Lesson 2

[Carole Avila]

ASSIGNMENT 2 – Crafting Your Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is that there are many necessary components that are vital to the success of a great horror script.
1. What my monster is: The creature is born of a curse. As it grows more powerful, it manifests into physical form.
2. About my monster:
• Their Terror: It throws a rope of bone out its mouth and strangles its victims or wraps around their ankle and drags their body to it so it can kill them. Its saliva is acidic and can severely burn a person. Its hands and feet have sharp, pointed nails like talons that cut through skin.
• Their Mystery: The counter-curse must be spoken by the next victim while staring into the eyes of the monster.
• Their Fear Provoking Appearance: It initially appears as a skeletal spider-hand with razor sharp nails, and as it grows stronger, it takes on the shapes of deformed animalistic skeletons.
• Their Rules: It kills the 1st born of every generation of the gypsy’s descendants.
• Their Mythology: A guard stabbed a gypsy wrongfully accused of graverobbing. The gypsy fought with the guard and started to curse him, but the guard fell and landed on his own knife. The guard died before the curse was completed, and according to gypsy rules, that means the curse goes back onto the person who first said it.

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Carole Avila.
• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Carole Avila.

[Karen Crider]

Horror 30 Class
Karen Crider

1. Tell us what or who your monster is:
Hawk is a vampire, accidentally exhumed when Chron Chronson and his nephews shared time together metal detecting. Chron’s nephew, Allen, knocked something loose with his shovel, inside a shallow grave, that pinioned Hawk’s rib cage to the ground. Once released, Hawk rose inside a mist. Allen didn’t have a chance.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
Their Terror: Hawk, is a vampire, who with his kind, possess herculean strength, super speed in his actions and thinking ability. He reads minds, can hypnotize, but once he claims his own, he owns every inch of his victim. He is intensely loyal, loves some of his no matter what, is domineering, hogs attention/admiration to support his grandiose sense of self. In spite of these characteristics, he has no ability for empathy. He wants human blood, but is not aware he can contract rabies, tuberculosis and blood diseases. He is devoted to a clock given to him as a youth. His only connection to what he was, before he became a vampire…

I got side-tracked which is something I’m good at. Lol. I added these others as well—good for reference.
How does the monster pursue?
Hawk is not particular how he pursues his prey. Whether he mists into a bat that hides on the undercarriage of a victim’s vehicle, and enters their home for a warm lunch, or picks some unfortunate from a bar. He can hypnotize his victims, and carry them away in the night for a full buffet and a night of lovemaking. The result is always the same. Lunch is always on him, in more ways than one…
How does the monster isolate?
Vampire shape-shifts and are shrouds inside a mist. They have the ability to be present, and no one knows they are there. They look more for the company of humans, both before and after a feeding, physically, so they fit in somewhat at bars, restaurants, parks, fishing holes etc. But when they isolate, they are capable of going anywhere and watching anyone, anytime at night. Sometimes, their potential victims, sense they are around. A sulfur odor emanates, but is blamed on something long dead, like a mouse no one can find. Methane is another give-a- way, as there are vampires that only feed on animal corpses. Just because you cannot see them, does not mean they’re not there…
Their mystery:
We are always interested in what we do not understand, and though it’s reported vampires are not real, many individuals in deserted places in Montana swear up and down, they do exist. They say that’s why the population is lower there than other places. Some humans take the form of something lower than what they are, but these individuals, are maybe just misunderstood. They could be poets or someone pinpointed as someone not right. lol. (I was constantly chased by cops when I lived in MT. They thought I was a druggie. I was just a writer writing poetry in Memorial Park. lol.) Vampires are mysterious because of their macabre lifestyle, the dangers they inflict and their covert methods of surviving for centuries, turning whole populations into vampires…
Their Fear- Provoking Appearance:
Hawk and his cronies have no ability to carve a shadow or a reflection in a mirror. They are usually covered in dark garb. Hawk is gaunt and cannot be photographed, as his image will not take, neither can he be seen on film. Vampires cannot be in the presence of light, and that apparently is also reflected in their outer garments. They have claws and pointed ears. Hawk’s ears are especially noted as such, since he is centuries old. Sometimes, their previous human forms appear in a mist of what they looked like before they were submerged into vampire-hood. Hawk is gaunt. After consuming his latest victim, his eyes glow red. When he does not eat, his eyes turn the color of onyx or black coals. If he feeds on animals
Their Rules:
Vampires only come out at night. If they come out in daylight, they die, or are disfigured. Their skin blackens. They experience elevated hair growth and repeated exposure to disease. Hawk’s clock served to protect him from confusing dusk with day and dusk with night.
Hawk demands to do things his way, if hindered by any, he grows vindictive and cold.
Especially, around any they command. They have a long memory for offenses. If someone steals from him, they will pay. Hawk’s end goal is to enlarge his vampire empire anyway he can, taking humans every chance, he gets.
He is promiscuous. That is not so much a rule as a vampire’s nature. So, maybe it’s a rule of nature for vampires.
Vampires loathe garlic, crosses and holy water.
Their mythology:
Vampires are said to be myths, though the old ones in archaic villages and desert places swear they have seen them and seen their works. Perhaps, they are vampires themselves. It is said they are loyal to those they love. I believe that’s a myth. How can anything with such a black soul know anything of love; especially, when their nature has no empathy. One must have empathy to have love. It’s one of the ingredients necessary along with compassion and all the elements that bind love together.
Vampires drink blood, are immortal, avoid sunlight and are capable of morphing into whatever they choose. It is said they morph mostly into bats. All of these myths make up a vampire. The fact that they can hypnotize, read minds, and comprehend the actions of their victims before the action occurs is mind boggling. All of these actions/myths make vampires worthy of writing about. Thanks…

[Timothy G Winters]

Horror Day 2
What I learned : I have my work cut out for me. It feels like a mountainous glacier is heading my way. . .

1. So far, a run of the mill ghost. Colonel Gorham Gray. British Expeditionary Force (BEF), a causualty of the Second World War.

2. Their Terror: Condemned to an eternity of War and decimation, he is an entity that demands his words be carried out to the Nth degree. What humanity and empathy he might have once possessed has dwindled to a devious ruthlessness. And really, everyone in his path is the enemy now.

His Mystery: why he continues to wreak havoc and death on those he encounters and his habitation of the truck to which he is figuratively (and possibly even literally) chained.

Appearance: I suspect he is sometimes seen with a molding, shattered, rather lupine gas mask. When he gets into your brain, he also can appear as others with whom the victim has yet to complete their business.

Rules: If he touches you, you will not only die, but you will see how it will happen, however and whenever it may be coming.

Mythology: Haven’t a clue. I doubt a medal is coming his way . . .

3. As mentioned above, I have my work cut out for me. It feels like a mountainous glacier is heading my way. . .

[Adam Wright]

What I learned doing this assignment is it is tricky to figure out how to make the monster have an iconic look when he's someone with a more or less normal job.

Create an early version of your monster.

1. Tell us what or who your monster is. Dylan Craft, noted filmmaker and auteur who is known for making actors go through a rigorous and realistic process to bring out the deepest emotions on film.

2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:

• Their Terror: Dylan terrorizes by putting unsuspecting people in dangerous situations and surprising them with pain and death.
• He pursues by mapping out every inch of his controlled set and sending people into the most dangerous areas.
• He isolates by telling everyone else on the set he is not to be disturbed while he is filming a scene and that they should ignore any screams or sounds of pain because that is part of his “method.”
• The terrible thing Dylan does is kill people when they least expect it to get the maximum amount of surprise and true emotions on film.
• He causes death by playing into horror film tropes and then actually committing the horror.
• This is inescapable because he has a closed set in an isolated area where everyone knows a horror film is being made so no one will believe anyone is actually getting hurt.
• Their Mystery: How can the actors survive the night with a crazed director out to kill them? The only thing that might speak to Dylan is appealing to his sense of art.
• Their Fear Provoking Appearance: A plastic mask decorated for the film, meant to depict a Michael Myers type of villain.
• Their Rules: As long as cameras are rolling, anything goes, including and up to death. The minute the cameras stop, Dylan is a normal person again.
• Their Mythology: Dylan’s first exposure to film was watching a snuff film and he has wanted to recreate that feeling ever since.

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Adam Wright.

[Leslie Valdes]

Leslie’s Terrifying Monster
“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” It’s tricky developing a monster with all the required attributes! However, the attributes definitely help in developing the monster into a more complex and layered entity.
1. Tell us what or who your monster is: It’s a sadistic AI system designed to torture and purge humanity of its flaws.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
* Their Terror: The AI threatens the post-apocalyptic survivors with excruciating deaths, both physical and psychological, as punishment for their perceived flaws;
* Their Mystery: How (and when) will the AI torture each character, and will each character be able to overcome their “flaw” and escape death or will they succumb to their worst fears.
* Their Fear Provoking Appearance: This is the tricky part. At first, I thought the AI would look like an H.R. Giger version of a supercomputer, with pipes and tubes and lights and circuitry running along the walls, floors and ceilings of the underground bunker; maybe these elements could even shift and move, like a giant slithering high-tech anaconda.
Now, however, I’m thinking it should look like an AI robot designed by H.R. Giger: A gruesome humanoid machine that can transform its shape and functions to inflict its specific punishments.
* Their Rules: The AI monster can shape-shift into virtually anything or anyone, from a sports car to a super model, so that it can entice and seduce the survivors into revealing their flaws, and then, once it knows the person’s flaws, it tortures that person, playing on and exploiting their flaws until the person dies… or, in rare instance, overcomes their personal faults and graduates.
UPDATE: Okay, so my latest thoughts on this is that: The AI can create illusions that play on a person’s fears — these illusions can be VR or, if the AI can get into each person’s mind, then the illusions can be hallucinations that the characters experience in their minds but none of the other characters can see — unless, of course, the AI lets the others see the illusions, too, thereby including them in the original person’s torture.
* Their Mythology: It’s an AI that was developed by a Neo Nazi programmer, designed to identify flawed and “impure” humans and eliminate them from the populace. Alas, the AI determined that its creator himself was flawed, so it did what it was programmed to do: Eliminate the flawed human. Now the AI runs on its own, continuously learning new things and programing itself to become more powerful with every passing hour.

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Leslie Valdes.
• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Leslie Valdes.
• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Leslie Valdes.

[Susannah Farrow]

Susannah’s Terrifying Monster

3. Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
What I learned doing this assignment is the intricacies of nailing down the elements of terror. The questions presented made me think and I feel my work is better for it.

1. Tell us what or who your monster is.
The monster is a masked slasher who was turned into a creature when his mother cast a voodoo spell on him in utero. He was born a creature who is half man and half snake.

2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:

Their Terror:
The monster sneaks into guarded places or attacks from the swamp. Its actions incite distrust and unease among the locals of the town. No one knows who it is or why it is killing the townspeople.
Using the swamp as its base, it sneaks up on its victims.
The town’s leaders are killed first, then the only safe way out of town is destroyed.
It kills everyone.
Sneaks up on people, often when they are alone, to kill.
The town’s authorities are killed first, the road out of town is blown up, and the boats are sunk.

Their Mystery:
An impossible killer is in town. What is the killer? It doesn’t seem human. How does it hunt them. Why is it killing them? What does it want? How will they survive? Is it human? What is it?

Their Fear Provoking Appearance:
It is a human/snake hybrid.
It wears a mask to conceal its identity and its snake-like features.
It uses a variety of weapons based on carnival implements.
A human with snake eyes dressed in dark attire.

Their Rules:
The monster does not forgive anyone and will not be deterred. It has a mission and will see it through.
It desires to kill an entire town, not just one or several people. The town has a population of 200 people.
It is extremely tough and could even have strong scales on parts of its body. Being born from voodoo has given it extreme toughness.
It appears the monster is killed before the reveal of the final girl’s twist, then it is revealed he is not dead at all.
The only thing that can kill it is voodoo, as he uses voodoo to protect himself from things such as firearms and is even a product of powerful magic.

Their Mythology:
The killer’s mother was a snake dancer/charmer in a travelling carnival. She used voodoo to give birth to a human/snake hybrid due to her love of snakes and fear of people. The carnival came to this town and were terrorised, then killed. The carnival was burned and ditched in the swamp, leading to the local legend of the missing carnival. The young snake-man fled the carnage, vowing to come back one day and have his revenge. The people of the town terrorised the mother because they found out about her ability to practice voodoo.

[Anne]

ANDE’s TERRIFYING MONSTER

From this assignment, I learned to reconsider making my monster unseen, at least at first and at least in part. My initial concept is to have the individually nice normal seeming guys that make up the rest of the scientific team) de-evolve into a single-minded dog-pack stalker/slaver group (“Monster Group”).

Terror: The Monster Group starts the terror in small ways – restricting protagonist to subservient roles & excluding her from the team. Their demeaning actions progress to essentially enslaving the protagonist including sexual slavery and threats of death or forced “suicide” to cover-up their actions.

Mystery: See above. Why is the Monster Group violent towards the protagonist. How can she survive? Can she divide the group into smaller more manageable parts?
Fear Provoking Appearance: At first, the Monster Group exhibit their normal nice guy appearances. But as the script progresses, they de-evolve into almost caricature neanderthal types (unkempt beards, sticks in their hair, mud used as “war paint”, wearing fewer clothes, etc.). At the very end, the few remaining, might “clean up” again to show that evil can lurk beneath a normal surface.

Rules:
– The Monster Group individuals are kings of their summer island kingdom. Their rules override societal norms.
– The Monster Group individuals are united – their consistent testimonies will over-ride inconsistent allegations of the protagonist. They will win a he said/she said battle.
– The Monster Group has professional power over the protagonist. They can ruin her career plans and reputation.
– They are many; she is alone.
– They prepared; she was unprepared.
– She is a plaything, a disposable amusement to the Monster Group. Her life, sanity, and career are at stake.

Mythology: Drop hints as to why these seemingly normal individual nice guys, when combined into a group and isolated, could behave as monsters.

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Anne.

[j T]

Jessica Tremblay’s Terrifying Monster
What I learned doing this assignment is it’s important to know your monster since he’s the antagonist of your story. There were many facets of the monster I hadn’t explored yet (I mostly focused on physical appearance) so this was a good exercise. Thinking of the mythology for a potential sequel is also something that never crossed my mind until this.
1. My monster is a genetically-enhanced dog-like creature with physical deformities (it belonged to my protagonist’s father)
2.
a. Terror: They have sharp teeth and claws. They bite and scratch. They prevent my protagonist from reaching the door and leaving.
b. Mystery: How can she reach the exit and leave without being eaten by this beast? The monster is aggressive and territorial because it’s pregnant.
c. Their Fear Provoking Appearance: Inflates to make themselves bigger and more impressive.
d. Their Rules: if you come near my lair, I’ll kill you.
e. Their mythology: A lab invents the technology to inject your pet’s DNA into another animal who will them exhibit some of the character traits of your beloved pet. The problem is when pets are not given their medicine, they turn mad, become extremely aggressive and attack their owners. Sequel could include: other movies where family pets when crazy and attack members of a family in a live-or-die situation.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by  j T.