 Horror/Scary: February 18, 2009 Issue [#2899] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter!
All that I see or seem is but a dream within a dream
...quoth the Raven, nevermore
Edgar Alan Poe
Foremost in a work of horror, I believe, is the writer's ability to provoke fear or terror in readers - a sense of dread or anxiety from the opening image, a foreshadowing of impending doom. Let's explore some of the techniques by which we can make our readers feel this horror while absorbed for a time in the world we create prosaic or poetic.
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As writers of horror in prose or verse, we don’t have to perpetrate acts of terror to instill terror in our readers. Did you ever just get so mad, feel such righteous indignation at action perpetrated against the defenseless, be it for money or mere hubris, that you wanted to effect some revenge in return, have the perps feel the terror they had instilled in their victims without merit.
Jax snarled at the mewling wimp cowering in the corner. A dumb wimp, at that, backing into the corner with no exit strategy. He finally shut the trapped creature up with a couple blows about the head, then a kick to reward it for splattering blood on his newly appropriated jacket.
The jacket didn’t quite fit, barely kept the sleet off his back, much less the sticky muck off his long arms. But his vintage leather was ruined at the last job, when the second of his targets tried to delay the icy fate at the last moment by tangling a shoe in his coat, steel toes catching a pocket and ripping the jacket in half. Next time, the shoes come off after tying the legs together, but before rolling the victim into the nocturnal cold of the stream. Who knows, they might even fetch a buck or two once it was scraped clean.
Okay, I have an alternate ending to this story, but the details in my mind are rather graphic, so I’ll just end with Jax, sitting outside the house he’d just robbed, as a mastiff struts away, teeth wrapped around a shoe that, once scraped clean with canine fangs, would make a good chew toy.
What if animals in nature do have some ‘human’ emotions And the means to do something about it. As writers, we can give them the power, the ability to not only defend themselves, but also turn the tables on some morally impaired mortals. If you choose to take up the gauntlet, horrifying your readers with some delicious canine, equine, or perhaps avian victories, remember to keep it real. The 10-pound shih Tzu that was trying vainly to defend its home is not going to remove the perp’s shoe with such grinding accuracy. But the neighbor’s bullmastiff might, following the shi Tzu's scent on the ruined pants.
Consider the realism is Stephen King’s Cujo, Hitchcock’s Birds. The creatures do not act outside their nature, which merely becomes focused or channeled in response to the action of mortals. The great white Jaws and Moby Dick also act according to their nature. They don’t suddenly take wing and fly or walk on land, but they do appear to react to the aggressive action taken against them by humans, with a focused response that’s perhaps ‘humanized’ with a bit of horrific vengeance.
So, the details come from nature, a fish remains a fish, a dog remains a dog, a rabbit remains a rabbit, and a rat remains a rat, acting in accord with their physical abilities. The horror comes from ‘humanizing’ the force of the creature’s reaction to an act of aggression, whether overt or covert.
As writers, we have license to inscribe ‘human’ emotion and thought patterns on the action of the apparently sentient animals, evoking horror not with massive gore, but alluding to what the sentient animals can and likely will do to preserve their own realm. They don’t always win outright, the horror is in the nature of the battle – inscribing human emotion on their faces, human reaction (if not always reason) in their actions.
So, as you nuzzle your kitten or feed your fish or ride your favorite mare, remember that they each have a wild side that, if unleashed, you don’t want to have channeled in your direction. Do be kind to them, however, and they will return your affection unconditionally (this last is from me, sustaining member of the ASPCA).
Sinister Tales is looking to publish your short stories and poems (and artwork) where the horror has depth and is out of the ordinary ~ they also indicate they welcome emerging writers. Check out the guidelines here and do let us know if they publish your work ~
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Check out these works of prose and poetry by members of our Community ~ thinking outside the box as the tables are turned ~ and perhaps share your reaction via a review
| |  | Billy (13+)
This is a poem. Its sort of...sadistic?
#1527344 by Bree  |
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| | | The End (ASR)
Re-telling of Poe's short story "The Black Cat" from the perspective of Pluto.
#911183 by Blue Jay K |
Looking for specific ideas ~ check out this foundary of 'superstitions' which, by their nature, ascribe human tendencies to animals
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Now, if you've a story 'swimming' about your head, check this out
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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!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Thank you for this respite in your virtual home ~ now to venture into the vast unknown ~ Until we next meet, may the horrors you encounter be only the ones you pen.
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
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