-
Day 6 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
-
9 Replies
-
Claire’s Character Death Track
What I learned: I never thought it would be so much fun to plan when and how people would be killed! I’m having fun with this! I keep changing the characters as the story progresses, so that they match the concept and story structure. I’m learning that this is a work in progress and it will change as I move forward and that’s okay!
Give us the order your characters die in. With each character tell us the why and how.
NOTE: In my story of 4 lesbian couples, one member of each couple is a psychic and at some point, is possessed by an evil spirit and kills, or attempts to kill, her own partner. So for all of the women who die, they are being killed because they are lesbians. But I also have particular reasons why each one dies which I will list below.
Character Death 1: Caitlin is possessed and Kills Libby
Why: Libby is too good
How: Caitlin strangles her
Character Death 2: Sybil is possessed and kills Alison
Why: Alison was dishonest
How: Sybil stabs her
Character Death 3: Zora is possessed and kills Diana
Why: Alison is an innocent
How: Zora chases her down and breaks her neck
Build the answers into your outline.
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<sup>th</sup> 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 Regina and Maeve in their car. They are a loving couple, Regina a stand up comedian and and Maeve a psychologist and psychic. They stop on the road to help a woman who has a flat tire. Regina 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.
Regina 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. Regina laughs and makes a joke. Maeve chuckles nervously.
Horror Situation: Threatened
Reaction: Denial
DENIAL OF HORROR
Regina and Maeve 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<sup>th</sup> 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 contradicting Sybil. Caitlin holds the séance.
Horror Situation: Doing something forbidden.
Reaction: Try to solve it.
Character Death 1: Caitlin is possessed and Kills Libby
Why: Libby is too good
How: Caitlin strangles her
Character Death 2: Sybil is possessed and kills Alison
Why: Alison was dishonest
How: Sybil stabs her
Character Death 3: Zora is possessed and kills Diana
Why: Alison is an innocent
How: Zora chases her down and breaks her neck
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, Alison and Zora try to console the inconsolable Caitlin, Maeve, Regina 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
Character Death 2: Sybil is possessed and kills Alison
Why: Alison was dishonest
How: Sybil stabs her
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<sup>th</sup> 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 Diana hear horrible screams from Regina. Maeve runs to Regina. Zora goes completely crazy and tries to attack Diana. Diana runs for her life.
Horror Situation: Attacked or chased
Reaction: Escape
Sybil and Caitlin run and hide. Maeve and Regina try to stop Zora. But she is terrifying and powerful. They cannot stop her and she murders Diana.
Horror Situation: See another killed
Reaction: Try to solve it/escape
Character Death 3: Zora is possessed and kills Diana
Why: Alison is an innocent
How: Zora chases her down and breaks her neck
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. Regina is terrified and runs. Zora 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 (Zora, 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 Regina.
DEATH RETURNS TO TAKE ONE OR MORE.
The spirit possesses Regina and tries to kill Maeve. Maeve is totally freaked out. Does not want to hurt Regina 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<sup>th</sup> 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
Regina 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.
-
Madeleine Vessel’s Character Death Track
“What I learned doing this assignment is deaths in a horror movie need to be ordered, have a reason for their happening, and a method of killing. Pretty interesting.
In my story, no characters die, but the ghosts that populate the story previously died in horrific ways.
My character Kathryn experiences visions of people dying as she moves among and touches the antiques in the house.
Considering the rule of three, I will have Kathryn experience visions of three deaths, each one associated with an antique for sale in Old Lady Setter’s house.
Order of Kathryn’s visions: They happen as she touches the objects. Finally she puts her hands in her pockets.
1. A M1917 doughboy helmet, used by U. S. soldiers in World War I. This one belonged to a soldier killed by a bullet to the chest at Argonne in France. He was 19 years old and unlucky enough to be caught up in the deadliest battle of the war.
2. Steering wheel from a 1922 Sunbeam that crashed during a pick-up road race, killing the driver, an adventurer and risk-taker, who died at the age of 23.
3. A 1920 Steinway piano, passed down in a family to a young female prodigy, who died in 1967 of a drug overdose at a college party. One bad choice, and she was dead.
None of these victims are ghosts trapped in the house, but they populate Kathryn’s visions and add to the horror environment.
2. Build the answers into your outline.
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<sup>th</sup> 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.
Death #1. A M1917 doughboy helmet, used by U. S. soldiers in World War I. This one belonged to a soldier killed by a bullet to the chest at Argonne in France. He was 19 years old and unlucky enough to be caught up in the deadliest battle of the war.
Death #2. Steering wheel from a 1922 Sunbeam that crashed during a pick-up road race, killing the driver, an adventurer and risk-taker, who died at the age of 23.
Death #3. A 1920 Steinway piano, passed down in a family to a young female prodigy, who died in 1967 of a drug overdose at a college party. One bad choice, and she was dead.
Mallory sits down at the Steinway and starts to play.
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.
Kathryn comforts Mallory.
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<sup>th</sup> 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<sup>th</sup> 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.
-
With this lesson I learned how much fun it can be to come up with different ways for characters to die! It also helped me understand better the progression of deaths and the reasons for them.
Character Death: Fire Chief
Why: The building is not safe
How: Ceiling collapse, burned to deathCharacter Death: Terance Cornett, Mechanic
Why: He’s trying to save the others
How: ElectrocutedCharacter Death: Dmitir Pierno, Contractor
Why: He is a coward and tries to escape his own way
How: Trapped and burned from the bottom upCharacter Death: Adrienne Tupper, SVP
Why: She is arrogant and thinks she knows what to do
How: Pulled from the elevator by the fireCharacter Death: Julian Fowler, Architect
Why: He is complicit with the poor design of the building
How: Cornered and trapped in the hallway and burnedCharacter Death: Carina Hernandez, Marketing Director
Why: She lies about the safety of the buildings
How: Strangled with a fire hose and burnedCharacter Death: Osmond Deighton, CEO
Why: Greedy and corrupt developer with no regard for safety
How: Locked in closet and left to die (false death)Character Death: Keelan Finn, Security Guard
Why: For trying to protect the others
How: Shoots himself in the head to end the pain of being charredCharacter Death: Osmond Deighton, CEO
Why: Redeems himself to fend off the monster
How: Blown out window and falls to deathCharacter Death: Stanislav Zitnik
Why: For trying to save the assistant
How: Charred slowly in front of herACT 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.
Character Death: Fire Chief
Why: The building is not safe
How: Ceiling collapse, burned to deathConnect 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, electrocuted, charred mechanic and alarm system
Reaction: Panic, Escape.
Character Death: Terance Cornett, Mechanic
Why: He’s trying to save the others
How: Electrocuted
ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURNIsolated / 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 stairwayHorror 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 bodyHorror Situation: The fire has a face
Reaction: Denial, then deathHorror Situation: The body falls through the vent to the floor for everyone to see
Reaction: Confusion, since there is no fire
Character Death: Dmitir Pierno, Contractor
Why: He is a coward and tries to escape his own way
How: Trapped and burned from the bottom up
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: EscapeHorror Situation: VP pulled out of car by fire
Reaction: Denial, Escape
Character Death: Adrienne Tupper, SVP
Why: She is arrogant and thinks she knows what to do
How: Pulled from the elevator by the fireTerrorized
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
Character Death: Julian Fowler, Architect
Why: He is complicit with the poor design of the building
How: Cornered and trapped in the hallway and burnedHorror Situation: Wrapped up in fire hose (Trapped)
Reaction: Tries to use hose to fight fire, then tries to escape by cutting the hose
Character Death: Carina Hernandez, Marketing Director
Why: She lies about the safety of the buildings
How: Strangled with a fire hose and burnedHorror Situation: The corrupt CEO is found out and given over to the fire (infiltrated)
Reaction: Try to solve by giving up the CEO
Character Death: Osmond Deighton, CEO
Why: Greedy and corrupt developer with no regard for safety
How: Locked in closet and left to die (false death)Maybe dont need this one? Or combine with CEO to make us think hes dead?
Horror Situation: Burned to a char and crawling to get away (injured)
Reaction: Fight/EscapeACT 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
Character Death: Keelan Finn, Security Guard
Why: For trying to protect the others
How: Shoots himself in the head to end the pain of being charredHysteria
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 safetyThe 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? The CEO Returns to save them and dies by being blown out the window?
Horror Situation: Blown out window, fall to death
Reaction: Shock
Character Death: Osmond Deighton, CEO
Why: Redeems himself to fend off the monster
How: Blown out window and falls to deathDeath 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 fireHorror Situation: Slowly burned while loved one watches (mentally tortured)
Reaction: fights/tries to escape
Character Death: Stanislav Zitnik
Why: For trying to save the assistant
How: Charred slowly in front of herHorror Situation: Forced onto window ledge by fire (forced into danger)
Reaction: Tries to hide, denial, but it discoveredHorror Situation: Someone is about to be burned by the fire but is spared (face to face)
Reaction: hide, escapeResolution
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.
-
What I learned is how to plot the various character deaths, making them different in substantial ways while still following a pattern that makes sense with the rest of the plot.
Character death 1: Extreme hiker in the prologue
Why: To set the scene of what the main characters are about to walk into.
How: He walks into a double bear trap: the first almost cuts him in two, the second decapitates him.
Character death 2: Justin, the leader and supposed hero of the film
Why: To throw the other characters into a sense of disorganization – he had organized the trip, he is the only one with any outdoors skills and he is the group’s natural leader.
How: When the car crashes (thanks to the monster) it flips over and when it lands, a large tree stump smashes through the window and impales itself into Justin’s face.
Character death 3: Bruno, the out-of-control character, whose fault it is that they are in this mess.
Why: Because it’s all his fault and he is also the only other fit man who knows a little bit of what he is doing (the third guy, Aubrey, is useless).
How: He trips a wire and as he turns around, an axe swings down from the tree above him and splits his head in two.
Character death 4: Aubrey, the complainer.
Why: Because he’s a coward and falls into the trap while he’s trying to save his own skin. He’s too busy complaining and being annoyed at Shania telling what to do that he does the exact opposite, and this gets him killed.
How: He falls into a snake pit, doesn’t realize it’s a snake pit, gets angry when Shania tells him to stay very still, angrily gets up to spite her and gets bitten by all of the snakes. He dies a quick but excruciating death.
Character death 5: Celine
Why: She just tried to kill Brittany by pushing her into one of the monster’s traps and is then attacked by the monster, so she deserves what’s coming to her.
How: She fights the monster who is himself badly beaten up and shot from the previous fight. He seems to get the better of her and draws back his machete, about to kill her, but Celine stabs him in the eye with her tweezers. Character death: He screams, pulls out the tweezers, which pop his eye out, then he proceeds to stab Celine in the chest with the tweezers until she is lifeless.
-
What I learned doing this assignment is that this is a great way to step back and see exactly which and how many characters are needed in the story.
ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
Atmosphere of Evil established: Felix’s life is played out opposite another man’s: Felix’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.
DEATH – Unlucky Man: run over by Felix
Why: establish the theme of misfortune and start off movie with a death
How: surprised
HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) following his sin, Felix is attacked by a wryneck bird that scratches his face, though a moment later the scratch is gone
REACTION: (Denial) Felix 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 Felix are injured
Denial of Horror: Felix dismisses all the strange occurrences as freak accidents
HORROR SITUATION: (Tortured) a big rig truck crashes near Felix on his way to the hotel, cutting off the intersection
REACTION: (Denial) Though startled, Felix does not believe it’s related to him
Safety taken away: Mr. Lamb’s pacemaker fails and he has a heart attack
HORROR SITUATION: (Tortured) Mr. Lamb has a heart attack and the road is blocked off, preventing an ambulance from arriving
REACTION: (Solve It) the characters choose to carry Mr. Lamb outside
DEATH – Alfred Lamb: pacemaker fails
Why: establish the lethal situation the characters are in
How: attempting to calm others
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 timeHORROR SITUATION: (Tormented) Felix witness his reflection start to become the Jinx
REACTION: (Hide) flees and tries to ignore what happened
One of us killed: June’s boyfriend Ivar is killed
DEATH – Ivar: trips and falls onto a sharp object
Why: establish the random/sudden nature of Jinx; motivate characters to action
How: attempting to comfort June (getting her a blanket)
HORROR SITUATION: (Torment) June sees Ivar killed
REACTION: (Solve It) Felix comforts herHORROR 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 Kay and Nico 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) Felix’s shadow twists and flops its head in front of everyone
REACTION: (Fight) Nico confronts Felix, 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) Felix sees the wryneck, which is chirping in a way that sounds like laughing
REACTION: (Fight) Felix attacks the bird and kills it, only to find it has teleported elsewhere and is still laughing at him
HORROR SITUATION: (Spooky) Kay is unaware that his shoes are come untied and he’s walking near to the elevator
REACTION: (Solve It) Autumn notices and tells him to tie his shoes
HORROR SITUATION: (Isolated/Danger) Felix is keeping his distance from everyone, communicating via phone when June is put in mortal danger
REACTION: (Fight) Felix comes to his daughter’s rescueHORROR SITUATION: (Spooky) These misfortunes happen despite Felix 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: (Torture) Dawn is covered in cockroaches and, in her hysteria, nearly back into the open elevator shaft
REACTION: (Solve It) Kay calms her, has her step away from the shaft, and then removes the cockroaches
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
DEATH – Tulip: burnt dresser collapses and crushes
Why: surprise!
How: killed trying to prevent more death
HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) at a crucial moment, pearl suffers an overdose from an earlier intake of drugs cocaine laced with fentanyl.
REACTION: (Solve It) Dawn runs to get the naxolone from the Pearl’s room
HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) the naxolone has fallen beneath the bed
REACTION: (Solve It) everyone scours the room until it is found
HORROR SITUATION: (Torture) someone trips while rushing it to Pearl and it slides toward open elevator
REACTION: (Solve It) Dawn grabs it just before it goes over the lip
DEATH – Pearl: drug overdose
Why: establish active pursuit of the Jinx through a lengthy race (also, drugs are bad, mm’kay?)
How: being reckless
DEATH – Autumn: Falls down open elevator shaft
Why: surprise again!!
How: panicking (or possibly) fighting with another character
HORROR SITUATION: (Paranoia) Nico retrieves Kay’s gun and tries to shoot Felix
REACTION: (Escape/Fight) Summer stops her; Nico accidentally shoots herself in the legHORROR SITUATION: (Torture) a ricochet from the gun grazes the artery in June’s throat
REACTION: (Solve It) Dawn stops the bleedingACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death: seeing his daughter nearly die, Felix takes up the gun; before he can make away with it, 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
DEATH – Dawn Weathers: falls through floor
Why: remove the only medical expert before Eve goes into labor
How: fleeing from danger
HORROR SITUATION: (Trapped) a portion of the ceiling caves in, preventing Felix from getting as far away from the others as he can
REACTION: (Solve It) everyone else moves to the furthest room in the building
HORROR SITUATION: (Tormented) Felix witnesses his reflection completely turn into the Jinx
REACTION: (Fight) Felix confronts the creature and learns about its motives and power
DEATH – Kay Middleton: TBD
Why: take away one of our most beloved supporters
How: TBD
Hysteria: Candyce goes into labor; Felix locks himself in a room and attempts to kill himself, though the Jinx prevents him and Felix ends up on the floor with a sprained back, unable to move
HORROR SITUATION: (Tormented) Candyce goes into labor
REACTION: (Escape) Candyce 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 Felix, 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 Candyce 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 Candyce and she falls through the floor; June is nearly pulled down with her
REACTION: (Solve It) Nico leaps over the opening and helps pull June and Candyce 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 Felix are about to climb down the fire ladder, lightning strikes the truck and the ladder falls
REACTION: (Escape) they look for another exit
HORROR SITUATION: (Pursued) as June and Felix 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. Felix throws himself in front of the debris at the last second, sacrificing himself for his daughter and defeating the Jinx.
DEATH – Felix Clover: sacrifices self to save daughter (killed by flying debris)
Why: redeem main character and stop the killings for good
How: self-sacrifice
-
Kevin Mann’s Character death track<o:p></o:p>
What I learned doing this assignment is by outlining who dies, when they die and how they die, you can make each character’s death more horrific and meaningful. <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>
Character Death 1<o:p></o:p>
Why-It starts the horror<o:p></o:p>
How-Cassandra and Jamie are animal lovers. Pets are forbidden as they take up valuable resources. The two were found keeping some small animals including rats. They are also known to be the heads of an underground anti-government group. They are forced to endure the medieval “rat torture.” A rat is placed on their chest. A metal bucket is placed over the rat and the bucket is tied to the women’s chests. A fire is set on top of the bucket. The rats panic and begin to eat their way through the women to escape. The first one to give the Admonition the information they seek is freed.<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. The survivor 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>
Character Death 2<o:p></o:p>
Why- Although Alex did not attend the meet-up, they were on the list. This is the first time the group gets the rules of the arena and sees how bad the torture is.<o:p></o:p>
How- The Rack. Alex’s limbs are each tied to a chain that is attached to a wheel. As each of the other characters refuses to take their place, the wheels are turned stretching their limbs until the limbs are ripped off.<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 one of 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>
Character Death 3<o:p></o:p>
How- eaten by a lion.<o:p></o:p>
Why- Because Lissette has taken the offer, her partner, Ashlyn, is put into the arena with a hungry lion. Rafic offers to go in with her, but his younger brother Khalil insists that he must do it. The Admonition accepts Khalil over Rafic. He goes into the arena with Ashlyn but cannot save her. He is wounded, but not before blinding the lion. The glass goes black again before the survivors see if Khalil survives. The Admonition convinces Khalil that he is now a determent to his brother’s chance of survival. The Admonition tells Kahlil that if he can get his own brother to kill him, they will let Rafic live. Khalil is returned to the group.<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 agree he should be killed because he is now a liability.<o:p></o:p>
Character death 4<o:p></o:p>
How- He begs his brother to put him out of his misery. Khalil feels that Rafic must live to continue spreading their religion. <o:p></o:p>
Why- This shows how cruel the admonition is. Natalie, Issac, and Samuel try to help Khalil, while the others agree he should be killed. Khalil finally convinces Rafik to put him out of his misery, pretending to be much more injured than he really is.<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’s participants choose not to play and are both killed.<o:p></o:p>
Character Death 5 and 6<o:p></o:p>
How- The Judas Cradle<o:p></o:p>
Why-Isaac and Riley refuse to compete against each other. They are both put on a Judas Cradle and are slowly ripped apart<o:p></o:p>
Character Death 7<o:p></o:p>
How-The Pear of Anguish<o:p></o:p>
Why-Jessica is deaf and speaks to Martin using sign language. Martin is an underground journalist exposing the horrors of the religious extremist government. The Pear is inserted in their mouths, so neither can speak. Through sign language, Martin tells Jessica he loves her and sacrifices himself to save her. His head is ripped apart.<o:p></o:p>
Character Death 8<o:p></o:p>
How-The Brazen Bull<o:p></o:p>
Why-Samuel is a non-verbal autistic savant. He and Natalie are suspended above The Brazen Bull, which is a medieval version of a wicker man. They must solve complex math questions. Natalie tries to help, but Samuel does not understand the situation and quickly answers the questions. Since he finishes first, Natalie is dropped into the bull and burnt alive.<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>
Character Death 9<o:p></o:p>
How-Crucifixion <o:p></o:p>
Why-On The Admonition’s weekly live stream, Rafic, and Samuel, who now live and work together, watch as Jessica is crucified for trying to get her father’s underground newspaper back up. <o:p></o:p>
Resolution-After Jessica’s death, Rafic, and Samuel are in their bakery. Lissette comes in. The three go into the basement, restart the computer, and send a message of rebellion out. After a few moments, many replies start coming in.<o:p></o:p>
-
Julian’s Character Death Track
What I learned doing this assignment is that who lives and who dies can be made more compelling for story reasons.
SURVIVORS LIST –
(Camping Family)
Dad: Survivor. Rescuer. Minister. Trying to have a fun family time after daughter caught smoking pot.
Mom: Survivor. Trying to be peacekeeper, but sick of it for last 17 years.
Daughter: Survivor. Rebel, goes against father’s wishes, but in horror situations, remembers teachings and keeps it together. Smart.
Young Son: Survivor. Moral one. Follows dad’s teachings. Knows what he should do.
(Young couple)
Woman: Survivor. Lovers. Boyfriend never listens to her complaint. He doesn’t listen in horror situation and dies.
INTERNET CELEB FOLLOWERS –
(Local Mountain Followers)
20’s, Man: Survivor. The dumb one. But only one in friend group that lives.
(City Followers)
20’s Complainer: Survivor. Constant complaining is annoying, but saves her.
20’s Loner/Introvert: Survivor. Gets trapped with tough guy, who tries to sacrifice him. Gets away and rejoins others. Helps as part of team to escape.
PLOT/OUTLINE with DEATH LIST
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.
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.
Character Death 1: Gold Miner’s Daughter. She gets a gun and tries to shoot bandits attacking her mother. Misses them. Is shot by bandits.
Why: The most innocent person is first to die. Shows that anything goes, no one is safe.
How: They shoot her in front of her mother.
Character Death 2: Gold Miner’s Wife. Tries to protect daughter while husband in the mine. Strangled by bandit.
Why: Another innocent.
How: Strangled by bandits for trying to protect her daughter.
Character Death 3: Gold Miner and dog: Dog alerted inside mine. Then Gold Miner hears gunshot and runs out of mine. Goes into shack, sees dead family. Drops pick axe and runs to them. Bandits kill him with his own pick axe. Dog attacks them and is shot dead.
Why: This is the birth of the monster. Vengeance will bring his ghost back to haunt his family’s murderers and beyond.
How: Surprised, blind-sided. Pick axe through the back. Dog shot and killed.
Character Death 4: Murderer 1: Bandit. Take over house, eat prepared dinner with bodies still strewn about. Go into mine. See cart full of gold ore. Follow past deep pit with rope system to offshoot tunnels. Sees Gold Miner in cave with him, thinks it’s another, but recognizes as the man they killed. Ghost has gore and torn clothes where pierced by pick axe. Pit rope system moves on its own, wraps around his neck and drags him into pit, where he is hung.
Why: Revenge for killing family.
How: Poltergeist/Spirit of Gold Miner wraps rope around neck and hangs him.
Character Death 5: Murderer 2: Bandit. Sees partner murdered, tries to run away. Ghost follows, causes mining equipment to fall and crush him.
Why: Revenge.
How: After escapes from mine and thinks is safe, equipment falls on top of him, crushing him, but not killing him. He will die slowly under rubble.
(Ghost goes back to shack, realizes he’s a ghost, screams and the shack falls down on the family’s dead bodies.)
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.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>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.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>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.</div><div>
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.
Character Death 6: 21, Girlfriend of Celeb: “It can’t hurt us. It’s just a ghost.” First in modern day group to die. Obnoxious character. Ghost murders her with his real, rusted pick axe through the head.
Why: Now we know it can kill with physical objects. Not just supernatural/psychological horror.
How: As everyone runs screaming, she stands her ground, not afraid of ghosts. It brutally and graphically kills her with a pick axe through head.
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.</div><div>
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.
Character Death 7: Prepared Spelunker: Has tons of survival equipment, gas monitor, satellite phone, etc. 2nd to die. Ghost drags him to a deep pit and he falls a hundred feet to his death, breaking his neck. All equipment gone.
Why: Increases horror – well-prepared with everything to save them all, but dies anyway.
How: Dragged into hundred foot pit, breaking neck.
Character Death 8: Tough Guy/Sacrificial Lamb: Tries to sacrifice Introvert, ends up being crushed by mine cart full of gold ore.
Why: Bad person. Attempt to sacrifice Introvert fails.
How: Crushed under the gold he was excited to find.
Character Death 9: Claustrophobic: Leg trapped in mine entrance cave-in. Friends leave him when ghost comes. Gets crushed to death.
Why: Claustrophobia horror. Trapped in smaller and smaller spaces.
How: Tries to free leg, but ends up collapsing more around him, until he is crushed by the rocks. Ironically, the second cave-in actually opens a way out of the mine again.
(Local Kids)
Character Death 10: 20’s, Man: Hell Hound ghost eats his entrails after mauling.
Why: One of the strongest, well-equipped to survive, dies.
How: Eaten by ghost dog and accidentally killed by friend with a pick axe.
Character Death 11: 20’s, Woman: Tries to murder Hell Hound attacking friend, but ends up plunging pick axe into friend’s body only, killing him. Then, Ghost Miner picks her up, and runs her face along the top of the rocky cavern. At end of tunnel, her face is rubbed off, she’s bleeding to death in pain.
Why: Shock scare on the heels of another death. Unexpected.
How: Face ripped to shreds on rock, dies blind and bleeding from what’s left of face, scaring other survivors.
Terrorized: Father realizes his kids are trapped inside mine with people getting murdered. / Internet Celeb barely escapes death by sacrificing others.</div><div>
Horror Situation: Tricked – Celeb tricks follower into getting attacked by ghost so he can escape.
Reaction: Escape – uses follower death to run away.
Character Death 12: 20’s Innocent: Has a crush on Celeb. Is tricked by him into revealing herself to ghost to save him. She falls for it and is brutally murdered. Ghost leads her to an area with gas – starts a spark and she is consumed in flames in an explosion.
Why: Tricked by Celeb, show how awful he is to person we think is main character. She survives through most of the horror by being innocent, but that is also what kills her.
How: Burns to death in mine explosion.
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.
(Internet Celeb)
Character Death 13: 18, Boy: Leader. Cause. He tricks others into doing things that help him survive. Just as he is about to make it out alive, he is killed by ghost. Chains wrap around him and he’s pulled back over mine cart tracks. Mine cart derails as it decapitates him.
Why: He is a terrible person that caused original problem and got others killed.
How: Decapitated on mine cart track.
The thrilling escape from death: Father of family unblocks collapsed mine entrance and goes after kids. The group is able to escape.</div><div>
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.
(Young Couple)
Character Death 14: Man: Lovers. Ignores girlfriend and runs into woods, dies by falling off cliff.
Why: Character flaw of never listening to girlfriend.
How: Chased and falls from cliff to his death on the rocks below.
Resolution: Kid remembers the Talisman on the mine entrance, and with Father’s help, puts it back and traps the ghost again.</div><div>
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.
END.
</div></div>
-
Ed’s Character Death Track.
What I learned doing this assignment is the entertainment value in killing off characters by supplying reasonable and motivational reasons and ways for doing so.
Character Death # 1 Bartender – Tina
WHY: She’s too bubbly/talkative for Krampus. Thinks she’s safe.
HOW: Hedge Trimmer across the neck.
Character Death # 2, Linda’s Husband – Mike
WHY: He’s the rescuer, – and his name is, Mike, confusing and annoying for Krampus and because we have a Michael, too. Killed for comedic effect and eliminate a threat.
HOW: Double Barrel Shot Gun blast to the chest.
Character Death #3, Ski Instructor Susie
WHY: She knows a way out and told Ava the secret
HOW: Broken Bones, she’ll never ski again.
Character Death #4, Reverend Gene
WHY: His knowledge of Pagans, he kills Nicholas, hits close to home, a threat & revenge.
HOW: Ingest acid
Character Death #5 Mike’s Wife – Linda
WHY: She protected & helped Ava escape
HOW: Suffocation by luxury hand bag
Character Death # 6 – Michaels, BF – James
WHY: He won’t kill Michael and he’s not as cute.
HOW: Run over by snow groomer machine
Survivor – Ava – escaped, thanks to Susie and Linda.
Doubtful Survivor – Michael – he leaves with Krampus – there’s an implied gift at the end that may signal his unseen death.
-
Tom’s Character Death Track
I learned doing this assignment it’s amazing how fast outlining goes when we fill in the death blanks.
A strange looking homeless man finds a newborn infant and puts it in pot over a fire to cook it. The child grasps a piece of his scaly skin. Instead of eating the kid, he feeds it. He raises him as his own. Years later one morning the boy can’t wake up the man and wanders away seeking food. He’s found and taken to an orphanage where Father Mike sees a note in his clothes. The boy’s name is Andrew.
The priest introduces Matthew to the other orphans. Sweet, young Matthew welcomes him. David, Elizabeth and Floyd bully him. The place is underfunded and the food is donated canned vegetables. The kids are half starved. In class it’s time to recite the alphabet. Matthew has a panic attack. The three encourage the others to boo and mock him. Matthew is devastated.
A power company utility worker arrives with paperwork to retrieve his son Andrew. Father Mike tells Andrew it’s wonderful he has a home to go to. The man drives him in his utility truck along a deserted two-lane highway and stops at a high-power transmission line in a large field. The man unlocks a junction box and shows Andrew two electric probes and jabs him with them. A violent explosion thrusts Andrew twenty feet into the air. Later he regains consciousness, looks around. There’s no sign of the man. He starts to stand up but finds himself floating to a standing position. He starts to walk back towards town but finds himself running effortlessly feet off the ground. He essentially flies along the two-lane. He returns to the orphanage.
Next day Howard, Isaac and Jake trip him on the staircase. He falls but rises and flies at them. They scatter and he kicks them all in the butt.
That night a dozen scaly skinned cannibals climb out of a manhole. Their leader, M’Lord points out the orphanage. Little old lady Millicent asks him for help with paperwork and getting better clothes.
Later Father Mike brings Millicent in to meet the kids. She adopts Andrew because he’s the sweetest boy, takes him to an abandoned restaurant and puts him in a filthy animal cage. She sheds her disguise. She’s actually a scaly skinned sea creature. She puts him is a huge broiler and turns up the heat. He says it’s too hot. She gives him a glass of water.
Terrified, he hops out, throws himself through a window. She follows. A shard slices her carotid, she dies. Andrew swaps clothes with her, puts her body in the oven. Bakes her till she’s a charred husk. Digs in, it’s the most protein he’s ever seen and eats heartily.
When the sirens near, he takes off. Crime scene cops investigate. Detective Mabel checks the water glass for prints. Traces the DNA she finds to Andrew. The baked corpse is identified as his.
Character Death 1: Andrew
· Why: He substituted his would-be murderer at the last minute
· How: He bakes her to death.
From the orphanage Andrew kidnaps and barbecues Betsy miles away in another township across the state line. Running from the SWAT team, he hides in another bathroom but the toilet won’t flush. When they break in, he’s not in sight. There’s a single fishy scale beside the sink drain. Young uniformed cop Ethel picks it up. (She later becomes a crime scene ET.)
Out front under the SWAT team monster Humvee, Andrew exits a curb drain. As he moves down the street, he grows back to normal size. The Humvee driver never stops reading his comic book.
Character Death 2: Betsy
· Why: Betsy laughed when he flubbed his first writing lesson
· How: Barbecue
Andrew disguised as Millicent takes her newly adopted daughter Clare into a house. Later, a housewife enters with groceries and is baffled to find “Millicent” giving Clare a bath in her kitchen sink. Still later, the husband returns from work. No sign of his wife. A stack of human bones in the sink. Horrified, he shouts, runs outside. Andrew climbs out of a tiny cabinet. Cops enter, corner him in a bathroom. Break in. He’s gone. Toilet is flushing. Where’d she go? Out front, Andrew wearing a dress climbs out of a sewer beneath the SWAT team’s military Humvee. He returns to adult size.
Character Death 3: Clare
· Why: Clare prick teased him
· How: Round over repeatedly
Midpoint: At a homicide conference, Ethel now a detective asks questions specific to the monster cases. At lunch break, Mabel, a detective from the adjoining state, mentions similar M.O.s she’s encountered in her investigations. They compare and consider the monster to be Andrew. Agree to keep in touch. Hunt for monster fine tunes.
Andrew follows David who will never return home. Family devastated. In a lavish looking house, he places the kid in the middle of a designer bathtub. He drapes over his chest and kneels down beside the tub. In another kitchen, the monster removes a blood red cake from the oven. Beside it, he props a snapshot of the kid on his bike, cuts the cake and serves it to the kid.
Character Death 4: David
· Why: David’s a meany
· How: Poisoned cake
Andrew makes a sandwich in another kitchen. Surprised by Elizabeth, the housewife, he jams her hand down the garbage disposal. Turns it on. Later he slides the gagged and tied up woman with no hands into a black plastic bag. Cut to: On a bridge, she slides out of the bag and drops into the river.
Character Death 5: Elizabeth
· Why: She’s one of the kids who humiliated Andrew about not knowing his alphabet
· How: Garbage disposal
Andrew follows Floyd who will never return home. Family devastated. In a lavish looking house, he places the kid in the middle of a designer bathtub. He drapes over his chest and kneels down beside the tub. In another kitchen, the monster removes a hot poker from the oven. He thrusts it into the kid.
Character Death 6: Floyd
· Why: Gary led the mean boys who made Andrew’s life miserable
· How: Stabbed by a forklift
Floyd roars into an abandoned company parking lot. Inside the door Andrew hides his face and waves at Floyd. Tasers him. Isaac wakes up chained to a loading dock. Andrew gets on a forklift and pulls Isaac away from the dock by a chain around his waist. Isaac screams in pain. Andrew pushes one fork of the forklift into Jake’s crotch. He screams.
Andrew reverses the forklift and pulls the chain. Gary shouts for help, tries to slip off the chain. Andrew speeds one of the forklift forks straight at him. It plunges into the wall beside him. Andrew pulls the chain tight. Gary’s abdomen pops from his stomach. He shrieks. His spine snaps. Blood everywhere. His liver protrudes.
ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
FIGHT TO THE DEATH
Mabel and Ethel enter the front and back doors simultaneously, guns drawn.
In his right hand, Andrew holds a barber’s razor to the throat of Tara, Mabel’s little girl.
HYSTERIA
Mabel takes careful aim.
Ethel yells, NO! He’ll kill Tara.
Mabel hesitates. Ethel shoots Andrew in his right shoulder. He drops the razor. Snatches a steak knife with his left hand, prick’s Tara’s neck, dares them to shoot because he’ll kill Tara.
THE THRILLING ESCAPE FROM DEATH
Ethel aims and fires a bullet into M’Lord’s heart.
DEATH RETURNS TO TAKE ONE OR MORE.
Andrew reappears, throws a knife. It plunges into Ethel’s throat. She slumps to her knees. Bleeds out.
RESOLUTION
Mabel and Tara stand before Ethel’s gravestone in Rose Hills Cemetery.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by Tom Wilson.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by
Log in to reply.