True horror in a story?

PuddingPalGal

PuddingPalGal

Member
I LOVE HORROR
I always have.
Which always made me beg the question: What is TRUE HORROR in a story/RP???

To me, it depends on the writers/readers themselves and the content.
What we all find scary is either common or subjective and we are all individually affected by our fears differently... at least that's what we like to tell ourselves.
With content, I personally feel it has to be familiar to the reader. It has to feel like something that they have seen or heard of in their own dark side of their mind. If a story were to pick apart their darkest thoughts and play with them like a violin while revealing unknown things about them, then THAT is what I call true horror in a story. Especially when the reader can't finish the story/RP. I guess you could say, they can't face the music.

I could go on and on about about this topic but I want to know people's thoughts and opinions on it too!
What do y'all gotta say about this?​
 
Hello, fellow Horror enthusiast :)

Now, my idea of true horror is probably rather common, but basically, it's being stuck with maliciousness, either real, supernatural, or imagined. It's when your in a place or dealing with something or someone that you feel has malevolent intent. And what's worse than dealing with something you know is there? It's dealing with something you know is there, you just don't know where...

 
Ragenaut said:
Hello, fellow Horror enthusiast :)

Now, my idea of true horror is probably rather common, but basically, it's being stuck with maliciousness, either real, supernatural, or imagined. It's when your in a place or dealing with something or someone that you feel has malevolent intent. And what's worse than dealing with something you know is there? It's dealing with something you know is there, you just don't know where...

Click to expand...

that video

/thread

But yeah just leave it up for the reader to interpret what's supposed to be scary. Give information, but not too much.
 
Horror is something that's not easy to describe.

It's not the feeling of death approaching, it's not the monster with red eyes down a dark hallway, it's much.... Much worse.

Horror is not related to death, it's not related to a monster or a ghost. It can only be defined as undefinable.

The feeling of crying does not make it horror, it makes it scary. The sweating and perspiration does not make it horror.

Horror is unknown, not the fear of the unknown, but simply the unknown.

Something that easy to talk about, like a deformed piece of abstract art or just a weird tune.

It's the thought of seeing or hearing something, and your body reacts to it oddly. Such as you cannot be scared, but you will feel your eyes water.(Note: Crying does not fall under eye-watering since it is you being scared rather than a reaction.)

I've felt it once, I heard a tone of a voice, that made my body want to stop it, and yet, I didn't see why it did.

But what do I know? I'm just a random person talking gibberish.
 
Influenced Conscience said:
Horror is something that's not easy to describe.

It's not the feeling of death approaching, it's not the monster with red eyes down a dark hallway, it's much.... Much worse.

Horror is not related to death, it's not related to a monster or a ghost. It can only be defined as undefinable.

The feeling of crying does not make it horror, it makes it scary. The sweating and perspiration does not make it horror.

Horror is unknown, not the fear of the unknown, but simply the unknown.

Something that easy to talk about, like a deformed piece of abstract art or just a weird tune.

It's the thought of seeing or hearing something, and your body reacts to it oddly. Such as you cannot be scared, but you will feel your eyes water.(Note: Crying does not fall under eye-watering since it is you being scared rather than a reaction.)

I've felt it once, I heard a tone of a voice, that made my body want to stop it, and yet, I didn't see why it did.

But what do I know? I'm just a random person talking gibberish.
Click to expand...
Best answer I got so far!
 
The unknown is scary. The mystery of the guy's face under the mask or the fear of the creature on the other side of the door. we all have our own phobias per say. but true fear is losing someone you love or the fear of dying a painful death or death in general. Scary things are things we don't understand, hence why we used to burn witches and demons. Why fear what you know. there isn't a sharped tooth monster I fear unless it is one I have never seen before. (That's my take on fear.)
 
Big horror fan and scaredy-cat here. To me horror is that feeling of dread you get about what's coming next. It's when you don't wanna keep watching/reading but you can't make yourself look away and your imagination races, coming up with eventualities each more terrible than the last. Oftentimes the things you imagine end up being worse than whatever the big reveal is. Either way, the key word for me is dread.

I agree with the OP in that horror has to stem from something familiar to the reader/viewer, that way it can play with you emotionally. When something familiar and innocent is taken and twisted in such a way that makes it unnatural and repulsive, that's where horror thrives. It's why you see so many possessed children in horror media - cause it takes that innocence we associate with children and corrupts it.
 
PuddingPalGal said:
Which always made me beg the question: What is TRUE HORROR in a story/RP???
Click to expand...
Hitting the "post reply" button and watching your connection timeout right there.

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In all seriousness: Putting an unknown but deadly threat toward player characters that people have grown fond of is usually the trick.
 
Horror in an RP is different from watching a movie. The movie is a vicarious experience, we're sympathizing with the actress/actor with the foreknowledge that people will die. So every moment we see of them might be their last, and we react accordingly if done well. This subject for another time.

In terms of an RP, well its different because you're writing as a GM to cater to players who will not just walk down that creepy, dark alleyway or look at that book bound in human skin and say to themselves, 'hey, reading material!' Also, by putting power in the hands of the player, we also bestow that greatest of gifts. Hope. Hope that they will be the one to survive, that so long as their character does not succumb to the usual tropes, they will make it out alive. The power to choose comes with the possible consequence to succeed, and the idea of pitting ourselves against such an obstacle is fun and can make for memorable sessions. To make them feel afraid however? Well.

I use the following myself.

First, tropes and clichés. The haunted house, the cursed treasure, etc. These are things that are the staple of horror stories, but simply because they are don't mean we shouldn't use them. They've existed this long for a reason and using them sparingly can make all the difference, as well as make great plot twists if you decide to change it up. The haunted house with the legend of the cursed gypsy treasure beneath its floors repels all intruders, aided by the gnarled old Roma woman, who waves a butcher cleaver and eschews human contact. A session of fright and touching the treasure reveals that the gypsy was guarding it, and now a curse has fallen upon the town. More disturbing, sent in private message to a player, one of them wakes up with blood on their hands...

Which leads into what I like to call the Uncanny Valley bits. Inciting fear into players isn't as simple as a corpse on the ground, their first reaction will be to investigate. Seasoned players will opt to shoot it. More experienced players will salt and burn the corpse, dump the ashes in holy water and bury it on consecrated ground. They'll be paranoid anyway, so play on that. Give them little things, throughout their day. A player bites into their apple, but instead of seeds he finds human teeth. Another bikes home and notices their shadow doesn't always mimic their actions. A player in their bedroom, lying down to sleep notices their closet door closing.

From the inside.

Used correctly, you can have them jumping at shadows and requesting flamethrowers in-game. Even if they're playing high schoolers.

Especially if they're playing high schoolers, come to think of it.

Finally, remember. Once the monster comes out, initiative rolls and it just becomes another obstacle. Don't worry so much about the loss of fear then. Horror stories while with their downer endings, also have their upsides. The monster is slain, the curse exorcised and they walk off into the sunrise. The nightmare over, bloody and victorious.

Don't worry so much about controlling them 'because thou must' or because you feel they absolutely need to get that Mcguffin to gain victory. Because remember, the other part about Horror?

Not everyone survives the night.

In short to me? True Horror is a GM who accomplishes more with a whisper than he does with a rail road. In media, I'd have to say Supernatural's first season did great exemplifying it(Bloody Mary episode in particular) before it somersaulted the Olympic Pool-sized shark tank.

​
 
For me horror is that feeling of uncomfortableness that creeps under your skin and stays there for a while even when your done reading or watching.
 
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