 Horror/Scary: March 24, 2021 Issue [#10674] |
This week: Oh, the Horror! Edited by: Lilli 🧿 ☕  
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Strip away events, characters, and settings in all horror stories to compare the bare bones. See a pattern? The structural bones in these stories are the same. All horror stories are composed of five core elements, which must be utilized to develop an effective tale that induces terror in a reader. Other elements can enhance a horror story though, for example, Foreshadowing.
Foreshadowing gives the reader hints or signs about the future. It suggests what is to come through imagery, language, and/or symbolism. It does not directly give away the outcome, but rather, suggests it.
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Foreshadowing is used for many different purposes; however, its target is always the reader. It is a technique used to change the perception of the reader by providing them with more knowledge than some, or all, of the characters involved. Depending on how it is used, it can serve as an element for humor, fear, tension, excitement, suspicion, or suspense and anticipation.
Furthermore, by revealing clues to the plotline, foreshadowing works as a tool to help the audience feel more invested in a story. It encourages them to develop personal opinions and predictions about the outcome, which in turn makes them more likely to continue watching, listening, or reading. Without the use of foreshadowing, the audience would rarely feel the desire to finish a story.
There are many different techniques by which foreshadowing is employed. It can be used directly, indirectly, by prophecy, and through symbolism and omens.
a. Foreshadowing – Direct
Hinting at an outcome or event by openly (directly) suggesting what could happen.
b. Foreshadowing – Indirect (subtle)
Hinting at an outcome or event by leaving subtle (indirect) clues to the plotline.
c. Foreshadowing by Prophecy
A prophecy foreshadows a crucial event without revealing the details on how it will occur. In storytelling, as a general rule, a prophecy always comes true in one way or another, which makes it a very effective foreshadowing tool. Some of the most famous uses of foreshadowing through prophecy can be found in the Bible.
d. Foreshadowing through Symbolism and/or Omen
This uses minor or insignificant things as symbols that foreshadow something that will happen. For example, a crow is often an omen of death, thus, the appearance of a crow could foreshadow a character’s demise.
In conclusion, foreshadowing is a very valuable tool in storytelling. Since it is a technique that can be used to instill almost any feeling in the audience—humor, tension, fear, anticipation—its use is almost always essential in the success of a story. Lastly, it gives the audience clues to the future without wholly revealing the plotline, which, in turn, encourages them to stick with the story and follow it until the end.
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Comments from "Horror/Scary Newsletter (February 10, 2021)"
From s  :
90% of my horror stories are set in Adelaide, South Australia, my home town, and a few are set in my new home in rural South Australia.
The joy of using my home town is I don't have to world build - it is already there. People who live there know about 'the Malls Balls', the 'Glenelg Tram', the 'O-Bahn track'. I can mention them in a story with a quick line to explain them to an international audience, and it does not feel forced because they really exist and have to feature again for realism. There is also the fact that, as a local, I know the nooks and crannies, the little out of the way places that make horror work so well. And if I have to invent something for a story - an abandoned church, a two-storey house, an old shopping centre - it is easy enough to find somewhere to slot it.
That realism makes the horror more stark. "This is happening in a real town! It could happen here!" Of course, it helps that Adelaide is renowned for strange deaths and disappearances, as well as being a 'city of churches', so things fall nicely here.
That's one of the things I love about King's writing - the settings for many of them feel like real places. Horror works best when grounded in a reality that the audience can relate to, as you said, even if you then add vampires, werewolves, demons, etc.
From Quick-Quill  :
I wrote a novel based where I lived for 35 years. Should be published by next month.
From Beholden  :
Thank you very much for including my story, Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow, amongst your Editor's Picks.
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