The Horror Story Unit October 14, 2015

Your Task Create an original horror story The short story must be 2-3 pages in length. The short story must be typed using Arial or Times New Roman font The short story must include dialogue, characterization, theme, and suspense, BUT no gore. This is not an experiment in how much bloody violence you can write about. It is a piece about fear, suspense, and terror—not blood and guts.

The Goblins Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out The Texas Chainsaw Massacre XXV: Freddie Meets Norman on Elm Street on Friday the 13th Why do gory movies (a more precise term than horror movies) attract so many viewers today? Why do people like the gory special effects?

Horror or just Gore? Before the days of Freddie Kruger, Hollywood made many suspense/horror movies, some cheapie thrillers (I Dismember Mama), and some that became classis for chilling the blood of the audience. The master of these movie-makers was Alfred Hitchcock, who built suspense slowly and subtly, usually without blood or overt violence. The original Psycho was a masterpiece of subtle horror as were Rear Window and The Birds. Today’s master of the horror novel is Stephen King, whose books (often made into movies) are true spine-chillers that use suspense to terrify readers. Do horror movies of today scare viewers or merely excite them?

What’s so great about fear anyway? Do you feel moments of terror? Do you hold your breath? Do you laugh? Why do you react as you do? How do you explain the desire of people to be terrified? As children, we delight in ghost stories told in the dark. As adults, we read books or see movies that we know will scare us. Why?

Elements of Horror Setting

a deserted (or sparsely inhabited) castle or mansion in a state or ruins or semi-ruins labyrinths/mazes, dark corridors, and winding stairs filled with dusty cobwebs castles or mansions which have hidden tunnels/staircases, dungeons, underground passages, crypts, or catacombs if set in a broken down modern house, the basement or attic becomes the place of terror threatening natural landscapes, like rugged mountains, dark forests, or eerie moors, exhibiting stormy weather

Elements of Horror Lighting/Mood

Blackout limited lighting such as moonlight (usually a full moon), candles, flashlight, lantern often the light disappears: clouds hide the moon, candles go out, flashlights/ lanterns are dropped and broken if electric lights exist, they usually mysteriously go out

Other Elements dark secrets surrounding some tormented soul who is left to live in isolation ominous omens and curses magic, supernatural manifestations, or the suggestion of the supernatural a damsel in distress the damsel’s rescuer; usually a lover horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings

Elements of a Short Story http://www.flocabulary.com/fivethings/ Listen to and follow along with the song about the five major elements of a story. A copy of this song has been given to you for your information.

Dialogue Definition: a conversation between characters Example: Annina asked, “Monsieur Rick, what kind of a man is Captain Renault?” “Oh, he's just like any other man, only more so,” Rick replied. (Joy Page and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, 1942)

Victorian Horror Novels Classics of the horror genre written during the Victorian Era: Frankenstein Dracula The Hound of the Baskervilles The Hunchback of Notre Dame The Picture of Dorian Gray Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Invisible Man

Elements of Classic Horror of the Victorian Age Psychological terror not physical terror Not a lot of bloodshed Suspense, Suspense, Suspense The object was to let the imagination go wild!!!!