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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/6454-What-Makes-Something-Scary.html
Horror/Scary: July 30, 2014 Issue [#6454]

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Horror/Scary


 This week: What Makes Something Scary?
  Edited by: Storm Machine Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality. ~Edgar Allan Poe

Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places. ~H. P. Lovecraft


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

How do you know if something is scary? Each person has a different set of fears, and we all treat those fears differently. Some people conquer them head-on, braving their terror to get through, while others cower away from anything that might bring the slightest hint of their peculiar phobias. (But I bet that last group doesn't read horror stories!)

The person, place, object, idea in the story doesn't have to be something that scares anyone. It's the importance you place upon it as the writer. Is it a pair of red high heels? Is it an abandoned warehouse? Is it the mousy librarian? Each of these items might be innocuous, but the writer brings the dread and the fear.

Recently a friend of mine received a bag of unidentified goo in the mail. It was hilarious, but it might as easily have been horrific. The line between comedy and horror might be thin at times. If you get a bag of cinnamon-scented pink goo for your birthday, is that scary or edible or carcinogenic or a new kind of potpourri? If the plastic bag popped in transit, the postman might have been horrified by the mess in the mail bag. If it had been green or brown, that might have inspired horror stories. If it had been a thin layer over living room carpet and a running child got caught within, you might have the beginning of your horror story.

Ordinary objects that act outside of their common ways are scary, especially if you provide the reader with a reason to think it might end badly. Give examples of ways this object might be used to put ideas in their head. Let the reader's imagination work for you. The writer's serious tone will carry the weight of the story and drag the readers along with your plot.

Here's an excerpt from Poe's "The Telltale Heart." While eyes aren't scary, here you wonder: It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees -- very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.


Editor's Picks

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#303750 by Not Available.

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#542606 by Not Available.

Blue M&M Open in new Window. (13+)
Horror/Thriller Short Story
#1146308 by ellis Author IconMail Icon

 Creatures under the Mountain Open in new Window. (18+)
Bills camping trip goes horribly awry when he catches something unexpected in the lake
#692970 by MadMan at Large Author IconMail Icon

 A Dark Presence Open in new Window. (18+)
A presence makes itself known in a home. If you dare to enter, give it a click!
#462757 by SSTheWriter Author IconMail Icon

 Partner Open in new Window. (13+)
A boy allows a dragon to be a tattoo on his back.
#1094671 by Kotaro Author IconMail Icon

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#1247310 by Not Available.

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#1272542 by Not Available.

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#777424 by Not Available.

 Road Trip Open in new Window. (18+)
A road trip to remember for two friends...
#1157354 by Jack Thomas Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

I've never done a Horror/Scary before, so no feedback! Feel free to give me some for next time.

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