Lesson 2

[Allie Theiss]

Alison Theiss Terrifying Monster

What I learned doing this assignment is there much more to the monster than just being scary. The more of the background I can create, the more terrifying the monster can become.

Their Terror: The guard stalks the museum’s dark halls, luring victims toward a cursed painting that consumes souls. His presence is marked by unsettling sounds and sudden appearances, instilling dread and a sense of inescapable doom.

Their Mystery: The guard’s true connection to the painting remains unclear, with hints that he is more than just a night watchman. Understanding his role is key to surviving the night.

Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: Appearing as an elderly guard with a pale, cracked complexion, the guard’s unsettling presence hints at something inhuman. Up close, his skin resembles dried, cracked paint, blurring the line between man and art.

Their Rules: The guard cannot leave the museum and becomes more powerful the closer he is to the painting. He doesn’t directly harm the victims but manipulates the environment to draw them closer to their doom.

Their Mythology: The guard was once the lover of the artist who created the cursed painting. He was the first soul sacrificed to grant the artist eternal life, binding him forever to the painting and its dark purpose.

[Lois Buchter]

Lois – Horror Movie Slash/Back

Terrorize the Characters – 5 teen girls must face their fears in a very remote Alaskan village.

Isolation – Alaskan Native American village with the bare minimum opportunities. Fishing is the only job. Polar Bears are common.

Death – Villagers are picked off one by one. Native animals are picked off one by one – all coming back to life with a fericousity to kill and infect with the alien life force.

Monster/Villain – There is a split between two worlds – Alien and Indian village heritage, but the alien isn’t really seen until Act II. The alien needs bodies to feed upon.

High Tension – Can the girls use the rifle to actually kill and not scare off the monsters? They are not good shots and it comes down to facing their biggest fears. Also, one member who is known for telling outlandish stories is not believed by the majority of her friends. Parental figures are distant and not engaged with their kids.

Depart from Reality – At first we think it might be some sort of infection affecting the animals, but then after the first human kill we see the large alien entity waiting for the kills to be brought to it by the affected animals.

Moral Statement – Don’t mess with the native girls! There might be more to the native stories after all.

[Timothy Barley]

What I learned from doing this lesson is that my monster(s) are not necessarily hack and slash monsters but eerie doppelgängers.

My monsters in "Reflected:"

Their Terror:
They feed on their victims' insecurities when they are alone and around reflective surfaces. they don't chase their victims, instead allowing their vanities to lead them closer. As they draw their real-life victim closer into the surfaces, they strike and drown them in the "mirror world."

Their Mystery:
Who is and who isn't a doppelgänger and how did they get into this world? And how do those left stop them?

Their Fear Provoking Appearance:
They are perfect replicas with subtle unsettling differences: intense expressions, lifeless eyes, over time, the originals' insecurities become twisted in the new versions. Think children suddenly becoming adults.

Their Rules:
Relentless, but can only get into this world via reflections. Perfect mimicry of originals. Almost impossible to detect. The doppelgängers reflect the originals' deepest flaws but in exaggerated forms, becoming malevolent versions of the originals.

Their Mythology:
The host, the. original influencer has found that social media has made it much easier to bring her fellow doppelgängers across the divide to this world. This isn't the first time. It isn't the last.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Timothy Barley.

[Karyn Laitis]

Subject: Karyn L. – Terrifying Monster
Lesson 2-Assignment 2
“What I learned from doing this assignment”—The more grotesque the mystery-the more salacious the journey for the characters and audience. They may need to divert their eyes to avoid the horror but it reels them in-they can’t escape the madness. The hook.
Create an early version of your monster.
1. Tell us what or who your monster is. “My Monster” is a multifaceted cave dwelling alien that is a technologically superior predator to other species. It can shape shift and feeds off the brain matter of it’s prey—killing and replacing brain matter with a “chip” that is mind controlled.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
• Their Terror: The Alien hunts trespassers, as prey and feeds on their brain matter.
• Their Mystery: It can shape shift, disappearing into the environment, or become a wild animal, always sensing, watching and stalking it’s prey.
• Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: When it isn’t shape-shifting, has a large head, efficient body with long limbs. It has reptilian features and a cranial mandibular dislocating jaw to catch it’s victims and an anteater tongue to devour the brain matter of it’s prey.
• Their Rules: The Alien is a guardian of the underworld. It is omnipresent and controls all facets of the cave, it’s secrets, technology and trespassers.
• Their Mythology: The Alien is building a hybrid alien/human army to fulfill the ancient alien mission of creation.
10-9-2024

[David Wetzel]

Dave Wetzel Terrifying Monster

What I learned doing this assignment is that the easiest way to create mystery is to have us not see the monster.

Keep the monster’s full visage / appearance a mystery for as long as possible.

Create an early version of your monster.
1. Tell us what or who your monster is; Yog-Sothoth, brutal demon from hell.

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

• Their Terror: Yog-Sothoth hunt for their prey when they’re alone and then violently kill and eat their victims.

• Their Mystery: Created by the devil to serve and kill on command, some have rebelled against the devil and kill anything it wishes instead of following the bidding of the devil.

• Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: Pitch black, slender but strong like steel, red eyes, over seven feet tall with huge sharp teeth and long arms and legs with long, razor sharp claws.

• Their Rules: The Yog-Sothoth hunts at night when the victim is alone. It can take on a human-like form during the day in the appearance of any human it chooses. Its most common / preferred form as a human is in the image of David Dastmalchian.

• When it’s in it’s human form their true appearance can be seen in the reflection of any blessed or holy object.

• It can be killed by a sword gifted by an angel of God in the hands of a believer in God.

• Their Mythology: Former brutal executioners from all different cultures, centuries and countries.

Monster: Yog-Sothoth (originally from HP Lovecraft), in human form most often in the image of David Dastmalchian but it can take the form of any human who has broken one of the ten commandments.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  David Wetzel.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  David Wetzel.

[Zachary Hunchar]

Already, I want to watch this.

[Zachary Hunchar]

Zachary Hunchar’s Terrifying Monster
1. The monster is called Slash.
2. Monster Info:
1. Their Terror – Slash often appears out of nowhere. Sometimes, Slash uses things around to kill (chains, vehicles, fire), and other times uses brute strength. Slash seems able to be harmed, but the damage has little effect and heals quickly. There are times when Slash’s hands are held up as if in prayer.
2. Their Mystery – Early in the story, Slash simply watches them, and the victims dismiss him as some religious pervert. As the story progresses, Slash begins to hunt and kill. Not everyone is being hunted, which confuses the victims.
3. Their Fear-Provoking Appearance – Slash’s exterior is head-to-toe in black nanofiber armor. There is a white cross streaking the face and neck. Slash’s body is large and muscular. There is a jerky movement as Slash moves. Sometimes Slash just vanishes.
4. Their Rules – Slash seems to focus on characters that are younger and sexually active. Slash says nothing, often staring at the victims. There are times Slash’s hands are held up in prayer. When Slash kills, though, it is vicious and quick with more attention given to speed than style.
5. Their Mythology –
3. What I learned doing the assignment is that I had all of this worked out already, but it is useful to sum it up.

[David Wetzel]

Thanks Zachary! This should be fun to bring to life!

[Micki Hess]

Micki’s Terrifying Monster

What I learned doing this assignment is that I have been using the wrong concept. Rest of the assignments will be the beast in a cursed hotel. I learned to use my imagination what the beast and hotel are. Each entwined with the others. This assignment helped me realized the entwinement of the monsters. And the soon be victims and survivors.
(I will be going back to Assignment 1 and make the corrections and another classmate is using mirror as the monster).
Their Terror: The hotel itself is cursed and commands the beast, using it to punish or consume those who enter on Friday the 13th. It traps its victims, forcing them to confront the creature.

Their Mystery: The hotel only manifests on Friday the 13th, appearing suddenly and vanishing at dawn. Those who are caught inside must survive the night or be claimed by the beast and the hotel forever.

Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: The beast is a massive, nightmarish creature bound to the hotel, with chains of dark energy connecting it to the walls. It obeys the hotel’s will, lurking in the mirrors and shadows.

Their Rules: The hotel can summon the beast at will, trapping guests inside until they face the creature. Escape is impossible unless they can survive until dawn, but the hotel and the beast constantly shift the environment to prevent any escape.

Their Mythology: The hotel Is a manifestation of an ancient curse, designed to appear only on the unluckiest day of the year. It commands the beast, a guardian of the curse, to hunt those who dare enter, feeding off their fear and despair before finally consuming them.

[Tadja Dragoo]

Taj's super scary monster

I learned doing this assignment that a lot more thought goes into crafting a compelling monster than a “monster in a cave”.

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

Terror: The monster lives in a giant cave system that is partly underwater. The victims have fallen into a pit cave that begins to fill with water, bringing them closer and closer to escape, but also closer to the monster.

Mystery: The monster is between them and daylight. The trapped people don’t have any weapons or a means of communicating with the outside, so how will they survive the monster and escape the cave?

Fear-Provoking Appearance: It is a monstrous nautiloid with a gnarled and twisted carapace, dozens of tentacles, and a beak that can sever a man’s torso with one choompp!

Rules: Because of its size, the monster can only reach the victims through a narrow passage high in the shaft, so it lies in wait as the slowly rising water brings the victims close enough to grab them with slender tendrils.

Mythology: Unknown (or possible idea: Akin to the Kraken in Clash of the Titans, where ancient human sacrifices were made to appease the monster).

[Ryan Benson]

The biggest thing I learned from this assignment is that there are several different areas of depth that you have to give your monster. The five different parts of a monster really got me thinking about how scary or compelling my villains actually are. It showed me the limitations of what I have created and what I need to further develop.

1. Tell us what or who your monster is. Two evil spirits that appear in the form of a small girl/boy with long hair. They wear a smock or hospital gown and a leather mask that is blank (no eye or mouth holes) made of several different sections held together with twine. The second spirit is a large lumbering brute. Face almost a blur. Not sure of the clothes but dark in color.

2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
• Their Terror: The twin spirits cause destruction and bad luck throughout the neighborhood. They show up without warning but so far only the protagonist is able to see them. The small child spirit kills with its razor sharp nails (I have also been toying with the idea that it just moves its fingers in a slash motion and the person or thing has the slash marks as if the spirit has telekinetic abilities). Most people dismiss it as something that won’t happen to them or just try to tough it out in the neighborhood because they do not want to leave their suburban enclave.

• Their Mystery: Why do the spirits do what they do? Why do they pick the houses they target? How can they be stopped?

• Their Fear Provoking Appearance: The child (still unsure if boy or girl or just keep ambiguous) has a hospital gown, no shoes, long hair, and a pale leather mask that is made of different sections held together with twine. In between the pieces you can see the disfigured, bloody, burnt(?) facial flesh. The large guy spirit is less clear to me. Dark clothing with a dark mask and spiky dark hair poking out of the back.

• Their Rules: Monsters keep going and seem unstoppable. The protagonist is the only one who seems to see or care to stop them, but he is completely invisible to them. He can’t touch them or stop them, but they ignore him in every way.

• Their Mythology: This is what I have been struggling with. I think for the most part I’m going to have them be very mysterious and motiveless. Part of the script will have to do with the protagonist and the woman that helps him trying to find out about the sprits, particularly how to get them to stop their increasingly murderous rampage.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Ryan Benson.

[Timothy Allen]

Tim Allen – Terrifying Monster

What I learned doing this assignment is that sometimes the unknown can be more frightening than just popping up with a weapon of choice in the killer's hand.

Thier Terror: He stalks relentlessly; and you know it.

Their Mystery: He leaves clues of how you're going to die that are not always easy to figure out until it's too late.

Their fear-provoking appearance: His face is gruesome, partially eaten off by animals.

Their rules: He has none "per se;" if you meet him or see him you will die. There is no bargaining or play on sympathy.

Thier mythology: He has none at this particular time.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by  Timothy Allen.

[Diane Keranen]

Diane’s Terrifying Monster (early version)

What I learned doing this assignment is that ghosts are helpful when creating a monster that is made of water. However, the water-ghost must still make sense for the story and must be motivated by something: the trapped souls who can never leave the island. I can see that my initial story is already changing.

My monster is water that is haunted by failed escapees from Alcatraz prison and other ghosts from a shipwreck.

A few sentences on each of the following qualities of my monster:
• Their Terror: The water, and the ghosts with it, can seep through cracks and access anyone trying to hide in the underground chambers. The ghosts can shape the water to behave in violent ways. It can wrap you in water and drown you. It can freeze you or stab you with shards of ice. It can shape-shift into ropes, oars, anchors, and other objects.
• Their Mystery: None of the group knows what sets off the monster or why it wants to kill them. They must figure out how to evade it in order to stay alive. The deaths, however, align with their “favorite” prison horror stories. They figure the upper levels are safe but the water-ghosts are preventing the group from escaping the lower chambers.
• Their Fear Provoking Appearance: The water appears as dead, battered, decomposing corpses of “the great escape” escapees. Recognizing them is what helps the group figure out the first deaths are not accidents they are ghost-murders. The ghosts they don’t recognize are scarier because the group doesn’t know where they came from.
• Their Rules: The monster-ghost, as water, can wander the island shore, the damp depths of the chambers, travel through plumbing, travel through puddles, rain run-off, and fog, and trick people to approach it. The water cannot inhabit the dry parts of the prison (the tour parts). So, if you’re lucky enough to reach the dry parts before the water gets you, you can be released from the curse of the Alcatraz deep.
• Their Mythology: The water is haunted by the “Great Escape” escapees and other ghosts from a long-ago shipwreck. If they can’t escape the underground chambers and cold, harsh waters, you can’t escape them either. The men never left the island. It just so happens, they tried to launch their raft near where a long-forgotten shipwreck ran aground in storm killing all aboard and became trapped with the ghosts of that ship. The story of the invented shipwreck still needs to be created.

[Lois Buchter]

What I learned in Assignment 2: Lois

1. Tell us what or who your monster is: Tell us what or who your monster is: A nature spirit – smoke that can infect humans and animals – it emerges from the ground seeking vengeance against the land. Invades the souls of its victims – hollowing them out and transforming them into agents of wrath. Seeps into your skin, boiling under the skin until your eyes go black, mouth open, your soul is pulled back into you – now forever changed into a weapon of death.

2 Their Terror: How does the monster terrorize? The ancient spirit does not kill the Native Americans who try to stop entity, but goes after the humans who scar the land – it won’t stop until the land heals.

2. Mystery: How can we stop the spirit without getting infected ourselves

3. Fear Provoking Appearance: The Spirit changes the human form – elongating the jaw, blackening the eyes without pupils.

4. Their Rules: It gets into human contact by touching ground – the trees, roots, soil communicate to the spirit. Indian song and chant calm the spirit, but doesn’t stop it. Only the beast of the forest (Bigfoot) can stop it.

5. Mythology: Has been around since the beginning of mankind on earth, ancient, alien entity.

[John Amato]

What I learned doing the assignment: Since I'm creating the monster and the story as I do this assignment, I'm finding it a lot of fun to work out who and what the monster is and does. It fires my creative juices.. 🙂 These rules make it easier to create.

Tell us what or who your monster is. A nerdy tech editor becomes the sacrifice and is tortured and murdered by the Ghost Hunter crew to become a ghost for their program., However, he becomes a vengeful ghost. Also, the team that murders him are human monsters that set the stage for their own peril.

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

• Their Terror: Ghost seeks revenge against all those who killed him. He will not stop until he has it.

• Their Mystery: How to find a way to kill a ghost or escape the location it is tied to.

• Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: The ghost's face deteriorates as he kills and covers himself in the blood and guts of his victims. He makes jokes and licks and loves their taste in his mouth.

• Their Rules: The ghost travels through solid objects in the house, tech equipment, and the human body.

• Their Mythology: Ghost can’t leave the space it is tethered to but has an ulterior motive the crew doesn't understand. It wants to be attractive.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 4 weeks ago by  John Amato.

[Dean Burkey]

Dean's Terrifying Monster

What I learned doing this assignment is how to create something terrifying that generates horror, unless you're writing a rom-com, because love is scary enough. ;oP

Tell us what or who your monster is:
The Myst is an amorphous, living fog that acts as the antagonist of the story, feeding on emotional disconnection and loneliness. It is not a traditional monster but rather an atmospheric entity, making it all the more terrifying because it has no defined shape or form. Its sinister presence is felt through its ability to exploit human fears and missed opportunities.

Their Terror:

The Myst brings terror by isolating individuals both physically and emotionally. It feeds off negative emotions—specifically loneliness, regret, and fear—making it stronger. The terror lies in its ability to target people’s vulnerabilities, haunting them with whispers that amplify their despair. As it envelops individuals, they vanish without a trace, leaving an eerie emptiness behind.

Their Mystery:

The Myst is mysterious because its true origin and motives remain unclear. It seems almost sentient, knowing the villagers' secrets and fears. It thrives in isolation and waits patiently, making its victims believe there is no escape. Dr. Evelyn Hart pieces together its nature, understanding that it targets emotionally disconnected people, but the Myst remains enigmatic, never revealing why it exists or why it chooses certain places.

Their Fear-Provoking Appearance:

The Myst itself has no fixed appearance, which makes it even more terrifying. It’s an ethereal, thick mist that can shift and form shadowy figures. At night, the Myst takes on twisted forms that press against windows, scratch at doors, and sometimes resemble the people who have vanished, embodying fears and regrets. The fear-provoking aspect is that it seems sentient, relentless, and constantly watching, and it is something that cannot be touched, reasoned with, or fought.

Their Rules:

1. Isolation Breeds Danger: The Myst targets individuals who are emotionally isolated. The more disconnected people are from each other, the stronger the Myst becomes.
2. Movement in the Myst Leads to Disappearance: Anyone who steps into the Myst disappears without a trace.
3. Night Intensifies Its Power: At night, the Myst becomes more aggressive, taking on twisted forms and actively terrorizing survivors.
4. Feeds on Negative Emotions: The Myst feeds on despair, regret, and loneliness. Staying connected and emotionally close to others can keep it at bay.

Their Mythology:

The Myst symbolizes everything “missed”—missed connections, missed opportunities, and unspoken words. It thrives in places where people are struggling with disconnection and emotional distance, feeding on the loneliness that results from this. The mythology suggests that it has no beginning and no end, roaming to places where human vulnerability is ripe for consumption. The Myst is drawn to isolated towns, where people have been conditioned to keep to themselves or harbor deep, unresolved regrets. It serves as a manifestation of the consequences of emotional neglect, a force that turns those “missed” opportunities into an inescapable fate.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 4 weeks ago by  Dean Burkey.

[Renee Johnson]

“What I learned doing this assignment is.. I learned so much more. Details. I’m sure more will come to me. This is a great lesson. It so made me think. I have reminded myself of the Dark Triad to help me understand my Monster. I need to stop thinking like an old outdated woman to complete the task of creating my Monster. It is interesting. I really never believed I could achieve what I have so far. Again, what a great lesson. Thank you.

[Brian Bull]

Terrifying Monster

My Vision: I’m a writer that producers want to work with and can’t wait for my next script!!!

“What I learned from doing this assignment is…?” I got to know my monster much better and the things that make my monster a monster. It was good to answer these questions because it made me dig deeper into who the monster is.

ASSIGNMENT
Tell us what or who your monster is.
WEREWOLF

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

How does the monster terrorize? Silently, without warning, he will rip you to shreds.

How does the monster pursue? Dark as night, the werewolf blends into the night from behind.

How does the monster isolate? Like sheep, he splits up the group and kills the weakest first.

What is the terrible thing they do? He shows you his teeth and how big they are

How does the monster cause death? Clawing, scratching and biting

What makes this inescapable? Half Man / Half Wolf – incredibly quick on his feet

Their Mystery

Question: What do they need to know about this monster? The only way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet – where do you get one?

Their Fear-Provoking Appearance

How can you make the look of your monster more grotesque, disturbing, or psychotic?
A rabid, menacing-looking wolf with spit dripping from his mouth, black, empty, blood-shot eyes, and a sinister grin just before he bites you.

Their Rules

What behaviors does it exhibit? Relies on sound and scent to locate victims.

What horror does it create? With its heavy breathing and growling noises, it’s enough to make your hair stand up.

What rules does it follow? When the moon goes down, the werewolf turns human again. A silver bullet will kill the beast. If a werewolf bites you and you survive, you will become a werewolf the next full moon.

Their Mythology

The survivor, in the end, got bit.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 3 weeks ago by  Brian Bull.

[christopher Cochran]

Chris Cochran’s Translucent beast the size of a bear with eyes that reflect light and a thousand needle-like teeth.

What I learned. There are a limited amount of tropes in the Horror genre. Pick the one that interests you the most and try to improve upon it to make it your unique take on that trope.

Their Terror: Silently hunts and eats its prey alive with unbelievable stealth because it is almost invisible.
Their Mystery: Able to blend into almost any surrounding and disappear in an instant.
Their Fear Provoking Appearance: It quietly meals on a member of the crew while they are asleep. Another member of the crew catches a glimpse of the monster with a flashlight exposing the needle teeth covered in blood and when the light hits the beast’s eye, it blinds the crew member with the reflection.
Their Rules: It hunts only one prey at a time. The heart and brain are not fully translucent and can be seen in certain circumstances
Their Mythology: Result of an experiment gone bad or good.

[Suzanne Thomas]

“What I learned doing this assignment is…?” A new way to create the biographical background and makeup of my character/monster.

1. Tell us what or who your monster is. A bitter revenge seeking machine for those that hurt him at his must vulnerable time-childhood.
2. Give us a few sentences for each of the following for your monster:
• Their Terror: Whatever the individual’s most crippling fear or thing that frightens them (i.e. trapped in an elevator and unable to get out).
• Their Mystery: How does this individual know me and know my innermost secret?
• Their Fear Provoking Appearance: Completely inconspicuous-looks like your everyday average man (think Dahmer).
• Their Rules: He has studied his targets and has infiltrated their inner circle via group therapy sessions they attend.
• Their Mythology: Begins when character was a young boy (loner, gangly, hearing aid/hearing issues) and is taunted and assaulted while walking home. The event has shaped who he became and fueled his drive for revenge, to right the wrong committed to him.

Bear with me-trying to get caught up-many family issues occurring this past weekend and taking up a lot of my time. I appreciate the patience as I catch up.

[Patti Wall]

Patti’s Terrifying Monster

What I learned doing this assignment is that there are so many things that go into a making a good monster. I had never thought of all the details before since I am a horror movie wimp. Now I’ll be watching for these things.

The Monster: Grandpa who thinks he’s a vampire, is slaughtering his family as if he really is a vampire.

Their Terror: Grandpa is a farmer that has been slaughtering his cattle for years. He treats his victims like cattle – he puts a bolt in their head, cuts their throat and drains them of all their blood so he can drink it, then draws and quarters the bodies in order to use all the parts. If he doesn’t have his bolt pistol, he’ll just rip his victims’ throats with his homemade metal fang dentures and suck on their blood.

Their Mystery: Is Grandpa really a vampire or is he just insane?

Their Fear Provoking Appearance: His appearance is ironic. He looks like a regular old huggable grandpa in his beat-up old jeans and his flannel farmer shirt. But then he brandishes his homemade metal fang dentures.

Their Rules: Being a vampire is an eternal commitment, life family is supposed to be. Therefore he will hunt down and give you a choice – you can agree to join his eternal vampire “family”, at which point he bites you with his metal fangs and sucks your blood OR if you refuse, he will slaughter you like a cow and hang you up and exsanguinate every last drop of blood. Then he will butcher your body up for his personal use because farmers don’t waste anything they raise or grow.

Their Mythology: Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer so he tried every crackpot way to heal himself. Becoming a vampire appears to have healed him because now he is one badass grandpa.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 3 weeks ago by  Patti Wall.