 Horror/Scary: November 10, 2021 Issue [#11064] |
This week: Home town horror Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: "In small towns people scent the wind with noses of uncommon keenness."
~Stephen King |
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Small towns and villages are a common setting for horror stories. Well known examples include "The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin, Thomas Tryon's "Harvest Home," Stephen King's "It," and the movie "Halloween."
Many of Shirley Jackson's short horror stories happen in quirky small towns. The most famous of these stories is "The Lottery," which centers around a deadly custom that the residents of the small town think is normal and necessary. The main characters in many of Jackson's stories are women, often new residents of a strange small town where they really don't fit in. Ms. Jackson's small town settings often feature a character named James Harris, or a family with the last name of Harris. These characters are often villainous, negative, or judgmental. The author may have been paying homage to an old Scottish ballad in which a young wife and mother is enticed away from her family by a man named Jamie Harris, who is actually the devil in disguise.
Small towns are a great setting for horror, because they are supposed to be safe. Many city dwellers dream of escaping the crime and dangers of urban areas by moving to a small town. Evil characters and their activities seem so much worse when they occur in a place people assume is safe. When a murder, kidnapping, or rape happens in a small town, resdidents are often quoted as saying, "Things like that don't happen here."
The belief that nothing bad happens in small towns often leads residents to become complacent about safety and crime prevention. People often leave doors unlocked and even leave the keys in their cars, which would be unheard of in a more populated area.
If a small town is a long way from other populated areas, strange or horrible activity might occur there for years without anyone from the outside knowing what is going on. Isolation might also make it more difficult for characters in a small town horror story to get help or escape.
Louise Penny handles the small town setting in the opposite way. Most of her stories are set in or near a small town named Three Pines, Quebec. Penny's stories are more mystery than horror, but some very distubing events do happen. Three Pines serves as a refuge from all the bad or negative things that might happen in the story. I know it isn't a real place, but I would love to live there!
Something to try: Write a horror story set in a small town. |
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