Yeah, I had that issue when I was younger. Finally got over it. I did initially get some comments from friends - not negative ones, just that they didn't expect it. I'm generally a pretty nice guy and an all-around optimist. I even save spiders by putting them outside instead of killing them (I don't really like to kill anything, even insects and spiders). So when people read my horror they said "wow, this doesn't sound like you." To which I answered "It's not, it's a story." I've enjoyed horror and scary stories since I was a very small child and my grandmother used to tell me ghost stories. I like "dark" fiction as a rule, and that's what I like to write. Things often don't go well for the characters. But people who know you will be able to separate the work from you as an individual. If they think you're a freak because you write about dark subject matter, then they just don't know you well enough (unless you really are a freak, in which case please disregard this post )
