  Horror/Scary
This week: Mind games Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"It's all interpretation.
To find the truth you gotta read between the lines.
Work out your own salvation.
That narrow path is hard to define.
Heaven's more than a place. It's a state of mind."
~From "It's All In Your head" by Diamond Rio |
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Mind games, or psychological warfare, are tactics used to influence people by taking advantage of their value system, playing on their emotions, or manipulating their perceptions. Most of us are exposed to a form of mind game every day through advertising. Unspoken messages contained in ads tell us that if we will only buy (insert product here) we will be more attractive, richer, or smarter. A second unspoken message that often goes along with the first might be that anyone who uses the competitor's product will have more problems or look ridiculous in some way.
Mind games are also used in sports and in warfare. If you can "psych out" your opponent, by making them think you are bigger or stronger than you are, you may gain an advantage. A basketball coach might report that his players are taller than they actually are to make opponents believe they will be playing against taller people. When going into battle, leaders might exaggerate the size of their forces. Ancient Roman commanders had their troops spread out at night and light a long chain of camp fires, leading opponents to believe they were facing a much larger army.
Some people try to advance their position or discredit others by playing more malicious mind games. This type of mind game often surfaces in office politics, but some people master it as children. A child might be sweet and kind to other children whenever adults are watching, but mean and nasty to other kids when no adults are present. When their victims complain, they are likely to be seen as the ones who are being mean and nasty. An exceptionally cruel form of mind game is "gaslighting" in which the perpetrator tries to convince the victim he or she is going insane.
Characters in horror stories often play mind games with each other. Psychological torture inflicted by the perpetrators of mind games shows that ordinary people are capable of just as much, if not more evil than any imaginary demon or monster.
One horror villain who used mind games to take advantage of other characters is Hannibal Lecter of "Silence of the Lambs" and the related novels. Lecter used his knowledge of human psychology to get into his victims' minds and take advantage of their weaknesses. Other stories involving mind games include "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane, "In the Woods" by Tana French, and almost anything by Alfred Hitchcock.
If you have ever read a horror story or seen a scary movie, mind games have been played on you! Fear happens in the mind. Writers and directors often appeal to reader's preconceived ideas and emotions to elicit fear.
The classic Twilight Zone episode, "The Eye of the Beholder," features a young woman waiting to see the results of a recent facial surgery. The woman's face is hidden by bandages, and her doctors and nurses are only shown from behind or in shadow. As she waits for the bandages to be removed, she talks about how she hopes the procedure has fixed her hideously ugly appearance and made her more normal. After the doctor removes the bandages and gasps that there has been no change, her face is revealed. Instead of the hideous monster viewers expect, the woman is actually very beautiful by our standards. The medical staff, who are so disgusted by her appearance that they can't even look at her, have twisted, asymmetrical faces that resemble pigs. Along with skillful use of dialogue, lighting, and camera angles, the writers and directors used viewers' perceptions and expectations to create an illusion. Be careful when setting up this type of illusion, because it will not work if your readers suspect they are being "played."
Something to try: Write a horror story that features a character who plays mind games. |
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Horror/Scary: January 10, 2018 Issue [#8697]
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