1. fruityloops

    fruityloops New Member

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    is my story even considered "cosmic horror"?

    Discussion in 'Horror' started by fruityloops, Oct 24, 2017.

    it's leans towards sci fi then anything but I've been thinking, is the novella i'm going to write even considered a "cosmic horror" story? it's about a byproduct of a human and Lovecraft monster who ends up in a research facility in the 70s. he (or it as he's sometimes referred to) is tended to by his researcher, Dr. Evelyn. she writes in a dairy to detail his current state, which is extremely hard for her to describe considering how out of touch he is. one thing that makes the hybrid interested in her is how she's mostly unfazed by the way he acts, since on surface level he looks human unless provoked or angered. as the story progress, she gains a maternal attachment to him and begins to name him Shaun out of affection. this creates a conflict in the boy as whether or not he truly cares for her with his other half insisting she's meaningless.

    with all this planned out, is it safe to say if it's considered one? i don't need to confine to the genre's standards , of course, but it feels less about hopelessness and insanity and more trying to understand it.
     
  2. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Is 'cosmic horror' even a genre? And why do you think it matters? It will be what it will be. Let your agent/publisher decide what shelf to aim for.
     
  3. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    I'd call it a sub-genre of horror, or speculative fiction at large (since there are usually additional fantasy or science fiction elements). A lot of the novella markets I've seen take unagented, unsolicited submissions, so an agent may not be involved; if you're trying to answer a call for "cosmic horror" submissions, you need to fit the genre.

    Whether it's cosmic horror really rests on your themes, which aren't exactly clear from the OP. Insanity and hopelessness are common in cosmic horror, but far from the only ones. Humanity's insignificance in the universe, strange entities with unknowable motives, our understanding of the world being shattered (this often ties in with the first one), the occult, and things out of the murky past coming up into the present are others, and I'd argue they're more important in determining whether it's cosmic horror than insanity and despair.
     
  4. Damien Loveshaft

    Damien Loveshaft Active Member

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    I'm not sure. Your themes aren't really clear. Cosmic horror generally relies on the insignificance of min kind and it's inability in the face of greater horrors.
     
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  5. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    I would say it is a Psychological/Thriller/Horror.
     
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  6. fruityloops

    fruityloops New Member

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    i was going to consider that.
     
  7. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    I'm curious just how powerful your being is? When I think of Lovecraft-style monsters, I think of things that are so powerful as to think of humans are little more than insects. How did it end up in a research facility? Did it allow that to happen? "Cosmic horror" makes me think of powerful entities that have influence over cosmic scales like Cthulhu from Lovecraft or Pennywise by King. I'd be curious to know how it's anger manifests itself, and what kind of things would even make a being like that angry.

    I'm also curious how old this creature is. When you say boy, is that boy in terms of human experience or their own? Is this being literally only a few years old? If that's the case, they will likely not see humans as insects yet. It wouldn't start seeing us that way until it's become numb to watching us continually be born, live, and die. Then again a "boy" to an otherworldly monster can be as old as the universe itself or older. Star Trek's Q character was fairly young compared to other members of his own race, even though they all predated the universe as we know it.
     
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  8. fruityloops

    fruityloops New Member

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    his father is pretty much powerful but not as powerful as say Cthulhu. the boy is a hybrid that ages quite quickly. by the age of 13, he's in his late teens during this time and after that stop aging. however, i reconsidered the genre since the cosmic horror story just doesn't fit. it will still be in the realms of horror just leans more towards the drama and tragedy aspects. the main threat is the father trying to find ways of materializing into the physical plane. and how he got there, he was first in a orphanage full of nuns before most of them died of unknown causes. his powers weren't as developed back then so he was more or less weak.
     
  9. nippy818

    nippy818 Senior Member

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    You should check out the Dunwich horror. its a lovecarft story about a hybrid of man and Yog-Sothoth, i think being captured and put into a facility is very plausible.
     
  10. fjm3eyes

    fjm3eyes Member

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    What is cosmic horror? Is it an asteroid on is crashing into a planet? A star going supernova? A black hole feedling on another black hole? I mean, what is it?
     
  11. nippy818

    nippy818 Senior Member

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    Cosmic horror is a sub genre of horror where the fear is derived from mans insignificance in the universe. the worst of the beasts, gods, elder ones and ancient gods don't even seem to recognize mankind as anything more than insects, and the ones that do take heed of us try and breed chaos, war or conquest. Lovecraft is the father of Cosmic horror, so think Cthulhu, yog-sothoth, nyarlathotep. Many times the narrator or the other characters seek the knowledge of the universe or the elder gods and their simple human brains are driven mad because its more than the mind can handle
     
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