This week: Altered reality Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: "I like to turn things upside down, to watch pictures and situations from another perspective.""
~ Ursus Wehrli
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Have you ever been in a carnival funhouse Hall of Mirrors? The different mirrors can change your perspective of everything around you. Different mirrors can appear to alter reality, making people appear taller, shorter, thinner, fatter, or even twisting them into a form unrecognizable as human.
Sound altering recorders and phone applications can perform a similar function on human voices and other sounds. At high speed, a voice recording can sound like a chipmunk, while the same recording at lower speed might sound like Darth Vader.
Altered reality can be funny, scary, or even a combination of the two. Altered reality might be used in a horror story in a couple of different ways. A character or entity might trick other characters (and readers) into believing reality has been altered, or it might actually have been altered.
Certain drugs might cause characters to have hallucinations, or perceive sights, sounds, or smells that aren't actually there. Hallucinogens include LSD, psylocybin, peyote, and ayahuasca. Many hallucinogenic drugs are made from natural substances. Psylocybin comes from mushrooms, peyote is from a cactus, and ayahuasca is a tea made from two South American plants.
Peyote and ayahuasca are used by some groups in religious ceremonies. Practitioners in these ceremonies say that these substances are safe when used and monitored by experienced people. However, they could lead to frightening hallucinations for inexperienced users or if given to someone without their knowledge.
Some drugs such as PCP may induce hallucinations and also a dissociative state where the person feels disconnected from their body. Sudden withdrawal from some drugs such as alcohol may cause a condition called delerium tremens (DTs) in which the sufferer may see visions of frightening creatures such as snakes, spiders, or rats.
Some mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, may also cause hallucinations. Other mental illnesses may lead to delusions, or holding on to a false belief despite evidence that it is not true. Examples of delusions might be believing your neighbors are aliens, CIA operatives that are spying on you, or witches who have put a spell on you. Of course, it is a horror story, so just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!
If any of your characters suffer from mental illnesses or visions caused by drugs, do research to make sure you portray these conditions accurately.
Since horror fiction is not limited to things that are possible in the real world, you might include characters who can actually alter reality. Examples might be characters with supernatural abilities, users of magic, or demons.
Something to try: Write a horror story that includes altered reality. |
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Horror/Scary: May 29, 2019 Issue [#9569]
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