Stephanie Perkins celebrates film adaptation and new horror novel

DUAL THREAT: Asheville-based author Stephanie Perkins, right, has had a momentous autumn with the film adaptation of her novel "There's Someone Inside Your House," top left, and the release of her second horror novel, "The Woods Are Always Watching." Author photo by Destinee Blau; film still by David Bukach, courtesy of Netflix

While Stephanie Perkins is a voracious reader of horror novels, it was her love of horror films that inspired her to, well, take a stab at writing scary stories.

The Asheville-based author achieved New York Times bestseller status in 2014 with her third YA romance, Isla and the Happily Ever After, and landed back on that revered list in 2017 with her debut horror novel, There’s Someone Inside Your House. Recently, things have come full circle as the story of Makani Young attempting to figure out who’s behind a string of murders at her Nebraska high school has been adapted into a feature film. The movie premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 23 and hit Netflix on Oct. 6, where it promptly vaulted to the streaming service’s most popular offering.

Like many writers, Perkins has had a few of her books under contract with producers, only to see the deal fall apart for various reasons. So when Dan Cohen, an executive producer on “Stranger Things,” showed interest in There’s Someone Inside Your House, she tried not to get overly excited.

However, given the immense success of “Stranger Things,” Cohen had significant sway at Netflix and soon tapped Henry Gayden, screenwriter of the hit DC Comics adaptation Shazam!, to handle the script. Patrick Brice — whose The Overnight and two Creep films made a fan out of Perkins — then signed on to direct. Yet the entire endeavor continued to seem too good to be true for the author.

“I didn’t believe it was happening for a really, really long time, until [Cohen] called me,” Perkins says. “He was in the middle of a cornfield with everyone else and was like, ‘Yeah, we start shooting here in six days.’ And that was when I realized it was actually happening.”

On the advice of friends, Perkins chose not to be involved with the adaptation process. Most authors she knows who’ve done so have felt somewhat unwanted on the film set, which she says is understandable. An author’s job, she believes, is done once the book is written; screenwriting and filmmaking, she adds, are “a totally separate thing.”

“The movie is very, very different plotwise from my book, but in a way that I’m really happy with,” Perkins says. “I think it makes for a better cinematic experience, and I’m glad they didn’t try to do a straight adaptation. That rarely works.”

The author’s lone request was to visit the Vancouver, B.C., set. That wish came true during production, resulting in what Perkins calls “the ideal experience.”

“[The film] was just this perfect timing of everyone and all the right people. And [Cohen, Gayden and Brice] are very close in age to me, so we all had the same influences,” she says. “It was crazy that it happened, and then it was even more wild that they made a good [movie]. I’m really proud of it and excited for people to see it.”

Every tumbling leaf a terror

Along with the new film, Perkins is also celebrating the release of her latest book, The Woods Are Always Watching — her first novel set in Western North Carolina. The story is a tale of two teen girls who go backpacking in Pisgah National Forest. The simple storyline and small cast of characters, notes Perkins, was by design. After There’s Someone Inside Your House — which takes place in two primary locations (Nebraska and Hawaii), and features nine very different points of view — simplicity was key.

“It was as stripped-down as I can make it. I wanted it to be this nice, tight, gruesome little book,” she says. “I think it is that thing, but the ridiculous thing, of course, is that it took me just as long to write as all the other books that are longer and more complicated. So, the joke is always on me.”

As part of her research for The Woods Are Always Watching, Perkins and her husband, Jarrod, hiked and camped on the Art Loeb Trail, undergoing the same outdoor experience as her young protagonists. “Which is to say ‘none,’” Perkins says, noting that the only way she could have written the book was “from the perspective of people who were also amateurs but who would try really hard.”

The author recalls having her journal and pen out the entire time on the trail, taking notes to capture the experiences. At that point, Perkins adds, her husband had been listening to her tell stories of serial killers in the woods and bear attacks for several months. As a result, he didn’t sleep particularly well that night.

“I’d filled his head with too many scary stories, and so every little leaf tumbling across the tent was a terror to him,” she says. “It was funny, but I felt a little bad about it, too.”

While WNC is rich in hair-raising folklore, Perkins says she purposefully avoided those traditions and instead delved into her strong interest in true crime. She stresses that the things that scare her “are less monsters and more men.”

“The deeper and deeper you go into true crime, the more and more you realize that nowhere is safe, and that includes nature,” Perkins says. “My husband and I moved here because it’s so beautiful. And now, unfortunately, I know all these terrible stories about things that have happened to people out there, and they did stick with me. I would never, ever go hiking in the woods alone anymore. I just know too much.”

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.