 Horror/Scary: March 30, 2016 Issue [#7558] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Where Does Fear Come From? Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter.
"Horror is not a genre...horror is an emotion."
Douglas E. Winter
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,”
H.P. Lovecraft
Writing horror opens a dialogue, interactive, between the writer and reader. And the dialogue is as varied as the writers and readers who embrace this otherworld, be it supernatural or mundane.
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Greetings fellow scribes of prose and verse dark and frightful 
Writing horror is as versatile as the writer's ~ and reader's ~ imagination and experience. The 'dialogue' between writer and reader is most dynamic in horror. What frightens me may be 'ho-hum' for you. Some writers even dispute whether horror writing is a genre, or an aspect of writing that appears in a number of genres, but I think it's in a realm of its own, in all its variety. Written works of horror have several common elements.
 Foremost in a work of horror, I believe, is the writer's ability to provoke fear or terror in readers - a sense of dread or anxiety from the opening image, a foreshadowing of impending doom.
 I think it's also two stories, in verse or prose - the story of both the protagonist and of his/her environment or surroundings. The setting is inscribed by the writer with a personality of its own, which interacts with that of the character(s).
 The horror tale takes the reader on a journey where the ordinary becomes unfamiliar as it gets entangled with supernatural or surreal elements; a common, known entity, item, or place becomes unfamiliar, alien to the character (and reader).
 Horror tales explore the dark, malevolent side of humanity. The tone or mood of the tale quickly becomes bleak and menacing, eliciting an immediate visceral response by the reader.
 The main character(s) are ones the reader can relate to or in some way understand, feel kinship or empathy for them, as they tread deeper into the tale.
 Lives often depend on the protagonist's success in surmounting or destroying the cause of the horror, as he/she encounters frightening and unexpected events or influences.
There is violence, either served directly upon the protagonist, or characters he/she encounters.
Most horror stories are related in third person, even if from multiple characters' perspective, in a plain, clean style. This also affords the writer the option to expand description of the setting (the other character I noted earlier) to evoke dread or foreboding, making the ultimate horror believable, and memorable.
So, you see, in all its versatility, horror writing has both common elements and a variety of ways in which the writer incites horror to evoke fear in readers. We will embark together on a journey exploring the various means of creating this horror, finding it within and without, and wielding pen and keyboard to create stories and verse that make our readers lock doors and windows and check flashlight batteries
Until next we meet, share your work with us and if you think it's scary enough, there may be a 'home' for your story here 
http://lamplightmagazine.com/submissions/
Until we next meet,
Write On !!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Explore the following tales or terror, horror, and mayhem. Let the writer know if they've made you check your doors, perchance with a comment or review
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Thank you for unlocking your virtual door for me. I'll be back next month knocking once again. 
Until then, be safe, and
Write On 
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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