Things that go bump in the night

Last Friday, mystery author and Tufts alum Christopher Golden made an appearance at Tisch library to discuss his thrillers and his time spent on the Hill. Golden is best known for his books based on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he has also written several original novels including Strangewood, The Ferryman and his Body of Evidence series _ a collection of mysteries set at Somerset University, a fictional campus based on Tufts.

"One of the things that has come up in my work is that a lot of it is set in this area," Golden said. "I had such a wonderful time here and enjoyed it so much that when it came time to do the Body of Evidence series, it was so easy because it recreated for me what it meant to be here."

There are, of course, several important distinctions between Tufts and Somerset University. Somerset had a medical hospital on campus where much of the supernatural

action in Golden's books takes place. Vampires and corpses generally do not come alive on a typical day at Tufts, but this is indeed the norm at Somerset University.

"I was always fascinated by scary things, but [horror] is not always about scaring," Golden said. "Horror, in a way is comforting because you can go to it and know that when it's over, it's over."

Golden likes the idea that there is more to this life than what we see. "If I can convince you with writing that ghosts and demons are real," he said, "you must also believe that the opposite [angels] exists."

But Golden did not always want to be a writer. "For me it's always been more about being a storyteller than a writer per se," Golden said. "I almost went to the University of Southern California for film school _ I went to Tufts so that if I blew it, I could still wind up doing something I enjoy."

During his time at Tufts, Golden experimented with story writing. By the time he was a junior, Golden no longer wanted to write movies, but decided to a make a career of writing horror novels. In his talk, Golden stressed that horror novels have themes that go deeper than just witches and goblins. He describes his book The Ferryman as "a 400-page meditation on the nature of death."

Though highly unrealistic in some aspects, even the Buffy-based books deal with some very real issues about growing up. Friday's audience was comprised primarily of parents, but many Tufts students are familiar with Golden's work, especially the Buffy books and the Body of Evidence series.

"My son calls me everyday and tells me how much his experience at Tufts has been like Jenna's [the heroine of the Body of Evidence series]," said one parent who described the series as a cross between Nancy Drew and Patricia Cromwell.

Golden ended his talk with a message to Tufts students and their parents "You're part of a larger community now, if you have a fraction of the time I did here, it will be the best time of your lives."

Look for Golden's upcoming novel, The Boys are Back in Town, and his

comic book series for DC Comics entitled Dr. Fate.

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