 Horror/Scary: June 24, 2015 Issue [#7058] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Come in to my story Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.
~H.P. Lovecraft |
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I recently listened to a wonderfully creepy old radio play called, "The Thing on the Fourble Board." It was an episode of a horror series called "Quiet Please" which originally aired in 1948. For those who haven't heard it, I won't give away the ending, but you can listen to it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilRbcBhD9_0
It is only about a half hour long, and I dare you to listen to it with the lights off! 
This play is considered one of the best examples of horror from the golden age of radio for many reasons. It has an engaging story with a great twist, but I believe the main reason it is so effective is that the narrator draws the reader into the story.
The main character, a former "roughneck" or oil field worker named Porky, tells the story in first person, recounting a frightening experience he had on an oil derrick twenty years before. He speaks to the audience as if he were in the room with them. He uses a relaxed, conversational style, and addresses the listener as "friend", interjecting phrases like "you see", "let me tell you about it", and "oh, I forgot to tell you something". At one point, he stops to call out to his wife in the kitchen, telling her to come and meet their visitor. One minute the listener is hanging on every word, listening to a likeable character recount an engaging story, and then, almost as an afterthought, the trap is sprung! The unwitting victim is caught like a fly in a spider's web. 
This story would not have been anywhere near as effective as a third person narrative. Of course, as a radio play it has the advantage of a talented voice actor, spooky music, and frightening sound effects, but you can create the same atmosphere in your writing. Maybe include your reader in a circle of friends sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories. Or maybe write your story as a letter or set of instructions to your reader.
Something to try: Write a horror story in which a character speaks to the reader.
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| Question for next time: What is your favorite horror story? |
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