Ahead of the 25th anniversary of Vermillion Eye, author

Tunku Halim talks about the reissue of

his iconic work, as well as his journey

into the literary scene and how it has changed.

In Malaysia or Indonesia, it’s very rare to find someone
who doesn’t believe in ghosts,” says writer Tunku
Halim Tunku Abdullah. He explains that this spine-chilling
category is such a popular genre in varying creative media
across the world because “even those who don’t like
horror have a fascination for it. Particularly in Malaysia, we
have a very rich mythology like the pontianak, toyol, orang
minyak, possession, black magic and all the other spirits.
Even the educated believe in this stuff”.

Dubbed the Stephen King of Asia, Halim, 61, has
produced a staggering number of works over the last
three decades, delving into Malay myths, legends and
folklore. “I don’t classify all my stories as horror. Some are
psychological thrillers and paranormal romance. They can
be called Asian Gothic,” he says.

“It’s just that when I started, I published two short-story
collections of horror, followed by my debut novel. So then,
I got put into this box — or coffin, if you will: When you
think of the genre in Malaysia, you think of Tunku Halim.”

Reading law at the University of Sussex in the UK, he then
worked as a legal counsel for some years before switching
from precision to prose and devoting himself to crafting
unsettling stories. “As a teenager, I always thought that
being an author would be wonderful, but my mum had
other ideas. She gave me the option of law, accounting or
medicine. I chose law because it involved using words!”

Halim’s creative writing journey began with short
descriptions of the eerie tales surrounding Kuala Lumpur’s
Jalan Damansara, which links Bukit Damansara to Section
16 in Petaling Jaya. “I made notes about this scary
winding road with jungle all around, and that became a
story. I wrote a few more and I said, why not come out
with a collection?”

Since then, he has made his mark in the niche market with
titles such as The Rape of Martha Teoh & Other Chilling
Stories, The Woman Who Grew Horns & Other Works,
Gravedigger’s Kiss, Horror Stories and, most recently, My
Lovely Skull & Other Skeletons.

The local trailblazer in the genre points out that scary
films paint the category in a bad light, with narratives that
follow typical, established formulas confirmed to elicit fear
and anxiety in viewers. “I don’t like watching horror
movies because, generally, they have a very low budget,
hence affecting the plot and acting. They always have
some woman going down into the cellar. The electricity is
somehow not working but she has to go down anyway.
Then she will be attacked by some spirit in the house.
Yet, the family never leaves and just stays.”

According to him, these shows largely rely on shock and
gore, but it is different for creative writing. “Writing has to
be more sophisticated. You have to have a strong plot.
What I want to do with my story is capture the reader’s
attention from page one — get them so immersed that
they forget they are reading. That is what I want to
achieve.”
How does he ensure that he sends shivers down his
readers’ spine and keeps them engaged, then? “There are
many ways to draw people in. With any kind of story, there
has to be some sort of problem that needs to be resolved.
Mine is always associated with supernatural elements or
something disturbing or fearful.”

Creative writing is like any other skill, he says. For dark
fiction, the trick is to show, not tell. “For example, when
you say ‘the door opened by itself and I felt frightened’,
that is ‘telling’. But ‘the door opened by itself and I felt
goose bumps’ is ‘showing’. So, when I say that,
subconsciously, the reader will imagine what is happening
and that will trigger the instinctive reaction. This is how
you create tension and fear.”

While it is not possible to draw every chilling scene from
his own experience — “very rarely does anything happen
to me, so I use my imagination a lot” — Halim tends to
map out a storyline just from being curious about a
particular setting or situation he comes across.

He explains the inspiration behind one of the anthologies
in his latest release. “I walked past this house quite often.
It’s a typical bungalow but dilapidated, empty and falling
apart, and no one looked after the garden, and so it
looked like a jungle. I wondered, how come nobody lives
here? Why doesn’t someone buy it and build a new
house? One day, I saw an old woman in shabby clothes
sitting just outside the front door. Right away, that sparked
my imagination for a story called The Garden.”

When not working, Halim loves spending time outdoors.
Walking, travelling and just doing activities that allow him
to engage with the real world fuel his creativity. He also
steers clear of social media as he thinks it is a major
distraction and interrupts one’s ability to generate ideas. “I
value my privacy above anything, but I also think [social
media] is addictive and I do not want to get addicted to
anything.

“For most people, social media is the default thing to do.
As soon as they feel slightly bored, they pick up their
phone and start to scroll through the different apps. So,
there is no opportunity to be bored, but not doing
anything is actually very important because that’s when I
think about what to write or other things I want to do in my
life.”

For the new generation of authors, however, having an
online platform is almost like a requirement for their work
to be considered for publishing, Halim acknowledges. It is
unfortunate that it has come to this but boasting a strong
social media presence demonstrates their “ability to sell”.
For this veteran wordsmith, however — even with just a
blog on WordPress, which he occasionally writes for — his
opuses still make their way to the bookstores, and some
are reissued with updates to suit the contemporary
context.

For instance, Vermillion Eye, which is used as study
material at the National University of Singapore, will be
republished by Penguin Random House next month, 25
years after it was introduced. The story explores three
distinctive characters in one compelling account of love,
lust and vengeance.

“They wanted me to refresh the text and make it up-to-
date. So, I had to bring in technology, which made a big
difference to the story. In the original copy, my main
character is a pimp based in Sydney. To get customers, he
would go to the red-light district and approach passers-
by. But that’s totally changed because Kings Cross is now
gentrified. People want to move here, it’s a nice place to
live. Pimps don’t go out looking for clients anymore; it’s all
done online. So, I had to tweak some parts to take this into
account.”

Vermillion Eye: 25th Anniversary Edition will be launched
at the George Town Literary Festival next month with a
new look to commemorate the shift in the literary scene
over the last 30 years, where readers now indeed judge a
book by its cover.

Given his years of experience in the field, Halim is praised
as much as he is criticised. He is aware of both bouquets
and brickbats but does not let that deter him from
pursuing his passion. “I don’t write for fame and I don’t do
it for money. I write for satisfaction and because it is a
fulfilling thing to do,” he says.

His advice for aspiring authors: “Write because it is
something you want to do. Don’t write with the purpose of
getting published. If you do get published, that’s a huge
bonus, but the joy is in the act of writing itself. It is also the
cheapest hobby you can have because all you need is a
pen and paper.”

This article written by Aireena Azni first appeared on

Oct 27, 2025 in The Edge

I’d like to thank Aireena Azni for writing this article.

Hope you found it interesting!