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Day 5 Assignments
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Lesson 5 Horror Situation Track
What I learned from doing this assignment. Wow! Where to start. Working on these plot tracks is a great way to elevate an outline while on the go. It’s friggin’ hard IMHO
ACT 1
Atmosphere Of Evil Established: A girl walks along a deserted path. The shadows appear ominous.
Horror situation: The lights go out. She’s alone. Her cell phone is dead
Reaction Escape: The girl hears someone, panics and runs off the beaten path through the woods.
Horror situation: She’s being chased, by something holding a meat cleaver. But there is no one there.
Death #1: The meat cleaver comes down on her, slashing her to bits – In the distance there is a figure, watching.
Connect With The Characters: A group of shadow dancers meet up at an old victorian theatre to start a six week run,
The characters are warned not to do it: One of the characters tells everyone the theatre is haunted and they should find another venue.
Denial Of Horror: The producer assures the cast its all bull shit. Suggests if they want a paycheck and a chance at stardom then need to unpack and meet for rehearsal.
Safety Taken Away: No bodies cell phone works. So they try the doors
Horror Situation: All the doors have become locked.
Reaction: Confusion and anger.
Horror Situation. They try the emergency exits and system. Then the windows, but nothing works
Reaction Denial: “Let’s all calm down, block a scene. Something will work out in the morning.”
Monster: The Nature Of The Beast. The cast members start to see shadow figures in the theatre, and then shadows are manipulated onto the walls. A waving finger beckons one of the troupe to follow.
Horror Situation: They hear screaming coming from the prop room.
Reaction: They run downstairs, to find one of dancers spread-eagled over a three foot spike.
Horror Situation: Unless they can remove the girl before the ropes burn through, she will be impaled.
Reaction. After some near disasters, they remove the girl, but she’s injured and will require medical attention.
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated/trapped/abducted: They regroup. Decide all they can do is prepare for the concert.
Horror Situation – run a routine – going well until a shadow wields a life threatening weapon.
Reaction: The director floods the stage with light. Demands to know who was holding the machete. No one owns up. They go their own ways – each distrusting and pissed at each other.
Horror Situation; One of the girls screams out in the costume department.
Reaction: They rush down to see a shadow of a Guillotine on the wall. It disappears. The washers is running the dryer is running.
Horror Situation: On a wall the audience sees a decapitated body dragged away.
Death #2: In a row of wigs, one of the styrofoam heads is the real girl with her head severed.
MID POINT – They know that unless they can get out, they will all die.
Full pursuit by the killer: The cast gathers onstage
Horror situation: The decapitated body drops to the floor from the fly system – splatters the stage.
Reaction: The cast are freaked out, trying to make sense of all this madness. Why is it happening to us.
Terrorized:
Horror situation: A machete slashes safety lines. A rain of sandbags and stage weights descend form the fly-system – exploding like bombs.
Reaction: The cast runs for cover.
Horror Situation: A cast member gets caught up in the curtains.
Death #3: We HEAR the slashing of the knife – and SEE the curtain being splattered with blood – severed limbs spill out from under the curtain.
ACT 3
Fight to the death: The director kills the lights. The theatre is pitch back. He figures if there is no light, the master cannot create a shadow.
Horror situation: Candle lights flip on. They see a cloaked figure.
Reaction: They run – separate ways. The director peels off and pulls on a lever. The monster disappears into the trap room under the stage.
Hysteria:
Horror Situation: We realize the master can see in the dark. He dusts himself off – walks up the stairs.
Reaction: A cast member hides in a dressing, between costumes.
Horror situation: The monster moves into the room. Flips on candles. Searches around the room. No where else to look, it pulls back the costumes.
Reaction: The cast member bolts for it, but the monster summons a medieval spike ball and chain shadow and hurls it. It strikes the cast member on the back of the head.
Horror Situation: Death #4: The cast member is stunned and bleeding but alive when the monster picks up the ball and repeatedly slams it into the cast members body.
Cast members run into the prop storage room – find knives and body armor.
Horror Situation: The monster arrives. A cast member stands behind a door ready to strike. It sees blood on the floor from the injured girl.
Reaction: The monster slams on a button on the wall. The floor under the cast member opens up an she falls into a pit. The poor closes up again.
Horror situation: Death #5 The girl is trapped in a tomb and the walls slowly close in, crushing her to death.
Reaction: The remaining cast member throws a rope net over the monster and escapes.
Upstairs the three survivors run towards the foyer – when nature calls – she has to use the bathroom.
Horror Situation: She sits in the toilet – she hears the monster enter.
Reaction: She prepares to leave when.
Death #6: A spike comes up through the system, into her body and out of her mouth.
The Thrilling Escape From Death: They have figured out what can kill a shadow is direct light. One takes a position on the spotlight. The other entices the monster onto the stage. Once their they hook its cloak and expose the monster. It’s a decomposing body – full of maggots, dung Beatles and worms etc. It’s agonized dying. In a last gasp effort it form a shadow of a javelin and takes out the light.
Reaction: The cast member scales the wall ladders up to the fly rail.
Horror Situation. The monster is in pursuit – throwing daggers and hatchets.
On the rail the cast member is cornered. The monster creates a sledge hammer – starts to break up the rail.
Reaction: The cast member grabs onto a fly rope – swings off of the rail to another wall ladder. Heads toward the roof.
Horror Situation: The monster is firing arrows, spears, anything he can muster.
At the roof access the door is locked – Our cast member is about to die. The the door releases.
Reaction: He allows sunlight to hit the monster – he backs off and falls three stories to its death –
Horror Situation: The lovers unite, when the wind throws the access door shut.
Death returns to take one more effort to kill
Horror Situation: The monster regains its power. It summons a batman like pulley-device and fires it toward the roof – lands on the fly rail and charges at the last guy. Stabs him in the neck.
Reaction: The girl reaches for a can of inflammable liquid and deuces the monster, then ignites it. He falls off the fly rail – hits the deck, burning.
The sprinklers turn on, dousing everything in water but this time the monster is burnt to a crisp.
Resolution: Outside, the medics and police are clearing bodies.
Horror Situation: The girl sits alone in a blanket when she suddenly sees a shadow.
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Wayne’s Horror Situation Track
I learned how to build with Horror and Reaction.
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: Surveillance footage of agent death.
Horror Situation: An agent is hiding from unseen monster, peeking out, trying to get to his car.
Reaction – Escape: The agent make a dash for his car. As he closes the door a mysterious cloud with a hint of a face slips in. As if the car were a blender, blood and chunks of the agent splash onto all windows. An army of soldiers rush the car, open the doors. Almost no remains are there.
Connect with characters: A Task force is watching agent’s death surveillance and sizing up their six person CIA team.
Denial of Horror: Ollie, in charge, reads from CIA manual. “Exude confidence.” I will delegate that if anybody is feeling confidant. No? Didn’t think so. Good news. She (the monster) took the bait. Bad news. She seems to have eaten him.
Safety taken away: An army couldn’t save him and kill the bad guy. It’s our turn to try.
The characters are warned not to do it: I hereby warn each of you not to take this mission. You have this opportunity to resign.
Monster – The nature of the beast: How did the Monster get in, get out, where is the body? We are not safe. After some arguing they are all in.
Horror Situation: Abby, am I the only one who sees the Monster? That cloud has a face.
Reaction – Denial: Micheal: So do my tea leaves. They all give a laugh which fades to a look, this is bad.
Horror Situation: Face it team. You are the bait. Let’s build the trap.
Reaction – Try to solve it: They show off the weapons, sensors, and psychic skills in a brief moment of chutzpah.
ACT 2
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: A frightened task force challenges the Monster by building a trap, sealing it with them and their arsenal inside.
Brad and Ollie slip away and spark lust.
Abby’s instruments detect the presence of the Monster.
Horror Situation: One of us killed: Ollie’s Monster kills Michael. There is a crosscut connection between Ollie’s climax with Brad and the Monster killing Michael.
Reaction – escape: They attempt to shut down the trap. Request denied.
MIDPOINT – The monster is worse than we thought:
Ollie wants to abort the mission. Jack pulls rank.
Horror Situation: Ollie realizes she isn’t the only one with a monster.
Reaction – Fight: Ollie’s monster and Jack’s monster are fighting in the ethers.
Monsters are fighting and don’t care about humans for moment.
Abby is learning through her instruments.
Abby declares she can kill the monster, she knows what it is. They all can sense the presence, especially Ollie.
Some suspect Ollie as having info not shared.
Horror Situation: Jack’s Monster is killed by Ollie’s Monster.
Reaction – walking into a trap: The Agents feel relief.
ACT 3
Full pursuit by the killer: Monster attacks.
Fight to the death: Abby detects, then tracks, disempowers, then weakens the Monster.
The thrilling escape from death: Whew. We’re safe.
Hysteria: Ollie is becoming the Monster.
Death returns to take one or more: Ollie kills Jack.
Resolution: Abby finishes killing Ollie/Monster using her fancy machines.
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Carolyn’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is…everything is fluid. It is what it is for right now. This helped me find several plot holes. Looking forward to the next layer.
Concept: An over anxious reporter checks into a wellness spa and discovers it is being run by cannibals who plump up and eat their clients.
Act 1 – Set up for Horror
Atmosphere of Evil established – Smooth offers a choice to a pair of orphans he has taken in. Eat or be eaten.
Horror Situation: Two young teenagers are pushed into a meat locker where a woman is being sliced and eaten alive by a group of cannibals. They are told to join in or wind up like her.
Reaction: hide /escape – the 13 year old boy hides behind his 17 year old sister who appears resigned. She steps forward, eating and gagging on the flesh. The boy runs and cowers in the corner. The cannibals come for him. He screams.
15 years later:
Horror Situation: Wally Bovine is pursued by an unseen predator, dismembered, and partially eaten in the woods behind his house.
Reaction: escape / hide / fight – Wally runs into the woods and tries unsuccessfully to fight off the unseen predator.
Connect with characters – Sisters Jess and Nataly Jenkins celebrate Nataly’s 18th birthday with a small cake at home. Jess takes pills to help her anxiety. Nataly warns she is too dependent and should seek help.
Horror Situation: Jess breaks a glass and cuts herself. She sees blood and relives the tragic death of her parents in a car accident while she was driving.
Reaction: Fear and denial through chemicals.
The characters are warned not to do it – The sheriff warns Jess about wild animals in the woods. She is warned by the coroner of evil forces working and is also warned by Dale Kobe not to pursue his sister’s path to Heartly Farm.
Denial of Horror – Jess drinks to numb the news of the coroner’s death while the bartender tells stories of bear attacks. She is determined to pursue the story to Heartly Farm.
Safety taken away – Nataly falls in with a suspicious stranger, Gisele, leaving Jess alone.
Monster: Jess is dropped off in front of Heartly Farm and must walk up the mountain.
Horror situation: She hears things. She thinks she sees things. A squealing boar? A man running in the woods?
Reaction: Denial, fear. Desire to get out of the pounding rain and into the warmth of an imposing and ancient mountain lodge…
Act 2 – The Point of No Return
Isolated / Trapped /Abducted – Jess checks into the wellness retreat which is isolated in the mountains and surrounded by wild ferocious animals.
Horror situation: Jess must wear an ankle bracelet to track her movements – for her own safety.
Reaction: Denial. Jess wants to find out more, she’s not happy about the bracelet, but maybe it’s true about clients getting lost and attacked by wild animals.
One of us is killed – The Burly Man is seen being chased by a spa employee with a syringe. Jess later finds blood in his room.
Horror situation: Jess is awakened by a noise and goes to investigate. She sees the Burly Man in the hallway, literally bouncing off the walls.
Reaction: Try to solve. She tries to help him, but he gets aggressive and wanders away.
Horror situation: The next day Jess finds a pool of blood in the Burly Man’s room.
Reaction: Denial. Jess is told the blood is from a broken blood transfusion bottle. She has doubts, but wants to believe the place is okay because she’s actually found a bit of happiness meeting Paisley.
Horror situation: Paisley is knocked out and sent to the slaughterhouse to be hung upside down and drained of her blood.
Reaction – Jess learns the truth about Heartly Farm after looking for Paisley. She goes into shock and is easily captured.
Midpoint: The Monster is worse than we thought!
Full pursuit by the killer – Jess is captured and thrown into the dungeon with a rabid cannibal who wants to eat her. She escapes.
Horror situation: Jess is trapped in a dungeon with Harry who plans to eat her. He cuts off Jess’s finger and eats it.
Reaction: Jess escapes down a sewage tunnel and gets away from Harry.
Horror Situation: Chased by a pack of dogs, Jess falls into a deep pit and is trapped.
Reaction: Jess tries to claw her way out, but it’s slippery and muddy. With a blow dart, the cannibals tranquilize her.
Terrorized – Jess escapes, is captured and then released so she can be hunted. She escapes from Smooth only to be pursued by the sheriff who reveals he is also a cannibal working for Smooth.
Horror situation: Jess is in the slaughter house, hanging upside down and is about to be drained of her blood.
Reaction: Fight. She makes a mess, spilling a bucket of blood, Olga slips, Piker appears. Tells them Harry is dead and Smooth wants Jess alive. He has other plans for her now.
Horror situation: We meet Smooth again (first time since opening scene?). Because Jess killed Harry Smooth now has other plans for Jess. He is having a dinner party that same night and Jess will attend because the entree will be of special importance to her. (Paisley?)
Reaction: Jess escapes again and hot wires a truck.
Horror situation: Jess gets to the bottom of the mountain and sees the sheriff.
Reaction: She’s relieved.
Horror situation – The sheriff shoots to kill her. He misses.
Reaction: Escape. Jess drives the truck back up the mountain.
Horror situation – The sheriff following close behind her, Jess sees a giant bear in the road and swerves to avoid hitting it.
Reaction – Jess crashes the truck into a tree off the side of the mountain and is knocked out.
Horror situation – Jess comes to as the sheriff approaches, cocking the shotgun.
Reaction – Jess tries to hide in the footwell.
Horror situation – The bear attacks the sheriff, ripping off his face.
Reaction – Jess escapes, but not before taking the sheriff’s weapon.
Horror situation – Jess runs up to the road and sees her sister and Gisele, who is really a cannibal and the teenage girl from the opening, driving up to the lodge. Jess realizes Nataly is the special entree.
Reaction: Jess goes back to the lodge in order to save her sister.
Act 3 – Full Out Horror
Fight to Death: Jess causes a melee in the main dining room and fights Smooth, searing and smoking him in a giant kettle drum. But first…
Horror situation: Jess enters the deadly feast hall and blasts a hole in the wall with the sheriff’s shotgun, demanding to know where Nataly is.
Reaction: Fight. But Jess is overpowered by Smooth’s henchmen and is taken prisoner.
Hysteria: Jess is forced to eat the cooked flesh of her lover, Paisley in order to save her sister, Nataly.
Horror situation: Jess is made to sit at the feast table with the other cannibals. If she wants to live she must become one of them by eating the flesh of her dead lover, Paisley.
Reaction: She refuses, saying she would rather die.
Horror situation: Smooth brings Nataly out on a platter. She is unconscious, but still alive. He threatens to carve and serve her if Jess refuses to eat her lover’s flesh.
Reaction: Jess complies. She is truly hysterical.
The thrilling escape of death: Smooth has no intention of saving Nataly, but before he can kill her, Jess acts, creating a ruckus at the table.
Horror situation: Smooth has hoisted Nataly (still unconscious) and has cut her major arteries. She is bleeding out.
Reaction: Jess creates a ruckus at the table – a food fight.
Death returns to take one or more: Piker and Olga both die at the Deadly Feast. Smooth dies as well. At least we think he does.
Horror situation: Piker is spiked by a human sized rotisserie.
Reaction: Death.
Horror situation: Olga is eaten alive by The Group of Investors.
Reaction: Death.
Horror situation: Smooth is about to kill Jess when Gisele comes up from behind and hits him in the head with a fireplace poker.
Reaction: Jess lunges at Smooth and he falls into a giant kettle drum. She closes the lid and her and Gisele save Nataly and flee.
Resolution: Believing Smooth is dead, Gisele takes over the cannibal operation and offers Jess a partnership. Jess is horrified to learn she is now a cannibal and will fight insatiable cravings for human flesh for the rest of her life. She refuses Gisele’s offer, but starts to look at Nataly in a different, more savory way.
Horror situation: Unable to control the cravings for human flesh, Jess looks at her sister.
Reaction: And salivates.
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Douglas Ryan’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned from this exercise is that I added too much to the last assignment which made this one go a little smoother and I found that I wanted to switch a couple of horror situations around to make it more tense.
ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
Atmosphere of Evil established: Dr Xeno removes an eye and keeps it in a collection of eyes.
Horror Situation: Xeno is unfazed by the man’s screams or the uncomfortableness of the Sheriff when he extracts the dangling eye.
Reaction: Denial: The sheriff ignores gut feeling for stability in town after seeing Xeno collect the eye.
Connect with the characters: The main players are introduced via Sheriff going around town.
The characters are warned not to do it: Little boy messes with ants and is told not to wreck glasses.
Horror situation: Dr Xeno tells the boy to take care of his eyes or he could lose them, he looks at Daniella while he says this.
Reaction: Try to solve: Daniella asks Stuart what’s up with his dad’s creepiness.
Denial of Horror: Daniella tells the sheriff that Xeno was threatening the boy, but is told he is a valued member of the community and she is not.
Safety taken away: Daniella and Stuart head home, their home lives are errieily similar.
Horror Situation: Daniella comes home to abuse and overtly religious foster parents. Stuart comes home to a catatonic creepy mom.
Reaction: Fight: Daniella refuses to read the Bible and just do her homework,
Reaction: Denial: Stuart has come to understand that this is life, and his dad’s obsession with eyes is a part of it.
Monster: The nature of the beast: Dr Xeno goes to the free clinic he volunteers at and is confronted by police.
Horror situation: He is un-reactive to the homicide photos of people missing eyes.
Reaction: Try to Solve it: Detective Marcus is suspicious of Dr Xeno and wants to know more about him.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: Daniella is not believed by adults that Xeno is a bad guy.
Horror situation: Xeno gives Daniella her eye exam, she notices his eye shaking, he is over zealous about her eyes being perfect.
Reaction: Escape: The eye exam is over and he is blocking her from leaving but she shoves past him to get to her foster mom.
Horror situation: Daniella witnesses Xeno hurting a child with air puff machine.
Reaction: Denial: The mother of the boy believes Xeno over Daniella.
Horror situation: Xeno invites Daniella’s Foster mom for an after hours eye exam after seeing that she has not been for an exam in four years.
Reaction: Hide: Daniella tells her foster mom not to go and that she won’t go.
Horror situation: Detective Marcus goes back to the clinic to ask about Xeno’s wife.
Reaction: Try to solve it: Dr. Johnson tells Marcus that she can’t really say anything about the wife but the removal of the eyes look like practice and the last victim has a cleaner more surgical look, meaning the killer has gotten better.
One of us killed
Horror situation: Daniella is forced to go with her guardian to Xeno’s.
Reaction: Hide: When they get there Stuart gets Daniella to come upstairs with him and leave her guardian to his dad.
Horror situation: Foster mom is strapped into the chair and tortured by Xeno while the teens are upstairs.
Character Death: Foster mom is tortured by dilation and light, Xeno kills her and takes her still dilated eyes.
Horror situation: Daniella meets Mary, Xeno’s wife, she is scary and quiet and her hair covers her eyes.
Reaction: Escape: Seeing Mary and seeing the Eye jar room Daniella jets and Stuart comes with her.
MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!
Full pursuit by the killer
Horror situation: Foster mom does not show up at home, and Daniella tells foster dad that she was at Xeno’s and he has a room full of eyes in jars.
Reaction: Figure it out: the Sheriff goes to Xeno and asks about the foster mom, he lies and tells her she left in a frantic state.
Horror situation: Xeno is upset at the clinic and asks a homeless man to accompany him to his practice.
Reaction: Fight/Escape: the homeless man fights back when he is being tortured but is dragged back in to the cellar.
Horror situation: Daniella and sheriff’s son see the homeless man being dragged back in and investigate.
Character Death: They hide and witness the homeless man killed, Xeno watches them run away.
Terrorized
Horror situation: The kids get the sheriff over to Xeno’s, he shows her the body.
Character Death: the sheriff attempts to arrest Xeno but he kills her in front of the kids.
Horror situation: Xeno knocks out the son and grabs Daniella strapping her to the chair.
Reaction: Fight: Daniella screams for Stuart, who comes to her rescue and they flee to her house.
ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death
Horror situation: Xeno appears at the end of the driveway, the foster Dad confronts him.
Character Death: Xeno hiding a scalpel slits the dad’s throat.
Hysteria
Horror Situation: Stuart now knows what his dad is the killer and is having a breakdown.
Reaction: Escape: Daniella forces him to run and he wants to save his mom because she is innocent.
The thrilling escape from death
Horror situation: Daniella is caught by Xeno again as they run by and Stuart is verbally abused by his dad.
Reaction: Fight/Escape: Stuart punches his dad, takes the scalpel and the teens head for Xeno’s once again.
Death returns to take one or more.
Horror situation: Marcus sees the kids running and screaming from Xeno.
Reaction: Fight: Marcus tries to handcuff Xeno at gunpoint but Xeno gets the gun and shoots Marcus.
Horror situation: Xeno locks down the house and finds the kids.
Character Death: Stuart unable to find his mom confronts his dad again, and is thrown down the cellar stairs breaking his neck.
Horror situation: Daniella is forced to go to the cellar with Xeno in pursuit.
Reaction: Fight: Seeing Stuart dead she grabs a glass jar with fermaldihide and smashes it on Xeno’s head.
Horror situation: Daniella finds Mary, she looks at her eyes and she is blind.
Reaction: Hide: Daniella attempts to hide with Mary.
Horror situation: Mary straps Daniella into the chair as Xeno comes down for the surgery.
Character Death: Marcus makes his way down to the cellar and is about to free Daniella when Mary kills him.
Resolution
Horror situation: Daniella wakes in the hospital to find that she is the sole survivor of a fire.
Reaction: Denial: She tells Detective Smith that they killed Marcus and would not have died.
Horror situation: A nurse comes into Daniella’s room, it’s Mary.
Character Death: Daniella’s screams are heard as we fade to black.
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Anthony Ward’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is that horror situations should show up throughout my script in different places in the three acts.
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: A group of misfits loot an abandon mansion They accidentally knock over an urn and the ashes inside spill out..
Horror Situation: An eerie feeling comes over the looters.
Reaction – Escape: It’s close to nightfall so they decide to leave. Errol Brennon emerges from the shadows to defend his home. He has an old revolver. He picks the guys off one by one.
Horror Situation: Errol is killed by one of the looters.
Connect with the characters: A few years later a different group of young adults crash the mansion to throw a Memorial Day party.
There is a weather warning that a terrible storm is coming.
Denial of Horror: The group decides to go through with the party plans dispite the news of the storm.
Safety taken away: It starts to rain.
Horror Situation: The lights flicker. Maybe its the storm, maybe it’s something else?.
Reaction – Katie decides to see if she can find the presence of a ghost in the house. .
Horror Situation: Environment change..
Reaction – Denial: They pass it off as the storm and high winds causing the lights to flicker.
Monster: Errol Brennon is awoken from the dead.
Horror Situation: Monster approaching.
Reaction: They attempt to hide and fight back.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Something inside your body/ Trapped: They are trapped inside the house because the storm is bad outside. Errol’s ashes gets inside their mouths when they scream and chokes them.
Horror Situation: Another character loses it.
Reaction: They try to calm him down because they think if they stay silent they are safe, not knowing the monster is in the room with them.
Horror Situation: One of them starts to sneeze as the monster gets closer.
Reaction: The group turns and notices the monster right behind him, They run out the room leaving him behind.
Horror Situation: They hear screams and coughs coming from the room where they left..
Character Death: The ashes choke him the group returns to offer aid but it is too late. He is dead.
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Deborah’s Horror Plot Track
ACT ONE – SET UP FOR HORROR
Atmosphere of Evil established:
Horror Situation: A woman is running through a forest with something big chasing him. We don’t see what it is, but the woman is terrorized.
Reaction Escape: She hides in the hollow of a tree, pulling branches in front of the opening. She tries to quiet her breathing, listening as hard as she can for the monster.
Horror Situation: Suddenly the tree is sheared off and she is taken and blood and limbs fly.
Connect with Characters
Our characters are on a spacebus headed for a hollow asteroid, where a handful of scientists and military men are already stationed. We get to know each character and why they are headed to the asteroid.
The military men are concerned because there is no response from the asteroid.
Denial of Horror
The pilot says communications have been funky and that it’s nothing to be worried about. The military aren’t convinced, but the pilot takes them closer in all confidence.
Safety Taken Away
Horror Situation: Suddenly something hits them and they are sucked inside.
Reaction-Escape: our hero pilots the ship to a crash landing, preventing it from being taken wherever it was supposed to be.
Horror Situation: They find the remains of some kind of alien beast.
Reaction-Denial: With the robot leading, they hiked through the forest to base camp where they will find help.
Monster: The nature of the beast
Horror Situation: The group finds the base. There is obvious evidence of horrors that took place here. Some blood. Barricaded room that have been broken into, etc. There are no bodies.
Reaction: The military set watches, the rest try to sleep, but are haunted by what went down here and what it means to them.
Act 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated/Trapped/Abducted:
Horror Situation: Pilot finds a shuttle that could take them all away but wants to test drive it first.
Character Death: They watch as the pilot hits a force field and his ship breaks into pieces.
Reaction: They discuss the fact that they have all missed checking in with earth forces and that they will be coming to rescue them. They need to find a way to stay safe from whatever got the others.
Horror Situation: A huge screen appears on the roof of the asteroid, giving our cast a glimpse of the sky. Then suddenly the stars are moving in a blur—the asteroid is leaving orbit, leaving the solar system.
Reaction: Panic. They are trapped with no help coming. Scientist breaks down.
One of us is killed.
Horror Situation: The monster shows up. It is a hybrid alien beast with the head of the woman in the teaser. This is the doctor’s wife
Character Death: The Doctor is so terrorized by this that he can’t run, can’t do anything, and he is killed.
Reaction: The others escape.
ACT THREE – FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death
Horror Situation: The monster finds them again. They fight and are able to kill it.
Reaction: They are relieved, the monster is dead.
Horror Situation: But Wait! Another monster appears made out of parts of the pilot they all know! This monster is smarter, more deadly. The scientist is dragged away, wounded but not dead. The pilot always had a thing for the scientist and this comes into play… we can imagine what he will do to her with his alien body. The photojournalist, who has seen victims of war horrors, kills her. The fight to the death of the pilot now happens.
Hysteria
Reaction: The rich man keeps his daughter from breaking down, but the photojournalist has a complete breakdown. The Miner tries to comfort her. The military set up a perimeter. The robot disappears and the military now suspect he is infected or is a turncoat and is otherwise bad. Sabrina fights for it.
The thrilling escape from death:
Horror Situation: Sabrina gets separated from the group and is attacked by a monster. She uses her brain to bring help to kill the monsters. Photojournalist is killed or taken.
Reaction: Robot returns with news she has found the intelligence behind the hybrids. People don’t want to trust her. He talks about experiments human conduct on animals. That’s going on here except they are the animals. Stop the scientist and you stop the hybrid monsters.
They follow the robot into a part of the asteroid that actually looks like a ship. There are computers, etc. Sabrina helps the robot to jack into the ship and she begins to shut down life support for the reptilian aliens.
Horror Situation: They find where the monsters were created and see pieces of humans still alive. They kill them all. Then there’s a fight for control of the ship.
Death returns to take one more
Horror Situation: The formidable female Reptilian attacks. The Military Man sacrifices himself to save the others. The alien is badly wounded and escapes in the equivalent of an alien shuttle.
Resolution:
Reaction: The Rich Man, Sabrina and the Miner survive along with the Robot. They are hurtling through space on the way to who knows where. Sabrina and the robot will work on the computers to find a way home. Her father and the Miner will prepare for survival and the chance there are other creatures out there.
Horror Situation: We go out on a snake/human hybrid hiding in
the medical wing. -
Carmen’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment was that I need to keep coming up with scary horror situations and amp up what my first outline offers – as this assignment really took a lot of thought! I also learned that I have a good base for my outline and adding these specifics is creating the story and characters and their arcs as I do it!
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: Don Bruno makes a deal with the devil for power and money.
Horror Situation: Doing something forbidden – Fredo and Cecilia have an affair – The Don finds out.
Reaction – Fight: Fredo and Don Bruno argue – it escalates and Fredo shoots the Don and buries him in the desert south of town.
Horror Situation: Impending doom: # 2 Fredo and Luca dig up the Don’s grave – looking for the money
Connect with the characters: Flashback to Don Bruno and Cecilia, the kids, and the whole family at an anniversary party for them. Dancing and having fun.
The characters are warned not to do it: At the party Grandmother Sofia tells them of the Don “curse”. How every Don generation has made a deal with the Devil for wealth and power and subsequently the entire family or the Don’s “old team” dies to fulfill his pact
Denial of Horror: The group laughs at her story – the Don especially – in his own denial since he has already made the pact a few years before
Safety taken away: The Don is targeting the family!
Horror Situation: See another killed – Fredo is forced to watch the Don kill his oldest son.
Reaction: Escape – Fredo tries to hide his twin teens from Don Bruno.
Horror Situation: Trapped – it becomes clear that it doesn’t matter where they go – Don Bruno can get to them.
Reaction – Fight: Fredo enlists the help of his brother, Leonardo, who lives out of state and left the family “business” to do other things.
Monster: The nature of the beast: Don Bruno comes to Fredo in a dream promising him that he will see everyone he loves die before he dies his own horrible death.
Horror Situation: Physically tortured – Cecilia gets tortured – he sucks her soul and uses some of her skin to put on him
Reaction: Try to solve it – They go to Grandmother Sofia for answers.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: They try to drive to California, but the borders are closed due to a water shortage. The UT border is closed as well.
Horror Situation: Mentally tortured – The Don stalks his victims – torturing them not knowing who is next
Reaction: They go back to the family home highrise and try grandmother Sofia’s warding off the spell.
Horror Situation: The spell doesn’t work! They start to hear strange noises
Reaction: They Flee – Leonardo and Bianca keep looking for answers.
Character Death: Two more members of the family are brutally killed.
Horror Situation: Don Bruno follows Fredo and his family to a bunker.
Character Death: One of Fredo’s twins is savagely killed.
ACT III
Horror Situation/Character Death: Fredo’s wife, Sasha is killed in front of him. Don Bruno is patchworking the skin of his victims onto his face and arms. He is even scarier now!
Reaction: Fredo tries to appeal to Don Bruno’s human side. He weeps and yells.
Character Death: Don Bruno slits Fredo’s daughter’s throat.
Horror Situation: Leonardo and Bianca and Fredo are cornered.
Reaction: Hide: Fredo tries to hide under a couple of the dead bodies, but Don Bruno finds him.
Character Death: Fredo’s soul is sucked out and he is skinned and Don Bruno takes his flesh to wear on his face.
Horror Situation: Leonardo and Bianca are trapped in the bunker
Reaction: Leonardo appeals to Don Bruno’s human side and strikes a deal.
FINALE: Leonardo becomes the new Don – Don Bruno’s debt is paid and he is at rest. Leonardo and Bianca leave the bunker. Leonardo on the phone setting a meeting with his second cousin – ready to start giving souls for power and money
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Atmosphere is a dark forest reported to house a horned monster
The characters, a hunting party, become isolated by no cell service, & a sudden dense fog.
Horace, one of the hunters, shoots a crow which angers Fred, who tells him to go bury it. Horace stomps off but sees a doe and wounds it. Fred is enraged and goes after the doe.
The two hunters become isolated from their guide, Fred, and from each other after a fight between them.
One of the hunters tells Horace that he knows Horace has been embezzling money- they fight and Guy falls down a revine. Horace then shoots him and continues on up the mountain to get his buck.
Horace keeps goin but is followed by a murder of crows. They drive him crazy and he shoots more of them, then sees huge deer tracks leading up the mountain. Horace runs up the mountain and sees a glimpse of a huge stage with antlers the seem to move of their own accord he shoots, misses. The stage has vanished but Horace stalks him Horace stops fir a swig of whiskey from his flask and leans back against a tree. He feels a branch that moves down to curl around his neck. He feasts, shoots at the tree and keeps following the stag.
Crows keep dive bombing him and he shoots again. Then hears something and turns to see the stag-8 feet high at the withers, with burning Ted eyes and some kind of dripping liquid on the tips of the antlers. The antlers writhe and grow bigger as Horace watches.
.“You shot my wife, the stag’s deep voice rumbles in Horace’s brain. Horace aims at the stag and the gun trigger clicks. Horace pees himself as the stag slowly approaches. Horace tries to shoot again and the trigger clicks again . Horace drops the gun and runs back down the path. He stops for breath—no sign of the stag. Horace drinks again and laughs, then heads back up to get his gun.
As Horace gets to where he dropped his gun he is charged by the stag, who body slams him. Horace goes down with a broken leg. His skin is burning as drops of acid(?) from the stags moving antlers hit him. Suddenly the stag stops his attack and walks over to the fallen gun. As Horace watches the stag morphs back into Fred, the guide, who calmly bends over, picks up the gun and aims at Horace.
“ The triggers jammed, you idiot,” Horace pants. Fred shoots him between the eyes, then puts empties the chamber and throws the gun onto Horace’s body.
“Apparently not,” Fred says and he walks away to meet a woman in a white jacket and leggings. She is holding a bandage on one hip where Horace shot her. Fred walks over, picks her up abd csrries her into the forest and crows descend onto Horace’s body.:/
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What I learned doing this assignment is: This makes the Horror plot clearer and helps develop more horrific scenes.
Mark Hammond: Horror Situation Track
ACT 1
Atmosphere of evil established:
On a howling rainy with lightning Halloween night a group of thrill-seeking young adults.
1.Horror Situation:
They see a funeral home at a distance deep in the woods.
Reaction-Escape:
They approach trying to seeking shelter from the lightning and torrential rain.
2.Horror Situation:
As they approach, they see a figure of someone they can’t quite make out, because of the rain, frantically beckoning them in. But, when they enter-no one is there but a casket.
Reaction-Solve it:
The group reacts with fear, confusion, and curiosity. Finally the leader says stay put while he investigates.
Horror Situation:
Those remaining behind try their cell phones and no one can get a signal.
Reaction-Solve it:
Those remaining look for a working landline.
Horror Situation:
Those remaining have decided to proceed together without the Leader. They come upon a room labeled “Keep Out”. They enter, and suddenly, all of the doors in the funeral home automatically lock, and steel riot shutters cover the windows.
Reaction-Escape
They panic and try to escape.
Horror Situation:
They hear noise and screaming coming from another room.
Reaction:Fight
Some become terrified as others panic, and they become at odds with each other.
ACT 2
Horror Situation:
They stop fighting. They hear another scream.
Reaction-Escape
Realizing that the doors are locked they hesitantly go towards the sound of the scream hoping someone there can help them.
Horror Situation:
The group enters a room filled with caskets. One opens and their leader sits up with a large hole in his chest.
Reaction-Denial
They look at one another in disbelief. They become paralyzed with fear.
Horror Situation:
They see the shadow of the monster on the wall coming towards them.
Reaction:Escape
The group scatters looking for hiding places.
Horror:Situation:
(Innocent one) Falls and hurts her leg.
She is captured and held captive by the monster
Reaction: Solve it
Only the rescuer follows to see what the monster is going to do with her.
ACT 3
Horror Situation:
He watches while ( INNOCENT ) is placed on a conveyor belt, that is slowly moving her into the crematory’s fiery furnace.
Reaction:Fight
She is screaming hysterically.
Horror Situation:
The monster hears the others running outside of the room. He leaves the room to capture someone else.
Reaction:Escape
The ( Rescuer ) sees ( Innocent) just about to go into the fire. He uses the opportunity to rescue her and they rejoin the others.
Horror Situation
The monster spots the remaining group and comes after them to kill them all off.
Reaction: Fight
The rescuer (LEADER) tells the group to arms themselves to fight off, and kill the monster. Everyone complies except (OUT OF CONTROL/OBNOXIOUS) and her boyfriend (THE REBEL/RULE BREAKER). They run off together to escape. The monster sees them.
Horror Situation
They OUT OF CONTROL/OBNOXIOUS) and her boyfriend (THE REBEL/RULE BREAKER) run into a room lock the door behind them only to find that the monster is in that room.
Reaction:Escape
To save herself, ( The OUT OF CONTROL / OBNOXIOUS ) CHARACTER pushes her boyfriend into the arms of the monster and the monster kills him.
Horror Situation:
( The OUT OF CONTROL / OBNOXIOUS ) CHARACTER watches the monster killi her boyfriend.
Reaction:Escape
She runs screaming. She finds the remaining group hiding in the crematory, ready to fight off the monster.
Horror Situation:
The ( CARRIER ) charges the monster with a knife and stabs the monster, and allowing the others to escape.
Reaction:Escape
The others hesitantly run to another hiding place.
Horror Situation
The ( OUT OF CONTROL / OBNOXIOUS ) character and tells the rest the monster is dead and it’s safe to leave-but the monster is not dead, and he rises back up.
Reaction:Escape
( OUT OF CONTROL ) defiantly comes out of hiding-leaving the group. The monster sees and captures her, and puts her into the furnace. She screams hysterically until the screams fade away.
Horror Situation:
( the Moral one and the Rescuer) jump the monster and pin him to the conveyor belt. ( The Rescuer tells the Moral one ) to press the button and start the conveyor. As they struggle, Rescuer’s belt gets caught in the belt and the Monster and RESCUER go into the furnace.
Reaction:Solve
He stares at the furnace with regret, then gives a sigh of relief and regret.
Horror Situation:
A body rises from a slab, pulls a sheet off of itself, and slowly drags its’ leg walking to the ( Moral One ), whose back turned. and It grabs his shoulder. We hear the Monster laughing in the furnace, and says
… I T’S N O T O V E R !
Reaction:Denial
The remaining group members just look at each other.
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What I learned from this assignment is this new way of building outlines that I think will help prevent me from redoing the same outline over and over, but instead adding & editing specific layers. I also think getting into screenplay format will be much easier after building so much depth in this stage.
I’ll spare copy/pasting my actual outline from this point b/c I added a lot of details and it’s over the 15 pg mark now. Great for writing draft one. Not great for posting.
But this has been a great exercise!
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John Garofolo’s Horror Situation
What I learned from this assignment is to think through the scenes to make sure they were delivering enough horror to carry the story.
Act I – Set up for Horror
Atmosphere of Evil: A brutal murder of a young man and woman takes place in Oak Park, Illinois.
Horror Situation: A young man and woman are having sex when the door is pushed open by a figure (POV).
Reaction: The couple reason with the figure, apologize, try to calm things down. Reason turns to pleading. The male attempts an escape.
Horror Situation: The figure strangles the male lover.
Reaction: Terror, screaming. The girl tries to escape.
Horror situation: She’s caught and slowly strangled to death by the figure and then thrown back on the bed. Her lifeless face stares.
The murderer escapes. Dissolve to detectives at the crime scene saying they couple was caught having sex and probably killed by a boyfriend (maybe on Halloween)
Connect with the Characters: Oak Park, California, Five years later. A group of young women are getting ready for a nice suburban party. We learn about the characters through their discussion and are aware that there going to a bridal shower and will come back to the house for an after-party.
The characters are warned: We meet the fiancé and learn more about the characters. An old boyfriend shows up and corners the bride-to-be to tell her not to get married.
The only one who “sees” the monster: He tells her there’s something off with him.
Reaction: Denial.
Denial of Horror: After the Maid of Honor and several of the bridesmaids intervene, the bride-to-be tells him that it’s pretty despicable for him to trash talk her fiancé like that and she tells him to leave.
Safety taken away: The old boyfriend leaves. But before he gets in his car, he sees the groom-to-be glaring at him in a way that gives him the chills.
Horror situation: As he drives off, the groom (looking pretty angry) chases after the car for a moment, then goes back to the restaurant and returns to the party as if nothing happened.
(She probably asks him what he was doing out there and he replies nothing, acting perfectly normal)
Monster–Nature of the beast: A little later, the old boyfriend has returned to his apartment. There’s a knock at the door.
Reaction: He opens the door, recognizes whomever is there and looks surprised/afraid, “ what the hell are you doing here?” The figure (POV) pushes the old boyfriend, steps in the apartment. The sounds of a scuffle are apparent…then silence.
Act 2 – The Point of No Return
Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: The bridal party goes back to the suburban house (Horror situation: Isolation) for the real party to open up the presents not suitable for family and friends outside the bridal party to see. We learn more about the dynamics between the characters (of particular importance is the discussion that the groom-to-be was adamant about no sex before marriage).
Horror situation: Not quite trapped, but a little more isolated and less options for getting help. The mother (step-mother) collects all the cell phones to make sure that no evidence of the party gets out and car keys to make sure no one drive while intoxicated.
The groom-to-be shows up a little later, bringing an expensive bottle of champagne. Everybody’s happy.
Horror situation: Probably a little too much drinking for an after party.
Reaction: While they’re coherent, they’re definitely impaired, which will impact their decision-making and ability to plan and execute an escape Also, denial. Except for the groom-to-be who is perfectly sober and the mother (step mother) of the bride-to-be who is an obnoxious drunk.
Horror situation: Isolating the mother (step-mother) and Monster approaching. The girls convince her it’s finally time for her to go to bed and when she gets into the master bedroom, the groom-to-be comes out of the master bathroom, apologizing profusely.
One of us killed:
Horror situation: Face-to-face with the monster. The mother (step-mother) tells him to stay, then starts seducing the groom-to-be, who tries to politely escape, but she persists and eventually, they end up on the bed, with the groom-to-be on top of her. When she reaches down and grabs between his legs, she literally flips a switch and the seduction turns deadly, first he tears at he clothes, paws her and then strangles her to death. The monster is now unleashed.
Reaction: Terror, Panic as she’s slowly strangled to death.
MIDPOINT
Horror situations: Impending doom. From this point on the monster engages in a cat and mouse game with the victims, who still aren’t aware that anything is wrong (so their Reaction is nothing-denial).
Horror situation: The second victim is killed and hidden.
Reaction: Surprise, panic, terror as she realizes she’s going to die. (The rest of the partiers are still not aware they’re in danger (Denial).
Horror situation: A third victim is killed
Reaction: panic, terror, fighting back, making some noise.
Horror situation: Because of the noise made in this killing the survivors finally realize something’s going on.
Reaction: Try to solve it and see what’s going on.
Horror situation: They go to the master bedroom and see the bride-to-be’s mother (step-mother). They finally know they’re in big trouble.
Reaction: They are disgusted, horrified, traumatized. But, they still have to solve the mystery. They look for their friends and fiancé, who they now assume may be dead too.
They find the second victim’s body
They can’t find their cell phones and can’t call 911, because the landline isn’t working, either.
Act III- Full out Horror
Fight to the death:
Horror situation: One of them runs outside to the closest neighbor’s house for help.
Reaction: There’s no answer, as she screams and knocks on the door. She knocks again, pleading. But there’s still no answer.
Horror situation: She’s grabbed from behind and strangled to death. The figure carries her body across the shared driveway toward the house, but goes through the front gate to the side of the house into a dark side yard.
Horror situation: Back inside the house, the girls slowly search the house looking for their other dead friend and the fiancé.
Reaction: They’re so afraid, they spook themselves, while they do their awkward search.
They decide to get out while they can and get out the front door to join their friend who they think has gotten help. But they can’t open the front door, it’s jammed shut so they run back to toward the slider in the family room, but when they flip the light switch, the killer is standing there with the body of the girl he just killed.*
Reaction: Panic, hysteria. The four remaining survivors decide to stay inside the house, and hide since they can’t get outside and they can’t call for help.
*Alternate, the girl’s not dead yet and he strangles her as the girls helplessly watch in terror. Alternate 2, he slices the throat of the girl as the others watch in terror.
Reaction: Helplessly watch in terror.
Horror situation: But, the killer can get inside. And he does, stalking, finding and killing two more survivors as they try and escape from the killer.
Reaction of the two victims: Escape, panic, hysteria.
Reaction of the two survivors still in hiding who know their friends have been killed: panic, sorrow, guilt, shame.
Now, just the bride-to-be and the Maid of Honor are still alive.
The thrilling escape from death:
Horror situation: Face to face with the monster. The killer turns off all lights in the house and stalks the remaining two.
Reaction: Terror, resigned to the fact that they have to fight to survive.
Horror situation: He finds them and they fight like hell, both taking one hell of a pounding, but finally they get an advantage and one hits him with whatever heavy or sharp object they have and the killer goes down.
Reaction: During the fight, tenacity, anger.
Reaction after the fight: Exhaustion, sorrow, simultaneous guilt and gratitude they’ve survived.
Death returns to take one or more:
Horror situation: Friends in Danger. Impending Doom. They think they’ve won. They limp through the house and take stock the toll. They look for their phones and go back up to the second floor bedroom and continue looking for the fiance. But, the killer comes from behind and round two of the fight continues.
Reaction: Fighting fury.
But, another one bites the dust. This time the maid of honor and the groom-to-be appear to be dead.
Reaction: The bride-to-be sobs heavily as she caresses her best friend’s body, holding her tight to her chest.
Resolution:
Horror situation: Injured, debilitated, Tricked. But, then, she realizes the killer is the man she almost married, comes back, grabs her from behind and starts choking her, lifting her off her feet.
Reaction: Fight to the death.
She struggles to break the hold, throwing elbows, reaching around to grab anything. She’s almost out of air and with one final effort, pokes him in the eye and he releases his grip. She rushes to the side of the bed and reaches for a baseball bat. She grabs it, but he grabs her and pulls her away, and she swings away at him and finally strikes a killing blow.
Reaction: It’s over. There’s no joy. Just survival.
But, everyone knows that somehow the killer’s not really dead…at least not yet.
Alternate ending: When it’s all over and the first police are on scene. They find the fiancé dazed, handcuffed with legs tied at the ankle in a closet in a room that hadn’t been checked. It turns out that the twin brother, who had some serious mental health issues came to town to confront his brother for not inviting him to the wedding. The two had had a fight and he was blindsided with a knockout shot to the chin. He was disoriented and he ended up in the closet.
Horror situation: Walking into a trap, working with someone, who becomes the evil one. After he’s reunited with the bride-to-be, the two walk away from the camera, but after a few steps, he turns to the camera and gives it a disturbing, evil grin.
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JENNIFER’S Horror Situation Track
I learned that it is incredibly helpful to have a list of potential horror situations so that we can have a rich and varied terrifying experience for our audience.
ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
Atmosphere of Evil established – A killing takes place in the desert and killers say that the desert’s predators will dispose of the body (“The desert is always hungry,” and Nature’s Fixers)
SITUATION: Woman’s voice screams, “No!” We see just the boots, then the hat of killer. Hat has rattler tail on back, and “rattlesnake in mid-strike” head on front. We see boots of woman running toward killer.
REACTION: Woman running to solve/stop. Too late – gunshot.
Connect with the characters – Family packs up the RV for camping trip, Leya packing books, kids’ bedtime, Mom (Kendria) prepping food, watching news
The characters are warned not to do it. – Weather forecast shows severe storms
Denial of Horror – Husband (Richard) says storms will be miles away
Safety taken away – Once out in the desert the RV breaks down
SITUATION: RV breaks down
REACTION: Denial, minimize – says he’ll fix it later, unhitch the car and go to town for parts
SITUATION: Severe storm off in distance
REACTION: Denial, “it’s far away,” set up camp and start cooking dinner
Monster: The nature of the beast – Vultures nearby are circling, diving, and devouring a body
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted – The killers show up at the family’s campsite, shoot rattler, hysterical screams from Frank from the darkness
SITUATION: Sound of gunshots, crunch of approaching horses, Desert Killers show up – rattler hat illuminated by firelight, they’re armed
REACTION: They hide behind RV with little dog
One of us killed – A pack of coyotes run through and snatch the family’s little dog
SITUATION: Dog carried off by coyotes
REACTION: Kendria runs off after dog
SITUATION: Killers search RV, gunshots
REACTION: Escape – they run and hide
SITUATION: The killers come after them
REACTION: They run
SITUATION: Frank runs into cactus – screaming
REACTION: He struggles, makes it worse
RED HERRING – KILLERS SHOT THE COYOTE, REMOVE CACTUS FROM FRANKS BODY, WARN FAMILY THAT THE ROAD BACK IS FLOODED BECAUSE OF STORM WAY UPSTREAM, THEN THEY LEAVE
MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!
Full pursuit by the killer – Deadly desert creatures (in seemingly orchestrated gangs) terrorize the family: Tarantulas, scorpions, bats, rattlesnakes, bobcats, coyotes, etc.
SITUATION: On the way back to the RV a swarm of bats attacks them
REACTION: Run, duck – also denial “Bat’s don’t attack people – they must have been after the bugs.”
Terrorized – As soon as one enemy moves on, another takes its place
SITUATION: Gila monsters crawl out from under RV and knock over gas can – which begins leaking
REACTION: Try to grab can, but it reaches a spark and flames erupt
SITUATION: Flames approach car they were towing
REACTION: Dad gets in car and backs it up rapidly – getting it stuck in sand, Kendria puts out fire with extinguisher
SITUATION: Car disturbs nest of rattlers that come toward the campsite
REACTION: They escape into the RV, they try to sleep – determined to find help tomorrow
ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death – Family is separated, scattered – all left alone to face their attackers
SITUATION: In the morning tarantulas are coming in through open window
REACTION: Escape from RV
SITUATION: Richard climbs mountain to try to get phone signal, gets lost, caught in barbed wire, drops phone off cliff
REACTION: He tries different paths, climbs higher to try to see RV and find his way back
SITUATION: Dust storm envelops the area
REACTION: Blinded, they all scatter
Hysteria – Each family member can hear the terrified screams of the others
SITUATION: Kendria falls into bloody carcass, vultures descend to pick at the carcass
REACTION: She screams, blindly runs away
SITUATION: Frank finds the mangled corpse of their dog
REACTION: Collapses, cries, wraps it in his coat and begins to carry it back to camp
The thrilling escape from death – Frank falls down into an abandoned mine shaft, Kendria takes refuge in a creepy, dilapidated old shack, Richard finds Leya back at the RV
SITUATION: Frank falls into abandoned mine shaft
REACTION: He screams, but is knocked unconscious
SITUATION: Kendria takes refuge in creepy dilapidated shack, her foot falls through rotted floor, trapping her
REACTION: She struggles to get out, but her leg is getting torn up
SITUATION: She’s disturbed a scorpion’s nest and they start crawling out from under the floor
REACTION: She becomes hysterical, struggling to free herself
Death returns to take one or more – Leya turns on Richard. He runs, loses shoe in quicksand, steps in cactus, Leya and her army of predators destroy him
SITUATION: Richard returns to RV, door is open, Leya is in there with tarantulas behind her
REACTION: Richard fights tarantulas – reaches for Leya – but tarantulas just climb over Leya and/or crawl around her heading toward Richard
SITUATION: Leya’s eyes are huge (completely black/giant pupils). She’s staring defiantly at Richard, and an entirely menacing voice comes from the little girl
REACTION: Richard freezes, then backs away
SITUATION: Leya advances, threatens Richard, calls him out (in the terrifying voice) for the secret evils he’s done.
REACTION: Richard grabs things, tries to hit Leya
SITUATION: Rattlers come from behind Leya, part as they slither past her toward Richard
REACTION: Richard runs, grabs a shovel to fight them off, gets to the car and climbs inside
SITUATION: Leya slowly advances on Richard, loudly enumerating his sins
REACTION: Richard locks the car doors
SITUATION: Leya picks up a huge rock and hurls it at the windshield, shattering it as a boil of hawks descends from the sky and begins to fill up the car
REACTION: Richard opens the door and runs
SITUATION: Thousands of scorpions crawl right past Kendria and Richard runs right into them
REACTION: He stomps them as he runs away
SITUATION: Richard runs through a wet area and his foot sinks deeply in quicksand, as Leya calmly and slowly pursues him
REACTION: He yanks on the stuck leg and loses his shoe in the process
SITUATION: Freeing himself, Richard steps on a hunk of cholla cactus
REACTION: Bloodies and terrified he keeps running, with Leya following behind
SITUATION: Richard runs into a catclaw tree, and become entangled in its branches
REACTION: He struggles, getting himself more entangled and bloodied as he tries to escape
SITUATION: Leya arrives, leading a pack of coyotes who savagely attack and kill Richard
REACTION: Richard dies
Resolution – As dawn breaks a rescue crew arrives to find innocent Leya miraculously unharmed, Kendria emerges from the shack, Frank is found and retrieved from the mine shaft
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Jason Lassen’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is…How important the horror situation track is for the flow of the movie.
STEP 1: Brainstorm 20 to 50 potential horror situations for your story.
Guitar in gut
Mic stand kill
Drum sticks
Laminator
Paper Cutter
Paper Cut
Mini Motor Cycle
Giant Mirror
10lbs Weights
Staple Remover
Greasy Grill Brush
Vibrator
Paint Remover/Paint Thinner
Harpoon
Weed Waker
Brush Timmers
Toner Cartridge
STEP 2: Determine which of those work best for your plot.
Lights go out every 30 minutes.
Doors shuts at 6 pm
All the halls look the same
No windows
Dynamics between characters
Why do some people hear the voices of children and other people do not?
STEP 3: Add a Reaction (denial, solve it, hide, escape, or fight) to the selected Horror situations.
Once characters realize shits going down they run to find a way out and try to find places to hide, like other storage units. They decide to fight back when all else seems hopeless.
STEP 4: Put Horror Situations/Reactions in the plot and label them.
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: The Toy Keeper is a creepy old man who warns them to be out by 6 pm and that the lights need to be turned on every 30 minutes and that the main metal rolling door is the only way in or out.
Denial of Horror: All the characters laugh and shrug off the old man like he’s crazy and being dramatic.
Horror Situation: Some of the characters start to hear the voices of children while others do not. Why?
Connect with the characters: All the characters are at their collective storage units and we are getting a rough idea who they are. They start to break up and go to different units.
Atmosphere of Evil established: Toby gets upset at her workers, cutting the fingers off one with a paper cutter and then sticking the other into a laminator.
Horror Situation: Screams from the person who’s fingers have been cut off and from the person being put head first into the laminator.
Reaction – Escape: The person with no fingers runs for their lives while their co-worker is being laminated.
Connect with the characters: People hear screams and go to try and help while others stay behind.
Safety taken away: People find the bodies of the dead and realize somethings not right.
Horror Situation: People soon learn the storage facility is like a maze and difficult to navigate. And, there’s only one way out.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: They realize they are trapped with people who are killers.
Horror Situation: The lead singer/guitarist of Sloppy Joe impales the drummer with drum sticks. The other band mates go running looking for a way out.
Reaction: The bass player from Sloppy Joe runs into Andrew and Heather and tells them his guitarist went crazy claiming to hear the voices of children and killed their drummer. Andrew and Heather share they found the body of a laminated person. They realize there are now two killers both claiming to have heard the voices of children.
Horror Situation: Second employee is killed by the guitarist. Toby kills the keytarest from Sloppy Joe.
Reaction: Both kills are seen by the bass player and Andrew and Heather. They see there is no rhyme or reason they just want to kill. They run in horror.
Connect with the characters: Honey and Nathan leave their bedroom made up in one of the units and run into Gayle and Erick. No one has seen Toby, Andrew or Heather.
Horror Situation: Erick and Nathan start arguing over who looks better and get into a pose off in front of the wall size mirror.
Character Death: Nathan gets frustrated and pushes the mirror on to Erick while he’s posing showing of his “guns”. Erick standing there with cuts all over him and still posing, in shock while his arms just fall off his body.
Reaction: Honey and Gayle run away screaming in horror.
Horror Situation: Nathan hit Honey in the back of the leg with a 10lbs. weight. It knocks her down and Gayle runs out the door. Nathan continues to throw weights like frisbees at Honey.
Character Death: He walks over to her body on the floor, holding a 50lbs. weight in his hands. “You’re not the only one I’ve cheated on Heather with. LOOK AT THESE GUNS!” He smashes Honey on the head with the weight.
ETC..
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Charles Ferrell’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned from doing this assignment is getting a feel for building the flow of one situation, evolving or falling into another.
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: Security camera footage of killings in the street, bodies being tossed over the side of cargo ship, literal blood in the water and on the side if the ship
Horror Situation: Helping a good person and being attacked Cry for help freeing a badly injured crew member
Reaction – Try to solve it: Group of friends boards the anchored cargo ship to help
Horror Situation: Tricked They spot the injured and run the length of the ship only to find a body that has been dead for days.
Connect with the characters: momentary inner tension/dissention erupts within the group, are we fools? Are we heroes too late? Or is something greater afoot?
Denial of Horror: The groups decide loosely this is a misunderstanding and youthful panic on the part of the crew member who can now not be found. Choose to return to their fishing trip and lives.
Safety taken away: They walk back to where they last spotted the crew member, only to hear their boat pulling away.
Horror Situation: Trapped They run back towards the hatch which leads to the stairwells to the waterline porthole. Only to be shot at from on high near the bridge
Reaction – Hide They run inside another hatch. Bullets follow only to ricochet inside the hatch forcing them to go lower into the cargo hold of the ship away from the hatch, away from familiar territory.
Horror Situation: Escape route taken away. The hatch is suddenly shut and locked from the outside, they try the hatch with no avail. They must find another way out.
Reaction – Escape: They must find another way out, deeper into the belly of the beast.
Monster: The nature of the beast: This is no accident and the desire to trap them is becoming apparent, with no known motive or map for survival.
Horror Situation: Lost Wondering in poorly lit conditions of spilled cargo, finding more blood and evidence of the fate of the crew.
Reaction: Fight They split up to seek anything in the cargo that could be used as a weapon or way out.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: Armed with what amounts to damaged cargo (weapons, tools, furniture) they search separately for a way out between the cargo containers blocking visibility to each other.
Horror Situation: Being lured into danger. Jimmy armed with a pipe wrench, climbs to a higher level sees a figure dart by a door and pursues
Reaction: Fight. He alone pursues, is ambushed from behind is killed and in his final moments catches a glimpse of a female silhouette watching from a distance.
MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought
Horror Situation: Fall through the floor\ horror from above. Hearing the echoed screams, they begin to call out locating each other (jimmy is missing). Creaking catwalk steps above in the darkness, jimmy’s body falls from the darkness above in their midst.
Reaction: Hide They scatter like roaches, hiding separately between cargo containers.
Horror Situation: Mentally Tortured Crouching the darkness separately, they can partially see Jimmy’s body as Chris starts to break down.
Reaction: Try to solve it. Chris mentally breaks down and is frozen, Eric tries to calm him and refocus his energy on survival and that Chris is too cautious to get caught in a trap.
Horror Situation: Environment changing around you The ship begins to move, while listing to one side as an anchor point pulls against it. Cargo Containers begin to slide
Reaction: Escape. Forcing the group to run, avoid being crushed, pick any direction just one together
ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR
Horror Situation: A Character refuses to take action Eric enters hallway off of cargo bay, is confronted with armed teen who is slightly hesitant to kill. He hears more frantic footsteps and yelling coming.
Reaction: Try to solve it Eric tries to reason with the youth, while waiting for Chris frozen in the shadows to act.
Horror Situation: Friends in Danger Chris gathers himself and leaps taking down the attacker
Reaction: Escape The youth beg for his life and promises to help if they will save his sister
Horror Situation: Impending doom Bullets fly down the metal hallways, the group must decide and move.
Reaction: Hide The group is now + 2 as they pick up the hiding child aurie and her brother. No chance of out running, they duck inside a boiler room.
Horror Situation: Injured, wounded, or debilitated Several youths spilt off to explore the boiler room.
Reaction: Fight. Eric now protecting Aurie, along with the youth and Chris fight using any means they find. The youth is injured, one pursuer is killed the other badly injured calls the troops.
Horror Situation: Dilemma..who to save Eric with the guidance of the youth begins a long ladder climb up to a deck hatch, injured youth and chris (afraid of heights) behind him, with aurie climbing reluctantly between him and the ladder.
Reaction: Escape In the climb the are confronted with urgency, Chris’ fear of heights, an injured youth and the further physical challenges of a physically smaller and immature child in a mature situation.
The thrilling escape from death: The group makes it topside to the deck, locking the hatch behind them, only to discover the real danger, the real killer in waiting.
Horror Situation: Monster approaching Weary of the ineffective young killers the monster directly pursues
Reaction: Fight & Escape Chris seeing escape for all not possible, arcs from coward to hero and faces the monster alone, Chris dies. While Eric escapes with Aurie and her injured brother.
Resolution: The injured youth joins the fight with Chris against the monster, Chris is visibly killed and all seem lost and survivors are safe.
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Mark Dotz
Horror Situation Track
Horror Situations at a “Haunted House”
Horror Situation: Scary House, locked gate, to enter a gated community, Electric gate opens (Kids have the password)
Reaction: Kids are eager to go inside. Sarah warns that they shouldn’t do it
Horror Situation: The sign says electric fence.
Reaction: Mitch pretends to get shocked by the fence. The girls reacte with concern.
Horror Situation: the house gate is cracked and damaged so it is open
Reaction: Mitch the jock, jumps inside the open gate door. Everyone follows to pull him out.
Horror Situation: The Gate closes shutting everyone in the property.
Reaction: Thinking the electric fence isn’t armed Mitch panics and runs to the fence to climb out and is electrocuted to death.
Horror Situation: A light turn on in the house.
Reaction: The Naïve girl Cameron makes her way to the house.
HS: The floors opens up in front of her revealing a deadly pit
Reaction: They go a different way
HS: A trail of bear traps lies a head
Reaction: they use their empty beer cans to trigger them and carefully walk towards the house.
HS: they get to the house and the door creeps open
Reaction: they go inside
HS: All the doors into and out from the room close on them
Reaction: They search for a way out. Some panic. There is a note telling them to play the song perfectly on the piano or suffer the consequences (need to word this better).
HS: The boy plays the song with one obvious wrong note
Reaction: His head is chopped off
HS: Our protag Shannon plays the song right
Reaction: One door upstairs opens
HS: Eyes watch them from behind paintings, we hear giggling
Reaction: They cautiously enter the new open door
HS: A new room presents three doors, one is freedom the other two are death
Reaction: the naïve girl can’t take it anymore and runs through a door and is dropped to a dark pit and as she waits at the bottom for help she is crushed by a collapsing dumb waiter
HS: 2 more doors
Reaction: Shannon studies the doors and picks carefully
HS: More eyes behind painting
Reaction: Shannon rips open the paintings until she can grab one of the Boys. The boy is like an in-mature Fester character , she grabs the teen and stabs him in the gut.
HS: The house is watching her
Reaction: She has the boy and uses him to draw out the momma
HS: The mother comes out with her pet wolves
Reaction: The friend “Boxie” fights off the dogs, she throws the dogs into the pit, and at the last moment they grab her and drag her down too.
HS: Meri is mad now and wants to kill Shannon, she uses an electrical gadget to try and shock her.
Reaction: Boxie is still alive and limping outside, Boxie pulls the power.
HS: Meri takes a knife and goes after Shannon
Reaction: Shannon is tough and chases down Meri, she knocks her on the head and just starts throwing things at her until she can kick her out of the window.
The boys cower in fear. Shannon and Boxie limp out of the house.
Close- The cops arrive
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Quinn’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is I keep having to force myself to pull back a bit and work on the broad strokes. I constantly want to solve minor details when I’m not even at the draft level yet. It’s a lesson I have to keep learning, apparently.
ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR – 23 pages
Atmosphere of Evil established – Meteorite hits and affects the livestock.
Horror Situation: Metoeorite lands in a pasture and vaporizes a couple of cattle. Then, spores release.
Connect with the characters – Colleen visits the site with the sheriff; Becket treats Mandi, etc…we see them in their normal world
Horror Situation: Colleen notices the cows are acting strange.
Reaction: Try to Solve It – she quarantines the herd and takes samples.
The characters are warned not to do it. – Colleen talks to people at the grange about the livestock quarantine
Denial of Horror – no one takes the quarantine seriously; the mayor gives an interview with a nearby news station
Horror Situation: ranchers discover the infection has spread. A cow explodes near a cowdog and covers the dog in spores.
Safety taken away – pets become infected; quarantine was broken
Horror Situation: the dog goes and infects other dogs. They begin traveling in packs.
Reaction: Denial – most don’t take the animals acting differently seriously.
Monster: The nature of the beast. – First human infected
Horror Situation: the pack of dogs attack the first rancher’s house.
Reaction: the rancher first tries to flee, then fight….
Horror Situation: …but is subdued. They hold him down while one explodes, covering him in spores
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN – 50 pages
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted – Cell tower has interference; a barrier has been erected; no one can escape or call out
Horror Situation: Trapped in the community – no escape, no communications – The sheriff discovers that communications have been interrupted.
Reaction: Try to solve it – he goes to check the phone lines and cell towers.
Horror Situation: Sheriff discovers the barrier around the community
Reaction: Tries to determine what the nature of the barrier is.
One of us killed – Rancher succumbs to the spores
Horror Situation: The rancher goes to the hospital – infects people there
Reaction: Escape it – people flee, though already infected
Horror Situation: people are being infected as the people in the hospital go out among the masses
Reaction: Hide from it – people lock themselves in their homes.
Horror Situation: the spores get into the homes.
Reaction: Escape it – people try to leave town only to find the barrier.
MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!
Horror situation: the discovery of biomechanical machinery made from the livestock and pets
Reaction: Try to solve it – they try to determine what the machinery is for
Full pursuit by the killer – Colleen and Becket discover the spores and their source.
Horror: the hive is discovered – it’s truly alien and spores are everywhere
Reaction: Escape – they try to find a way through the barrier
Terrorized – more people are becoming infected and Reverend Paul and his fanatics are starting to take others to be infected, amping up the process; Becket is taken by Reverend Paul’s followers
Horror: The non-infected are working for the infected
Reaction: Fight it – The small troupe try to fight their way out
Horror: There are too many converts
Reaction: Escape – The rest of the troupe flee to the jail.
ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR – 17 pages
Fight to the death – The troupe decide (against Colleen’s warnings and Carter’s pleadings) to try to destroy the hive and the infected with it. The Mayor and the sheriff are killed here.
Horror: There are new beings in the hive that are protecting it.
Reaction: Fight – try to kill them all and take out the hive
Horror: A chrysalis is damaged and the half-liquified remains of someone comes out.
Reaction: flee
Hysteria – Becket appears and tells them some people are being converted into a new life form, an alien race. This is how they proliferate throughout the cosmos. The hive has selected Mandi as its queen.
Horror: Alien invasion is well under way
Reaction: escape and find help from the outside
Horror: The warriors pursue them
Reaction: Fight, then escape
The thrilling escape from death – Colleen, Mandi, and Carter escape the hive and discover a way through the barrier.
Death returns to take one or more. – Reverend Paul and his followers appear. They grab Mandi. Colleen holds the zealots off to allow time for Carter to escape. She uses the last bullet to commit suicide.
Horror: The converts attack the remaining troupe.
Reaction: Fight. Rev Paul is killed.
Horror: The warriors appear and wipe out the converts and take Mandi. They attack Colleen
Reaction: Colleen fights while Carter flees.
Horror: Colleen is infected.
Reaction: She shoots herself.
Resolution – Carter punches through the barrier only to thousands of more barriers as far as the eye can see. Mandi awakes as the new queen.
Horror: The world has already fallen.
Reaction: denial, despair.
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Larry Fraller’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is that there are more than one situation and reaction. I wound up brainstorming mostly about the opening (prologue) because of this assignment.
I’ve worked through an entire outline giving the specific situations. It took some serious brainstorming to get the appropriate reactions.
After looking at everyone else’s, I think I should posted the actual outline / structure. But…I didn’t.
Isolated situations
* Lost ( in castle)
REACTION – panic, but adventurous and daring/
*Trapped in castle
REACTION – fear, panic, hide, try to solve
*Trapped by flood and rising river flood and in house water rising
REACTION – fear, hide, escape
*Lured into danger – Lorette at the orgies/ eat lamb at feast/ bath with ice water
REACTION – fear, excited, adventurous, denial, hide, escape
*Forces of nature – flood/rising river/ parasites, spiders, snakes, insects, vultures
REACTION – fear, panic, fight, hide
*The only one who sees the monster – Lorette sees the evil darkness in Megaretta
REACTION – fear, hide
Pursued situations
*Attacked by wolves (Chambers alone in house) and other parasites/predators
REACTION – fear, fight, hide, denial
*forced into dangerous environment (Rising waters force Chambers to dormers
REACTION – fear, fight, hide
*Impending doom – warning by Eumenides about temptation and look but don’t touch
REACTION – denial, fear
*No escape or escape route cut off – floods / Lorette can’t leave the castle when she wants to
REACTION – try to solve, fear, fight
*Monster approaching – as movie progresses Lorette becomes more and more certain that she sees real evil darkness in each of the Eumenides
REACTION – try to solve, fear, hide
*Monster trying to get you – Orgy/gala with Prince as emissary of Eumenides because his mother and aunt are, and he suspects they are more than they are and his blood is their blood
REACTION – try to solve, fear
Torture situations
*injured/ wounded/debiliated – Lorette’s fever after she tastes lamb
Lorette nearly chops off Chamber’s foot
REACTION – panic, denial, tries to solve
*See another killed
Chambers watches Lorette drown
REACTION – Panic, denial
They find servant girl’s body in stream
REACTION – fear, try to solve it, denial
Lorette sees girl’s body in bathtub
REACTION – fear, denial, glad it’s not her
*Something inside our body
Bees inside Megaretta
Parasites in Chambers
REACTION – fear, disgust, panic, run away
*Transformed into something else
Prince becomes demonic S&M
REACTION – panic, denial, hide, surrender and join them
Lorette sees demons in the Eumenides and in Chambers
REACTION – denial, panic, hide, fights back
*Physically tortured
Lorette at the castle
REACTION – shock, but then she loves it, tries to solve it, escape
Gnats on Chambers
REACTION – denial, panic, hysteria
other parasites in Chambers
REACTION – denial, disgust, fear, tries to solve it
People at the gala S&M they love it but it terrifies Lorette
REACTION – fear, hide, denial, escape, hide
*Mentally tortured
Lorette tormented by her fantasy of prince which she has to keep to herself
REACTION – escape, surrenders
Lorette torments Chambers with lurid tales from her time at the Castle, which are fantasies and therefore not real
REACTION – fear, denial, fight
Terror and confusion about Look but don’t touch
REACTION – denial, fear, apprehension, tries to solve
Tormented situations
*Possessed – Lorette thinks Chambers and the Eumenides are demons inside
REACTION – denial, hide, tries to solve, fight
*Tricked – into eating lamb
REACTION – denial, anger, fear, hide
*Dilemma – Chambers has to use his wife’s body as shield against piranhas
As water rises, he could try to save Lorette, but then they’d both surely die
REACTION – fear, panic, fight, try to solve, escape
*Friends in danger – Vintner and his wife,
REACTION – fear, denial
*Another character who loses it (hysterically) – servant girl’s terror of the river
REACTION – denial, tries to solve it
*Character becomes a liability (physically) – Vintner’s wife could go blind
Vintner could get poisoned on his wine
REACTION – fear, try to solve it
Paranoia situations
*Group has been infiltrated – Prince? Stephatta? Servant girl infatuated with Prince
REACTION: Denial
*Suspecting someone else is possessed – some of the gypsies at the gala/orgy
REACTION: Denial, escape
*Not knowing who is possessed – how can Chambers believe Lorette’s allegations since she’s got such a wild imagination
REACTION: Denial, Try to solve it
*Unknown motive – eating the lamb/ orgy at the castle / servant girl sent to carry water from river. Is she lying about who sent her? Did she owe a debt, or was she cursed, since she’s so terrified, but is there anyway, maybe she has a thing for Chambers, or SERVANT GIRL TRIES TO WARN THEM
No one has a clue except that Stephatta accuses L & C of being outsides, but C says S is one too, but it then comes out that she was sent away for wanton when she was young
REACTION: Denial, try to solve it, fight, Escape
*Menacing stranger – all three of the Eumenides
REACTION: Try to figure it out, Hide, Escape
*Character refuses to take action – Lorette likes the adventure until it’s too late, and Chambers feels it’s all a fantasy of hers
REACTION: Denial, try to solve it
Spooky situations
*Slimed – foul water from well
REACTION: Escape, try to figure it out
Lorette in the bath: Denial, try to figure it out, fight, escape
*doing something forbidden
Lorette in the bath, and lying about it to Chambers, and her going to the gala/orgy in the first place, and eating the lamb which she forbids to herself, though she always loves the smell of cooked meat
REACTION: Denial, try to figure it out, fight it, escape
Fall through the floor – nope.
*threatened – almost every moment
*face to face with the monster – every time they’re with any of the three Eumenides, only after a while does Lorette suspect that all three are the same monster, but she’s wrong, they are three separate ones though have similar darkness about them
REACTION Try to figure it out, denial, escape
*Cannot see, speak, or yell, hear – flood waters rise in the house, and both are underwater at some point
REACTION Denial, try to figure it out, fight, escape, hide
Lorette at the gala it’s too noisy
REACTION Escape
*Environment changing around you – waters rise
REACTION: Escape, hide
Deceptive situations
*Walking into a trap – tasting the lamb / lured to the orgy only to be frustrated after tantalized
REACTION Denial, try to figure it to, escape
*lured into the horror – the gala/orgy
REACTION Denial, try to figure it out, escape/
*helping a good person and being attacked – Chambers could help the Vintner then be attacked by the bees
REACTION Try to figure it out, fight, escape
working with someone, then they become the evil one – The Prince (for Lorette)
REACTION Try to figure it out, fight, hide, escape
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Jeff Hall’s Horror Situation Track
Lesson 5
Horror Situation Brainstorm…
Trapped – fight/confusion
Kidnapped – lynn is comforted
Whispers in the night – denial
the monster creeping around the house at night – scream/cry
Monster falling thru ceiling – fight
Monster attacking with claws – fight
Monster biting – fight
Sounds in the attic – investage
Sounds in the wall – denial
Sounds in the crawl space – denial
Urine stains on the ceiling (dripping)
Bugs – fight
Find old lady dead in bed – scream/cry
Dead animals – gross
Wake up with injuries – denial
tapping – investigate
shadows in the night – scream/cry
shadow in the closet – petrafied
Monster trap girl in bed – scream
Drag someone to the attic – Fighting
Scratching sounds – Denial
The neighbor in ominous – Ignore
Targets oldest Daughter – Scratches, traps her in bed (face to face)
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: Old dilapidated house. Occult signs.
Horror Situation: Dead woman found in bed.
Reaction – Screams. Fear. Regret.
Horror Situation: Urine dripping from ceiling
Reaction – Grossed out. Buy traps for animals.
Connect with the characters: Family moves into house. Begin repairs and updates.
The characters are warned not to do it: Neighbor warns that he has seen paranormal activity in the house.
Denial of Horror: “There are no such thing as ghosts”
Safety taken away: Physical evidence. Something is indeed in the house.
Horror Situation: Sounds in the attic, walls, crawl space.
Reaction – Denial: Wind, animal, house settling
Horror Situation: Wake up with scratches.
Reaction – Confused and apprehensive. Self inflicted? Animal?
Horror Situation: Children claim to see a woman.
Reaction – Denial: Parents convince them they are imagining a ghost.
Monster: The nature of the beast: Survival and Loneliness
Horror Situation: Kitchen is torn up.
Reaction: Denial. Buy larger traps.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: Physical Evidence. Flee to neighbors.
Horror Situation: Zoey is trapped in bed.
Reaction: Scream/Petrified. Parents burst in and Entity is gone.
Horror Situation: Paranormal Investigators find evidence.
Reaction: Curiosity. Fear.
Horror Situation: Feral woman falls from the ceiling.
Reaction – panic
Character Death: Investigator falls from the ceiling.
Another investigator is dragged into the attic.
2. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
Horror situations need to be constant!
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George’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned from this assignment is that I have a long way to go before coming up with a good horror track!
ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: A mountain-climbing couple set up tent on snowy mountainside and go to sleep. They awaken to a large dark shape with faint neon highlights hovering near them. Something grabs the man in the darkness, and he screams in intense pain. The woman falls down mountain in the struggle.
Horror Situation: Physically tortured: The man’s terrible screams and Hitchcockian Sound FX and the woman’s fall.
Reaction – Escape: She awakens in woods with a twisted ankle. She grabs a branch for walking stick.
Horror Situation: No sign of boyfriend—until she finds his severed arm.
Horror Reaction: Escape: She tries her cell phone—no signal. Then limps on her way.
Connect with the characters: The lead scientist, the second and the analyst at the nearby radio telescope think they have found an alien transmission, which may have knocked the telescope out.
Climbers’ family calls police. Only mild concern.
Leader and intern climb on the giant dish to repair element before approaching snowstorm.
After lunch, police and paramedics search for mountain climbers.
Leader and intern encounter climber by road at sunset. She has hypothermia. They bring her to control area. Snow starts falling at heavy pace. Paramedics called.
Horror Situation: Attack: Ambulance becomes stuck in ditch during blizzard. The creature attacks. One paramedic gets in cab to radio. He is also attacked. Bloody snow covered by heavy snowfall.
Reaction – Confused and apprehensive. No paramedics. The scientists resign themselves to isolation. When the climber awakens, she tells her story.
Denial of Horror: They look for scientific explanations: a bear, hallucination etc.
Next day, Climber has frostbite. They decide to try to drive her to hospital. She resists. Warns them not to do it. They find the deserted ambulance with a door ripped off and scratch-like dents. “That was no bear.” They return to telescope.
Horror Situation: Forces of Nature. Another night isolated in blizzard at telescope.
Reaction – Hide: They check security of building from ”bear” and set a watch schedule.
Monster: The nature of the beast: he leaps around control buildings rips out power and phone line.
Horror Situation: Face to Face w Monster/Kidnapped: Maintenance man goes out to check generator with intern. Intern witnesses huge monster as it mauls and bounds away with maintenance man. She goes inside. It pounds on door, breaking it. Dawn is coming. It stops.
Reaction: They now believe it’s a monster and try to explain it.
ACT 2
Isolated/Trapped: They realize that it comes out only at night. They repair generator and search for Maintenance Man. Roads are impassable.
Reaction: They see landing ship partially concealed by trees on ridge. Leader and black Custodian go to investigate. Sun is going down when they arrive. Leader photographs it. They look for a way in when hatch opens…
MIDPOINT – The Monster is worse than we thought: As they run to snowmobile, monster rolls down mountain like a pinball. They drive off.
Full pursuit by the killer: It pursues in large leaps and lands in front of them. Its mouth would scare a great white shark.
One of Us Killed: Leader tells custodian to get camera back to control and runs toward creature. He sacrifices himself and is devoured. Custodian makes it, and creature is reluctant to close for the kill with the lights of control on.
Terrorized: They barricade in control while monster looks for a way in. It rips power lines again and takes out pole. The generator is failing. They need to elect a new leader. It comes down to Second scientist and Custodian. Vote is split. Creature breaks through doorway. They must fight him off with tactical flashlight, douse him in gasoline and ignite him. He jumps flaming into the night as they fight blaze in control.
ACT 3
Reaction: Fight: At night Custodian and Second break into landing craft, video it and damage the controls of craft.
Hysteria: They find mutilated remains of autopsied paramedic and Maintenance Man. Second is a coward. Unknown to them, craft sends out an alarm. Then Daddy’s home.
Fight to the death: They use tactical flashlights to keep burnt creature at bay. Creature pins Custodian, and escape from death: Second escapes at dawn leaving Custodian to die.
Second works out way to communicate with it.
Death returns to take one or more: Creature attacks Control. They realize that it intends to phone home. Analyst and Climber killed trying to burn it again.
Resolution: Intern climbs dish by moonlight and disables it as Second tries to communicate. The Creature makes it plain that we are to be food. Second and intern drive away with Creature in pursuit. It cannot leap as well as it originally did. They spin out on ice. They blow up the truck to stun and incinerate it. It dies.
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Chris’s Horror Track
What I learned from doing this assignment is that the Horror Track helps with developing the spine of the story.
ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
Atmosphere of Evil established A baby cries. The mother appears to be holding a baby, but she’s actually holding nothing but a baby blanket. Dad is saddened by this. Son is consumed with his phone. The proto type droid is confused.
Horror Situation: The mom and dad argue about her taking too much medication.
Reaction- Denial She pleads that she needs them. Flashback of her on her knees wailing as she holds her lifeless daughters body.
Horror Situation: She’s haunted by the voice of the baby. There’s something evil in this house.
Reaction- Solve Father wants to call her doctor to see if he can change her meds again.
Connect with the characters The son is home alone all day, immersed in his phone and is agitated that the family Android is cleaning his room. The father gets home and immediately gets on his computer for more work. The mother tries to replicate a dinner recipe from social media. They’re all busy and interact sparingly.
The characters are warned not to do it. The grandfather warns the parents that giving the grandson full access to the internet and social media could be damaging to him.
Denial of Horror The father thinks that he’s over reacting. He’s just a boy.
Safety taken away The vehicles are disabled. All cells are confiscated.
Horror Situation: At the kitchen table, the young son points a gun that he found at his mother.
Reaction- Denial Father – He obviously thought it was a toy. He’s just a boy.
Horror Situation: Mom and Father argue about the meds again. This time she dumps them in the toilet. They fall asleep in the living room watching a movie and she chokes her son in her sleep.
Reaction- Fight Father struggles to pry her hands from around the boy’s throat.
Monster: The nature of the beast. Shocking images of torture, death and the Dark Web are seen.
Horror Situation: Son shows his mother the small Bluetooth speakers that he hid throughout the house. He then plays audio on his phone of his sister crying. The mother is in shock as she realizes that he’s been torturing her all along.
Reaction- They are dismayed , yet hopeful as they leave there son in a scary psychiatric ward.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN FFWD 10 Years later
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted The house is locked down.
Horror Situation: Disturbed patients wander around the facility as the parents pick up their quiet, but smiling son to take home.
Reaction- The mom is slightly leery of her son.
Horror Situation: The new droid is acting strangely.
Reaction- Denial Dad ( who developed the droid) can’t believe that there might be a glitch.
One of us killed A cousin is killed, but the family thinks that she just wandered off for a walk.
MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!
Full pursuit by the killer To his disgust, Grandpa observes his grandson engaged sexually with the android. Grandpa is murdered.
Terrorized It is now known that the son has hacked the android and turned it into a murderous accomplice. The mother gains access to her father’s homing pigeons and sends a message for help.
ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death They try to destroy the android.
Hysteria the Aunt and Uncle believe that they’re going to die. They do.
The thrilling escape from death The android is seemingly destroyed by the mother and father. A huge sigh of relief.
Death returns to take one or more. The android, badly damaged, re activates and kills the father.
Resolution The mother is forced to watch all the murders which are being projected by the android onto the wall. She’s in agony as she hears her son giving commands to kill in the video. She begins having a nervous breakdown. Flashing lights and sirens are heard in the distance. The android quickly approaches her and snaps her neck.
Cut to the hospital where she springs up from bed screaming. She’s alive but severely traumatized.
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Subject line: Karyn Laitis–Horror Situation Track
Lesson 5 ASSIGNMENT 5
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” The Horror Situation and Reaction prompts help to get into the emotions. I know there is more horror to reveal to really hook the audience into the journey.
CONCEPT-A team of four explorers/researchers enter a cave looking for an ancient civilization and to recover the body of the twin sister of the lead explorer only to discover perfectly preserved remains of an ancient human and alien civilization and the wrath of the alien guardians.ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
• Atmosphere of Evil established: Team leader (Jean) watches the last video sent by her twin sister terrorized by something in the cave causing Jean to run from her tent gasping to breathe having a panic attack.
• Horror Situation: (Mentally tormented) Terrible screams from inside team leader’s tent.
• Reaction: She bursts out of her tent gasping to breathe, in a panic attack.
• Connect with the characters: Other team members (Cam, Maggie, Brett) are casually drinking coffee, talking and laughing around the campfire focused on cave maps.
• Horror Situation: (Unknown motive) Leader runs out of tent gasping to breathe in a panic attack.
• Reaction: Group is compassionate to leader, but tentative, uneasy feelings and concern for their mission.
• Horror Situation: (Forces of Nature) An oddly fast-moving thunderstorm descends upon them.
• Reaction: Torrential storm pushes the team to quickly enter the cave.
• The characters are warned not to do it: A thunderstorm is upon them as they quickly secure the gear they can’t take into the cave. The rain motivates them to run to the cave entrance. They are met with “DO NOT ENTER” signs posted and a feeble wooden gate to deter them. Maggie remarks “And why are we doing this?” as the leader opens the gate to proceed.
• Horror Situation: (Walking into a trap) “DO NOT ENTER” and barriers foretelling danger are at the cave entrance as a warning to the team.
• Reaction: The odd storm sets up urgency to enter and get out of the rain.
• Denial of Horror: All are thankful to enter the cave just to get out of the torrents of rain, lightning and thunder. They checked their instruments and were relieved that all is working.
• Safety taken away: Deeper into the cave, their compass and GPS instruments go berserk and their flashlights go dark. They feel an eerie presence. Their trail splits into three tunnels. The cave seems to be breathing-the walls are moving with sections illuminated and shadows of beings running; then a seismic event knocks them down, the area they are in begins to collapse, forcing them to run into a different tunnel. Their escape route is sealed. As the air clears, they discover well preserved human and alien remains within the walls of the cave. They excavate some of the remains to identify what the species is.
• Horror Situation: (Environmental changes) Instruments stop working, seismic events.
• Reaction: They run deeper into the dark cave.
• Horror Situation: (Trapped, dangerous) As they run the cave walls collapse behind them, blocking their exit.
• Reaction: Frozen in fear in an alcove as debris falls around them.
• Monster: The nature of the beast; There is an ominous presence stalking the team, casting shadows on the dimly lit walls. The team finds a safe alcove to rest. Each takes a “watch shift” to make sure there are no intruders. They are awakened by the growl of three wolves, baring their teeth. Cam takes out a pistol and is about to shoot when the wolves attack, pinning him and ripping his flesh. Maggie fires a crossbow hitting one of the wolves and poof-they disappear into the walls of the cave. These were shapeshifters.
• Horror Situation: (Trapped, Impending doom) The team can feel the danger.
• Reaction: Take “watch shifts” to protect the group.
• Horror Situation: (Monster Approaching-Shapeshifting wolves attack)
• Reaction: One (Cam)pulls a pistol which is knocked out of his hand by (Brett) another in fear of setting off another seismic event.
• Horror Situation: (Torture) Lead wolf leaps to attack Cam, ripping at his flesh on his arm & shoulder. Maggie shoots a crossbow arrow and hits the wolf—wolves disappear into the cave wall.
• Reaction: Maggie shoots a crossbow arrow and hits the wolf—all wolves disappear into the cave wall. They scatter in different directions.
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
• Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: Maggie and Cam are trapped in one of the tunnels; Maggie is tending to Cam’s wounds. Jean and Brett are separated and trapped in two different tunnels. Alone in the darkness of a monster cave.
• Horror Situation: (Impending doom) Team is separated, exhausted and injured at the mercy of the attackers.
• Reaction: Reassess the situation and investigate the tunnel each is in. Maggie tends to Cams injuries. He is in bad shape. She uses herbal medicines used by her family to treat his wounds.
• One of us killed: Brett continues to explore his tunnel to find a treasure trove of gold artifacts. He empties his pack of his gear to fill it with the artifacts. One item in particular pique his interest-it is an orb. Pleased with his findings, he casually tosses it up to catch it, but it flies up and attaches to the ceiling of the tunnel. The cave starts to pulsate and the grotesque, reptilian alien monster appears, capturing Brett, sucking out his brain matter. Brett’s tormented screams resound through the cave. It reminds Jean of her sister’s tortured screams.
• Horror Situation: (Attacked, physical torture, death) Brett is targeted by the alien guardian-Brett is restrained, tortured and killed).
• Reaction: The other team (Jean, Maggie, Cam) members hear the blood curdling and are trembling with fear. Especially Jean, remembering her sister’s video.
• MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!
• Full pursuit by the killer: Jean, Maggie and Cam reunite. They cautiously proceed in the direction of Brett’s screams and find his mutilated body with his skull imploded. He was still clutching one of the artifacts that he was going to steal. There are continuous sounds, ticking, shrieks, bellows, growls, with shadowy figures, and seismic events that push the group deeper into the tunnel. They collapse from exhaustion and hunger.
• Horror Situation: (Impending doom) The continuous shrieks and shadowy figures with continual tremors is unnerving.
• Reaction: The team covers themselves with mud, camouflage. They discover human and alien remains. Questions is this a battle ground or communal burial grounds?
• Horror Situation: (The death of a team member) Finding remains of Brett, tortured, skull imploded-brain matter oozing out of his ears.
• Reaction: Jean vomits at seeing Brett, Maggie and Cam fall to their knees. They hide in a small lava tube. Sleep.
• Terrorized: Jean, semi-conscious, hears footsteps and sees an apparition of her twin sister shouting a warning to “GET OUT!” Maggie and Cam felt the breath of an alien creature. In full view, they watch as the alien guardian stalks Jean.
• Horror Situation: There is a mist within the cave and Jean, semi-conscious, has a vision of her sister (Carly) warning her to get out of the cave. The vision vaporizes into a shapeshifter, reptilian humanoid—then gone.
• Reaction: Jean retreats further into the alcove in a fetal position.• ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
• Horror Situation: The alien guardian is fixated on Jean, drooling, with the long anteater tongue wagging in anticipation of consuming her brain.
• Reaction: Jean, terrified, leaps to her feet in anticipation of the alien’s movements. Maggie and Cam (injured) are watching the alien and Jean.
• Fight to the death: Maggie and Cam use some of the artifacts to distract the alien and warn Jean. The team is using the found technology to elude the guardians. When they throw the orbs they open and become a sharp projectile, but the guardians control the orbs, directing them at the team. They are using shields to deflect the orbs.
• Hysteria: The team is trembling in fear. They are trapped, moments away from being devoured by the guardians.
• The thrilling escape from death: Just as the guardians are about to kill the explorers, the twin sister (Carly) appears to direct them to another tunnel. Jean contains her elation and confusion at her sister’s presence. They are running through the tunnel, dodging falling rocks, the aliens give chase. Jean is the last to follow—too late.
• Death returns to take one or more. The others turn to try to save her but she directs them to go without her. Jean fights with every ounce of her being to escape the clutches of the alien. She goes limp as the long tongue enters her ear to suck the brain matter from her skull.
• Horror Situation: Jean loses her footing and stumbles.
• Reaction: Maggie and Cam pause to go back but Jean motions them to get out.
• Horror Situation: The aliens restrain Jean and with agonizing screams, they devour her brain, just like Brett.
• Reaction: Maggie, Cam and Carly run like hell through the cave toward the light source. There are some dead ends because there are vents in the cave for air and light.
• Resolution: Maggie, Cam and Carly evade the aliens by going for the light and the exit of the cave. They collapse from exhaustion and are silent. They are different. They return to their camp seeing a couple talking around the campfire. As they get closer, the couple turns to acknowledge the group. It’s Jean and Brett, eerily smiling.-
This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Karyn Laitis.
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This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by
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Bobby’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment… how fun it is to just come up with random ideas, that end up answering big holes I knew I had (like, what IS this monster like, exactly?)
LESSON 5: HORROR SITUATION TRACK
TITLE/CONCEPT: SHADOWS/Hannah is murdered by a deranged killer the night of her senior prom, and wakes to find herself in a shadowy version of her small hometown, populated by the dozen or so inhabitants that died on the same day – including her killer, who is out to finish the job and destroy her soul forever, before she can be spun out into a new life.
ACT 1: SET-UP
ATMOSPHERE OF EVIL ESTABLISHED:
JAMES (Monster) strangles high school girl with guitar string. Bites off her tongue
Horror Situation (Lured into Danger): EMILY, at prom, encounters guitarist in hallway, strumming acoustic – flirty conversation
Reaction (Denial): Emily flattered, flirts
Horror Situation (Menacing Stranger): Heading to bathroom, Emily on separate floor – guitarist is there – follows her
Reaction (Run/Hide): Emily walks around corner, then runs into bathroom (classroom?)
Horror Situation (Impending Doom): Emily hiding under desk, sees clacking boots – guitar string plucked with a BOING
Reaction (hide): Emily tries to hold her breath…
Horror Situation (attacked/tormented physically): James finds her, strangles her – bites off her tongue
Reaction (fights): Emily dies
James is seen walking into Hannah’s town (need name)
CONNECT W/CHARACTERS:
“Day in the life of Hannah” – set up key relationships for her:
BREAKFAST W/DAD: distance, and blame? Hannah’s little brother died while she was babysitting
CHATTING W/ELDERLY NEIGHBORS: MR. & MRS. GRAVES: Mrs. Graves as wise old woman, urging Hannah to take a risk (Hannah won’t go to prom) – Mr. Graves doesn’t take much seriously, but very kind
HANNAH AT MUSIC STORE (why?): Bumps into stranger (JAMES), who zeroes in on her – OMINOUS
Horror Situation (Menacing Stranger): Hannah bumps into weird guy in music store – we see it’s James; then he picks up the record she was just looking at (something in common?)
Reaction (Denial): Hannah thinks nothing of it – maybe intrigued (too shy to do anything)
Later in day – ambulance outside Graves home – Mr. G has died; Mrs. G sees strangely at peace
HANNAH GOES TO PROM ALONE – a mistake, she thinks
WARNED NOT TO DO IT:
Hannah leaves early – warned by teacher about walking alone, but she’s done (don’t know why)
DENIAL OF HORROR:
Hannah walks home fearlessly – does she “help” killer (a la, “Silence of the Lambs”?) – hears guitar music coming from park
Horror Situation (Walking into Trap): Hannah hears favorite acoustic guitar song coming from park (play earlier – on album James picks up in store)
Reaction (Denial): Hannah has to see/talk to him
SAFETY TAKEN AWAY:
Hannah is killed;
Horror Situation (attacked/chased): Hannah chased by James
Reaction (escape): Hannah runs
Horror Situation (attacked): Hannah being strangled; James lifts her to get at her tongue
Reaction (fight): Hannah stabs James in eye with high heel – he dies, drops her head on sharp rock – Hannah bleeds out
HANNAH IN SHADOW TOWNwakes in her own house – no lights, no people, no sound anywhere. Where is this place?
Horror Situation (lost): Hannah in empty house – hallways change?
Reaction (try to solve it): Hannah tries to call for Dad – can’t? (lost voice) Maybe she can only speak in a whisper…
Horror Situation (lost): Hannah makes it outside – her house, and Graves house across street in pale glow – no sun. No moon. Darkness beyond in all directions (or is it empty town
Reaction (Denial): Hannah isn’t home. Where is this? Tries to wake up…
YOUNG BOY (Mr. Graves) skateboards up – knows her, brings her home to Mrs. Graves.
MONSTER: NATURE OF THE BEAST:
Hannah encounters Mrs. Graves, who also died that day – everyone in town who died the same day is here, awaiting rebirth. Hannah killed her killer… so he’s here too!
Horror Situation (Impending Doom): Discovering a) where she is (dead!) and b) HER KILLER IS THERE TOO!
Reaction (Denial/Escape): Hannah won’t believe it – runs back home
What convinces her of reality?
ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN
ISOLATED/TRAPPED/ABDUCTED:
Characters exist in pockets of light around their houses. Can’t escape town.
Horror Situation (Lost): Hannah runs into town, looking for Dad’s office – empty. No life anywhere
Reaction (Try to solve it): Hannah searches for normalcy – can’t find it
Horror Situation (Environment Changes Around You): Hannah tries to get back – the streets change behind her! Her town is a maze now
Reaction (escape): Hannah runs blindly – tries to call out – can’t raise voice above a whisper.
Horror Situation (Can’t scream): Hannah realizes her voice is really gone
Reaction (Hide): Hannah sits on a bench, terrified…
Horror Situation (Mentally tortured): Hannah hears whispers – what are they saying? Where are they coming from?
Reaction (hide): Hannah curls into ball
BILLY (young Mr. G) rides up on skateboard, gets her home (trick is not to look, not to travel, but to know you’re already there. Town keeps changing because it isn’t really here. Those streets reflect your mind. Your panic.
ONE OF US IS KILLED:
“Body” is found, hollowed out. This “man” Hannah killed wasn’t a man at all. A Leech from the “Between”, he exists to devour souls, and Hannah has brought him here.
Horror Situation (See another killed): Hannah sees _______ attacked by James, body drained (how?)
Reaction (escape): Hannah runs back to Graves’s house
MIDPOINT: THE MONSTER IS WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT!!
ACT 3:
FULL PURSUIT BY THE KILLER:
Killer can manipulate darkness. As other souls are consumed, the town darkens. They are running out of places to hide.
Horror Situation (Friend in Danger/Mentally tortured): Hannah hears brother screaming from inside house
Reaction (fight): Hannah runs inside to save him!
Horror Situation (Environment Changes): Hannah’s house unrecognizable
Reaction (try to solve it): Hannah closes her eyes – tries to imagine it RIGHT; it works!
Horror Situation (Face to Face): Hannah looks out window: James is in middle of street, just waiting; opens mouth – multiple tongues lick out
Reaction (escape): Hannah thinks herself across street – is inside Mrs. Graves house
Horror Situation (Only one who sees monster): Hannah points to James outside; Mrs. Graves doesn’t see him
Reaction (try to solve it): Mrs. Graves – maybe this is your lesson you have to learn… these lessons appear only to those who need them
TERRORIZED:
MR. GRAVES’ soul is devoured. Mrs. Graves – Hannah’s source of wisdom – becomes like a child again (maybe literally; here, souls take the form they see themselves as), and Hannah has to protect HER (2nd chance to be the older sister she never was?)
Horror Situation (Friend in Danger): Horrible screech from outside – skateboard clatters onto lawn
Reaction (fight): Hannah and Eleanor run out to help
Horror Situation (see another killed): Billy’s husk on the street – James drops it to the ground
Horror Situation (Another character loses it): Eleanor collapses in agony – and reverts to little girl
Reaction (fight/protect): Hannah holds little Eleanor – she must protect her now
ACT 4 – FULL OUT HORROR:
FIGHT TO THE DEATH:
Hannah lured into the “Between” – or has to go there, to save Mrs. Graves? Creatures of nightmares inhabit the dark, more SOUND and SHADOW than form
Horror Situation (Helping/attacked): Hannah’s brother walks up – mutilated (how did he die?) – blames Hannah
Reaction (fight): Hannah denies his existence, he’s not here
Horror Situation (monster coming): Brother’s mouth opens – tongues pour out, reaching for Hannah
Reaction (escape): Hannah runs out of town
HYSTERIA:
Killer/Leech traps Hannah and Mrs. Graves in ITS lair in the darkness (which is what?)
Horror Situation (Forced into Danger): Hannah in pitch darkness – whispers surround her – all the voices in her life calling her inadequate (or something)
Reaction (Denial): Hannah tries to shut them out, tries to scream
Horror Situation (Face to Face): James appears – tells Hannah he can end it all, if she’ll just give in
Reaction (escape): Hannah runs back to town – it’s gone – all darkness
THRILLING ESCAPE FROM DEATH:
Hannah somehow kills the Leech – no clue how… She and Mrs. Graves escape back to the town, and Hannah has learned the lesson she needed to learn (taking risks? Seems lame. Need something more profound), and is reborn, along with Mrs. Graves, who had to learn to let go of her “wisdom” mask, something Mr. G had teased her about
Horror Situation (Face to Face)): James’s tongues manifest as Hannah’s dad, brother, Eleanor, Billy (who else?) all telling her to give up, etc
Reaction (fight): Hannah finds her voice, screams, stands up for herself
Hannah is back in Shadow Town. Little Eleanor runs to her, hugs her
DEATH RETURNS TO TAKE ONE OR MORE/RESOLUTION:
Hannah and Mrs. G – new bodies, encounter each other on a playground as 5 year olds (need some distinguishing birth mark or something. Better a line of dialogue). Another boy on the playground… is obviously the Leech, trailing them.
Horror Situation (menacing stranger): another little boy on the playground. His name is James.
Reaction (Denial): Hannah and Eleanor… make friends? Or do they run?
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