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Day 2 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
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12 Replies
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What I learned doing this assignment: Although there are these rules, I don’t feel constrained in creativity. They help shape and define the monster/villain, however whatever creation derived is wide open imagination. It’s fun, and so many possibilities to brain storm.
Tell us what or who your monster is.
My monster(s) is the Krampus, true, not original, however, imagined in in a more deadly, sinister, refined gentleman. He wears a tailored cassock, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, horns protrude from salon cut hair. He’s educated, a little bored, and uses his genius for his own morbid sense of pleasure.
Krampus has a partner – Saint Nicholas. Who merrily carries out Krampus’s evil wishes. His staff is lethal. It’s a spear, a sword, the curled staff strangles its victims.
Together there’s a subtext of attraction between them.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
Their Terror:
Saint Nicholas carries a sack full of deadly gifts for Krampus’s victims. Pick you gift – choose your death or trade it with another victim’s. Either way, if you don’t go through with it, Saint Nicholas will see to it that you do.
Their Mystery:
Character’s of children’s folklore. How did evil Krampus convince Saint Nicholas to come to the dark side with such cruel gifts? Are they couple? Krampus calls him, Nicholas, What are they trying to achieve? They only show up on Christmas Eve – when summoned.
Their Fear Provoking Appearance:
What a pair, Saint Nicholas appears merry, jovial even, except his sack fun of terror and deadly staff. Then there’s Krampus, yellow devil eyes, menacing smile full of sharp teeth, deceiving pleasantness, handsome & stylish , yet merciless. He’ll stab you with his horns, just to make a point!
Their Rules:
They must be summoned by – yet to be defined way. ( A reading, a wish, a magical object?) Their appearance means death is inevitable. It’s just a matter of how. Pick your present , pick’s the method. It might be used on you, or on another. One sinister White Elephant exchange. It’s the luck of the draw, except the luck is all bad. They only work on Christmas Eve. You might outlast them, by dawn they are gone.
Their Mythology:
We know Krampus is a pagan god. Now he’s in the modern world. He like’s the spoils but keeps his reputation for terror. Saint Nicholas, giver of secret gifts, until he met Krampus, seduced by his wickedness or his charm? Maybe both!
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I learned that it’s definitely not easy to create a monster that looks and acts scary, and working with something like fire which is not human makes it even harder – especially for the fear provoking appearance part. But that made me really envision this monster and how it needs to be anthropomorphized in a way that makes it frightening. I also learned that you don’t have to reveal the origin of the monster and can use that to set up a myth for a sequel.
Gregg’s Monster:
My monster is a sentient fire creature, who at first appears to be a normal fire, but it becomes clear that the fire has a spirit, and is carrying out plans with a purpose and a will of its own.
Their Terror: Fire is pretty terrifying on its own, but imagine if fire could think, and react, and avoid. And kill intentionally. A fire extinguisher won’t work. No exit will be clear. Stop and drop won’t work. It’s terrifying to think that a fire is coming after you, with the intention of killing you. And imagine if fire could torture you – burning your flesh to a crisp slowly without killing you.
Their Mystery: Fire is shrouded in smoke, which hides it. The fire seems normal at first, but it’s actions begin to show that it can think, and react, and execute its plans against the humans. Slowly its anthropomorphized characteristics are revealed.
Their Fear Provoking Appearance: Again, fire and smoke can be pretty scary on their own. But imagine fire with a face, and arms and hands with long fiery fingers.
Their Rules: Like real fire the monster moves quickly and irregularly. The more intense it gets the more smoke and heat it generates. Unlike real fire, it is impervious to water and fire extinguishers. But it does require oxygen to breathe.
Their Mythology: The fire monster was born out of the greed of developers whose shortsightedness led to a fire chief’s death. His spirit merged with flames to create the fire creature for the sole purpose of revenge. If the creature is killed, even one small ember could ignite it again.
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Claire’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned:
If I continue to do the exercises, I will come up with a high concept horror story. This is only the second assignment, and I am already coming up with good ideas.
Tell us what or who your monster is.
The evil spirit of a man who burned lesbians at the stake in the 18<sup>th</sup> century as witches, including his own wife. He possesses a lesbian and forces it to kill her spouse.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
Their Terror: possesses the body of a lesbian and has it kill her spouse. So a woman is chased down and gleefully murder by her own wife.
Their Mystery: How can we stop it from possessing the next woman before it kills again. How to stop it while it has possessed a woman without killing the woman.
Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: your spouse feeling such great joy as it kills you.
Their Rules: possesses a body and cannot go into another body until it kills the spouse
Their Mythology: Burned lesbians at the stake as witches in 17<sup>th</sup> century Massachusetts. He burned his own wife because she was seduced by a witch. That witch killed him and cursed him. His soul cannot leave his farm.
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MICAH’S TERRIFYING MONSTER
What I learned doing this assignment is the importance of establishing the basic foundations of the monster before getting overly elaborate with its personality, specific scenes, etc.
Monster: The Jinx, an ancient spirit of misfortune
Terror: the Jinx causing increasing harm to those around Barry by way of accidents and misfortunes. They nature of these misfortunes includes ways of preventing the unlucky victims a means of escaping proximity to Barry. The Jinx’s range of influence increases throughout the film. Its frightful form appears in reflections and in Barry’s shadow. Finally, it causes further accidents to prevent Barry from taking his own life and stopping the horror.
Mystery: the nature of the Jinx is unknown at first as it only manifests as accidents that happen around Barry. The characters must learn how to drive the Jinx away, even if that means killing Barry.
Fear-Provoking Appearance: The Jinx has two appearances. One is of a wryneck bird that appears at various moments, twisting its neck grotesquely. The other is in a human form, as Barry’s shadow or as his reflection in the mirror. It also twists its head and neck freakishly like a wryneck bird, and as the film goes on, the skin, eyes, and face of Barry’s reflection becomes more demonic.
Rules: the Jinx inhabits an individual and wreaks havoc by creating a field of misfortune around that person that gradually grows in scope. The misfortunes soon escalate to fatal. It uses the same misfortunes to prevent the host from ending their own life, even if it involves violent incapacitation.
Mythology: the Jinx is an ancient spirit of misfortune that
takes sadistic glee in killing people through unlucky accidents. -
Julian’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is the villain’s strengths and weaknesses, something I wasn’t thinking about before.
1. The Gold Miner – A vengeful ghost that is released from its prison.<div>
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Their Terror: He has the properties of a ghost – can become invisible, move objects violently, follow through walls. If it can’t kill you it will haunt you. Any object in the room is a potential weapon against you.
Their Mystery: How do you stop a ghost?
Their Fear Provoking Appearance: He wears a Miner’s hard hat with a light on top, obscuring anything except his outline behind the light, but if you get close enough, he appears as a transparent, rotting corpse.
Their Rules: As a ghost, they can manifest in front of you and follow anywhere. Only ghost protection crystals, spells, prayers or amulets can keep it away.
Their Mythology: In the late 1800’s the Gold Miner and his family were attacked and killed by thieves trying to steal his gold mine claim. His anger and need for revenge caused his spirit to wander the earth.
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Madeleine Vessel’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is monsters live by a set of rules. I hadn’t considered this before.
AN EARLY VERSION OF MY MONSTER.
My monster is the ghost of a twelve-year-old boy named Max, who was murdered by his stepfather and buried in the basement.
My monster’s terror: Max will not let any pre-teen child leave the rickety old house after they’ve entered.
My monster’s mystery: Max tells the girls if they dig up his bones and expose his murder, they can be freed from the house, but it’s not true. The girls must find out what will really free him and themselves.
Their Fear Provoking Appearance: Max appears as the angry ghost of an abused twelve-year-old boy.
Their Rules: He can only be seen by pre-teen children. Once a child enters the house, he appears and can keep them from leaving, but only if the owner of the house is gone. He traps the children and forces them to look for his bones, which he believes will expose his murder.
Their Mythology: Don’t know yet.
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Kevin Mann’s terrifying monster.<o:p></o:p>
What I learned- The more specific you are, the more terrifying your mythos will be.<o:p></o:p>
Tell us what or who your monster is.<o:p></o:p>
The Admonition-counsel of religious extremists that oversee the salvation arena.<o:p></o:p>
Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:<o:p></o:p>
Their Terror: They control the salvation arena and send hunters out to find the heathens to be put into the arena. They tailor the trials of the arena to cause the most physical and mental damage. They pay people to tun one another in.
Their Mystery: They are cloistered and unknown to anyone. No one is sure where their power or money comes from, but everyone bows to them. There are always twelve and no one knows how one is replaced when they die.
<o:p></o:p>Their Fear Provoking Appearance: They wear Monk’s robes. Their faces are obscured by metal masks which are locked onto them. They live with railroad nails through their palms and a metal crown of thorns is built into their masks in deference to Christ.
<o:p></o:p>Their Rules: They serve at the will of their higher power. No amount of pleading can keep you from the salvation arena. They know your deepest fear and force you to face it. They pick people to go into the arena together that will cause the most emotional damage when one dies. The conversion therapy erases your freewill.
<o:p></o:p>Their Mythology: The Admonition is run by a shadow group. They are just servants.
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Kathy’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned from this assignment is that what is implied can be more frightening than what is stated outright. I also learned that even an elusive, briefly-exposed monster – like the craggy tip of an iceberg – has a depth from which it percolates.
1. Tell us what or who your monster is.
My monster/villain is a lighthouse keeper. He lives a semi-isolated life as a symbol of hope and salvation but is really a horrific killer. He drifts in and out of reality. His brief moments of sanity are, ironically, more terrifying than his bloodcurdling insanity.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
Their Terror: The victims cannot escape their slaughter. They die feeling their bodies being butchered.
Their Mystery:
The monster/villain wears a blood-splattered, hooded slicker and wide goggles. His “protective” garment shields him from being drenched by the blood of his victims, and implies to his victims, at first sight of him, their fate.
Their Rules:
He kills only when his victims are alone or when others are distracted. Sometimes he stalks his victims in relentless slow-motion, as if methodically “wading” toward them. Other times, he is hair-trigger fast in hot pursuit. His slaughter is merciless.
Their Mythology: To be decided. Possibly, he is the incarnation of sailors and recreationers who died tragically on the reefs.
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I’m sorry, I omitted my response for “Their Mystery” (above) and did not include the “Their Fear Provoking Appearance” section.
Their Mystery:
The monster/villain is a stalker, unknown, unseen by his victims until each individual slaughter. None of the victims know who is butchering their classmates until it is too late.
Their Fear Provoking Appearance:
The monster/villain wears a blood-splattered, hooded slicker and wide goggles. His “protective” garment shields him from being drenched by the blood of his victims, and implies to his victims, at first sight of him, their fate.
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Sie Khalil — Terrifying Monster
What I learned: To pursue the rabbit down the hole and detail what he shows you along the way. Even if it makes you vomit your own guts.
Monster: Two simple backwood brothers that have superhuman strength.
Terror: They can kill with one blow. They make homemade weapons that make you cringe, such as metal elbow pads that can plunge straight through your eye and exit the back of your skull… etc
Mystery: Even though they are huge, you can’t hear them sneak up on you until it’s too late and your blood is feeding the earth.
Appliance: They make a variety of masks that give them the illusion of death reincarnate.
Rules: No children. If they don’t kill their victims with one blow, they are allowed to live. They don’t leave the confines of their own patch of land.
Mythology: Their mother died giving birth to them. Raised by their father, they value the bond of family and what it means to watch each other’s backs.
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Tom Wilson’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is it’s not hard to make interesting monsters.
This monster travels secretly through the sewer system of pipes beneath city streets.
Its Terror: It appears only at night, kills its victims and quickly disappears leaving no trace.
Its Mystery: Why or how it picks its victims is unknown.
Its Fear Provoking Appearance: It looks like a Walking Dead figure with a metal plate on the side of its head.
Its Rules: Nothing the victim says or does stops the monster from killing them.
Its Mythology: Not yet known.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by Tom Wilson.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by
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La Llorona 2.0 -Terrifying Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is every monster has rules. The rules make it easier to move the story forward.
1. La Llorona 2.0
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
Their Terror: She isolates by
being able to redirect sound. She can turn blood into ice and torture one
slowly. She can distort reality to confuse her victim.
Their Mystery: How can her
anger be quenched? Her motivation to kill be stopped?
Their Fear-Provoking
Appearance: Her skin has taken on a tree bark-like appearance. It’s easy
for her to blend in shadows and the dark.
Their Rules: Her only desire is
to inflict pain.
Their Mythology: She walks
bodies of water searching for the souls of her dead children.
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