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Short Stories. Elements of Horror Fiction. Ahhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Highly improbable and unexpected sequences of events that usually begin in ordinary situations and involve supernatural elements . “Hey, that person is just like me!”.
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Short Stories Elements of Horror Fiction
Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! • Highly improbable and unexpected sequences of events that usually begin in ordinary situations and involve supernatural elements
“Hey, that person is just like me!” • Contrast the oddness of these events with the minutiae of daily life so readers identify with the characters.
Life Can be Soooo…Scary! Ah! • Explores the dark, malevolent side of humanity. • Malevolent-”wicked”
“I Think I’m Mad!!! AHHHH!!!!” • Main characters are people we can understand and perhaps identify with. • Although often these are haunted, estranged individuals.
“I hope Johnny makes the right choice” • Lives depend on the success of the protagonist.
“Wow! I feel scared.” • Mood is dark, foreboding, menacing, bleak and creates an immediate response by the reader that matches the feeling.
“This place haunts me…” • Setting may be described in some detail if much of the story takes place in one location
“This Movie is Rated R (why?)” • Plot contains frightening and unexpected incidents • Violence, often graphic, occurs and may be accompanied by explicit sexuality
Writing Style • Most stories are told in the third person. • What is third-person? • The third person point of view is a form of storytelling in which a narrator relates all action in third person, using third person pronouns such as "he" or "she”. • The style is plain.
KEY INGREDIENT • The key ingredient in horror fiction is its ability to provoke fear or terror in reader • HOW? • something demonic. • should be a sense of dread, unease, anxiety, or foreboding. • experiencing horror fiction is like reading about your worst nightmares.
Archetypes Associated with Horror ARCHETYPES: a universally understood symbol, term, or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. • Demons • Witches • Ghosts • Vampires • What other characters do you associate with horror stories?