Damn, thanks for sharing it. It's not horror but I was certainly horrified! And that double-twist was literally just... *chef's kiss*
What scares me? Apart from my very real and deep-seated fear of ending up as a normal person in an office job? Walking down a certain road at night. I've not been there for years and probably won't be again. It's quite a long story, really, of strange noises in the night, howls on the mountains, odd smells, a remote house shunned by wildlife and a strange smudge on a window, reminiscent of a gigantic handprint...but in the midst of all this, in the depths of Winter, I saw no reason not to keep up the daily target of walking five miles that was customary when I was at home so, leaving my family by the fire, I headed out under a starry sky for a bit of exercise and amateur astronomy. I walked a mile out, walked half a mile back and ran the rest. In a woollen overcoat and wellies, no less. I was overwhelmed by such a strong sense of being watched by something that did not want me there. Now, I've been in buildings burning down around my ears as my air ran out and I've searched for missing people in a blazing factory full of boiling acid. I've landed aeroplanes in weather far outside their official limits. I've been shot at and I've set off a faulty explosive device with a bit of fuse and a Zippo, but I've never been as frightened for my own well-being as I was on that road, that night. What disturbs me? Humans and the things they do. The sound of screaming, particularly that high-pitched, desperate screaming that comes when someone realises a loved one has just died in front of them. What disgusts me? Maggots, certain kinds of mould and signs of decay in general, particularly on animal matter.
This sounds like the beginning of a Lovecraft story. I mean that as a compliment in case it isn't clear. At his best he was pretty amazing. Actually, looking back at it, maybe it's more Poe. Ok, third look, and now it reminds me powerfully of— "Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can."
I second that, humans are disturbingly uncanny creatures, so much that we don't really make sense sometimes.
I am a huge fan of all three of those writers, so I'll take that as high praise, thank you. My best friend is frequently on the receiving end of letters, greetings cards and WhatsApp messages written in similar style. I have to adapt my style a touch for writing reports at work, sadly. It's not an affectation, either, I'm afraid; unless I'm doing my chameleon bit among company, I talk that way, too.
Yeah, that's excellent horror. There was no possible way to win. I mean, you're up against a force that knows the future, so . . . see ya! You're not coming out of that in good shape, which no one did. (Who got the worst of it?)
Former caver here. My husband was a professional cave ranger, but I was strictly an occasional tourist. My first trip into a wild cave, I fell in love with the adventure. One of the other first timers was not so enamoured. He made it through the first crawlway and had to turn back. Claustrophobia is a real thing. My heart hurt for him. My dreads are big crowds and cities I can't see across. On my list of Ideas of Hell is Times Square on New Year's Eve.
What scare, disturb or disgust you? Bad grammar in the title of a thread posted on a writers' forum perhaps...
What scares me is the psychological + the paranormal. I love the stories where it's difficult to tell what's real and what's the ghost-induced hallucination. On a slightly less helpful note, I have an extreme blood phobia and once knocked myself out cold trying to write the first chapter of a vampire book.
On the daily? Looking at yourself in the mirror in the darkened bathroom. I try not to do it in case I see something else. EEK! For me, the cutting out of tounges. I can't even read that stuff- and I enjoy gore. (Just finished the Hunger Games Series and it was hard...)
Talk about dedication. Reminds me of Pratchett's vampire photographer enthusiast from The Truth. Crumpled into a pile of dust every time he took a shot, had to wait for someone to crush a vial of blood over the pile. But anything for the art, right?
Yep, Otto Chriek. Along with the dust, there would be a little sign saying: "Do not be alarmed. The former bearer of this card has suffered a minor accident. You vill need a drop of blood from any species, and a dustpan and brush." The name "Otto Chriek" sound suspiciously like "Ought To Shriek". As in "Ought to Shriek In Fear when you see him but you actually shriek in laughter instead". See notes about his appearance above. His name could also be a reference to Max Schreck, the German actor who played Count Orlok in F. W. Murnau's 1922 silent film Nosferatu. =============== Anyway, what scares me? Spiders -- I've been bitten by spiders more than once (thankfully small ones, so not much venom, but still). I also had a late-night close encounter with a Daddy Long Legs, which was terrifying. I didn't know they were not venomous - I know now - but I don't want to get anywhere near a spider, no thank you. (Australia is well-known as the land of the Giant Spiders And Other Things That Try To Kill You). What disturbs me ... blood (especially my own). I have to have half-yearly blood tests, which scare me. Also, Poe's short stories are fairly disturbing - but thrilling. What disgusts me? Scammers. Politicians. Rude people - not the usual kind of rude, but the entitled kind, the ones who seem to think that they are better than everybody else, and everyone should bow to them and serve their every desire. (Ecch. Go away, please).
As a kid, I got scared of a secret copyright protection screen I somehow encountered on Donkey Kong Country 2. I also got spooked by a song on an old Carmen Sandiego game. Literally just the song. Oh, and when listening to someone describe their medical woes, I started getting nauseous. I wasn't technically afraid, but it just started making me feel sick.