Joe Hill Talks Horns and Why the Devil is Like a Superhero

Posted on November 5, 2014

Joe Hill's novel Horns has been turned into a feature film starring Daniel Radcliffe. The protagonist of the book is a young man who begins to grow what look like devil horns. As the horns grow, the character find himself being told people's deepest, darkest secrets.

Joe spoke with the New York Observer about genre writing, ebooks and his famous parents. Joe changed his name and submitted stories for a decade before anyone found out who his dad was. As the son of Stephen and Tabitha King, sometimes people are quick to put him in the horror category. But Joe says he doesn't really think in terms of horror or science fiction. He says, "I love the make-believe. I love the fantastic....you know, I don’t really think in terms of, you know, horror fiction or science fiction." He says he love make believe, which is common to all fiction writing.

Hill was a guest on Late Night With Seth Meyers to talk about the movie, which is in theaters now and getting great reviews. Hill said he had always wanted to write about the Devil. He joked that the Devil gets a really bad rap and that his terrible reputation is undeserved. In fact, Joe thinks he's really like a superhero, and would fit in nicely with the Avengers. He joked, "He's like a superhero: He punishes the bad guys, he's got a cool look -- he's got horns and the red costume."

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