Horror/Scary: August 02, 2006 Issue [#1180]
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Horror/Scary


 This week:
  Edited by: schipperke
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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

Horror was one of the first genres I fell in love with as a child. I couldn't get enough of horror movies on the old UHF channels like "Creature Double Feature" or Godzilla and King Kong. There weren't many children books in the horror genre so I read adult books from writers like Poe or Lovecraft. These stories fired up my imagination and never gave me nightmares!

Today children have a wealth of horror stories to choose from including the Goosebumps series of books by R.L. Stein or Who Took my Hairy Toe? by Shutta Crum. Adults can delve into the classic horror stories or try new ones from authors like Robert Block or Stephen King.

I hope through my horror newsletters to bring you some thoughts on horror writing and some inspiration to create a horrific masterpiece of your own.


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

** Image ID #1138162 Unavailable **

And lo, God said: Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me, and let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan. John Wing

If the devil does not exist, and man has therefore created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness Fyodor Dostoevsky

We may not pay Satan reverence, for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents. Mark Twain, Harper's Magazine (Sept. 1899)


Looking for the ultimate evil character for your horror writing? How about Beelzebub, Lucifer or Iblis?
Satan goes by many names in literature, but in each case the names refer to a supernatural being who characterizes pure wickedness.

Using Satan as a character in your writing can be a way to introduce temptation, conflict and creativity into the plot. Satan can be a powerful man, as represented by most writers, or even a woman, like the devil in Mel Gibson’s screenplay, The Passion. Satan can take any form you want, even a beautiful angel or a plain human being. Use your imagination!

How will Satan influence your characters? Will he tempt your main character away from the straight and narrow? Will he force a character to confront her own dark and evil thoughts? In both Islam and Jewish traditions, Satan has no power except what is given him by the corrupted thoughts and actions of humans. Does your Satan gain power as the world enters World War Three? Is Satan lurking in the chat rooms of MySpace?

Does Satan exist at all, or is he a construct to explain the tendency of humans to destroy instead of create? The idea of Satan has been the subject of multitudes of learned dissertations. Before you set out to use Satan as a character in your story, do some research on the mythology of Satan in various religions. You may hint on an aspect of Satan that inspires you to write the next Exorcist

*Reading* Famous Books featuring The Devil

Dante Alighieri's Inferno (1321)
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (1604)
Joost van den Vondel's Lucifer (1654)
John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667)
Johann Wolfgang Goethe's Faust (Part 1, 1808; Part 2, 1832)
Steven Vincent Benét's The Devil and Daniel Webster (1937)
Thomas Mann's Doktor Faustus (1947)
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's Left Behind series (1995-present)
Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil (1996)

** Image ID #1138161 Unavailable ** Movies Featuring The Devil

Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Bedazzled (1967, remade in 2000)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Omen (1976, remade in 2006)
Angel Heart (1987)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
The Ninth Gate (1999)






Editor's Picks

schipperke's Picks of the Week


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#1006326 by Not Available.

*Reading*
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Soul Survivor Open in new Window. (13+)
Some monsters draw strength from a crucifix.
#900005 by Davy Kraken Author IconMail Icon

*Reading*
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#1130120 by Not Available.

*Reading*
 
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Night Vision Open in new Window. (E)
Scared in the dark
#714017 by Joy Author IconMail Icon


 
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Ask & Answer

schipperke's Reader Feedback and Questions


billwilcox:Heya, Schippers!
I loved your article on monsters. It's true what you said about the creators of monsters actually being bigger monsters than their creations. When I wrote "The Voyage of the Wayfarer" that is exactly what I was trying to convey. Great work as always!
Thank you Bill for taking the time to respond to my newsletters. We miss you!

pantherrhoads:Mary Shelley asked her readers a question. Made them ponder. I ponder why Mary Shelley did not write more horror novels.
I don't know why. I think the time was right, and she was with friends in a creepy place. Maybe they all inspired each other, like we can do here with a campfire.

zwisis:Whoa! Schip darling - you want to give me nightmares? What a scary picture!!! Made me almost too afraid to read the rest of the newsletter! But I overcame my panic and did - and you've inspired me! When I was a child monsters lurked in my closet, which is why even today I will NOT leave cupboard doors open at night when I go to bed. Pathetic, aren't I?
That poor dog has recently died. His owner did love the little blind/furless/ toothless creature! I don't like watching really scary movies at night before bed, or read horror stories in bed. I usually will have bad dreams.

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