  Horror/Scary
This week: The monster under the bed Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.
~Edgar Allan Poe |
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A child's imagination is both a blessing and a curse. When you were little, did you lie in bed at night, afraid to move because the creature under the bed might grab you? Or maybe your monster was in the closet. I still can't sleep in a room with the closet door open even a crack. Childhood fears are a great basis for horror stories, because everyone can relate to them. The fears of childhood persist because they are among the reactions that kept our primitive ancestors alive. I'll bet at least one of the following scared the daylights out of you as a child, and maybe still does today!
The dark Primitive humans feared the dark for the same reason we do. You don't know what might be out there. When the lights go out, the closet creatures and under bed monsters come out to play. Of course, some adult will check the closet and tell you nothing is there, but that doesn't mean it won't appear after they leave. Night lights only make it worse, because light creates shadows. A shadow can turn a coat rack into a horned demon or a teddy bear into a hairy monster. Horror stories are filled with creatures that love the dark, but it might be fun to write one where the darkness itself is the monster.
Mythical creaturesFear of creatures with claws and teeth kept our ancestors from being eaten alive. Even though we no longer face danger from sabre tooth tigers, the fear persists. When I was a child, the troll of "Three Billy Goats Gruff" fame haunted my dreams. For my husband, it was the flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz," and for my daughter it was Michael Jackson as a werewolf in "Thriller." (Okay, I should have paid more attention to what she watched on TV!) If you write a story with a well known mythical creature, such as a vampire or werewolf, make sure you give it a unique twist. Or, you might want to research creatures of lesser known folk tales and mythology. Africa and Australia, for example, have some great creature myths that are not well known in other parts of the world.
Getting lost Primitive human children who stayed near their parents had a greater than average chance of surviving long enough to have children of their own. Did you ever get lost as a child, even for just a few minutes? Remember how it felt, and use that fear in your stories. Or view the story from a different angle, and imagine not being able to find your spouse or your children.
Strangers We teach our children to be wary of strangers, but many babies go through a phase where they are afraid of anyone they don't know. Adults of some animal species kill any offspring that are not their own. If primitive humans did the same thing, youngsters who were afraid of strange adults would have had a definite advantage. Try setting a story in a world where no stranger can be trusted.
Something to try: Write a horror story based on one of your childhood fears. |
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Question for next time: What was your greatest childhood fear?
Comments on last month's newsletter:
BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful 
I'd have to say it's that moment when everything just falls apart, right at the moment that one loses what's left of their sanity, like many of Bruce Campbell's characters.
I liked him in Burn Notice, but I've never seen anything else that he was in. I'll have to check some of them out.~Arakun
LJPC - the tortoise 
Brilliant NL, Arakun! That's a perfect way to explain the ingredients of horror and how to use suspense. 
~ Laura
Thank you! ` Arakun
Quick-Quill 
Oh my, you have hit the nail on the head! Fear of the unknown is the worst Terror there is. I can't tell you the times I've watched a movie and it might not even be labeled "scary" but I'm terrified. I love the movie "Shutter Island." There is the part where Leonardo is in the prison section and I am so scared I leave the room. I still can't watch that part and fast forward through it. I listened to it the first time,so I know what happened but the reality of the unknown, when the guy grabs him. Nope, I'm outta there!
I loved that movie too!~ Arakun
The Run-on King PDG Member
Allow me to tell you a scary experience I had at a high end restaurant The Ruby River Steak House. I took my beautiful wife out there to try the food and conduct some business with a friend. The first thing we found strange was we were grabbed out of the line and rushed into a large corner table. We kept getting people coming by our table staring and shaking their heads. Also we notice a really long line waiting to get in.
Every few seconds we would get a waiter asking if we were ready or needed more of anything. I was worried our friends wouldn't make it. when they joined the end of the line one of the staff pulled them out of the line and brought them in. Then when we ordered we got three free appetizers and the main course came before we got started on the appetizers. This extraordinary service and the line of people continued for a while.
Finally my wife had to use the rest room and one of the staff followed her in and asked her if I was Steven King. I gather he was in town doing some movies. A lot of his movies were filmed here in Salt Lake City, Utah. She told them the truth and someone asked for my autograph. I told them the truth as well. But I still think to this day they believe I was Steven King. At the time I really did look like him. I pulled up his picture out of "The Stand." Sure enough I really did look just exactly like him.
I became aware of what it was like to be famous if only for a few hours. The experience scared the heck out of me. When you are used to being noticed as average Joe. You get the famous treatment it really can be very scary. Because the average Joe knows there is something very wrong with this picture. No high class restaurant goes out of its way to super welcome anyone off the streets without wanting something in return. The return on us was Steven King packed the place.
Even if I wasn't Steven King, they sold out that night for three free appetizers. Not a bad deal. I learned I like being average Joe. Steven King can keep his fame. The point to my story is fear can also be when people think your character is someone famous when they are not. Or place your charter in a situation that goes against their nature. This can generate the needed fear in both the writer and the character when you are writing show you actually put yourself there to make it realistic to the reader.
That's a great story, and you are right. Anything out of the ordinary can be scary, even if it seems like a good thing.~ Arakun |
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Horror/Scary: April 30, 2014 Issue [#6292]
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