Blaisin Trails

The Bible can be strange.

There, I said it.

Giants, demons, visions, talking animals, mysterious beings, and spiritual battles have left me with far more questions than answers. For years, I did not know what to do with those parts of Scripture. They didn’t fit neatly into the familiar Bible stories I learned as a child, and I wanted to understand them instead of simply skipping over them.

That curiosity eventually led me to podcasts (see my recommendations below) that examine the supernatural and unusual parts of the Bible through a Christian lens. Somewhere along the way, my children started listening with me. What began as my attempt to understand difficult passages became something we enjoyed together. We asked questions and considered what Scripture actually says about a supernatural world we cannot see. Those conversations also helped me understand why I am drawn to folklore, mysteries, and things that go bump in the night.

As a mother and writer, I began thinking about the stories I wanted my own children to read. I wanted stories with suspense, mystery, and an occasional scare, but without graphic violence or explicit content. More importantly, I wanted stories shaped by a worldview that ultimately points toward Christ, even when they are not overtly Christian. Bob Hostetler describes the difference between simply writing for the Christian market and writing “Christianly,” allowing a Christian worldview to shape the work itself (Hostetler). That is what I hope to do.

I write about dark woods, unexplained disappearances, old legends, and frightening things lurking just outside our understanding. Underneath my stories are deeper questions: What happens when we rely entirely on ourselves? What do we do when we are afraid? Is evil real? Where do we find hope when circumstances seem hopeless?

Although I do not always agree with Russell Moore theologically, one observation in “What Horror Stories Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About the World” resonates with me. He writes that “the gospel . . . assumes the horror story and then overcomes it” (Moore). Christian novelist Mike Duran makes a similar argument, describing horror as a powerful medium for exploring biblical themes and advocating for engagement with the genre from a biblical perspective (Duran).

My stories may take readers into some dark woods. They may even scare them a little. But ultimately, I want the path to lead toward the Light.