Horror Aficionados discussion
Short Stories
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I have an idea for a story!
Why would she carve his name in the trunk in the first place?
Guido wrote: "Why would she carve his name in the trunk in the first place?"Dont people in love still do that?
Would she really fall asleep in the car, in the middle of the night when her boyfriend has gone missing? Then she can suddenly walk again, and she finds her boyfriends phone, then see's tattered ropes covered in blood, and the first thing she does is carve his name into the tree!!!!! The first thing she would do would be to go for help.
Yea in the normal world maybe, but theres some supernatural powers at work here....
And considering the bloody ropes she would most likely stay away from the tree as far as she could.
But they dont do they? They should turn and run but they never do....
You have the setting, the characters, an ending and the premise. Make us care for the characters. Did she just loose a baby? Has he quit drinking and fallen off the wagon tonight for some reason? Establish their relationship and a conflict/frustration. Maybe they are in love, but had an argument just before the crash - and why did they crash? A tree limb fell? An animal darted across the road? He forgot to wear his glasses or simply hates wearing them?Is it winter, summer.. have they been down that road before? Are they driving because they missed their flight?
And you might take the time to get to know your opponent - the tree. What is it's origin and why is it deadly. What happened before to make the tree unholy. Remember to avoid the cliche. Today's reader is intelligent and will predict what will happen in the story. Take turns that surprise your reader. If I can guess what will happen, so will your reader.
Did you watch Revolutionary Road? Right off the bat, we see them argue. We see a wife who is unhappy with the path she has taken.
Every story needs a conflict, and a desire that propels the main character to their goal - no matter if the goal is good or bad.
Why does the tree want to kill?
Why does the guy want to prove his ability to care for her? Has he let her down in the past?
...only in B-movies. :-) No offense meant, Larry. I think it is awesome that you shared your idea but as you can see as writers some of us immediately dissect the idea to see if it plausible. It is part of the job as a writer to make sure the narrative is not only cool and rich of visuals, but also makes sense.
But if theres a supernaturasl element, lets say the tree spirit is drawing them towards it, then anything is possible. It is fantasy after all, not CSI
Perhaps the guy is the owner of a lumber supply company.
Best thing now you have an outline is to just write it. The shaping comes with the rewrites. Go for it, and good luck :)
Thanks Shaun. And where do you all upload your finished stories?
I submit mine for publication, hoping for fame and fortune ;)
Do you know that if the body is buried near the tree, the arteries and the veins tend to match the arteries and the veins of the tree? I remember reading that in a Mysteries of the Unexplained.
Hmm,never heard that before patrick. I seriously doubt it tho…
Would she really fall asleep in the car, in the middle of the night when her boyfriend has gone missing? Shaun, you have obviously never seen the dreadful movie Eden Lake.
Larry, you should have just written the first sentence of your story and let others build on the story like those role playing threads the kids are into these days.
Tressa wrote: "Would she really fall asleep in the car, in the middle of the night when her boyfriend has gone missing? Shaun, you have obviously never seen the dreadful movie Eden Lake."
No, she fell asleep in the roots of a tree ;)
Shaun wrote: No, she fell asleep in the roots of a tree ;) ...IN HER TURQUOISE JACKET THAT COULD BE SEEN FROM A MILE AWAY*chuckle* You have seen it. Lordy, lordy.
Shaun wrote: "Would she really fall asleep in the car, in the middle of the night when her boyfriend has gone missing? Then she can suddenly walk again, and she finds her boyfriends phone, then see's tattered ro..."Well the idea is they were driving home after a party, drinks were involved, she's 3 sheets to the wind and well, for me that makes me sleepy
Heres an idea:They were driving home from a party, she's drunk, well sloshed, so falls asleep. He's stuck in the car, cant get a signal on his phone so maybe he thinks he'll have better luck outside. Maybe something is drawing him towards the woods, some presence. Years ago Jack carved his name into that tree, and now the tree is calling him back.
She finds the tree the next morining, strange, why is Jack's name on that tree? Its faded, nearly grown out-he must have been here years ago, but where's Jack?? Suddenly the carving changes. Is it her imagination or is the wound weeping,like a stuck sapling. Only its not sap thats oozing out....
Now we're getting somewhere. This makes a lot more sense. :)
I sniff Bruce Campbell in there some where....Or how about those giant walking trees from LOTR??
I am only being facetious, your idea sounds intriguing.
Who on earth is Bruce Campbell? The only Campbell I know is John Wood Campbell Jr who wrote a story a looong time ago that became the basis of the sci-fi horror classic The Thing…
An actor best known for his portrayal of Ash in the Evil Dead films.
He's famous for his role in the Evil Dead movies. I thought he was great in Bubba Ho-tep. In the hilarious book Shatnerquake there is a cult of Campbellians who have chopped off their right hands to mimic his character in Evil Dead.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Ca...
Bruce Campbell rocks and is such a nice and personable guy to boot.If you guys have not checked it out yet, apart from the countless movies he's appeared in, he also has an audio book out called "Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way", which is absolutely hilarious.
Ah that explains it! I don't think I've ever seen those films or if I have it was a looong time ago. I hate zombie/vampire/slasher movies,unless they're done as a comedy a la Shaun of the Dead
You might actually like his stuff, Larry, because they are almost entirely horror comedies and spoofs of sorts. The "Evil Dead" trilogy, while very graphic, is a hilariously campy flick - purposely so - done by Sam "Spider-Man" Raimi. Especially the third one, "Army of Darkness" is more fun than actual bloody horror.He has other really funny movies, like "The Man With The Screaming Brain," "My Name is Bruce," "Bubba-Hotep" and many others.
Larry wrote: "Who on earth is Bruce Campbell? The only Campbell I know is John Wood Campbell Jr who wrote a story a looong time ago that became the basis of the sci-fi horror classic The Thing…"
Let's not forget his 'short-lived' Briscoe County Jr. I LOVED that show.. Only Western I had to stay home to watch...
Now Campbell is on 'Burn Notice' if anybody gets cable.. And don't tell me anything, cause I haven't seen it since the 2nd season began..
Let's not forget his 'short-lived' Briscoe County Jr. I LOVED that show.. Only Western I had to stay home to watch...
Now Campbell is on 'Burn Notice' if anybody gets cable.. And don't tell me anything, cause I haven't seen it since the 2nd season began..
Evil Dead - trees come to life - that was my reference. It is a classic. The ED2 and AofD are much more campy, I think u would enjoy them.Anyway, Love Bruce on Burn Notice also. I have Screaming Brain on the NF list also.
I'm glad he is still around, I thought he would bite it after Army of Darkness, but he is a hoot.
That made me ponder, is there a 'serious' zombie movie?I mean, sure, some were meant to be, maybe the classic Night of the Living Dead. Since it was more of a reference to rascism and all.... so they say.
But I mean really, and I am not being facetious, are there serious zombie movies?
Dana wrote: "That made me ponder, is there a 'serious' zombie movie?
I mean, sure, some were meant to be, maybe the classic Night of the Living Dead. Since it was more of a reference to rascism and all.... so..."
IDK about that one.. But Romero made it low budget as a summer drive-in movie & it just ROCKED...
Still scares me every time I watch it.. (once a year)
I mean, sure, some were meant to be, maybe the classic Night of the Living Dead. Since it was more of a reference to rascism and all.... so..."
IDK about that one.. But Romero made it low budget as a summer drive-in movie & it just ROCKED...
Still scares me every time I watch it.. (once a year)
Dana,I think it depends on how you define "serious."
I would say yes, "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Living Dead" were definitely serious zombie movies who used the zombies as an allegory on social issues.
I would maybe also add "28 Days Later" in that list, though arguable, the verdict is still out whether those were zombies or simply sick people.
I consider all zombie flicks serious unless it's filmed as a comedy, e.g. Shaun of the Dead or Fido.
I think they should all be filmed as comedies! Serious zombie flicks are lame!
Zombies always make me laugh. Night of the Living Dead is goofy, not scary.
LOVED, Loved Shaun of the Dead & own a copy.. And I don't buy a lot of movies. However, I'm not a zombie fan. I only watch if I'm in the room... I did catch that 1 comedy spoof about Zombies.. I think it was 'Night of the Living Dead 2? Been many years, so not sure of the title... Would watch that again... My ex- LoveD the Zombie Trilogy by George R.. That's where I got stuck :)
Try a film called Black Sheep. Its a cheesy new zealand film about demonic vampire sheep!
Oh my God, that film was hilarious! Almost as funny as Monty Python's killer rabbit.
Larry wrote: "Try a film called Black Sheep. Its a cheesy new zealand film about demonic vampire sheep!"Hated it :(
Shaun wrote: "Larry wrote: "Try a film called Black Sheep. Its a cheesy new zealand film about demonic vampire sheep!"Hated it :("
Hated is probably too strong. I didn't like it. That should suffice.
I would rather laugh at Peter (Lord of the Rings) Jackson's 'Bad Taste'. That was funny, in a sick way.
I finally saw Bad Taste recently and didn't like it at all.
Scott wrote: "I finally saw Bad Taste recently and didn't like it at all."I guess like most things, it's an acquired taste - get it, taste. Sorry. Wine and beer talking now.
Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive", now that's a funny horror movie.
Guido wrote: "Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive", now that's a funny horror movie."You had me puzzled for a moment. It was called Braindead here in the UK. Yes, funny film :)
Let me know what you think:
Couple driving home from a late party,car crashes near the woods. Man gets out to check the car is ok,and try to find where they are. Its dark,no moon and theyre on the edge of a woodland. He struggles to get a signal on his phone then sees something thru the woods,a light. Thinking its a motorway or town he decides to investigate. He goes back to the car to tell girlfriend his plans and she has to stay in the car(hurt leg/foot perhaps)
He makes his way into the woods but soon gets disoriented and before long he's lost. He hears something and is drawn towards the sound. Stumbling in the dark he trips over a tree root,losing his phone. He gets up,dusts himself off and walks into a huge tree. The noise returns louder and suddenly something is around him,feels like rope. He screams but it is muffled.
Next day girl wakes up and decides to look for him. The day is bright but cloudy,and she makes her way into the woods,calling his name. Then she spots something on the ground;it is his phone! She picks it up and pockets it. Turns around and sees an old oak tree with tattered ropes around the base. She stoops then screams;the ropes are bloody. Upset she carves his name into the tree and walks back to the car,confused. Behind her the name she carved drips. But instead of sap,blood runs down the tree's trunk…