I'm experimenting with trying to write a medium length romantic horror about supernatural forces that are trying to prevent a relationship. Are there any examples of couple activities that a couple can take part in to strengthen their relationship and yet is hazardous for their wellbeing? The supernatural creature that I might choose to get in the way of their relationship may most likely not be a vampire or a werewolf which has a physical body but a demon or a ghost that has the (limited) capability to go in and out of locations unseen and harm the said couple. Three activities I can think that can pose safety problems of are mountain climbing, bungee jumping and swimming. A fourth one I've recently thought of are martial arts classes. That's definitely dangerous with all the nunchakus, kendo sticks and Kali sticks lying around the gym. I'll avoid spa activities as spa accidents have been done to death. Any that you can think of?
Target readership? There's a bunch of adult themed pursuits I can imagine. < Night-swimming, nay nude night-swimming'd suit your story. Mainstream though and you'd, I'd guess, have near all the activities where there's an element of risk involved. Wouldn't there be the need to have after dark pursuits though? Given your jeopardy is to come from the creatures you mention..? Even stargazing would be hazardous in the event there's vampires about.
A canoe trip can definitely be hazardous to a relationship. "Backpaddle! Backpaddle!" is the water based equivalent of "Pivot! Pivot!" Swimming is a great choice though, since it's pleasurable, but you are out of your human element. Night swimming even more so. Being naked means being vulnerable, so night skinny dipping sounds like a good choice to me. Remember that scene in Jaws?
Daily living could provide substantial risk if a supernatural entity was out to kill you. A simple car ride can easily end in a tragic accident. I think a better way to frame it would be, what sort of dates would these characters go on, and how could you make that deadly?
Watching a movie (Ringgu/The Ring) Going for a raft trip (The Raft) Talking on the phone (One Missed Call) Going on a road trip (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) Going camping (almost every teen slasher movie) Going to bed (Nightmare on Elm Street) Taking a shower (Psycho)
Going on a killing spree (Natural Born Killers or Bonnie and Clyde). Hey, the couple that plays together...
So are these like 'Final Destination' accidents? If so, the possibilities are endless. Spelunking is pretty dangerous, especially combined with scuba diving. I'm a little affected by a video I just watched of a spelunking accident so it's on my mind.
I was going to suggest this; my husband was a professional cave ranger and we spent part of our honeymoon in a cave. Be aware, however, that people who habitually climb around in underground wonderlands call it caving and not spelunking.
"Hey honey, you want to try that new axe throwing bar that just opened?" Ooh, come to think of it, a Renn Faire could be loads of death-defying fun...
I just signed up for an ax/knife throwing class. Under the influence of the old Jim Bowie TV series reruns, I threw a lot of knives at targets when I was a kid. Tried all sorts of them, including my mother's steak knives. She was not happy when she caught me with one. Didn't matter- they had terrible balance anyway.
Haven't seen those. But I was talking more in general. To me, there are so many risks involved with sex. Like STDs and stuff. Like, sometimes I wonder why people even bother!
