Short Horror Story

Once upon a time, a very, very, very tired writer and editor struggled to emerge from a very strange dream.

But awaken she did. For this was a very determined writer and editor and very cognizant of using time well.

Engulfed in a mental fog, she stumbled her way down two flights of stairs and all the way to the Keurig machine.

But no matter how she valiantly she tried, the Keurig machine would not make coffee for her.

Even though she tried for a very, very, very long time.

But wait!

The story has a happy ending!

The uncaffeinated writer/editor has a gallant young son, who awakened at her bidding and managed to coax coffee from the machine after twenty minutes.

He even climbed all the steps to bring it to her, where she was typing away, alone and with no coffee to drink.

The coffee was hot and delicious. And Daniel has no idea why the machine is acting up.

Rebekah wants to buy a new one. Daniel wants to troubleshoot it.

Who will win?

Stay tuned for the next episode of "Adventures in Coffeeland."

Imagery over "Jump Scares"

One of the elements that separates Gothic fiction from modern horror writing is the focus on shadowy imagery instead of jump scares.

Early silent films, which had no CGI or sophisticated technology, used this well, as this YouTube clip shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxFVHQTqMRg

One modern film that did an outstanding job of imagery is The Autopsy of Jane Doe. It's been several weeks since I watched it with Daniel, and remnants of impressions have clung to me ever since. 

If you haven't seen it, here's a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtTAhXuiRTc

Dreaming Up a Good Story

These were my two thoughts at 3:40 this morning.

No. one: Wow, getting rid of a headache is rather nightmarish (It's been a long couple of months of off and on again migraines).

No. two: This would make a great story.

Here's the dream:

I dreamed that someone I knew wanted to murder someone in Elwood and then commit suicide. Because I knew this person would kill me and my two youngest kids (who were pretty little in the dream), I pretended to go along with it.

So this person began to confide in me. The medium was poison. And she showed me the syringe she was going to use.

Now the setting was bizarre. It looked like a department store on the main floor (We were standing in the medicine department), but my kids were hanging out in the basement. In fact, they were waiting for me to come downstairs and watch TV and color with them.

A few aisles away, several police officers were giving another acquaintance some free food. I had a package of frozen ravioli someone had given me, so I added it to the distribution, quickly tipped off the police officers, and fled to the basement, locking and bolting the door.

I heard lots of angry yelling from upstairs for a long time and then quiet.

Before long, I heard the door rattle and one of the policemen saying everything was fine now and to come out.

By now, I was semi-conscious but still wrapped in the dream.

It's also when I realized my mistake.

By hiding away, I could no longer see the activity on the other side of the door.

Now, everything seemed too convenient.

Was it a friend or foe on the other side?

And did he now have the syringe?

At this point I woke up, fully alert, had the first two thoughts, and decided it would be stupid to get up so early.

So I set the alarm for 4:30 and went back to sleep.

I'm always amazed by the way our minds reassemble bits of information. Here's what it did:

The last emails I sent at bedtime were to several police officers for a story in progress.

My oldest son, who is diabetic, but non-insulin dependent,  is having health issues and used to live in Elwood.

I had read a post from a person receiving food before bedtime.

Also before bedtime, I had printed and packaged up some coloring sheets for my grandchildren.

Rebekah and I made a list of things we need from Walmart on Saturday.

And she wanted to make the frozen ravioli with the pork chops, but I told her to save it for later and use the potatoes instead.

And, of course, I like a good story twist.

The End.

5 Ways to Write a Scary Story

1) Quickly establish a bond between reader and protagonist.

You want your reader to walk closely with your main character.

2) Foreshadow early in the story.

Creates unease in protagonist AND reader.

3) Confine evil to shadows.

We fear what we cannot see.

4) Take the normal and natural and give it a hard twist to the left.

Our minds find safety in the predictable. Shake that up.

5) Wrap up the story (but not really)

Let your protagonist think the danger has passed. Your reader will know better.