3 Hitchcock Points

all about the seduction of suspense

Oct 28, 2024

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) is known as the master of suspense.

I love suspense. Whether I’m writing fantasy or contemporary mystery, I try to leave my readers on bated hooks as long as possible. Suspense, that feeling of exquisite excitement, of waiting with bated breath for the next moment, of not knowing what lies ahead … is delicious. It’s seductive. And hey, it’s plain fun. Suspense is the secret sauce that glues readers to the page.

When I listening to Lucy Foley interview Anthony Horowitz (a YouTube Video that truly rocks), I learned they had both studied Hitchcock. I remember the picture of Hitchcock’s shadow on the TV as I was growing up, and of course I’ve watched Psycho and never looked at a motel shower the same way again, but I hadn’t thought of studying his work until I listened to this conversation between two of our best selling, contemporary mystery writers.

I searched my local library for information about the infamous director who casts such a large shadow over storytelling. The first thing I got my hands on was a black and white film, The Lady Vanishes. It’s a 1938 movie about a woman who vanishes on a train. I was enthralled with the story from the first scene, and I highly recommend it. Next, I started reading Peter Ackroyd’s book, Alfred Hitchcock (the Penguin, 2015 edition).

I guess you could say I’ve developed a Hitch hobby. He’s a fascinating man and his work is pure genius.

So, what have I learned so far? I won’t bore you with the many details that are percolating through my mind, but I will leave you with three crucial points:

One - The importance of trains

Hitchcock used trains in many of his screenplays, because a train makes a perfect crucible to heighten suspense. Think about it. Characters come together as strangers from different places and travel together in a tightly confined space. You get the feeling that anything can happen. The train is the crucible.

Sol Stein in 'Stein on Writing' said: “In ordinary parlance a crucible refers to a vessel in which different ingredients are melded in white hot heat. The word has come to mean a severe test ….”)

So the train setting is a melting point a test in itself in which the characters reveal their true selves, and out of which they must survive.

Two - A sphere of suspicion

As characters come together in the train crucible Hitchcock creates a sphere of suspicion. Nothing is as it seems. Something is wrong. People aren’t being truthful. The main character begins to doubt herself, and wonders who she can trust. You’re left with the question—can anyone in the world be trusted?

Three - Surprises, Reversals and Disassociations

As the plot develops there are surprises, reversals, and a general sense of the characters becoming disassociate from their normal reality. All is not what it seems. Your stomach knots in anticipation as you wait for the climax.

What Peter Ackroyd said this about the film The Lady Vanishes:

“The world is not ruled by chance, however, but by fatality. The characters of The Lady Vanishes come together by ones and twos, converging from widely different quarters, drawing slowly together in a sphere of suspicion where they are all eventually assembled. The surprises, the reversals, the dissociation from routine during the journey, the psychic claustrophobia of the train ride … all contribute to the unique Hitchcock effect.” (Peter Ackroyd, Alfred Hitchcock, p.80)

Last Words

I’m not sure where my Hitch hobby will take me, but I’m loving it. I’ll keep you posted. If you have any suggestions on how best to further my hobby, or comments about Hitchcock, please let me know in the comment section below, or email me directly, jo@jo-anncarson.com

See you between the lines,

With gratitude,

Jo-Ann

P.S.

What the Fang? a supernatural suspense, releases November 13th. The critics are loving it (Reviews on BookBub, and Goodreads)

When a Fang Hunter preys on a student in my vampire academy in Mystic Keep, I knew I had to stop them. Not one of my bloodsuckers was going to lose a pearly white on my watch!
My name is Rebel Black. I’m the book nerd witch who runs Fangsters, the notorious school for delinquent, teenaged, night stalkers, housed in a Victorian bordello in Mystic Keep a small town in the Pacific Northwest. My academy is about as creepy, a Gothic-Horror-show as one can imagine. Trust me, I didn’t choose this job. I’m being blackmailed by one of the most powerful vampires in all the realms, and until I devise a spell strong enough to stop him cold, I must do his bidding.
But, I have to say, teaching the seven undeadly sins to predators isn’t as bad as you might think. There’s never a dull moment in the house of the rising dead. Onyx, Fangster’s head of security, may be a bit on the Dracula-gloomy side in his suit, but he’s also breath-stoppingly handsome—and he comes with a dry sense of humor that keeps things lively.
Unfortunately, when I got the news about my student’s missing tooth, Onyx was nowhere to be found. I suspect his disappearance has something to do with our big fight, but I can’t worry about that right now. I must solve this gory tooth mess.
Will I find the Fang Hunter or will more of my students lose teeth? If I fail, and Fangsters is forced to close its doors, will my blackmailer reveal my secret?

What the Fang is the fourth book in Fangsters, Jo-Ann Carson’s gangsters with bite series. Witches, warlocks, werewolves, and monsters of all polka-dots and stripes are featured. It’s a fast-paced mystery, with a slow-burn romance, and an edge of humor designed to entertain you. It can easily be read as a standalone.

And it’s only 99 cents USD!

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(Photo Source: Wikipedia, Public Domain, Image created on Canva)