo, dalla violenza, dalle ossessioni, il tutto intrecciando l'elemento psicologico con quello fisico.
DV: The cinematic and literary influences in fact can be felt so much. Did you ever have moments of difficulty while writing the stories? Which among them is your favorite?
ST: It may sound strange, but I had no difficulty. The more I wrote, the more the stories formed sharply, without shadows, in my head.
I really think I have achieved a good result.
My favorite is "The interview" because it is the story that most brings together my life experience, having done so many job interviews over the years, with my passion for more extreme horror, being in the ending very violent.
DV: I racconti presenti nella tua antologia sono popolati da figure tipiche della letteratura e del cinema horror: fantasmi, lupi mannari, zombie, streghe, cannibali, clown assassini. Molti hanno come base il sogno, l'incubo e il disturbo del sonno. Parlaci del legame tra il mondo onirico e quello horror presente nella tua antologia letteraria.
ST: I would never compare myself to, for example, undisputed masters like David Lynch, but in my stories where this connection is present I wanted to make sure to confuse dream with reality, creating confusion and discomfort in readers, see the stories "Laugh clown", "It's raining outside" e "Neighbors".
What I wanted to convey is that evil changes faces but never dies and that horror exists in many forms and is always around us.
DV: That's exactly right. Your stories propose 11 facets of evil, and in my opinion your rich imagination could find many more.
What are your literary and film influences?
ST: From a literary point of view without a shadow of a doubt King and Barker for horror, Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick for the science fiction genre... Oh yes, I think I mentioned that the other genre I love is science fiction in its many facets.
For film there are many: Raimi, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Craven, Lynch, Ridley Scott, James Cameron and, many others...
DV: Quali sono i tuoi progetti futuri? C'è una nuova antologia o un romanzo in cantiere?
ST: My projects are many. So many in my head especially, hahahah! We'll see if they ever see the light of day. Between work and family finding time is getting harder and harder.
I can tell you, however, that I want to continue writing scary stories in all different sauces and that I am working on a new book, a very extreme novel.
In addition, 2021 will see the birth of a comic book adaptation of some of the stories from the anthology "11 p.m. There is something in the dark..." which will be published abroad.
"Ore 23:00 – C’è qualcosa nel buio" is available in Digital format on the official website of IVVI Publisher and in print edition in all bookstores.
