 Horror/Scary: September 25, 2013 Issue [#5908] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: The Fear Within Us Edited by: Creeper Of The Realm  
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Hi! Once again, I'm Gaby and I'll be your guest editor for this Horror/Scary Newsletter issue.
A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.
- Edgar Watson Howe |
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The Fear within us
You can take any happy situation, turn it upside down, sprinkle some horror dust on it and have a relatively decent scary tale to tell. It could be that simple! The world itself is full of horror and we need not look any further than our own backyard. Well, maybe not that close. The neighbor's backyard would do just fine. Take a look, observe the scene and you have your horror story. Who knows?! There might be a zombie or two lurking during the night.
There's only one thing to remember throughout your writing process and that is that the Devil is truly in the details. No matter what you believe in or don't for that matter, fear is and always will linger in each and every one of us, no matter what. The trick is to force it to come forth. As long as you have the right tools to fiddle with, you'll be on the right track.
Fear comes in many forms, shapes and sizes. What one person might be afraid of the other might not be. As much as we avoid feeling this emotion in real life, we crave for it and look for it in the make-believe world. Sometimes, the only way to confront what we truly feel, is to read about it in a detached sort of way in order to experience it. Use it to guide you.
Other than the everyday tools you as a writer have at your disposal, you also have the ability and permission to twist certain truths and realities in order to create that shock of fear. Fiction or not, not everything is true that you read on the world wide web. Create your own truth and make it believable or maybe you already know something other people only think they know. Here's an example.
When I decided to write this article a single word came to mind: Charlatan. Don't ask me why. It's just how my mind works. Here's what Bing and the www know about this:
char·la·tan
false expert: somebody who falsely claims to have special skill or expertise
Synonyms: impostor, fake, fraud, swindler, quack, counterfeit, pretender, con artist, sham
A charlatan (also called swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception.
I've heard of this version, and it possibly could be the right one, but in all my 30+ years, I have never heard it where I'm from. Old wives tales spread like wildfire and this wasn't an exception. Charlatan, to me, is a person possessed by the Devil Himself in a way. The person is "pushed" off his right track into doing evil while at the same time losing his/her mind. This little nudge has no boundaries and the affected loses complete control of their actions.
I could be completely wrong, and I'm not claiming to be right, but which version sounds better? Which version could create a tale of horror? Which one is more capable of bringing fear out of its hiding place?
Sometimes you just have to follow your gut feeling and choose the evil you know will create fear in your own heart.
...and before I wrap this up, according to BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  , not all is lost in the world of the Zombies! Check out his story, which is linked below amongst the others, and let us both know what you think.
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Missy ~ EnjoyingBeingAMommy  wrote:
"Great newsletter, Gaby! I've not had a chance to read Duma Key, but since you recommend it so highly, I guess I need to run out and hunt up a copy. As for your intriguing question, I think it's possible to turn a non-believer into a believer if you can make yourself believe it. If you don't think it's true, how can you expect anyone else to? I think to be a good horror writer, you have to believe in the unbelievable and unexpected.  "
Thank you!  Let me know how you like the book. I'm curious. And you're right. You as a writer have to believe in order to make others believe as well.
ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams  wrote:
"Thank you for featuring my short story The House On Black Brook Road in your Newsletter!
Christina Daltro"
You're very welcome!
drifter46 wrote:
"First of all an excellent take on horror and what is and isn't scary. I'm with you all the way on paranormal and ghosts for the simple fact I've seen spirits. No I'm not kidding. On more than one occasion starting when I was about 8. I'm 67 now. But to answer your question about convincing those true skeptic, I seriously doubt it even when there is evidence to the contrary. Unless...unless there is just a hint of doubt. Nothing overpowering. Just a twinge of mystery and a dollop of the unfamiliar that may be considered supernatural. Masks are great tools for that. I mean really, we all KNOW there's a person behind the mask. There is isn't there? And the Ouji board can't really communicate with the afterlife can it. Well maybe... "
I'd love to read more about your ghost experience! If you have it written down somewhere, send it to me in an email. Also, I think maybe, just maybe, anything is possible..  even turning a skeptic into a believer, given the right tools.
Fi wrote:
"I love what you say about how some things aren't scary when we know they don't exist, but when you play games with reality it messes with your head...and freaks the hell out of you. :-[ I agree that zombies aren't scary in books, but movies make them come alive...literally.
I think a lot of horror is actually in what isn't seen. But yes, with some good descriptions I think a clever writer could turn a non-believer into a believer."
Thanks for reading, hon! Reality twists that play tricks on the mind are the worst of all!
Pepper wrote:
"SK has the gift to turn just about any reader into a believer if only for the time we spend within the pages of his book. As for where SK gets his ideas.... Well, if I believed in reincarnation, I would swear he was Edgar Allan Poe reincarnated. Both have come up with demented plot twists that are downright macabre."
For whatever reason, I haven't managed to read much of anything that Poe wrote, but I did download The Raven so I'm really looking forward to it now, especially since I know the type of writing I'm to expect.
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