Where Do Story Ideas Come From?

The key, I think, to avoiding writer's block is to stay interested in everything, not just a small segment of what you think you may like. I bought a book thinking it was going to be entirely different than it is. But, what a delightful surprise. It's not horror but it's given me an armload of ideas for horror.

The book is a nonfiction work called Mudlark: In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames by Lara Maiklem. I bought it thinking it was a history of the Thames. It is, instead, her history of mudlarking on the Thames. Mudlarks, in the past, were poor people, mainly women and children, who walked and dug and felt with their feet for anything at low tide along the Thames that they might sell. Back in that day, mainly the Victorian era, the water was wretched with sewage, so you can imagine...

Today, mudlarks are people like Maiklem, those who love history and old things and spend their time following the tide to find things dating all the way back to the bronze age.

Although it is Maiklem's story, she weaves history throughout. Therein lies the ideas for horror. There were so many things done for two thousand years along the Thames--from the hanging of pirates to the beheadings of Henry the VIII's wives.  Here's what really caught my interest: Toshers. If I don't do something with them, I'll kick myself.

Toshers went beyond feeling around in the Thames. They broke into the sewer grates along the river and fished around inside the sewers for lost coins. Yuck. They wore a uniform that let everybody know they were toshers. A long velveteen coat, canvas pants and aprons, and they wore a lantern strapped to their shoulders. There were miles of sewers and sometimes toshers got lost and died under London. They also died of infections caused by rat bites. Supernaturally, they believed there was a Queen Rat who appeared as a beautiful woman. If they didn't have sex with her, she brought death and bad luck to them.

I would think grubbing through sewage would bring death and bad luck, but I guess toshers had to have something to tell their wives when they came home with a little rouge on their velveteen coats.

Folks, there is a horror story in there somewhere. Read and watch a variety of things. There are ideas everywhere. I've been thinking of what horrible thing I could do to a tosher, as if their lives weren't already bad enough.

For more on toshers, the worst job in the world, here is a Smithsonian article.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/quite-likely-the-worst-job-ever-319843/

And here is the book, Mudlark.