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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/10459-Horror-doesnt-have-to-be-a-slasherfest.html
Horror/Scary: November 18, 2020 Issue [#10459]




 This week: Horror doesn't have to be a slasherfest
  Edited by: Andy~hating university Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

To avoid fainting, keep repeating 'It's only a movie...it's only a movie...'

Tagline for "The Last House on the Left" (1972)


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Greeting WDC, I am Andy~hating university Author Icon your guest Newsletter editor this week.

Before I get into this NL, can everyone please send positive thoughts and prayers for our own master of the macabre Angus Author Icon as he begins what I pray will be a full recovery.

When we think of horror films we tend to think of graphic films first like Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween, and when we think of a horror character it's usually slashers like Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhies. Too often, we equate horror with blood and gore. Yet here on WDC there are currently 6821 horror/scary items that are rated 13+ or lower.

Horror has been around for so long, we have a good idea as to what works. At its most basic, take an ordinary character or characters and put them into extraordinary situations. This is what makes novels such as IT (seven ordinary kids), Dracula (a solicitor and a schoolteacher), and House of Leaves (an editor) such engaging stories. This is where writing horror at 13+ or lower begins.

Horror legends such as John Carpenter and Tommy Lee Wallace believe that what we imagine is far scary than what we actually see, and this is the key to keeping horror writing in the lower age ratings. A reader imagining what's under the bed can often be far scarier that what a writer can ever describe, and in films the build up of tension with shadows and sounds can be far scarier than what waits.

End your story with your character opening the wardrobe door to see what that noise is, or end with a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder with your killer machete in hand standing behind their victim. Horror does not require you to show the coup de grace, there is no expectation of blood.

Give it a try the next time you write a horror story or poem.


Editor's Picks

 
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Devils Walking Stick Open in new Window. (ASR)
The Devil walked the earth alone.
#2226390 by w0lfbane Author IconMail Icon


 
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The Straw Man, Cometh Open in new Window. (E)
And you thought it was just a scarecrow!
#2236518 by L.A. Grawitch Author IconMail Icon


 The Reaper's Debt Open in new Window. (13+)
Oh, if only I could take back my actions last Saturday...
#1882086 by Joto-Kai Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2236703 by Not Available.


 
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Orange Dawn of My Deception Open in new Window. (13+)
Not all of us are afraid of monsters.
#2236657 by Kåre เลียม Enga Author IconMail Icon


 
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Demon Came to our House Open in new Window. (13+)
A nasty little tale of abuse and vengeance gone wrong
#2236319 by Words Whirling 'Round Author IconMail Icon


The Red Door Open in new Window. (13+)
Eliza wouldn't be an Apprentice Medium anymore. The next level of knowledge: the Occult.
#1703775 by ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams Author IconMail Icon


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Watching Always Open in new Window. (13+)
Some say I'm crazy, just a little touched -
#2234521 by iKïyå§ama Author IconMail Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Ask & Answer

Have a go at writing a story or poem at 13+ or below.

Think about how you change your choice of language, how differently your characters behave, but most of all how you build suspense and terror.

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