The Horror Story Unit

1. The Horror Story Unit

2. Your Task • Create an original horror story • The short story must be 1-2 pages in length. • The short story must be typed using Arial or Times New Roman font • The short story must include dialogue, characterization, theme, and suspense, BUT no gore. • This is not an experiment in how much bloody violence you can write about. It is a piece about fear, suspense, and terror—not blood and guts.

3. The Goblins Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out The Texas Chainsaw Massacre XXV: Freddie Meets Norman on Elm Street on Friday the 13th Why do gory movies (a more precise term than horror movies) attract so many viewers today? Why do people like the gory special effects?

4. Horror or just Gore? • Before the days of Freddie Kruger, Hollywood made many suspense/horror movies, some cheapie thrillers (I Dismember Mama), and some that became classis for chilling the blood of the audience. The master of these movie-makers was Alfred Hitchcock, who built suspense slowly and subtly, usually without blood or overt violence. The original Psycho was a masterpiece of subtle horror as were Rear Window and The Birds. • Today’s master of the horror novel is Stephen King, whose books (often made into movies) are true spine-chillers that use suspense to terrify readers. • Do horror movies of today scare viewers or merely excite them?

5. What’s so great about fear anyway? • Do you feel moments of terror? Do you hold your breath? Do you laugh? Why do you react as you do? • How do you explain the desire of people to be terrified? • As children, we delight in ghost stories told in the dark. As adults, we read books or see movies that we know will scare us. Why?

6. Elements of Horror Setting

7. a deserted (or sparsely inhabited) castle or mansion in a state or ruins or semi-ruins • labyrinths/mazes, dark corridors, and winding stairs filled with dusty cobwebs • castles or mansions which have hidden tunnels/staircases, dungeons, underground passages, crypts, or catacombs • if set in a broken down modern house, the basement or attic becomes the place of terror • threatening natural landscapes, like rugged mountains, dark forests, or eerie moors, exhibiting stormy weather

8. Elements of Horror Lighting/Mood

9. Blackout • limited lighting such as moonlight (usually a full moon), candles, flashlight, lantern • often the light disappears: clouds hide the moon, candles go out, flashlights/ lanterns are dropped and broken • if electric lights exist, they usually mysteriously go out

10. Other Elements • dark secrets surrounding some tormented soul who is left to live in isolation • ominous omens and curses • magic, supernatural manifestations, or the suggestion of the supernatural • a damsel in distress • the damsel’s rescuer; usually a lover • horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings

11. Elements of a Short Story • http://www.flocabulary.com/fivethings/ • Listen to and follow along with the song about the five major elements of a story.

12. Dialogue Definition: a conversation between characters Example: Annina asked, “Monsieur Rick, what kind of a man is Captain Renault?” “Oh, he's just like any other man, only more so,” Rick replied.(Joy Page and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, 1942)

13. Dialogue How to properly punctuate the words your characters speak.

14. I walked into the room. Mary was there. She asked, “What are you doing?” I said, “I just came in to see if you wanted to start dinner.” “I already ate before I came home.” I said, “Well, will you help me anyway?” “No.” I asked her, “Why not?” She screamed, “Because I already ate! What’s wrong with you?” “Nothing,” I said. “I’m going to leave,” I said. “Fine,” she said, and went back to looking at the TV. I left the room.

15. Things to remember when writing dialogue • Write it as realistically as possible. • Make it clear who is speaking when. • Do not give too much information or unrealistic information in dialogue. • Keep the conversation moving. • Make it as easy to read as possible.

16. Rules of punctuating dialogue • Start a new paragraph when a new person speaks or a large passage of action interrupts the speaking. • Use quotation marks to surround all spoken words on both sides. • Use speaker tags to show who is talking • Use the proper end marks. • Endmarks always go inside the quotes.

17. Endmarks – possibly the most difficult part of dialogue. Use a comma if the dialogue is a statement and there is a speaker tag following. Example: “Welcome home,” she said, stepping forward to take his hand.

18. When a speaker tag interrupts the speech... Treat it as parenthetical information and use a comma on either side. “I can’t believe,” she said, “that you are finally here.”

19. Use a period... If no speaker tag follows the quotation: “Welcome home.” She stepped forward to take his hand. “Thank you.” He offered his own hand in return.

20. When a question mark or exclamation point is used... • Follow with a lowercase letter if a speaker tag is being used. • Use a capital if it goes right into action.

21. “It has been so long!” she exclaimed. “Hasn’t it?” Her hand was warm in his own as he smiled down at her. Example:

22. “Stop!” Buddy cried as they approached another intersection. At this one, the light had burned out and a tall oak stood off to one side. “Let me out here.” Are you crazy,” Joe asked. “It’s still at least another twenty miles to Mud Bucket! “Just let me out, Joe. I mean it.” Buddy had become desperate. He could think of nothing else he wanted more than to become a famous musician, and if it took selling his soul to the devil to do it, then he would. Joe pulled the truck over onto the gravel at the side of the road and rolled to a stop. “Are you sure about this? It’s freakin’ creepy out there, man.” “I have my phone. I’ll call if something happens. “Well,” Said Joe. “don’t think I’m coming back out here for your sorry butt,” Buddy got out, slammed the door shut, and Joe spun off onto the highway, his tires screeching on the blacktop.

23. “Stop!” Buddy cried as they approached another intersection. At this one, the light had burned out and a tall oak stood off to one side. “Let me out here.” “Are you crazy?” Joe asked. “It’s still at least another twenty miles to Mud Bucket!” “Just let me out, Joe. I mean it.” Buddy had become desperate. He could think of nothing else he wanted more than to become a famous musician, and if it took selling his soul to the devil to do it, then he would. Joe pulled the truck over onto the gravel at the side of the road and rolled to a stop. “Are you sure about this? It’s freakin’ creepy out there, man.” “I have my phone. I’ll call if something happens.” “Well,” said Joe, “don’t think I’m coming back out here for your sorry butt.” Buddy got out, slammed the door shut, and Joe spun off onto the highway, his tires screeching on the blacktop.

24. I walked into the room. Mary was there. She asked, “What are you doing?” “I just came in to see if you wanted to start dinner.” “I already ate before I came home.” “Well, will you help me anyway?” “No.” I asked her, “Why not?” “Because I already ate!” she screamed. “What’s wrong with you?” “Nothing,” I said. “I’m going to leave.” “Fine,” she said, and went back to looking at the TV. I left the room.

25. Victorian Horror Novels • Classics of the horror genre written during the Victorian Era: • Frankenstein • Dracula • The Hound of the Baskervilles • The Hunchback of Notre Dame • The Picture of Dorian Gray • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde • The Invisible Man

26. Elements of Classic Horror of the Victorian Age • Psychological terror not physical terror • Not a lot of bloodshed • Suspense, Suspense, Suspense • The object was to let the imagination go wild!!!!

27. Restraints of the Victorian Age • Firm moral values. • Suggest the sins. Don’t than name them. • Class conscious • Age of change • Age of great poverty and great riches

28. How Proper were the Victorians? • Ankles as sex symbols? • Draping of furniture? • The euphemism of the drumstick • Private dinner parties—scandalous!!!