Inspiration for writing an horror novel: What scared you the most?

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by hellwarrior, Sep 23, 2014.

  1. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    oh my word - what *is* that? Natural tunnel? Is it just for the thrill of trying to get through or is there something to see once you get deep enough? Once you start the trail, is there the possibility of turning back? Or is it too narrow to turn around?

    I think the thing that's the scariest might be that echoy breathing...

    Anyway I don't even understand extreme sport - like skydiving etc. I just wouldn't want to put my life on the line like that. So this underground stuff is even more incomprehensible for me lol.

    It's actually a pity I'm freaked out by this stuff. I saw on Planet Earth, this wildlife documentary, this crystal cave that took the people something like 2-3 days just to get deep enough to film the crystals. And then the deep sea on Blue Planet. How I'd love to see those things for myself. But in both instances - a deep cave and a submarine submerged in thousands of kilometers of water - I just couldn't do it. I'd panic before we've made any progress at all!
     
  2. Curupira22

    Curupira22 Member

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    No that tunnel has been hand dug. It's only about 30m down but everything is un-supported. The type of rock here is actually surprisingly hard - the German mine is built into shale which is very prone to collapse. The rock here (and you'll have to forgive me, I can't remember the exact type) is surprisingly strong so there are very few instances of accidents. More often than not it is the miners who are af fault than the rock being weak.

    Why we go into places like this is a good question, though. I know we're digressing a little so I'm hoping the OP won't mind, but the locality is rich is lead and Vanadium and is the premier locality for a Mineral called Vanadinite (hence the title of the video). Here's a photo taken by another friend of mine during our trip in 2012;

    [​IMG]

    And once out of the ground and cleans, you get something like this;

    [​IMG]

    :)
     
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  3. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    @Curupira22 - is that a piece you got from the tunnel? Yeah, that's the kinda reason why I wish I wasn't mildly claustrophobic. Although I think for me, the right term might actually be cleithrophobic (I think that's how it's spelt. It's the fear of being trapped, as opposed to small spaces - which is more accurate. I don't mind small spaces as long as I know there's a way out! There're obvious overlaps between the two phobias, hence people get them mixed up)

    I'm not sure if I am actually *phobic* though. How can you tell? Cus I'm hardly gonna deliberately lock myself into a suitcase with no way out... lol. And most people are uneasy about being stuck in tight spaces. So how do you know?
     
  4. Curupira22

    Curupira22 Member

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    I Wish! No, I don't get lucky when I'm digging, generally. Most of the stuff I've found is pretty crud, tbh.

    i understand what you're saying, though, and I think that's part of what makes it both exciting and a bit frightening for me, too. Tunnels like the one in Morocco require you to shuffle backwards or, use one of the chambers that have been dug to turn around or if you're lucky, it leads to another shaft with a ladder. The thing is that even when you know there's a shaft at the other end, I still got freaked out when someone started to try and crawl in the tunnel behind me, essentially preventing a quick escape back the way I came. I knew what was behind me but i didn't know what was ahead. I shouted a couple of times and wriggled my way back because if I couldn't get out quickly, I didn't want to be in there.
     
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  5. prettyprettyprettygood

    prettyprettyprettygood Active Member

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    The scariest feeling for me is being in a creepy situation that I *could* escape from, but with difficulty. Like, the prospect of being completely trapped with a murderer or monster or whatever and being unable to get away is unpleasant but not really frightening because of the inevitability of suffering. But the thought of being at home when something appears, so I could get out but I'd have to get to the door before the thing, get the key in the lock first time and step out before it catches me really makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. That sense of almost being free and then a hand just reaches out and pushes the door shut...shiver.

    The scariest thing I've read was actually a two sentence short story on Reddit, by justAnotherMuffledVo:
    I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, “Daddy check for monsters under my bed.” I look underneath for his amusement and see him, another him, under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, “Daddy there’s somebody on my bed.”
    I can't quite put my finger on why it creeps me out so much more than the many horror films and books I've read, but it's really stuck with me and plays on my mind in the middle of the night sometimes!
     
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  6. stevesh

    stevesh Banned Contributor

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    Oh. yeah. Much scarier than finding a fang and claw monster.
     
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  7. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    The dark scares me. As in, the dark where you can't see anything, no pinprick of light, no moon, no digital clock face, nothing. That scares the hell out of me.
     
  8. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Probably because it's eerie, it concerns your own child - the person you probably love the most - and your utter helplessness at the situation cus you can't tell who's the monster. It plays well into your fear of "almost there" because your son is right in front of you and yet he is lost to you at the same time. The sight is not inherently scary - it's the concept that you may have mistaken a monster for your son and you are helpless to help or even get your real son back.

    I saw a video once explaining fear - the scariest thing is usually something that looks perfectly ordinary at first sight, but something about it feels off and you don't know why, and it reveals itself only when you look closely.
     
  9. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

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    Wow. That is probably the creepiest thing I have ever read.
     
  10. Michaelson345

    Michaelson345 New Member

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    Empty, dark and scary noise room surrounded with forest, where the sounds of animals and birds are coming, this scenario I found the most scary in horror scene.
     
  11. Revanchist

    Revanchist Member

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    The unknown scares me the most. The issue is that my mind, like any other human mind is very fast. In the time it takes me to turn around to analyze the sound that came in the middle of the night, my mind thinks of at least 20 scenarios that could be terrifying. The greatest issue with this is that there isn't anything specific that scares me, like if it were a killer, sure I'd be terrified but at least I'd know what it was. The fact that I don't know makes my mind think of many things at once. So I'd definitely say the anticipation. The climax can be something as simple as a monster, a killer, a shock, a death etc. but it's the line of action that leads to that climax which scares me most.

    That's for movies, I never truly get frightened by stories, they just give me the creeps because a book can't really jump at you. I have had stories that made me feel afraid after reading them, anticipating something to happen.
     
  12. Aled James Taylor

    Aled James Taylor Contributor Contributor

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    Knowing that you've done something terrible yourself, something horrific. But you can't quite remember what was, is or why you did it.
     
  13. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    I also think maybe sometimes we focus too much on describing the monster. I don't write horror but there're still occasions when I want something to be scary, and I find myself worrying and describing and trying to think of the most terrifying-looking thing possible - and it just doesn't work.

    Maybe focus more on what it does to you. Think a killer - a killer is just a man, and men are not scary. You see men on the streets everyday and you don't run screaming. You're scared because of what he does. (I amend - it could be a woman too - human beings then, lol)

    I remember a long time ago, a member here recommended reading a short horror. I somehow found it online last time. It's about a noise-eater. Creepy.

    Here - called "Hush" by Zenna Henderson.
    http://wenku.baidu.com/view/a257bf9851e79b8968022627
     
  14. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    That's always good ;)

    You're on a ship - days from shore - you have a dream about stalking people through the ship and killing them, and you wake up covered in blood and gripping a knife. What's worse: being told who you'd killed in your sleep?

    Or being told that everybody is accounted for?
     
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  15. nhope

    nhope Member Reviewer

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    Dreams.
     
  16. Curupira22

    Curupira22 Member

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    Yeah, like having heavy night out in Newcastle and waking up naked in an Etap next to a 60 year old pre-op transsexual called Barbara in Rotherham...



    ....And you've lost your wallet, phone and keys.

    That, right there, is the single most terrifying thing that can happen to a man in the UK.
     
  17. Mike Hill

    Mike Hill Natural born citizen of republic of Finland.

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    As previously stated real is indeed much more scary than some overpowered monster.
    Also isn't unknown the most terrifying thing?
     
  18. nhope

    nhope Member Reviewer

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    Is it? Or is is what you perceive to be unknown?

    You are walking in the woods on a cool, bright autumn day. A bumblebee flies in front of your eyes and you squeeze them shut for three seconds. When you open them, you are at the end of the forest, standing on a point. In front of you there are two redwood trees with doors. Each tree looks exactly the same. Each door is exactly the same except one is red, the other is blue.
    You have to go through one door - if your turn away, around, or back, you will fall off the point into nowhere.

    Which door do you pick?
     
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  19. jonahmann

    jonahmann Active Member

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    I think the common thread is a threat to survival or continuation.
     
  20. elynne

    elynne Active Member

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    worst nightmare I ever had:

    I'm in a modern house at night. the house is on top of a little hill, in a clearing; I can see city lights far away, but nothing close. I can see everything outside fairly clearly because there are no lights on, inside or outside the house, and there is no furniture in the house except a television set which is turned to a station of static. the doors and windows won't open, I can't make the static stop, and it's getting louder...

    on the other hand, I regularly get nightmares that were meant for other people. I can tell they were meant for other people because not only do I find them not scary, I'm usually the monster in them. which is AWESOME FUN. I'm the vengeful poltergeist, stalking the poor lost kid through the halls of the abandoned school... I'm the werewolf lurking in the bushes outside the tiny house, scratching at the door, knowing I can break in at any moment... I'm the velociraptor chasing the hapless human down an endless hallway, knowing it's a race they can't win... I'm the dragon flying over the city, throwing cars into buildings, setting people on fire, and generally having a grand old time destroying everything. I feel sorry for the people who are actually having those nightmares, but they're just so much fun. ;)
     
  21. jonahmann

    jonahmann Active Member

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    I had never had one of these until I read this. Except, for me it wasn't fun; I was worried about the trouble I would be in.
     
  22. elynne

    elynne Active Member

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    yikes, sorry! I'm... not sure what that says about me, that I've always had fun with dreams like that instead of worrying that I'd get into trouble...
     
  23. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Allow me to list for you all the things that make me either a little wary or send me running like a scared kitten.

    (a) Roaches. Especially since they can survive without a head for a few weeks.

    (b) Houses with no lights on. My mind sometimes run wild about what could possibly be happening in there.

    (c) Benches/chairs that are empty and are illuminated by a street light because it's dark. I just get very nervous and begin imagining ghosts sitting there watching me as I pass on by.

    (d) A large group of teenagers. It's wrong and absolutely unfair, but when I see them huddled together, especially if it's dusk outside, the back of my mind wonders if they're about to commit a crime. I think it stems from my bad memories of high school where the thickheaded jocks ruled the campus.

    (e) Watching videos of people climbing to insanely high spots with nothing but a rope around them to keep them from a long fall...if that! Look up the Mount Hua Plank Walk and grip the Earth for dear life.

    (f) Like (e), but descending down into caves. Sorry, but the idea that I'm inside the Earth with hundreds, if not thousands of tons of rocks hanging over my head makes me claustrophobic. One freaky jolt, one weird natural phenomenon and the whole thing could collapse on me.

    (g) Small animals that move with quick jolting darts.

    (h) Horror movies/books involving ghosts of children or babies. No thank you!

    (i) The feeling of helplessness when someone you love suffers. There's not a damned thing you can do but watch and that feeling is much, much worse than any monster or ghost.

    (j) Australia's creatures. I'm sorry, but when they have spiders the size of human heads and lizards who can kill you in so many different ways, I'm hesitant to go explore the Australian outback.

    (k) The idea of being stranded in the middle of nowhere with limited supplies and almost zero chance of rescue.

    (l) Open water. Just...open water. You can't breathe water, your ability to stay afloat rests on how long your arms, legs, your lifejacket can hold out, and there are creatures almost as big as a building that swim underneath your feet. The fear of what's down there, what you can't see....that's the most terrifying thing for me.
     
  24. Some_Bloke

    Some_Bloke Active Member

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    I think I have a case of Automatonophobia (according to google anyway, which I regret using due to the images that popped up) which is the fear of things that falsely represent sentient beings. In my case, mainly human ones.

    I also have a fear of heights (well more accurately, the fear of falling to my death) and I find clowns scary, probably because I think that behind that makeup I think they're hiding something. I know that sounds silly, but that's a fear I've had for god knows how long. While if I see a clown in the street, I'm not going to scream and cry for my mother like I would as a child but I am going to avoid the son of a bitch at all costs.

    I also have aviatophobia, the fear of flying. I was in an emergency landing when I was a child, so it could be possible that it's the cause.

    I also, like the majority of humans fear the unknown. I've had two what one could consider "paranormal encounters" in my lifetime, neither of which I can explain. I've passed off one as a hallucination brought on by self-preservation and strong emotions.

    The other remains a mystery to me. It scares me more for that reason, that and the other one had a positive outcome. The second "encounter" made me want to bolt out of the house, while the first one saved my life.
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2014
  25. Keitsumah

    Keitsumah The Dream-Walker Contributor

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    Oddly enough i am not very scared of anything except spiders. I've been in situations where i could have very well been killed or at least severely injured, but i just get a strange blankness whenever i get in those situations mentally speaking. Scared of heights too, but it depends on the situation.

    One thing that does freak me out, but only after it happens, is when something threatens my family. This has only happened once. Me, my brother, and my sister all go silent and we do not communicate in any way -we don't even look at each other, we just act. It's like were telepathic, and Lord beware those who are the cause of said event. My brother is 6' tall and has a good hundred pounds of muscle on me, and is good with all manner of tools (think saws, hammers, a monster wrench my dad has in the back of the garage...) and is a brainiac on figuring out how things work and how to use them immediately. I'm the same height, but my capabilities are speed and knowing physical and mental weaknesses of human beings or animals. I can predict where you will go and how fast and counter your movements in the same instant. Don't ask how -it just happens. I'm also the freaky-good shot with a gun in my family. My sister is smaller and lighter than us, is good at climbing and knows every inch of the property outside our house. Try chasing her in our backwoods and you'll end up strangled by the barb wire fences strung between the trees. IF you get past me and my brother.

    Siblings may annoy the crap out of you sometimes, but when times get really, really bad, they are the best people to have around. And that is also what scares me the most: knowing that we have those capabilities and will not heasitate to act upon them when they are justified.
     
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