Day 5 Assignments

[James Burns Burns]

What I learned was to pepper the outline with horror situations and reactions, to make sure there were plenty included.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established

An extreme hiker walks through a very secluded area. He stops, looks up at the setting sun and sets up a camera on a tripod. He is clearly an extreme hiking vlogger and gives a report on his trip out here, literally hundreds of miles from the nearest living soul. He hears a noise that sounds like someone sniggering behind him.

Horror situation: spooky, an unseen person is laughing at him

Reaction: denial – It freaks him out a bit, but he tries to look macho in front of the camera. Maybe I’m not alone! he says, trying to laugh it off. He walks towards the noise, after taking out a fairly large pocket knife. He steps onto something, which makes a slight clicking noise, then

Horror situation: walking into a trap: suddenly and swiftly, a huge mousetrap-style device whips onto him, pinning his body to the floor and decapitating him.

Reaction: His screams are cut off, he doesn’t have time to react, it all happens too quickly. After a few seconds, the body is dragged away by someone unseen.

Connect with the characters

We meet each set of couples one at a time, with jump scares in each scene. Celine and Bruno are first, they are having fairly raucous sex, but Bruno is the one who is into it, Celine is more interestedin her smart watch, monitoring her own heart beat and calorie burning. Wow, I just burned 76 calories. Awesome.

Horror situation: What’s that noise? She pushes him off and opens the bathroom door. A cat leaps out on top of her

Reaction: escape, she jumps out of the cat’s way, she hates cats.

Time to go.

The next couple is Shania and Aubrey. They are also having sex, but it is quite dull. They have clearly been together for some time. Aubrey is complaining about the trip, he really doesn’t want to go. He tells her he is about to come and she says OK, let’s get it over with.

Horror situation: She hears a noise. She goes to the closet and opens it and a large dog leaps out, knocking her over.

Reaction: escape, she falls over, she hates dogs.There is a car horn and they both scramble up. I can’t believe Bruno is actually on time. They go down to the car and are both shocked to see Celine. Bruno jokes around, isn’t it great? Celine was able to come! Shania says that’s more than I can manage.

The last couple is Justin and Brittany. They are also having sex which is extremely amusing. They are both really into it.

Horror situation: there’s a noise. She is freaked out and goes to open the bedroom door and a huge tiger roars and knocks her over.

Reaction: escape, she gets out of the way. She hates fucking tigers.

We’d better get going. Don’t worry, Bruno’s always late. They hear the car horn. Seriously? He looks out of the window and sees Celine. Shit. Neither are happy about this. Justin has a chat with Bruno, Bruno calms him down, it will be great. She’s over you man. She’s just using you to get to me, you know that right? With that body she can use me to get to anybody.

The characters are warned not to do it.

On the way to the remote cabin, they start to get very low on gas. Bruno pulls over to a house where a guy is watering his lawn. The guy nods at them and Bruno asks if he might have some gas going spare. The guy says are you serious? He points to the huge gasoline truck parked next to his house. Cool! They chat as he fills some gas into a barrel. Asks them where they’re heading. Let me give you some extra to take – you don’t want to run out of gas if you’re heading that way. Whatever you do, don’t leave the main road. And don’t go west, up by the pines. Stay away from the pines. Why? Strange things happen out there. Johnny Rivers went there just a few weeks ago. Lost his reading glasses. Daisy Johnson headed out there to do some oil painting. Got a sunburn. Just stay away.

Denial of Horror

Bruno ignores the warning and, without telling the rest of them, leaves the main road (Celine is sleeping, the others are chatting and not paying attention). He trundles along a pretty crappy road, but there is a large diversion sign. He takes the car onto really crappy dirt road and gets exasperated and starts driving really fast. The GPS on his phone has stopped working, he’s driving blind. Celine wakes up and tells him to slow down, as do the others, but instead he speeds up, yelling out loud.

Horror situation: Attacked: The tires all suddenly burst, Bruno loses control and the car careers off the road and slams into a tree. Bruno, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, smashes through the windscreen. The others are knocked unconscious.

Reaction: Denial: The others wake up one by one but there is no Bruno. There is however, a lot of blood. Justin is really worried – Shania says he probably just went for help, but Justin says that is a lot of blood. Justin takes a look at the tires and sees that they seem to have been punctured by something really sharp. But when they look for what might have caused it, there’s nothing there. Why would anyone do that? It must have just been an accident. Most of them know this is not the case but they are in some denial all the same – the alternative is too horrific to accept. Their denials are ridiculous.

Safety taken away

The car is a write-off and there is no cell phone service at all. They are completely lost and with no means of returning to civilization.

Monster: The nature of the beast

Horror situation: walking into a trap: When Aubrey goes hunting for water, he almost gets killed in a fiendish trap.

Reaction: escape: He escapes with just a minor flesh wound, which makes him even more of a whining annoyance. The friends realize that they are being hunted, though Shania still won’t accept it.

Reaction: Hide and stay close to each other.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated/Trapped/Abducted

Justin, the erstwhile leader, decides to be all macho and go off in search of food. He has a harpoon gun and sets off looking for “a deer or something”. Brittany and Celine go with him, Shania stays with Aubrey.

One of us killed

Horror situation: internal conflict: Brittany and Celine are arguing behind Justin, Celine insinuating that Brittany stole Justin from her.

Reaction: denial: Justin turns around, annoyed with all this bickering and asks them to shut up.

Horror situation: attacked/see another killed: As Justin turns his head around to talk to them, he walks backwards, trips a wire and as he turns around, an axe swings down from the tree above him and splits his head in two. As he falls back, he fires the harpoon into the air. The two women stare at Justin for a moment, stunned, not believing what they’ve just seen. Suddenly, the harpoon comes back to earth, landing in Justin’s chest. The two women scream.

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!

Full pursuit by the killer

Reaction: escape: The two women decide to leave Justin there and head back to the camp, after picking up his harpoon gun and wrenching the harpoon out of him. They are both horrified and Celine blames Brittany for everything, she just won’t stop bickering.

Horror situation: walking into trap: Brittany brushes past a bush which sets off another trap but trips and falls just in time. Five arrows all whistle over her, all coming from different directions, missing her by inches. That was close. There is a scream behind her – Celine has been hit by an arrow – clean through her breast.

Reaction: escape: They run back to the camp

Terrorized

They get back to the camp and tell Shania and Aubrey about what happened.

Reaction: denial: There is general panic, especially from Aubrey, while Shania tries to convince them these are probably just some animal traps set by hunters. Celine points to her breast arrow and asks if this looks like the work of a hunter.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight to the death

They pull out Celine’s arrow and patch her up. They loot the car for anything that might protect them. Aubrey has a BB gun, Celine has a pair of tweezers, (“you’re gonna tweezer him to death?”) Brittany has the harpoon gun and a large hunting knife she found in Justin’s bag. Shania has a colt .45. They rest up for the night.

Horror situation: friends in danger: A figure lurks in the camp, it could easily kill them but doesn’t. We only see its shadow. As it walks away, it snaps a twig.

Reaction: fight: Quick as a flash, Shania sits up and fires a few shots into the dark. There seem to be two cries of pain. “I got the bastard!” the others wake up really quickly. Aubrey limps back to the camp, “Don’t shot!” having taken a bullet in the leg. He had gone behind a bush for a pee. But he did see a shadowy figure get shot. He didn’t go down, but he took a bullet.

Hysteria

In the morning, the campers decide to take the fight to this bastard. Armed as well as they can be, they follow the blood trail left by the killer. They trail dries up, but they see smoke and come to a very dilapidated house.

Horror situation: lured into danger: Three small, ragged-looking children play in the yard with a gun. One of them waves it around and accidentally misses one of the other kids. “Don’t go shooting my other ear off, Annie!” she cries.

Reaction: try to solve it. They all can’t believe that this could be the killer’s home – there are children here! At the sound of the gunshot, a young woman comes out of the house, angry and afraid, shouts at the kids to stop playing with guns. She stops when she sees the strangers. They ask if she has seen someone come by with a wound – they tell her they are being hunted. She shakes her head, but says there are a lot of hunters out these parts, but I ain’t seen nobody for weeks. They ask her for help but she says she ain’t got no phone and don’t want to get involved. leave.

She goes inside where Lonnie is lying on the couch, while his brother sews up his arm. The sister, Vickie, is furious and talks to her brother, Earl. She thinks Lonnie has been killing people. Trapping them. Last night’s dinner wasn’t no carrion. Earl is furious. I’ll go find him.

The thrilling escape from death

Horror situation: attacked/injured/wounded: On the way back to the camp, Brittany and Celine fall into traps:

Reaction: escape: Shania prevents Celine from being killed, though she is maimed (again) and Brittany miraculously survives although her leg is snapped in two.

Death returns to take one or more.

Aubrey says fuck this and runs away.

Horror situation: attacked/see another killed: He runs straight into another trap and instant death.

Resolution

Reaction: fight.

Brittany has a plan.

Horror situation: monster approaching. Later that evening, Lonnie comes along the track where they all got trapped and finds Aubrey still stuck in the trap, his face contorted in a bloody, comical mess.

Reaction: fight: As he tries to drag Aubrey’s body away, he is shot by a bullet and the harpoon by the women who are all in hiding. He manages to get away but is bleeding badly.

Horror situation: lured into danger/someone turns evil: He leads them into some covered woods and Brittany almost falls into a trap, but teeters on the edge, trying not to fall in. Celine pushes her in.

Reaction: fight: Shania shoots Celine, in the other breast, and she runs away. Shania helps Brittany out of the trap, who is unbelievably still alive, but this time with her arm snapped in two.

Horror situation: face to face with the monster: They come across Celine and Lonnie fighting.

Reaction: fight: Lonnie is badly shot up with one arm useless, while Celine is bleeding from both breasts. He draws back his machete to kill her, but Celine stabs him in the eye with her tweezers. He screams, pulls out the tweezers, which pop his eye out, then he proceeds to stab Celine in the chest with the tweezers.

Horror situation: face to face with the monster: Lonnie sees the other two women approaching and goes after them, brandishing his machete.

Reaction: fight: Brittany can’t do much but Shania shoots him twice before running out of bullets. Lonnie keeps coming and hits Shania, knocking her to the ground. Brittany is also on the floor now, unable to get up with her snapped leg.

Horror situation: threatened: Lonnie stands over Brittany, raises his machete and is about to deliver the final blow…

Reaction: fight: She summons up all her strength and kicks him in the balls. He falls to the floor, she kneels on her good leg, lifts up the machete and is about to plunge it into him when a gunshot goes off. It is Lonnie’s brother and sister, with crazy feral kids in tow. Earl has shot into the air and now points the rifle at Brittany. He won’t bother you no more, we’ll make sure of that. We’re not bad people. Lonnie just likes to bend the rules a little.

He tells them to follow a trail that will lead them to a main road and lets Shania use a wheelbarrow to wheel Brittany in. Shania, her head covered in blood and Brittany, hardly conscious, slowly make their way to the road and finally manage to flag down a car. As they tell the driver what happened, a beaten-up pickup truck slowly drives in the other direction. They see the three siblings in the front and a very large freezer on the back.

[Madeleine Vessel]

Madeleine Vessel’s Horror Situation Track

“What I learned doing this assignment is that using horror situations and reactions helps to flesh out a horror plot. It also keeps the horror tension at a high level. I still don’t know exactly how to end my story, but it definitely is coming together, bit by bit. Yay!!

STEP 1: Brainstorm 20 to 50 potential horror situations for your story.

1. Doing something forbidden. At the birthday party, the birthday girls presents the girls with a Ouija Board to play with.

2. Trapped into playing with a Ouija Board.

3. Kathryn tells Mallory she should think twice before playing with the Ouija Board, but Mallory doesn’t listen. Mallory takes her turn at the Ouija Board.

4. Mallory loses it when the Ouija Board tells her she will die before she turns 13.

5. Trapped by rain.

6. The girls jump out of the frying pan into the fire when they enter the old house.

7. Trapped in house.

8. Trapped in the house’s basement.

9. Lured into danger by the friendly light on at the backdoor.

10. Impending doom. Once inside the house, the doors and barred windows lock, seemingly of their own accord. Escape route cut off.

11. House lights won’t go on. The girls’ cellphones don’t work.

12. Impending doom. The girls find a burial urn on the fireplace mantle in the living room with Roy’s ashes in it. Who is Roy?

13. Someone is in the house. A ghost boy.

14. The girls get separated and kind find each other even though they can hear one another’s voices.

15. Ghost boy tortures Mallory about her impending death. Her 13^th birthday happens at midnight.

16. Kathryn hears the ghost taunting Mallory. Her friend is in danger.

17. A ghostly boy appears to the girls and leads them down to the basement.

18. Bones in the basement don’t free the boy. Are they someone else’s bones? Maybe it’s not true that finding the bones will free the house’s ghostly occupants.

19. Mallory falls ill.

20. Mallory becomes a liability.

21. Tricked into going down to the basement. The ghost tells them the lights work down there.

22. Mallory refuses to help Kathryn dig up bones.

23. Dilemma: Does Kathryn leave without Mallory when she has the chance.

24. There’s more than one ghost in the house.

25. The girls are threatened that they will never get out of the house unless they find the ghost boy’s bones.

26. They work with the boy until they realize the bones are not the boy’s. Now he turns into a monster.

STEP 2: Determine which of those work best for your plot.

1. Doing something forbidden. At the birthday party, the birthday girls presents the girls with a Ouija Board to play with.

2. Trapped into playing with a Ouija Board.

3. Kathryn tells Mallory she should think twice before playing with the Ouija Board, but Mallory doesn’t listen. Mallory takes her turn at the Ouija Board.

4. Mallory loses it when the Ouija Board tells her she will die before she turns 13.

5. Trapped by rain.

6. Lured into danger by the friendly light on at the old house’s backdoor. The girls jump out of the frying pan into the fire.

7. Impending doom. Once inside the house, the doors and barred windows lock, seemingly of their own accord. They are trapped. All escape routes are cut off.

8. House lights won’t go on. The girls’ cellphones don’t work.

9. The girls get separated and kind find each other even though they can hear one another’s voices.

10. Someone is in the house. A ghost boy.

11. Ghost boy tortures Mallory about her impending death. Her 13^th birthday happens at midnight.

12. Kathryn hears the ghost taunting Mallory. Her friend is in danger.

13. The ghost boy tricks the girls into going down into the basement by telling them that the lights will go on down there.

14. The boy tells the girls he’s trapped like they are because his bones are hidden in the basement. He asks them to dig for them.

15. There’s more than one ghost in the house.

16. Mallory falls ill.

17. Mallory refuses to help Kathryn dig up bones.

18. Bones Kathryn digs up in the basement don’t free the boy. They’re not his.

19. The ghost turns into a monster.

20. Mallory becomes a liability.

21. Dilemma: Does Kathryn leave without Mallory when she has the chance.

22. Trapped in the house’s basement.

STEP 3: Add a Reaction (denial, solve it, hide, escape, or fight) to the selected Horror situations.

Horror Situation 1: At the birthday party, the birthday girls presents the girls with a Ouija Board to play with. Kathryn is forbidden by her Catholic faith to play with it. She urges Mallory not to join in.

Reaction: Denial: Mallory refuses to heed Kathryn’s warning and plays anyway.

Horror Situation 2: All the girls except Kathryn are lured into playing with the Ouija Board.

Reaction: Solve it: Kathryn tries to solve the problem by calling on St. Michael the Archangel to defend them from evil.

Horror Situation 3: Mallory takes her turn at the Ouija Board. The board tells her she will die before her 13^th birthday. Mallory loses it.

Reaction: Kathryn tries to take care of Mallory by telling her they should leave. We’ll go together.

Horror Situation 4: The girls get caught in a heavy downpour of rain.

Reaction: The girls look for shelter.

Horror Situation 5: The girls are lured into danger by the friendly light on the old house’s backdoor.

Reaction: At first, the girls take shelter on the porch, but when the wind blows rain into them there, they seek an entrance to the house. They crawl through a window with the bars open and the window unlatched..

Horror Situation 6: Once inside the house, the doors and barred windows lock, seemingly of their own accord. They are trapped. All escape routes seem cut off.

Reaction: The girls look for lights to turn on.

Horror Situation 7: The lights won’t turn on.

Reaction: The girls take out their cellphones.

Horror Situation 8: The girls try to phone for help on their cellphones, but they don’t work either.

Reaction: The girls split up and try to find candles and matches.

Horror Situation 9: Someone else is in the house. The ghost of a boy appears to Mallory and scares her to death.

Reaction: Mallory calls for help. Kathryn to find her in the dark.

Horror Situation 10: The ghost reminds Mallory she’s going to die before she’s 13.

Reaction: Mallory loses it.

Horror Situation 11: The ghost tricks the girls into going down into the basement by telling them that the lights work down there.

Reaction: The girls denial that the boy is a monster prompts them to trust him. They go with him down into the basement, where the lights turn on.

Horror Situation 12: The ghost tells he girls that he and they are trapped inside the house because his bones are buried in the basement. He asks them to help him escape by digging for the bones.

Reaction: Mallory refuses to dig. Kathryn finds a tool and starts digging.

Horror Situation 13: Bones Kathryn digs up do not free the boy or the girls. Turns out that there are more ghosts in the house than those of the boy’s.

Reaction: Mallory falls ill. Kathryn comforts her. Tells her they need to find another way out.

Horror Situation 14: Mallory won’t cooperate. She becomes a liability.

Reaction: Kathryn searches for another exit. She finds a way out.

Dilemma: Does Kathryn leave without Mallory when she has the chance.

STEP 4: Put Horror Situations/Reactions in the plot and label them.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established: Story opens at a birthday party where twelve-year-old girls are given a Ouija Board to play with a Ouija Board.

Connect with the characters: Introduce Kathryn and Mallory

Horror Situation 1: At the birthday party, the birthday girl’s mother presents the girls with a Ouija Board to play with. Kathryn is forbidden by her Catholic faith to play with it. She urges Mallory not to join in.

Reaction: Denial: Mallory doesn’t believe in that taboo and refuses to heed Kathryn’s warning.

Horror Situation 2: All the girls except Kathryn are lured into playing with the Ouija Board.

Reaction: Solve it: Kathryn tries to solve the problem by calling on St. Michael the Archangel to defend them from evil.

Horror Situation 3: Mallory takes her turn at the Ouija Board. Mallory asks the Ouija Board, “When will I die?” The Board answers, “Before your 13^th birthday.

Reaction: Mallory loses it.

Reaction: Kathryn tries to take care of Mallory by convincing what the Ouija Board is nonsense and by telling her they should leave. We’ll go together.

Introduce Max, the ghost of a long-dead boy.

Introduce old lady Setter, who leaves the house with a suitcase.

Horror Situation 4: On their way home, the girls get caught in a heavy downpour of rain.

Reaction: Solve the problem. The girls look for shelter. They come to Old Lady Setter’s house.

Horror Situation 5: Though they girls have been warned not to go anywhere near Old Lady Setter’s house, the girls are lured into danger by the friendly light on the old house’s backdoor.

Reaction: Denial: At first, the girls take shelter on the porch, but when the wind blows rain into them they rationalize that it will be okay to enter the house. They seek and find an unlatched window with its bars open. They crawl through the window.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Horror Situation 6: Once inside the house, the doors and barred windows lock, seemingly of their own accord. They are trapped. All escape routes seem cut off.

Reaction: Try to solve the problem: The girls look for lights to turn on.

Horror Situation 7: The lights won’t turn on.

Reaction: Try to solve the problem. The girls take out their cellphones.

Horror Situation 8: The girls try to phone for help on their cellphones, but they don’t work either.

Reaction: The girls split up and try to find candles and matches.

But then they realize that there is someone else in the house.

Horror Situation 9: Someone else in the house. Max appears in front of Mallory.

Reaction: Hysteria Loses it. Mallory calls for help.

Kathryn finds her in the dark. Max is wary of Kathryn. There is something about her he’s afraid of.

Horror Situation 11: Max tricks the girls into going down into the basement by telling them that the lights work down there.

Reaction: Try to solve the problem. The girls decide to trust Max. They go with him down into the basement and find that the lights are on.

Kathryn takes out her cellphone, but it’s still out of service.

MIDPOINT: The ghost introduces himself and tells them they will die unless they can find his bones buried in the basement.

Horror Situation 12: Max tells the girls that he and they are trapped inside the house because his bones are buried in the basement. He tells them that if they dig up his bones, they will all be able to leave the house.

Reaction: Mallory can’t breathe in the basement. She refuses to dig.

Kathryn finds a tool and starts digging.

Horror Situation 13: Kathryn finds human bones.

Reaction: Mallory freaks out. She faints.

Kathryn keeps digging under Max’s supervision, but when she has dug up all the bones and she and Max try an upstairs door, they are still locked in.

Max is confused. He believed he would be freed from his ghostly existence if he could find his bones. But then he realizes the bones are not his. Someone else is buried there.

Turns out that the bones aren’t Max’s, and there are more ghosts in the house than him.

Reaction: Mallory falls ill. Kathryn comforts her. Tells her they need to find another way out.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Kathryn starts a conversation with Max. She tries to find out what happened to him.

Max stops threatening the girls and tells them what he knows.

Mallory remembers what the Ouija Board said and is convinced she’s going to die. She loses it believing that she will die without her parents ever finding her.

She lies down and refuses to cooperate with anything Kathryn and Max want her to do.

Max goes into a rage.

Max tells the girls they’ll never get out, and there’s a terrible fate in store for them.

Horror Situation 14: Other ghosts of other children appear out of the woodwork. They are all raging, throwing things, threatening. Kathryn and Mallory huddle together terrified.

Midnight chimes on a clock upstairs. It’s Kathryn’s 13^th birthday.

The sound of locks opening reaches the girls in the basement.

Max tells the girls that Kathryn can leave because she’s reached her 13^th birthday.

Dilemma: Does Kathryn leave without Mallory when she has the chance.

Kathryn decides to stay with Mallory, who seems like she’s at death’s door.

Now, the real monster appears. He taunts Kathryn, chokes her, until Kathryn starts to pray.

Kathryn sits beside Mallory praying until the sun comes up in the morning.

There’s a sound of a key in the front door. Old Lady Setter enters.

As if by magic, everything in the house is put to right.

Mrs. Setter doesn’t seem surprised to find Kathryn and Mallory in the house. She gives Katheryn a box and tells her to give it to her mother.

The girls leave.

The ghosts of the boy and other children can be seen peering out the windows.

[CLAIRE RILEY]

Claire’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned: This continues to be fun. Not everything feels like it fits and that’s okay. I don’t need to have this be perfect right now. I might even get rid of 2 of the characters and go from 8 to 6 characters. Not sure which is best for my story. I get to allow this all to be open ended and trust everything will come to me.

CONCEPT: At an isolated farm, one by one, an evil ghost possesses the lesbian visitors and causes each to murder her own spouse. A timid psychic must stop it before it possesses her or her wife.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

ATMOSPHERE OF EVIL ESTABLISHED

Prologue: 17^th century Massachusetts. A Man burning a witch at the stake and a woman running through the woods to reach them and stop him.

Horror Situation: Friends in danger

Reaction: Try to solve it.

CONNECT WITH THE CHARACTERS

We meet Diana and Maeve in their car. They are a loving couple, Diana a NYC cop and Maeve a psychologist and psychic. They stop on the road to help a woman who has a flat tire. Diana changes the tire and Maeve comforts the vulnerable woman.

Later they arrive at the farm and meet the other six women.

THE CHARACTERS ARE WARNED NOT TO DO IT.

Diana and Maeve tell the woman with the flat tire where they are going, and she looks terrified. She tells them not to go. It’s dangerous. They think she means the old house is unsafe. No, it’s haunted. Forty years there was a murder suicide. A lesbian killed her lover and then killed herself. Diana laughs. Maeve chuckles nervously.

Horror Situation: Threatened

Reaction: Denial

DENIAL OF HORROR

They arrive at the house and tell the others. Sybil and Alison say nonsense. This place is beautiful. They invited the other six women to ask them to invest in their latest project, building a lesbian retreat on the land.

Horror Situation: Threatened

Reaction: Denial

SAFETY TAKEN AWAY

No internet or cell phone service on the farm.

MONSTER: THE NATURE OF THE BEAST.

[NOT SURE IF THIS FLASHBACK NEEDS TO BE HERE]

Another flashback to the 17^th century. A man kills a witch, his own wife, and another woman witnesses it.

Horror Situation: See another killed

Reaction: Fight/Try to solve it

Weird things happening in the house. Seems haunted.

Caitlin says we should have a séance and ask who the ghost is and what it wants. Sybil, her mentor in witchcraft says no. Caitlin says Sybil is afraid of her own power and defies Sybil. She asks Maeve to join her. Maeve says no. Caitlin accuses Maeve of being afraid of her own shadow.

Caitlin holds the séance.

Horror Situation: Doing something forbidden.

Reaction: Try to solve it.

The spirit is an angry male and it possesses Caitlin.

Caitlin goes completely mad, acting like a lunatic and kills her lover, Libby. The rest of the women are horrified.

Horror Situation: Possession/See another killed

Reaction: Try to solve it

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

ISOLATED / TRAPPED / ABDUCTED

The spirit leaves Caitlin. She calms down and and then is completely horrified that she killed Libby. Wants to kill herself. Sybil and Maeve stop Caitlin from killing herself.

Horror Situation: Mentally Tortured

Reaction: Escape (death)

The women try to figure out what happened and what they should do. Call the police or no?

They decide to go for help, but the only bridge that takes them off the farm has collapsed.

Horror Situation: Trapped/escape route cut off

Reaction: Try to solve it

Alison reveals she found stuff in the basement about the death of the two women in the 1980s, but did not want to spoil the weekend by telling them about it.

While Sybil and Alison try to console the inconsolable Caitlin, Maeve and Diana investigate the stuff in the basement.

They find a notebook left by the woman who killed her partner. She details how she was possessed by a man who killed his wife because she was a witch and had a female lover.

They are horrified. They hear screaming. The run upstairs to find Sybil is now possessed and kills her wife Alison. They run from possessed Sybil.

Horror Situation: See another killed/possessed

Reaction: Escape

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!

Full pursuit by the killer

Sybil comes out of it and is totally distressed that she killed Alison. Maeve asks Sybil if she can remember anything from being possessed. She does not want to remember, too terrifying. Maeve asks her to try. We have to find a way to stop it.

She allows herself to remember. The spirit burnt his wife at the stake and now wants to force lesbians to kill their own loved ones. He finds great joy in the agony of the women who killed their lovers.

[Put another 17^th century flashback here to see it dramatized. New reveal is that He kills his own wife because she was a witch and had a woman lover.]

Horror Situation: Mentally tortured

Reaction: Try to solve it

Maeve realizes the spirit is possessing one woman in each couple and then killing that woman’s partner.

The four remaining women who were not either killed or possessed are totally freaked out. They look at each other. Regina, the comedian, gives her wife, Zora a creepy smile and Zora freaks out. Regina laughs. Only joking.

Horror Situation: Not knowing who is possessed

Reaction: Hide/Try and solve it (the women react differently)

TERRORIZED

The couples decide to separate. Regina and Diana go outside and Maeve and Zora console Caitlin and Sybil.

Maeve and Zora hear horrible screams from Diana. Maeve runs to Diana. Regina goes completely crazy and tries to attack Zora. Zora runs for her life.

Horror Situation: Attacked or chased

Reaction: Escape

Sybil and Caitlin run and hide. Maeve and Diane try to stop Regina. But she is terrifying and powerful. They cannot stop her and she murders Zora.

Horror Situation: See another killed

Reaction: Try to solve it/escape

Caitlin is completely hysterical. Overwhelmed by the evil and bloodshed. She tries to kill herself again. Maeve is able to stop her.

Horror Situation: Another character loses it

Reaction: Try to solve it

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Maeve says we have to do something to prevent it from entering another woman. Sybil says to hold onto the power of love. How much you love your partner?

Maeve says no, how much you love your partner is what drives him crazy.

Maeve says just the power of love. They all meditate on the power of love.

FIGHT TO THE DEATH

Maeve starts to twitch uncontrollably. She becomes possessed. Diana is terrified and runs. Regina and Caitlin run. Sybil tells Maeve to hold on, to fight. She fights the spirit from within. Sybil does an exorcism.

Horror Situation: Possessed

Reaction: Fight (Maeve and Sybil) and Escape (Regina, Caitlin and Diana)

HYSTERIA

The exorcism drives the spirit wild, and Maeve does unnatural and terrifying things, like flying, vomiting bats, twisting her head around, etc. The spirit goes into Sybil and terrifies Maeve and laughs hysterically and jumps back into Maeve.

THE THRILLING ESCAPE FROM DEATH

Maeve fights. She calls on the spirits of her mother and grandmother and great grandmother for help. She is able to get rid of the spirit.

Horror Situation: Possessed

Reaction: fight

Maeve seems okay. She is thrilled that she did not kill Diana.

DEATH RETURNS TO TAKE ONE OR MORE.

The spirit possesses Diana and tries to kill Maeve. Maeve is totally freaked out. Does not want to hurt Diana but does not want to be killed. Maeve hides in basement.

Horror Situation: Possessed

Reaction: hide

Maeve finds the notebook left by the woman in 1980s and reads more about the spirit.

Flashback to the 17^th century – the woman who was lovers with the man burning his wife is a witch. She kills him and curses his soul. He cannot leave the farm. He cannot go to heaven or hell

Diana has found her and is pounding on the basement door. Maeve realizes she has to remove the curse. She can’t do it herself. She calls on the original witch to help her and she does.

Horror Situation: Possessed

Reaction: fight

Resolution

Five of them are still alive. They decide what to do.

[Gregg Guest]

In this lesson I learned that there are many different ways to create horror situations, and a limited number of reactions the characters might have to them. I also learned that you need to include these horror situations at almost every step of the way – seeing them in the outline really helps to immediately know if you are scaring people often enough.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established
A fire chief is trapped in a burning building trying to save a family, but he is unable to save them and must watch them die while he slowly burns to death.

Horror Situation: Fire is raging, a family is trapped.
Reaction – Try to Solve: The Fire Chief tries to rescue them

Horror Situation: The ceiling collapses and traps him. He watches the family die while he burns to death.

Connect with the characters
First day at the new office of Haven Development. The CEO welcomes everyone to the new office – the VP, Marketing Manager, Architect, Builder and Assistant.

The characters are warned not to do it.
The Architect is concerned that certain elements of the building are not to spec with his plans.

Denial of Horror
The Builder says everything is fine and ready. The Marketing Manager is skeptical but puts a positive spin on it.

Safety taken away
The elevator is not working (shorted), and the stairwell door won’t open (Fused shut), so they must stay in the office. The mechanic gets to work on the elevator.

Horror Situation: They are trapped in the office

Reaction: Try to solve problem- Mechanic tries to fix elevator, goes to machine room.

Monster: The nature of the beast.
The security guard smells smoke. He goes to check the alarm system in the machine room and discovers the mechanic and the alarm system and communications have been charred. He joins the other characters to tell them about the death and to evacuate.

Horror Situation: Smoke coming into the office, charred mechanic and alarm system

Reaction: Panic, Escape.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted
They get the stairway open, but the fire breaks out and blocks their way. They try another stairwell, but it is also blocked. The elevator is still not functioning.

Horror Situation: Smoke fills the stairway
Reaction: They escape through another stairway

Horror Situation: Flames erupt in the stairway
Reaction: They retreat to the elevator but it;s still not working. The janitor tries to solve and fix it.

One of us killed
The Builder suggests they climb through the air vent to get out, but no one will go with him. He goes alone and he gets trapped in the duct, where the fire slowly burns him to death and we see it’s “human” form for the first time. The duct collapses and his charred body falls to the ground for the others to see..

Horror Situation: Claustrophobia in air vent and legs catch on fire.
Reaction: Tries to fight and put out fire, but it spreads over his body

Horror Situation: The fire has a face
Reaction: Denial, then death

Horror Situation: The body falls through the vent to the floor for everyone to see
Reaction: Confusion, since there is no fire

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!

Full pursuit by the killer
The janitor gets the elevator working and they all try to escape, but the fire burns the cable and the car halts. They manage to escape but the fire comes into the car and pulls the VP out of it to kill her. The rest of them escape onto the nearest floor.

Horror Situation: Elevator drops
Reaction: Escape

Horror Situation: VP pulled out of car by fire
Reaction: Denial, Escape

Terrorized
The fire now erupts into the hallway and they all flee to get away, one by one they are trapped and killed, the loner, the marketing director and then the CEO.

Horror Situation: Can’t find way out of hallway maze (Lost)
Reaction: Tries to find the way out, but gets hysterical and in denial

Horror Situation: Wrapped up in fire hose (Trapped)
Reaction: Tries to use hose to fight fire, then tries to escape by cutting the hose

Horror Situation: The corrupt CEO is found out and given over to the fire (infiltrated)
Reaction: Try to solve by giving up the CEO

Horror Situation: Burned to a char and crawling to get away (injured)
Reaction: Fight/Escape

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight to the death
The security guard manages to hold off the fire with a fire hose, but the water can’t kill it, and the fire burns him to a crisp – he is in so much pain that he shoots himself in the head.

Horror Situation: Someone shoots themselves in the head to avoid painful death (see other killed)
Reaction: Fights but loses and has to escape by suicide

Hysteria
The assistant has a breakdown, but the Janitor consoles her. They come up with a plan to defeat the fire creature.

Horror Situation: Take refuge in a room, lock out the fire, but the fire is in there (out of frying pan into fire)
Reaction: Hide, denial/false safety

The thrilling escape from death
The janitor and assistant work together to defeat the fire just in time by creating a vacuum that deprives it of air.

Horror Situation: Room engulfed in flames (impending doom)
Reaction: Hiding in room, has to fight the flames

Death returns to take one or more.
But at the last minute, the fire flares up and kills the Janitor. The assistant is spared.

Horror Situation: Thinking the fire is out, but it flares back up to get them (tricked)
Reaction: denial that it is over, tries to fight the fire

Horror Situation: Slowly burned while loved one watches (mentally tortured)
Reaction: fights/tries to escape

Horror Situation: Forced onto window ledge by fire (forced into danger)
Reaction: Tries to hide, denial, but it discovered

Horror Situation: Someone is about to be burned by the fire but is spared (face to face)
Reaction: hide, escape

Resolution

The fire marshal determines the building was built shoddily, and the same thing happened in a fire several years ago in which the fire chief perished.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  Gregg Guest.

[Edward Lusk]

What I learned doing this assignment is all the options and ways a scene can play out, elevating the horror, or adding intrigue, adding character conflicts. So many ways to approach the story. The skill be be designing the best one. Great assignment, fun!

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

1- Atmosphere of Evil established – Krampus and Saint Nicholas try to check into the ski lodge without a reservation. The manger hassles them. He’s killed for his lack of customer service.

Horror Situation – Menacing Stranger at the front desk. Not a normal guest for a ski lodge.

Reaction – Try to Solve It. Manager does his best to placate Krampus & Nicholas. They’re not there to be dismissed.

Horror Situation – Nicholas’s staff is also a deadly spear. Manager is shish kebab killed by it.

2- Connect with the characters – The ski resort guest meet up on the shuttle bus from the airport to the lodge. The characters are warned not to do it. The sheriff warns the lodge staff and guest if they don’t leave now the Northeaster Blizzard will cut them off , snowed in for days.

Horror Situation – Environment Changing Around You -the blizzard is starting. The ride to the lodge is blinding the old driver, bus so close to the edge of the road. Steep cliffs inches away.

Horror Reaction – Denial, it’s vacation time, nothing bad going to happen. Drink and be merry, great weather for skiing.

Horror Situation – The tour guide falls out of the bus into a chasm – gone & probably dead!

3- Denial of Horror – Krampus and Saint Nicholas show up announcing the deadly white elephant gift exchange. It’s thought to be a cruel joke. Until…

Horror Situation – Lured into Horror. The gift exchange sounds fun until the deadly purpose of the gifts are revealed.

Horror Reaction – Tricked. This is not how normal gift exchanges work. What’s the catch and why is this happening to them?

Horror Situation – Krampus reveals none of them are innocent and their terrible secrets shall be revealed before they die.

4- Safety taken away – A guest – Mike – tries to leave the lodge to get help, opens the front door and tons drifted snow pours in. Saint Nicholas’s staff elongates across the room yanking the Mike around the neck and back inside. The lights flicker and power goes off. The ski lift down the mountain is dead.

Horror Situation – No escape / cut off – The guest, staff and Krampus are trapped inside the ski lodge until the blizzard clears.

Horror Reaction – Fight! The monster outnumbered, of course the other guest can over take them.

Horror Situation – Krampus demonstrates his no normal guest easily flinging a guest into the huge fireplace, setting them a-flame.

5- Monster: The nature of the beast. – The gift exchange begins. The first guest opens their gift revealing the weapon of choice to be used on another guest of their choosing. Refusing will only mean self-imposed death.

Horror Situation – Character refused to take action. No way the guest will use this instrument of death on another person.

Horror Reaction – Denial. This can’t be the purpose of a gift exchange. Too twisted.

Horror Situation – Krampus forces the person to use the instrument of death on themselves. Showing the others the gruesome consequences of non-conformity.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

6- Isolated / Trapped / Abducted – Guest & staff try various places to hide & escape avoiding participating in the gift exchange. Krampus abducts guest – Ava – using torture blackmail to force the other guests to give up and come out of hiding – except Tina, she’s missing.

Horror Situation – Attacked or chased. Guest try to hide from the gift holder and their evil intentions.

Horror Reaction – Hide! Anywhere in the ski lodge is good place to get away. It’s part of the rules anyway, but eventually guest will be caught.

Horror Situation – Guest is caught and must return to the lobby and face their horrible death.

7- One of us killed – The gift exchange shifts from terror and torture to guest killing. Michael kills Tina – because she did not come out of hiding.

Horror Situation – See another killed. Fun and games are over and the first guest is killed by the first gift giver in the exchange.

Horror Reaction – Try to solve it. Another guest plead for mercy, plead for rationale. This is too terrible to be real.

Horror Situation – The guest is killed by another in front of the others, demonstrating what is in store for them. It’s not pretty.

8 – MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought! – Krampus announces from this point out the gift exchange must result in death of the receiver. Then proceed to next round. No exceptions. Other guest can not interfere in the proceedings or be killed.

Horror Situation – Working with someone, then become the evil one. Gifts are exchanged, you may trade with another, but you still got to kill someone with whatever gift a guest ends up with.

Horror Reaction – Fight! The monster is now use, and guest shall fight them as Krampus has designed to game to be played out.

Horror Situation – Two guest battle to the death using whatever gift it was they exchanged for.

9- Full pursuit by the killer – Guest connive on ways to kill Krampus based on Reverend Gene’s knowledge of Pagans. The problem, Saint Nicholas has to go first. Nicholas is killed enraging Krampus.

Horror Situation – Internal conflict with the group. Reverend Gene convinced he can defeat Krampus, worrying the others it will only make things worse.

Horror Reaction – Try to solve it. Perhaps if the gift giver 0 Nicholas is killed the exchange will end with his death.

Horror Situation – Nicholas is killed. That really get’s Krampus enraged.

10- Terrorized – Krampus proclaims no one shall survive now because of their act of treachery.

Horror Situation – Impending Doom. There was a chance for survival, now that is gone.

Horror Reaction – Escape. Blizzard or not there must be a way out of the ski lodge. One of the staff has an idea , but will need help.

Horror Situation – Everyone pick their gift and no more exchanges. It will be all out carnage.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

11- Fight to the death – Guest are pared up for the next gift exchange round. Everyone got a gift now they can use on the other guest or staff. Keep going until one is left.

Horror Situation – Dilemma – emotional attached characters now face horrible decisions for survival. Kill or be killed. Great for Krampus bad for the guests.

Horror Reaction – Fight. Got to fight to stay alive.

Horror Situation – Other guests are killed in horrible ways by the gifts selected. This narrows down the survivor combinations and raising the stakes not to mention the dilemmas faced.

12- Hysteria – Staff and Guest are all over the lodge trying to kill or not be killed by others guest or staff. Survivors are whittled down in grizzly and terrifying ways as each gift specifies.

Horror Situation – Another character loses it. Ava – to be specific.

Horror Reaction – Try to Solve it – Ave knows a way out because Susie, the ski instructor told her how to before she died.

Horror Situation – Ava father is killed calling her into action. Her mom, will hold off the threat for as long as she can.

13- The thrilling escape from death – Ava escapes Saint Nicholas to roof top escape to the Ski Lift Shed. Finds a snow board and skies down the risky back country to safety.

Horror Situation – Helping a good person and being attacked. Ava’s mom, helps Ava escape, paying a high price.

Horror Reaction – Escape – Ava escapes to the ski lift shed

Horror Situation – Krampus sends another after her. Guest refuses to go. Setting up a deadly stand off.

14- Death returns to take one or more. – James and Michael are left arrived. Krampus kills James running him over with the snow groomer because Michael kill him with his gift.

Horror Situation – No escape or Escape has been cut off. Snow groomer taken over by guest Michael running over James with it.

Horror Reaction – Denial – James can’t believe Michael will go though with it.

Horror Situation – The snow groomer, driven my Michael runs over James tearing him to pieces. Snow turns to blood. Eeew.

15- Resolution Christmas Day – Krampus leaves with Michael riding away on the snow groomer.

Horror Situation – Walking into a trap. Michael leaves with Krampus thinking he is safe.

Horror Reaction – Escape – leaving Krampus is better option than staying behind.

Horror Situation – Back at Krampus castle, Michael is given a gift, the implications for its use are not good.

[Micah Delhauer]

MICAH’S HORROR SITUATION TRACK

What I learned doing this assignment is that freely brainstorming a minimum number of major gags (be they horror, comedy, etc.) is a great way to flesh out the story.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established: Barry’s life is played out opposite another man’s: Barry’s is a life of great luck, whereas the other man’s is full of misfortune. The man ultimate dies in a horrifying freak accident.

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) following his sin, Barry is attacked by a wryneck bird that scratches his face, though a moment later the scratch is gone

REACTION: (Denial) Barry dismisses the freak occurrence

Connect with the characters: the various characters arrive at the hotel for their own reasons.

The characters are warned not to do it: some people near to Barry are injured

Denial of Horror: Barry dismisses all the strange occurrences as freak accidents

HORROR SITUATION: (Tortured) a big rig truck crashes near Barry on his way to the hotel, cutting off the intersection

REACTION: (Denial) Though startled, Barry does not believe it’s related to him

Safety taken away: Garret’s pacemaker fails and he has a heart attack

HORROR SITUATION: (Tortured) Garret has a heart attack and the road is blocked off, preventing an ambulance from arriving

REACTION: (Solve It) the characters choose to carry Garret outside

Monster: The nature of the beast: a series of accidents prevent the characters from being able to leave

HORROR SITUATION: (Isolated) the elevator busts and the stairwell collapses, trapping everyone upstairs.

REACTION: (Solve It) characters call the police for help

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: The elevator is broken and the stairs are collapsed

HORROR SITUATION: (Isolated) the crashed big rig is preventing the fire truck from getting to the hotel
REACTION: (Solve It) The police drag it away with trucks, but it takes time

HORROR SITUATION: (Tormented) Barry witness his reflection start to become the Jinx

REACTION: (Hide) flees and tries to ignore what happened

One of us killed: June’s boyfriend Ned is killed

HORROR SITUATION: (Torment) June sees Ned killed
REACTION: (Solve It) Barry comforts her

HORROR SITUATION: (Trapped) the elevator has stopped working and the stairs have collapsed

REACTION: (Solve It) they open the elevator shaft to see if they can climb down

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) while two characters are inside the car, the cable snaps

REACTION: (Escape) characters are pulled to safety just before they fall to their doom

HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) a character chokes on a piece of food

REACTION: (Solve It) another character performs the Heimlich maneuver (though this means no one can eat or drink)

HORROR SITUATION: (Spooky) Barry’s shadow twists and flops its head in front of everyone

REACTION: (Fight) Adam confronts Barry, thinking he’s deliberately harming everyone

MIDPOINT — THE MONSTER IS WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT

Full pursuit by the killer: accidents occur in rapid succession

HORROR SITUATION: (Spooky) Barry sees the wryneck, which is chirping in a way that sounds like laughing

REACTION: (Fight) Barry attacks the bird and kills it, only to find it has teleported elsewhere and is still laughing at him

HORROR SITUATION: (Isolated/Danger) Barry is keeping his distance from everyone, communicating via phone when June is put in mortal danger
REACTION: (Fight) Barry comes to his daughter’s rescue

HORROR SITUATION: (Spooky) These misfortunes happen despite Barry being out of proximity.

REACTION: (Solve It) characters must rethink the rules of the dilemma

HORROR SITUATION: (Spooky/Isolated) the power in the building goes out

REACTION: (Solve It) group searches for means of lighting the hallways, including computers and phones

Terrorized: the range of the Jinx’s influence expands and the accidents become more intense

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) rain water leaks onto the heater in a room; the sparks ignite a bed sheet and a fire breaks out

REACTION: (Fight) grab the fire extinguisher; create bucket brigade

CHARACTER DEATH: Tulip trips and is impaled in the throat on a glass lamp that shattered during the fire

HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) at a crucial moment, a character suffers an overdose from an earlier intake of drugs (cocaine?) laced with fentanyl.

REACTION: (Solve It) someone runs to get the naxolone from the druggie’s room

HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) the naxolone has fallen beneath the druggie’s bed

REACTION: (Solve It) everyone scours the room until it is found

HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) person trips while rushing it to druggie and it slides toward open elevator

REACTION: (Solve It) someone grabs it just before it goes over the lip

CHARACTER DEATH: Druggie dies just as person arrives with the naxolone

HORROR SITUATION: (Paranoia) Adam retrieves Kay’s gun and tries to shoot Barry
REACTION: (Escape/Fight) some try to stop him while Barry tries to escape; accidents prevent Adam from succeeding and even cripple him

HORROR SITUATION: (Tormented) Barry witnesses his reflection completely turn into the Jinx

REACTION: (Fight) Barry confronts the creature and learns about its motives and power

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight to the death: an earthquake hits and the building starts to collapse

HORROR SITUATION: an earthquake strikes and the structure of the building is compromised

REACTION: (Escape) everyone tries to avoid the destruction

HORROR SITUATION: (Trapped) a portion of the ceiling caves in, preventing Barry from getting as far away from the others as he can

REACTION: (Solve It) everyone else moves to the furthest room in the building

CHARACTER DEATH: the floor collapses beneath someone’s feet and they fall to their death

Hysteria: Eve goes into labor; Barry locks himself in a room and attempts to kill himself, though the Jinx prevents him and Barry ends up on the floor with a sprained back, unable to move

HORROR SITUATION: (Tormented) Eve goes into labor

REACTION: (Escape) Eve escapes from the building via police ladder

The thrilling escape from death: firefighters arrive to rescue the survivors via ladder; but there is no window in the room furthest from Barry, and so they must venture into the field of danger to be rescued.

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) survivors must get around the collapse in the floor to get to the fire ladder, including Eve who is in labor

REACTION: (Solve It) they retrieve a shower rod; June makes it across, then uses the rod to pull people to safety as they jump

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) The floor gives out beneath Eve and she falls through the floor; June is nearly pulled down with her

REACTION: (Solve It) the others help pull June and Eve up

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) it is raining when the survivors attempt to climb down the ladder, causing multiple slip and falls

REACTION: (Solve It) everyone moves cautiously, the firefighters and fellow survivors helping one another

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) lightning strikes a power line and the cable swings toward the ladder

REACTION: (Escape) characters leap from the ladder or otherwise try to avoid the swinging wire.

Death returns to take one or more: June returns to save her father, thinking she can’t die so long as she’s with him. But the Jinx manages to separate them.

HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) as June and Barry attempt to escape, the building begins to collapse

REACTION: (Escape) they tie off a bed sheet to hand railing and climb down stairwell, escaping the building just as it collapses

Resolution: Once
they make it outside, a flying piece of debris(?) comes flying at June. Barry
throws himself in front of the debris at the last second, sacrificing himself
for his daughter and defeating the Jinx.

[Julian Brantley]

Julian’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned doing this assignment is where the horror is (and isn’t) in this plot.

ACT 1

Atmosphere of Evil established: FLASHBACK to murder of Gold Miner and his family. His angry spirit torments his murderers until they die. Priest and local Shaman trap spirit inside the mine.<div>

Horror Situation: Menacing Stranger – In Prologue, stranger meets Miner’s wife and kid. Find out stranger killed them.

Reaction: Fight. Miner gets killed too.

Horror Situation: Murderer is attacked and chased by ghost of Miner.

Reaction: Denial – Can’t believe in ghost, it’s just his nerves… until it kills him.

Connect with the characters: Meet the campers (Family, young couple) before their campground is invaded by Internet Celeb and his followers that are going to spend the night in a haunted mine. Only a few of them are outdoorsy, most are city kids. </div><div>

The characters are warned not to do it: Dad of the family learns what the group is there to do and warns against it. Abandoned mines are dangerous, and tells his kids to stay away from them.

Denial of Horror: When some start to consider the warning, Internet Celeb laughs and dares his followers to go with him or he will out them as scared babies.

Safety taken away: They open the mine, and toss aside the Talisman that was keeping the ghost trapped inside. An ominous noise and wind blast hits them when it is released.

Horror Situation: Doing something forbidden – Discarding Talisman that protects the world from angry ghost.

Reaction: Denial – they think it’s no problem, just superstition.

Monster: The nature of the beast: Inside the mine, the group comes across the bones of the first victims of the Ghost Gold Miner and/or his family.

Horror Situation: Unknown motive – No one knows anything of ghost except for legend. But then they find bones of Miner’s family, so story might be true.

Reaction: Try to solve it – They think maybe acknowledging it could save them. It just infuriates the ghost.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: The entrance to the mine collapses, trapping everyone inside.

Horror Situation: No escape or their escape route has been cut off – Mine entrance collapses.

Reaction: Try to solve it – Some try and move stones. Some look for an alternate exit.

Horror Situation: Trapped – Cave-in on one of the kids. Injured, wounded, or debilitated – kid’s leg hurt in cave-in.

Reaction: Try to solve it – Dig them out of rubble. Temporary fix of leg.

Horror Situation: Another character loses it (hysterical) – Claustrophobic person snaps after cave-in.

Reaction: Denial – Won’t accept their (temporary) fate.

Horror Situation: Impending doom – Worrier brought gas detection monitor. It goes off. They only have so much time before they die anyway if don’t get out.

Reaction: Try to solve it – Try to find way out of labyrinth.

Horror Situation: Internal conflict in the group – Internet Celeb loses control of group early on. Physically stronger people vie for control and decision making.

Reaction: Splits group apart.

One of us killed: Internet Celeb’s girlfriend is first to be attacked and murdered by ghost, sending everyone scattering through the mine.

Horror Situation: See another killed.

Reaction: Hide and Escape – Kids run away from murder scene blindly, getting lost.

Horror Situation: Lured into the horror – First person to see ghost – hears something, sees a comforting image that turns into Ghost Miner.

Reaction: Escape – runs from frightening image.

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!: They realize ghost can kill them.

Full pursuit by the killer: The ghost chases people through mine and brutally kills several.

Horror Situation: Working with someone, then they become the evil one – Guy that takes control decides to offer a sacrifice to the ghost.

Reaction: Try to solve it – Group rises up and attacks the ‘Leader’, stopping him from leaving injured person to die.

Horror Situation: Lost – Can’t find way out of Mine Labyrinth.

Reaction: Try to solve it – Find another way out.

Horror Situation: Monster approaching – Someone trapped, see the ghost advancing on them. They can hear the ghost roaming the Mine tunnels.

Reaction: Hide – Try to escape detection by ghost.

Terrorized: Father realizes his kids are trapped inside mine with people getting murdered. / Internet Celeb barely escapes death by sacrificing others.

Horror Situation: Tricked – Celeb tricks follower into getting attacked by ghost so he can escape.

Reaction: Escape – uses follower death to run away.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight to the death: Kids of the family fight back against the ghost and get hurt, but are still alive.

Horror Situation: Mentally tortured – Ghost plays with people before attacking/murdering them.

Reaction: Fight and Hide – Some pray to fight back, others run and hide. It chases the runners.

Hysteria: The survivors group together, trapped in the furthest reaches of the mine, and discover the bones of what used to be the Gold Miner.

Horror Situation: Being lured into danger – Kids follow light at end of tunnel, but it is the ghost.

Reaction: Hide and Escape – try to get away from ghost.

The thrilling escape from death: Father of family unblocks collapsed mine entrance and goes after kids. The group is able to escape.

Horror Situation: Monster trying to get to you – Family son escaping, gets to entrance, but is caught by ghost. He grabs the discarded Talisman, and that shields him from the ghost. But it still tries to attack from all sides.

Reaction: Escape and Fight – Try to get away, but can’t, until he realizes Talisman keeps ghost from harming him.

Death returns to take one or more: The ghost is able to follow them outside, and all are pursued through the woods again, killing a few more.

Horror Situation: Out of the frying pan and into the fire – The ghost is let loose on the world. Goes after Couple and Mother of family.

Reaction: Escape and Fight – Try to survive ghost attack.

Horror Situation: Environment changing around you – When chasing people in the woods, ghost can control bushes and tree branches to impede their progress.

Reaction: Escape – try to run away and change directions – but leads one to the edge of a cliff and they fall.

Resolution: Kid remembers the Talisman on the mine entrance, and with Father’s help, puts it back and traps the ghost again.

Horror Situation: Father and Son get it to follow them back to mine to try and stop it/trap it.

Reaction: Fight – Try to trap it in Mine again with Talisman.

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[Kevin Mann]

Kevin Mann’s Horror Situation Track<o:p></o:p>

What I learned doing this assignment is thinking through the horror you want to inflict upon your characters will save you time and energy going forward. I think there are a few situations and reactions not mentioned in the assignment that should be included. Maybe they are just subsets of the ones already included.<o:p></o:p>

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR<o:p></o:p>

Atmosphere of Evil established– Two characters are in the middle of a salvation arena gauntlet. <o:p></o:p>

Horror Situation: Person A must kill Person B to escape<o:p></o:p>

Reaction: Fight- Person A kills Person B and is removed from the arena.<o:p></o:p>

Connect with the characters– The main characters all publicly pretend to go along with the government, but we find out that they are anti-government as they are all part of a dark web subversive group.<o:p></o:p>

The characters are warned not to do it.-Through the web group, they decide to meet IRL. One of the characters refuses to meet and warns the others it can only end badly.<o:p></o:p>

Denial of Horror-The remaining members are confident that they have been careful and that they will not be caught during the meet-up.<o:p></o:p>

Safety taken away– When they meet, Jessica follows her father unknowingly leading The Admonition’s Gestapo, who were alerted by an unknown character, to the meeting place.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation– Impending doom that the group is not aware of.<o:p></o:p>

Monster: The nature of the beast.-The Gestapo traps them. We find out the two people from the first scene used to run the group and gave everyone else up.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation-As the Gestapo gets near, Jessica alerts the group, but as they try to escape each is captured. (impending doom)<o:p></o:p>

Horror reaction-Hide, Fight, Escape-The characters react differently. Some try to find a hiding place, some just run, others fight, but they are all captured in the end.<o:p></o:p>

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN<o:p></o:p>

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted– They are all captured and taken to The Admonition’s headquarters.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situations-They are all tied to crosses in front of a large black, glass wall.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-Crying, screaming, begging, denial-Characters react differently to the situation, but they are all trapped and can’t escape.<o:p></o:p>

One of us killed-The character who did not attend the meet-up is dragged out and killed in front of everyone.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation-The character appears behind the glass wall on an old-fashioned rack.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-The character begs for the group to save him. Each one in the group is given a chance to trade places with the man. As each one refuses, the rack is turned until it finally rips him limb from limb. (Characters refuse to act)<o:p></o:p>

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!<o:p></o:p>

Full pursuit by the killer-The group is separated. Each in the group is given a chance to go straight to conversion therapy by a member of The Admonition. The Admonition lies to people by telling them others have accepted the offer. If their assigned partner has accepted the offer, they are screwed.<o:p></o:p>

Horror Situation-Internal group conflict<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-Denial-They all think they know each other<o:p></o:p>

Terrorized– One of the group has accepted the offer The rest of the group is forced to watch as that person’s partner is put into an arena with a hungry lion. They are given the chance to join the person and try to save them. One person accepts. The rest watch as one is eaten by the lion while the other blinds the lion, but is injured and is brought back into the group.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation– See another killed. Chance to help, but don’t.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-Denial, fighting, and begging. Some are in complete denial. Others beg to go directly to conversion, but that is off the table.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation– Character becomes a liability.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction– Try to solve, fight. Some try to help the wounded character; others take over and kill them because they are now a liability.<o:p></o:p>

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR<o:p></o:p>

Fight to the death-The people who are left are put into the salvation arena.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation-trapped, forced into a dangerous environment, no escape-Each arena is made specifically to hurt the two in it the most. Both mentally and physically.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-Fight, give up, don’t cooperate. Some characters take the challenge and fight each other. Others give up and are killed. One arena chooses not to play and both killed.<o:p></o:p>

Hysteria-The arena’s survivors are put into conversion therapy and fight to keep their identities.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation– As the conversion therapy starts, the remaining characters go into hysteria knowing they are about to lose what makes them, them.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-Fighting, denial. Some fight it, which is painful. Some deny it is happening and give in.<o:p></o:p>

The thrilling escape from death-The characters who come out of therapy think they are safe.<o:p></o:p>

Death returns to take one or more.-One of the characters has not been converted, they slip up and are murdered.<o:p></o:p>

Horror situation-Doing something forbidden. One character has escaped the influence of conversion therapy and is hiding in plain sight. They slip up and are killed. The other remaining characters are made to watch to test their new religious convictions.<o:p></o:p>

Reaction-None. They do not react and watch as their friend is tortured and killed.<o:p></o:p>

Resolution-One of the remaining characters is seen starting a new underground dark web group.<o:p></o:p>

[Kathryn Gerow]

Kathy’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned from this assignment:

I learned that outlining a story helps build the story as scenes become compartmentalized, objectively improved upon and maneuvered.

ACT 1

Atmosphere of Evil established:

A thunderstorm rages along the coast. Thunder booms as lightning streaks across the night sky.

Horror Situation:

A sailboat capsizes by a reef. The boat’s two occupants are knocked into the choppy water. They swim wildly to craggy rocks along the water’s edge. They cling to the rocks. Waves threaten to pull them back into the chaotic sea.

Reaction – Escape:

They climb onto a rocky ridge and escape the waves. They smile in relief at the sight of a figure in a slicker and goggles standing over them.

Horror Situation:

Relief turns to horror. The wet blade of a raised axe glistens in a flash of lightning. There is no escape. Thunder deafens their screams. The axe wheels repeatedly. The rocky recess becomes a lagoon of blood meshed with seaweed and body parts.

Connect with the characters:

Days later, a professor recaps an overnight assignment to a small group of graduate students in a cabin on a small, remote island. By eight o’clock the next morning, the students are to come to an agreement as a group as to which one of them has the most potential to be a murderer. In their reactions, the students’ character traits are evident.

The characters are warned not to do it:

Although the professor claims that the assignment is a “fun” group effort for a pass or fail grade, the students are uneasy. Their gut instincts are at odds with the gruesomeness of the task, its overnight timing, and the isolated location.

Denial of Horror:

The students shrug off any misgivings. They suppress their initial uneasiness, replacing it with boredom, exasperation, and complacency.

Safety taken away:

To focus on the assignment, the students have left on the mainland all means of communication, such as cell phones, laptops, and tablets. Because the assignment takes place overnight, they’re deprived of sleep, daytime vision, and nature’s bright ambience. They’re forced into an unnatural state of wakefulness at a time when their bodies crave sleep. In the next few hours, they discover emergency flares stored in a shed are missing and their safety boat is scuttled.

Horror Situation:

A student is stalked, terrorized, and butchered. Shortly afterwards, another student is similarly slaughtered.

Reaction;

Shocked by the mutilations, the students rationalize the savagery as revenge killings by a spurned lover, another student in the group. The accused student denies the accusation. The group ties up the suspect, then discovers emergency flares are missing and their safety boat is scuttled.

Reaction – Denial:

The students keep careful watch on the restrained suspect and don’t anticipate another killing will occur. They continue to rationalize events. They presume the suspect hid the emergency flares and scuttled the boat before the killings. They calm themselves, knowing that a boat from the mainland is scheduled to dock on the island in the morning.

Monster: The nature of the beast:

Two more students are hunted, terrorized, and butchered.

Horror Situation:

The group is shocked by the grisly deaths, then discovers the suspect has escaped. They presume the suspect killed the other two students to thrown off the theory that the killer was a spurned lover. The students search as a group for the accused. The suspect is found, butchered.

Reaction:

The remaining students realize the killings have been done by an unknown entity, not the student that they had accused. They realize the deaths are not the result of passion gone haywire or a calculated strategy. Instead, they know the deaths are demonic slaughters.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted:

In the middle of the night, on a remote, minuscule island, the three remaining students feel trapped, isolated, and incapable of defense or escape.

Horror Situation:

Panicking, the three students accuse each other of being the monster/villain.

Reaction:

Two of the students accuse each other exclusively. The third student tries to reason as to who the killer is.

Horror Situation:

The two accusing students fight to their deaths, each at the hands of the other.

Reaction:

After the deaths, the third student, in semi-shock, staggers down the hillside, unsure as to which of the two student was the real killer. Numbed to the insane happenings, the lone student stumbles upon the emergency flares hidden in a rocky crevice, lights a flare, and heads for the dock to await the emergency boat.

ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR

Horror Situation:

Near the dock, the student meets the lighthouse keeper. The student is unable to articulate in full the overnight events. The students makes clear, however, that horrific slaughter has taken place.

Reaction:

The lighthouse keeper expresses concern as he guides the student onto his boat. They set out to return to the mainland. The student calms down.

Horror Situation:

On board, the student gives details of the grisly killings to the lighthouse keeper. In the process, the student becomes agitated again. The lighthouse keeper leaves to get a sedative from the medicine cabinet in the galley. While waiting, the student spots blood-splattered goggles on the top deck, then peers down into the galley below. The lighthouse keeper, unaware that he’s being seen, dons a blood-splattered slicker. He grabs a bloody axe and then ascends the steps to the top deck.

Character Death:

The student, hiding beside the doorway to the galley, slams the lighthouse keeper with an ore and, after a harrowing fight, knocks him off the boat into the water. The student grabs the dropped axe and wields it at the lighthouse keeper each time he tries to get back into the boat.

An hour later: A large boat, with the professor on board, approaches the lighthouse keeper’s boat in the middle of the bay. The student is seen wildly swinging the axe in erratic, frantic circles on the deck. The lighthouse keeper is nowhere to be seen.

Resolution:

One month later: In an asylum, a panel of doctors determines that the confined, bedridden student was not the killer of the other students. They discuss an ensuing investigation regarding the missing lighthouse keeper’s mysterious past. They hypothesize that he had somehow infused himself with the lives of lost souls who had died on the reefs near the lighthouse, dead souls that were incensed by their tragic, premature deaths and insanely jealous of living beings. The doctors conjecture that the lighthouse keeper, presumed drowned, was likely the true killer. They agree that the traumatized student, upon complete recovery, should be released into the public again and is not a threat to anyone.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.

[Tom Wilson]

Tom Wilson’s Horror Situation Track

Doing this assignment, I learned it’s fun to mix and match Horror conventions and levels.

ACT 1

Atmosphere of Evil established: A pregnant woman puts away the garden hose and limps up the stairs. As she reaches the back door, a machete splits open the back of her head.

Horror Situation: Her two children who watch this from inside the house shriek in terror.

Reaction – Escape: The two kids lock the front door just before Machete Girl can enter.

Horror Situation: The night of the 10^th anniversary of their Mom’s death, during a lightning storm, the grown up kids, Pat and Anna, see Machete Girl standing in the backyard.

Reaction – Call the cops: Anna calls the cops who look for MG but she’s vanished.

Connect with characters: Pat & Anna welcome the 1st kids into their new daycare center. They are introduced and told they must never go into the basement. They hear a loud noise above them.

Denial of Horror: Pat and Anna open the roof door. They see only birds trying to land on the edge of the roof but can’t because nails point up around the edge to prevent birds from pooping on the roof.

Safety taken away: As they close the trap door, a green hand reaches out and grabs Anna’s arm.

Horror Situation: A green hand pulls the girl’s arm.

Reaction – The boy hits the hand with his revolver. The green hand disappears.

Horror Situation: Pat and Anna tie themselves back-to-back and enter the basement. The see evidence Machete Girl lives there.

Reaction –They hear noise, sense movements. Pat shoots at a shadow. The bullet ricochets & wounds Anna. They escape back upstairs.

Safety taken away: They get to the top but find the door has been nailed shut.

Horror Situation: Frightened, exhausted, delirious, they’re trapped at the top of the stairs.

Reaction – Denial: They bed down for the night, hoping everything will be better in the morning.

Monster: The nature of the beast: Each is haunted by a terrifying dream of their own brutal death.

Horror Situation: Nightmare of their death.

Reaction: They huddle together all night.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF
NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped /
Abducted:

They force door open at first light. The
security guard is gone.

Horror Situation: But one of them is gone. They can’t find her anywhere.

Reaction: They call for backup. Three security guards arrive.

Horror Situation: MG beats on the basement door! They surround the door, guns drawn.

Reaction: Machete Girl tries to open the basement door. Guards are ready to shoot her.

Horror Situation: The door opens, swallows one of the guards and closes.

Char Death: Door closes on the guard. He dies a horrifying death.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Death returns to take one or more.
Bobby locks the kids in the basement, climbs the ladder to save Ruth and Sofi. A machete smashes his crotch.

He bleeds profusely. He fires a bullet into his brain.

Horror Situation: Helpless to save himself, Bobby sees he’s bleeding out.
Reaction: Knowing he’s dying and will never have children, Bobby kills himself.

Hysteria
Atop the ladder, Sofi sees Bobby do this and shrieks. Ruth shakes her. Let’s kill Ralph. Sofi calms down.

Horror Situation: Ruth: Get a grip. We have to save ourselves. It’s us or Ralph!

Reaction: Knowing he’s dying and will never have children, Bobby kills himself.

Fight to the death
Ruth starts up the stairs to the roof. Surprise: A machete embeds itself in the wall inches from her head. Ruth plunges down the dark staircase toward Ralph.

Horror Situation: The danger seemed to be over but the threat of death returns.

Reaction: Counter attack.

The thrilling escape from death
Ruth smashes into Ralph. They roll head over heels. He gets on top of her and swings a hammer at her face. Sofi grabs his collar and slams his head into the concrete wall.

Horror Situation: Ralph is about to brutally kill Ruth.
Reaction: Sofi brutally attacks Ralph.

Ralph pushes Sofi to the edge of the roof. Ruth drives a silver steak knife into Ralph’s heart.

Horror Situation: Ralph is about to throw Sofi off the roof.
Reaction: Ruth stabs Ralph.

Ralph grabs Ruth’s neck and chokes her. Sofi jerks him off her. Ruth pushes Ralph over the edge. He falls.

Horror Situation: Ralph brutally attacks Ruth and Sofi.
Reaction: Ruth and Sofi throw him off the roof.

Resolution

The detective examines the scrapbook, makes the connections and orders the cops to release Ruth.