At timp tellers we had a presentation on how to come up with scary stories. Here are my notes, part one and two tonight. Part three is next week.
Paige: Start with a setting Part 1
- Start with the setting. You can take a spooky setting or a normal setting and add spooky to it. You can use story possibilities. Select various cards and base your story in that picture.
- If have a picture that occurs in a field, your story might involve aliens (movie: signs) zombies, dreams, scarecrows, Crop circles, long-lost graveyard, man eating corn, a field of bobbies that put you to sleep, killer bees. Paths change and can’t escape.
- Sand castles: almost done, but the tide keeps taking it away, unseen children laughing. Rooms in castle change.
Stephani: Samples of scariness. Part 2
- What scares you: some have horrific nightmares as a child. Here are some brainstorming ideas: Getting lost, drowning, man in mask taps on the windows, being trapped, losing a child, suffocation, fire, being run over, being responsible for someone else death, spiders, being chased, moving in slow motion, can’t fight back, voiceless, falling, isolation, helplessness, losing self, insanity, Alzheimer, family wants to hurt you, violation of trust. Killer doll, Unidentified touch, other possessions take on a life of their own. Child becomes a demon. unknown sounds, addiction, Being poisoned, supernatural, loving something too much that it gives you poor judgement , worms eating you, historical insane asylum, guilt tied to fear, Changing something about yourself that you shouldn’t have done. earwig crawls through your brain, the dark, being left behind, everyone you know is dying, a tremendous storm, guilty. Starvation, identity theft, peaceful creatures turn violent, watching someone who could not be rescued. Stalking, betrayal, decaying bodies, infestations, buried alive, Falling, screeching, think things are real but they’re not; being in the wrong place, falsely accused, violins, loved ones don’t’ remember you. Getting a negative response, buried alive. Being paralyzed, ghosts, A sweet song is turned into an evil slant. object has been moved. (An example of this is a controlling husband a woman ran away from. being confined, claustrophobia,
- Realize he has found her because all the items in cupboards have been organized. Not knowing who to trust. Grandma not being safe any failing strength, revengeful or oppressive ghost, insect biting a rope, an anticipation of something bad happening, bound, loss of freedom, imprisoned, suffocating or being crushed, gas lighting> making someone think they are crazy. Childbirth, and hospital or surgeries going wrong or demented dr. medical staff
- Activity at home: go to folk tales. Book, Outfoxing Fear: Folktales from Around the World.
- You can read a scary story and just use the plot in a whole new way. A girl must travel with a stranger t through a bad storm to help her sister. A stranger is willing to help. The girl is afraid they’ll meet a ghost. Ride with a stranger and in the end, he is the ghost.
- You can also take the bones of two or three stories and combine them (like Lego bricks) to make a new story.
- Find the one story book you know in the library. Then start reading the other books in that area of the library. Scary book section is 398.2.07a1 section.
Do you have something add? If so, please do so in the comment section of the blog.
