 Horror/Scary: April 02, 2014 Issue [#6237] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: What's out there? Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.
~ Christian Nestell Bovee
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Stephen King described three ways of creating fear:
"The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it's when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there...”
What sets terror, as King describes it, apart from the others, is the unknown. Fighting a giant spider would be horrible enough, but at least you would know what you were up against. Fighting an unknown enemy is always scarier than the known. For example, at the beginning of the movie "Alien", the explorers had no idea what the adult monster even looked like, let alone how to fight it. When they finally did encounter the creature, it was always partially hidden in shadow. That movie was much scarier than the sequels where the entire monster was visible.
This is also true if the "monster" is a human. Imagine receiving a note that says, "I'm watching you" and nothing more. You don't know who sent it or what they are planning to do. The next day you receive a packet of photos of you at work, at the gym, and on the street. Inside the envelope is a message that says, "If you call the police, I will know." You start distrusting everyone you know, install extra deadbolts on your door, and refuse to leave your home. Of course, that still doesn't mean you are safe...This experience would be scary enough if you knew the identity of the stalker, but much worse since he or she could be anyone.
When planning your stories, try using King's three ways of creating fear. Take advantage of your readers' fear of the unknown, by using a Terror situation to set up your story. Don't let the characters or the readers know who or what they are up against too soon. At first, the characters may not even be really scared, but just feel that something isn't quite right. As the story builds, ratchet up the Terror. At the climax of the story, you can reveal the nature of the enemy, and switch to Horror. Use the Gross-out sparingly if at all, because it loses its effectiveness if overused.
Something to try: Write a story about a character facing an unknown enemy. Start the story before you even know what the enemy is, and put yourself in the character's place.
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