Lesson 5

[Renee Miller]

Renee’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned doing this assignment is how to methodically structure my outline by thinking about the horror situations my characters will encounter and how they react to those situations.

ACT 1 – SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil Established
Decades ago, a young historian ventured into a forgotten section of the building, following strange symbols etched into the walls. As shadows moved unnaturally and whispers turned into screams, his lantern failed, leaving him to face an incomprehensible entity in total darkness—an event that still haunts him to this day.

Horror Situation: Someone is trapped in a pitch-black room as the shadows seep in through the cracks. Reaction: Edmund finds his way up to the top of the lighthouse and hides in the light.

Connect with the Characters
The group is introduced: Stacy (the leader), Jack (the rebel), Eliza (the innocent), and others as they navigate their strained relationships and secrets in the claustrophobic, shared building. Stacy’s discovery of an old journal hints at the town’s dark history.

Horror Situation: Stacy checks the building’s stairwells, freezing in terror as a shadow slowly approaches, its form twisting into her worst fear. Reaction: denial. She brushes it off as a trick of the light because of the storm.

Horror Situation: One of the residents discovers an old ritual book but hears the voices of a loved one calling for help from the darkness, almost luring her deeper. Reaction: try to solve it. They cautiously investigate the sound but retreat in fear when the voices grow louder and more menacing.

The Characters Are Warned Not to Do It
The historian, Edmund, now a reclusive older man, warns Stacy that uncovering the journal’s truths could unleash something terrible. He cryptically mentions that “the darkness must not be disturbed,” but no one takes him seriously.

Denial of Horror
The characters rationalize the growing strange occurrences as the result of the storm: flickering lights, missing people, and strange noises in the hallways are brushed off as stress and bad luck.

Safety Taken Away
The building’s generator fails, plunging the entire structure into near-total darkness except the dim emergency lighting. The group realizes they're trapped with no way to contact the outside world and the storm blocking all exits.

Horror Situation: A shadow mimics the voice of a loved one, leading a grieving mother into danger.

Reaction: She embraces the monster.

Horror Situation: A character is kidnapped by the shadows, disappearing into the walls.

Reaction: the group witnesses the group firsthand, causing panic and disbelief. Some are paralyzed with fear, while others try to find an explanation. Some flee the area.

ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Monster: The Nature of the Beast
The shadow creatures reveal their presence subtly at first—whispering voices, distorted reflections, and shadows that move unnaturally. Their ability to manifest victims’ fears becomes horrifyingly clear when one character is lured into the dark by a shadow mimicking a loved one.

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted
The group is forced to huddle in the lit areas of the building, but their limited light sources begin to fail. The creatures start dividing them by manipulating the building’s layout and isolating individuals.

Horror Situation: Shadows infiltrate the group, mimicking a member’s voice or appearance to sow distrust.

Reaction: try to solve it.

One of Us Killed
The shadows claim their first victim in a horrifying display, dragging them into the darkness. When the others find their remains distorted and unrecognizable, panic spreads through the group.

Horror Situation: A character is shackled by shadowy tendrils, unable to move as the others flee.

Reaction: the group fractures even more. Some hide and some try to escape.

Horror Situation: One character refuses to take action, leaving the others vulnerable.

Reaction: one member tries to fight while the others flee.

MIDPOINT: The Monster is Worse Than We Thought!
Stacy uncovers the full truth: the creatures were born from an ancient ritual gone wrong, tied to the town’s collective guilt and unresolved traumas. Worse, the creatures grow stronger with every death and every ounce of fear, meaning their survival only empowers the darkness.

ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR

Full Pursuit by the Killer
The shadow creatures relentlessly pursue the group, extinguishing their light sources one by one. The shadows manipulating doors, stairwells, and hallways thwart the group's attempts to find safety, turning the building into a labyrinth of terror.

Horror Situation: Two characters who are in the basement trying to get the generator going are chased through the building’s basement by shadows, unable to find the exit.

Reaction: The try to flee, but one trips and falls. They get up and try to fight the shadows.

Horror Situation: The other person in the basement is forced to watch as a friend is consumed by the shadows.

Reaction: They hide, paralyzed by fear and guilt, unable to intervene as the shadows consume their friend.

Terrorized
The creatures exploit each character’s personal fears and guilt, driving them to madness. Paranoia sets in as the group begins to turn on each other, unsure of who can be trusted and whether any of them can truly survive.

Horror Situation: Two characters must decide who to save when the shadows approach—a heartbreaking dilemma.

Reaction: one character sacrifices himself and embraces the shadows giving the other a chance to hide.

ACT 4

Fight to the Death
The group makes a desperate attempt to fight back, gathering the last of their light sources and barricading themselves in a central room. Stacy insists the only way to stop the creatures is to complete the ritual, but the group’s paranoia and growing fear cause division, and they begin to turn on each other.

Hysteria
As the shadows grow stronger, the group descends into chaos. One member accuses Stacy of being the cause of everything and sabotages her efforts to perform the ritual. The creatures manipulate their paranoia, creating illusions of loved ones and past mistakes, driving the survivors to lash out at each other.

The Thrilling Escape from Death
Stacy and the remaining survivors make one final attempt to reach the generator to flood the building with light. They manage to restore power briefly, creating a glimmer of hope, but the shadows adapt, extinguishing the light and plunging the building into complete darkness.

Horror Situation: A shadow creature pretends to retreat, luring the group into a false sense of security.

Reaction: Believing they’ve won, the survivors step out of hiding, only to be ambushed, leading to several brutal deaths.

Death Returns to Take One or More
One by one, the remaining survivors are claimed by the shadows in increasingly horrifying and personal ways. Stacy, realizing the ritual cannot stop the creatures but only delay them, sacrifices herself to buy the others time. However, the others are too consumed by fear to act effectively and are quickly overpowered.

Horror Situation: A character faces impending doom as their flashlight dies in a shadow-infested stairwell.

Reaction: The only one left, she quickly leaves a note, then turns and fights the creatures.

Resolution
The storm eventually clears, and the town is eerily quiet as spring arrives. When the tunnel reopens, those who left for the winter return to find the building abandoned, with no sign of life. Inside, the rooms are marked with frozen, distorted bodies and cryptic symbols burned into the walls. Whispers echo faintly in the halls, hinting that the shadows are dormant but still present, waiting for the next intrusion into the darkness.

Horror Situation: The victims’ bodies are left behind, grotesquely distorted into a half-shadow form.

Reaction: The storm clears, leaving the returning townspeople horrified by the discovery of the abandoned, blood-stained building and faint whispers that hint at the shadow’s lingering presence.

[Sophia Lee]

Sophia’s Horror Situation Track (#5, 1/29/25)
What I learned doing this assignment is… of all the situations I used Chat to come up with, that actually inspired my own ideas as I got into going down my outline.
ARCANE
building horror situations into plot
BRAINSTORM 20 – 50 potential horror situations for ARCANE.
Using ChatGBT, I asked for 40 horror situations to fit my story (will elevate these, but wow, what an awesome time saver!)
Psychological Tension / Suspenseful Moments:
1. The Phone Call: The protagonist, now disfigured, calls one of the former friends but never speaks. The silence is deafening, with the call ending abruptly, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing.
2. Mirror Reflection: A character looks into an antique mirror, seeing a reflection of someone standing behind them. When they turn around, the room is empty.
3. The Secret Room: One of the guests stumbles into a hidden room filled with photographs of the philanthropist before the accident. Each photograph has an eerie red “X” drawn across it.
4. Whispers in the Walls: As the group gathers in a large, darkened room, faint whispers can be heard from behind the walls. When someone investigates, they find nothing.
5. The Strangling Clock: An ornate grandfather clock in the mansion chimes, but with each strike, one of the guests appears to have their throat tightened as if by an invisible force.
6. Ventriloquist’s Doll: A creepy doll left in one of the rooms appears to have a different expression every time someone enters. It seems to mimic the emotions of whoever is in the room.
7. The Gloved Hand: A mysterious hand (perhaps burned) is seen reaching out from a closet or under a table, brushing a character’s shoulder, only to disappear when they turn around.
8. The Victim’s Plea: One of the guests is caught on video pleading for their life from years ago, recorded before they were abandoned, with no memory of it.
9. Vanishing Rooms: Rooms in the mansion shift or disappear. A door that was there moments ago now leads to an entirely different part of the house.
10. Broken Candles: Candles in the mansion flicker strangely, casting long, distorted shadows that make it appear like something is crawling just outside the light.
11. The Locked Cabinet: A beautiful but odd wooden cabinet in the mansion refuses to open. It rattles and makes a high-pitched screeching sound when anyone tries to unlock it.
12. Blackmail Letters: As characters find letters revealing their secrets, the handwriting subtly changes, seeming more desperate and angry with each new note.
13. Twisted Reflections: One character sees their reflection, but it acts out of sync, smiling when they are scared or moving in ways they are not.
14. The Ticking of Time: The sound of a ticking clock gets louder and louder throughout the film, mirroring the increasing tension. It becomes unsettling, as if time itself is working against them.
15. Dinner Guest Gone Missing: One of the guests disappears right before dinner, but when they return, they act strangely and out of character, possibly as a doppelganger.
16. The Haunting Portrait: A painting of the philanthropist before her injury keeps changing, showing her becoming more disfigured with each passing moment.
17. Locked Eyes: During a quiet moment, one of the guests looks across the room and sees another person staring back at them. As the tension builds, the person starts smiling, but the eyes are vacant.
18. The Candlestick: A character picks up a heavy candlestick to defend themselves, but it turns out to be a mechanical trap meant to ensnare them.
19. Creepy Lullaby: A child’s lullaby plays softly from another room. When the character investigates, the source is untraceable.
20. Burned Reminders: A character touches a burned photograph, only for the image of the philanthropist to sear itself onto their fingers, leaving behind burned scars.
21. The Eerie Letter: A character receives a letter in their handwriting, detailing events that haven’t happened yet.
Shocking Moments / Violent Revelations:
22. The First Death: One of the friends, upon discovering an old piece of artwork, is unexpectedly killed. They are impaled on an antique sculpture, and no one sees the attacker.
23. Mirror Maze: In a hallway lined with mirrors, a character is trapped by their own reflection, struggling to escape as the mirrors seem to come alive, contorting their image.
24. The Smoke and Flame: A group enters a room that seems safe, but suddenly thick smoke fills the air, and a series of deadly flame bursts rise from the floor, burning a character alive.
25. Screaming Portrait: A character who mocks the philanthropist’s disfigurement is later confronted by a painting of her, which suddenly opens its mouth in a silent scream.
26. Inescapable Hallway: A character running for their life turns a corner, only to find the same hallway repeating itself endlessly.
27. The Poisonous Drink: At a lavish dinner, a character pours themselves a drink, but when they take a sip, they cough violently as their throat begins to burn, realizing too late they’ve been poisoned.
28. The Hall of Mirrors: One character tries to escape but ends up in a hall of mirrors where each reflection is distorted and slowly pulls them into the glass, trapping them.
29. Wicked Reflection: A guest looks at their reflection and sees themselves holding a weapon they didn’t pick up. It starts moving toward the real person, preparing to attack.
30. The Hanging Man: A guest stumbles into a room to find a grotesque mannequin hanging by a rope. They look closer and realize it’s a real person, their face frozen in a death rictus.
31. A Corpse in the Pool: A character dives into the mansion’s pool only to find a corpse bobbing just below the surface, with its face horribly burned.
32. Blinded by the Light: The philanthropist, now hiding her disfigurement under heavy makeup, suddenly turns on a powerful light, blinding her enemies as she strikes.
33. Mysterious Message: A strange message appears on the wall, written in blood—“I remember what you did”—which drives one character to hysteria.
34. The Mirror Shatter: A character, startled, breaks a mirror. As they try to clean it up, they find the pieces rearranged into a disturbing shape.
35. Dissected Letters: Blackmail letters are pieced together from cut-out magazine letters. A character attempts to piece them together, only to reveal an ominous prophecy.
36. The Reversed Reflection: A character is walking down a hallway and notices the reflection in the mirror walking behind them. But when they look at the reflection, it’s not their own.
37. The Glass Coffin: The philanthropist’s final act of revenge: she traps one of her enemies inside a transparent glass coffin, slowly filling it with smoke or gas until the person suffocates.
38. The Final Revelation: A character learns too late that the philanthropist has been dead for years, and it’s her vengeful spirit that’s been orchestrating the deaths from the start.
39. The Burned Photos: Someone stumbles upon a stack of burned photographs, but the images inside are still visible as ghostly, charred outlines—pictures of the group with cryptic symbols drawn on them.
40. The Unseen Presence: In the final confrontation, the philanthropist disappears into the shadows, but the sound of her breathing can be heard echoing from all directions, as if she’s everywhere and nowhere at once.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
• Atmosphere of Evil established
A ceremony takes place in a large white room.
— the only light in a large room is by candles that flicker
– A woman artist uses her hands to paint blood on the white wall. She writes out cryptic messages and obscure symbols. She is covered in blood.
– People surround her wearing long black cloaks and animal masks. Their hands drip in blood.
— In the center of a room, animal heads are in a pile. Suddenly the pile moves – under it a man arises covered in blood then after him a woman. Also covered in blood. It is clear they had sex.
— the artist uses a blade and cuts each of their hands, and uses their blood to write more on the wall
— A camera is hidden in an animal head recording everything

• Connect with the characters
Of the ten or so people there, it is clear one person does not want to be there. They are all dressed in white and wear masks. A woman comforts her that all will be well. It’s not.
— Before the ceremony is officially over, one of the cloaked, masked guests runs out to a bathroom. The lights are dim in the entire place. The bathroom is locked. Taking off her mask (against the rules) she runs to another room in the giant sized mansion – she finds a bathroom.
— She is followed by cameras which are all over the mansion. Someone mysteriously watches her as she breaks down and cries.
— someone comes up to the woman crying in the bathroom [a misdirect]
— the lady of the house – in a mask – comforts the guest. Reminds her to always wear her mask when in the house or around the grounds
• The characters are warned not to do it.
A woman calls out her husband’s infidelity while everyone is masked. The ceremony is interrupted and everyone is embarrassed. The ceremony, however, continues, and the husband is sacrificed to save the embarrassment of public infidelity.
As the lady of the house takes the woman back to the ceremony, they all stand waiting in silence. The woman takes her place. They finish the ritual. But the artist – also wearing an animal mask, takes her blade and kills the woman. No one says or does anything. Cameras take pictures of everything and everyone.
• Denial of Horror
As the guests leave the room still in cloaks and masks talk amongst themselves like nothing had happened.
– cameras follow them everywhere. The house is fully automated with opening and closing doors, etc. yet candles still burn everywhere.
– guests leave in black driverless cars. Even in the car the guests do not remove their masks.
Soon only 2 people are left in the house. Suddenly a small cannister of gasoline is taken out of a cloak and thrown onto the lady of the house (in her mask). She is set on fire, then pushed into a small room that automatically locks.
• Safety taken away
Someone witnesses what happens by watching the camera monitors.
The camera shows the room where the woman was burned erased from the footage as the entire mansion goes up in flames
The severed animal heads appear to be alive as they burn
• Monster: The nature of the beast.
As the mansion burns in the dark of the night, an unseen, mysterious figure crawls out of the ground a good distance away.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
• Isolated / Trapped / Abducted [NEED TO INTRODUCE CHARACTERS]
the same group of people are summoned with a cryptic invitation that they are obligated to go
– bring in the artist [is she the killer?] – have her doing an art performance. She’s big deal in the art world. Have her being watched by the same person who watched the mansion
– it’s discovered the lady of the house was killed, which is a bigger deal than the woman in the bathroom who was killed and nothing said about it
– reveal blackmail letters [by whom?]
– we see the mask the artist was wearing. We see her without it. She has a piece of digital art work on her wall that has an image of a socialist whom she uses ai to distort the face to reveal what she would look like burned. Someone mysteriously buys the piece of art for ten million.
– the artist goes to an isolated mansion with an iron gate. She has the code to get in.
– later several other guests arrive, in driverless cars
– a fire breaks out on the way to the mansion, destroying the road. Only 6 guests in cloaks and masks have arrived when the road is taken out. Ten were expected. Four are reported missing.
– the artist informs every one that it is an informal meeting, and because of the fire tragedy it’s okay to not wear masks
• One of us killed
The enormous secluded house, lit with only candles, is booby-trapped. Because of the fire, they are also trapped.
– cameras are on them. They all know they are being blackmailed
– one guest inquires about the death of Arcane (the lady of the house). The artist sends the guest on an errand. The guest come across an old grandfather clock that is stuck on the wrong time. When he tries to fix it, he realizes the clock opens to a secret room. He goes in. there is brutally killed. No one hears him.
MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!
• Full pursuit by the killer
Hours later – the second kill. On the hunt for the first murdered person. A woman suggests that Arcane was murdered and they were all brought there for punishment. The artist says nothing is done without the mask, therefore everyone is safe
– they are all watched by the same mysterious person who releases a poison into a room the woman goes into. She is pushed into a bathtub and set on fire. As she begins to die, she sees the figure of her killer. Her screams reveal a killer is on the loose.
• Terrorized
The third one is brutally killed in a ritual room, lead there by the artist [IS IT INTENTIONAL OR COINCIDENCE? IS THE ARTIST A MISDIRECT?]
The other two decide to escape down the tunnels. The only way out. Only the tunnels are set on fire.
The artist sees every opportunity as a way to make art. She collects the dead person’s blood for her paint.
ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
• Fight to the death
The friend has a chance to save the life of the mistress, but doesn’t. She is just like the rest of them. [not sure who is who yet, but the artist needs to be one of these two]
• Hysteria
Dead bodies [in addition to the newly arrived guests] are throughout the house from all the horrible rituals that have taken place.
Found by the artist [not appalled] and the remaining two people still alive
– they find the blackmail room. The artist quickly destroys what she finds about herself. They find the monitors that have been watching them.
– one falls into a trap door on the floor that was opened and concealed by a rug. She is caught on a hook that pierces her through her throat. They are unable to save her
• The thrilling escape from death
The artist and the other are locked in the room and cannot get out, except to climb over the dead person hanging on the hook. The artist uses her phone to take pictures. The other shames her for doing so. They get over the dead body, and find themselves going in different directions to get out. The artist has her container with blood, and blackmail evidence [how should that be? A thumb drive? A laptop? Digital or paper? Video?]
• Death returns to take one or more.
Arcane meets the one who went in the opposite direction. Arcane is severally disfigured. The person tries to kill Arcane. friend meets the killer – her friend whom she thought was dead. But the mistress is still alive. She didn’t die. [the story comes out of why Arcane was set on fire]
• Resolution
The mistress kills the wife once and for all. The ARTIST, wanting to avenge her friend, kills the mistress.
The artist holds all the power of all the blackmail evidence on everyone. She burns it all. Except for one piece that remains.
Using AI, the artist does a live art performance where she appears to be burnt alive. On large screens everyone sees her distorted and horribly burned, much like how Arcane looked. But at the end, she emerges, looking just like the beautiful Arcane. [so audience questions, was the artist really Arcane or was smoke & mirrors used? Or ….]

[Deborah Daughetee]

Debbie’s Horror Situations

The Revenant Queen

While cruising up the Mississippi in the 1800s, the riverboat hits a snag, and fog rolls in. The river itself doesn’t let anyone clear the snag or escape. Our protagonists must battle both human traffickers and a monster from the depths of the river to survive.

What I learned from this assignment is that the reaction to the horror is as important as the horror itself. Varying the reactions keep the story interesting and the terror alive.

Act One – Set Up For Horror

Atmosphere of Evil Established- Crew member is trying to remove weird seaweed from paddle unseen by anyone but the audience.

Reaction – Escape: The crew member makes it back onto the deck.

Horror Situation: Crew member is grabbed by a tendril of mud and dragged back into the depths of the river. Samson hears a scream and investigates, but the paddle wheel is now free of seaweed so he assumes the crew member did his job.

Connect with characters. Passengers and women arrive for the cruise for the inaugural cruise of the newly restored Revenant Queen.

Denial of Horror – Samson reports the missing crew member but captain thinks he just ran off. Samson and the Captain are warned that the riverboat is cursed but the Captain laughs it off. Samson isn’t so sure.

Safety Taken Away – the body of the crew member floats to the surface.

Horror Situation: Screams are heard from inside a room. The doors are locked and no one can get in.

Reaction: Break into the room and discover all of the men are missing. The room is covered with slime, mud, and water. Confusion and apprehensive. They decide to take the boat back, but…

Isolated/Trapped/Abducted:– The boat hits a snag.

Reaction – Denial – The captain sends Samson into the water to free the snag.

Monster: We see tendrils break the surface.

Horror Situation: Samson is attacked by giant Catfish

Reaction and Escape: Samson is pulled from the water by Quinn.

Act 2, Point of No Return

Isolated/Trapped/Abducted A thick fog rolls in. It’s impossible to see to remove the snag.

Horror Situation: Bonnie Lou disappears.

Reaction : Quinn and Lilith search for her.

Horror Situation: Samson hears wet, squish sounds. Quinn and Lilith join him, and they follow the sounds. They hear a plop, as if something fell into the river.

Character Death: They find Bonnie Lou’s body splayed out on the paddle wheel covered in mud.

Midpoint

Reaction: Lilith makes a speech to reveal the monster.

Horror Situation: An Amorphous humanoid figure bursts into the room

Reaction: Quinn and Lilith run through the halls of the riverboat. They Hide

Horror Situation: The monster finds them but doesn’t attack. She shows her face. Then Jonas comes in. The monster embraces Jonas, and when she pulls away, he is covered in leeches who suck him dry, then POP and blood goes everywhere. The monster leaves.

Reaction: Try to figure it out. Why didn’t it kill them? It was a woman under all that mud. What is happening?

Terrorized: The monster is now roaming the corridors. She finds the girls, but Lilith gets there and throws salt on her. The monster flees in pain.

Act 3 – Full Out Horror

Hysteria – The Captain is lowering a private rowboat into the river. It is the only one that hasn’t been sabotaged.

A Character Dies: But the monster finds him first. This is a fight to the death.

Horror Situation: The monster finds Lillith alone and chases her through the corridors.

Reaction: Lilith hides in a room. The monster begins to leak under the door, but then pulls back and moves on. Lilith discovers Cassius books and the fact that he was selling her and her girls to the highest buyer.

Horror Situation: Quinn and Lilith confront Cassius. HThe monster finds them.

Reaction: Hysteria. Cassius tries to sacrifice Lilith to the monster. Quinn uses Salt to destroy the Monster
.
Death returns to take one more. Cassius gets a gun and holds it on Quinn and Lilith. He is going to kill Quinn and sell Lilith. But the Monster rises up once more and drags Cassius into the depths.

Resolution: The monster returns, but turns into a woman. Acknowledgement of the familial connection to Quinn. Then she returns to the river and is gone. The snag and the fog disappear and the riverboat is free to return to shore.

[Nick Walsh]

LESSON #5

Nick’s Horror Situation

What I learnt: This exercise helped pace horror.

CONCEPT: Six twenty-something buddies go on a week-long mountain bike adventure in the Sierras and end up getting lost, only to become prey to a demented family who collects eyeballs.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established:
—We open with an excruciatingly cringy, detailed close up of an eyeball being nonchalantly cut out from a screaming victim’s head. We do not see the monster, but we hear him mumble-singing “Twinkle, twinkle, little ‘eye’, Now’s the time to say goodbye….”
Horror Situation:
Opening scene of crude eye removal.
—Reaction:
Audience disgust and horror.

Connect with the characters:
—We meet our six bikers as they park and unload their bikes, then follow them as they do fancy and dangerous maneuvers over rough terrain, like self-assured, hotshot experts are wont to do.
The leader reveals he has a gun, in case of varmints. They camp and pass the time playing a dice game called Ship, Captain, Crew—rolling five dice from a cup. We get a glimpse of their individual personalities here. The leader, works on a map of their trail blazing. He notes the trail is already made for them, mostly tramped by animals.
The next day they challenge the rough terrain with daredevil feats, showing off their death-defying expertise as seen partly from the make-you-grit-your-teeth lens of a GoPro. They stop at a bar in the middle of nowhere to rest and get out of the heat.
The characters are warned not to do it:
—They get permission from the reluctant bartender to play Ship, Captain, Crew on the pool table. The BRO family gang—all real brothers—watch and want to play, too. Soon the table is surrounded by players—Bros and our bikers, but the Bros rarely win, which makes them suspicious, especially when the bikers are only ordering rounds of drinks for themselves when they win, unwittingly excluding the Bros. A big, dumb Bro sits alone, drinking on a stool against the wall repeating to himself, “Sump’n bad gonna happen…,” while chuckling.
A very drunk crazy LOCAL, sitting alone at the bar, tells a biker that’s getting drinks that they are about to be in serious jeopardy if they keep revealing the wad of money they won from the locals, when adding their winnings to it, and not offering them drinks. He offers them a ride away from there in his camper. The oblivious bikers finally become aware of the sudden change of mood and of their predicament and try to turn things around—trying to lose (which they can’t, no matter how hard they try), buying them a drink—but it’s too late: The Bros have been unforgivably dissed.
After the bikers make a one-at-a-time nerve-wracking escape out the back door and throw their bikes into the camper, the drunk local, who hates the Bro gang for once breaking his legs, peels off and swings around to the front of the bar, stops, lights a cherry bomb (firecracker) and tosses it into the Bro gang’s motorcycles. BOOM! As the camper weaves and speeds away, the Bros rush out, furious; fire up their bikes, and give chase.
—Horror Situation:
The Bros suddenly all have same intimidating stare at dice game.
—Reaction:
Makes the bikers uncomfortable.

—Horror Situation:
A frustrated Bro grabs a winning pot he didn’t win.
—Reaction:
Shock. To avoid conflict, the bikers let him have it.

—Horror Situation:
The Bros chase the bikers on their motorcycles.
—Reaction:
Fear. Escape in a camper.

Denial of Horror:
—After twenty miles of winding roads, the crazy local lets the bikers out in the middle of nowhere, telling them that he will continue to lead the motorcycles far away, and for them not to worry. He takes off.
Now off the road, they watch as the Bro gang roars by. They breathe a sigh of relief, feeling safe to continue their exploratory adventure.
—Horror Situation:
They are dumped in Bro territory.
—Reaction:
Feeling unrooted, weird.

Safety taken away:
—The leader lost the map of the trail route he was making. And now there is a twenty-mile gap because of the camper ride from the bar to here. They decide to keep going. On the way back, they will fill in the road gap and pick up the trail they’d already mapped out, which is in recent memory.
—Horror Situation:
The leader loses the map.
—Reaction:
After some disagreement, the bikers decide to carry on; the map can be redrawn on their return.

Monster: The nature of the beast:
—After another day of dare-devil trail blazing and mapping, they come to a dirt road and espy the crazy drunk’s camper, abandoned. They figure he ran out of gas, then they carry on.
They discover what remains of him hanging upside down from a tree limb skinned from head to foot and both eyes missing.
—Horror Situation:
Finding the camper driver skinned and eyeless.
—Reaction:
Quit their trailblazing and head back fast as possible.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted:
—The terrified bikers decide to go no further, but high-tail it back. They must be alert for whoever is doing the killing and the Bro gang. They follow the route they took to get where they are, then hear motorcycles on their trail. It’s the Bro boys on their Honda 500s riding through the woods prowling for them. The bikers panic. They follow a raging river. One of them falls off a slippery log crossing into the river and is carried away.
—Horror Situation:
What to do after discovering the camper driver is skinned.
—Reaction:
An argument over going back or keep going ensues.

—Horror Situation:
The Bros are waiting for them at a dirt road crossing.
—Reaction:
Retreat. Find another way out.

They go after him, but he’s moving too fast and they lose sight of him. It’s tough going along the river. Hours later, they hear screaming in the distance and go towards it.
—Horror Situation:
Escaping the Bros.
—Reaction:
Find the river and follow it back.

—Horror Situation:
A biker falls into raging river.
—Reaction:
Follow the river and find him.

One of us killed:
—They find a naked man hanging upside down from a tree moaning. His skin has been half-peeled down over his head, like a T-shirt half pulled off. They lift the skin up and it’s their buddy. Both eyes are missing. They are freaked out and don’t know what to do. The skinned boy is barely alive and begs to die/live???. A biker reluctantly shoots him to put him out of his misery. A fight ensues with the boy’s brother until a truce is established—deal with it later.
—Horror Situation:
A biker’s skinned older brother is found skinned and eyeless, yet still barely alive, begging to die/or/not wanting to die???
—Reaction:
He is mercifully shot by the younger brother.

MIDPOINT: THE MONSTER IS WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT!
Full pursuit by the killer:
—The bikers now know that somebody means business. They are ever alert. The dead boy is lashed to his older brother’ back. The going is exhausting as they attempt to find the trail, or a road.
They discover a large, beat up cabin with a wisp of smoke rising from the chimney.
Terrorized:
—They knock at the door. Nobody answers. The door is open, so they go in to a scene of horror: A host of mannequins wrapped in human skin. A dental chair. A workbench with eyeballs encased in epoxy. A collector’s book of iris’ in round wafer-thin epoxy. There is a man with his back to us working at the bench, apparently oblivious to the intruders. What the fuck!!! They hear motorcycles approaching.
—Horror Situation:
The bikers unwittingly enter the monster’s cabin.
—Reaction:
They are horrified by the monster’s macabre creations.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death:
—They run out of the house, grab their bikes, and take off into the woods in a panic. They are chased by the Bros on motorcycles, who outnumber them. Soon three are caught in snares. The leader and another get away after some clever bike maneuvers that send a few Bros over cliffs to their deaths.
—Horror Situation:
Bikers captured in booby-trap snares.
—Reaction:
Struggle to get free.

Hysteria:
—The three captured bikers are hogtied to chairs in the cabin. There is the man with his back to us working at the bench. We now see he is carefully slicing the iris from an eyeball, then laying it into a form the size of a glasses lens. He pours clear epoxy into it and lets it set.
He turns around to face us. We see, for the first time, his horrifying face: The left hemisphere of his brain is missing. He wears an epoxy eyepatch with a bright blue iris in it (their friend’s eye). His other eye is dull, soulless black. He is chinless with an extended overbite exposing two prominent yellow incisors, which he uses to extract eyeballs, as if the incisors were genetically evolved for that purpose. His hair is in a braid over his right ear. No hair on the left side of his head, just a bubbly pink and gray depression. He has an iris fetish.
He plays a game of Ship, Captain, Crew using eyeballs instead of dice. When rolled, the person who has the most eyeballs staring towards him is strapped to the dental chair to have his eyeballs removed.
—Horror Situation:
The monster turns towards the captive bikers in the cabin.
—Reaction:
Horror at his looks and terrifyingly reassuring demeanor.

—Horror Situation:
Tied up to a chair made to watch buddy’s eyeballs removed.
—Reaction:
Profound fear, terror.

—Horror Situation:
Playing eyeball dice game.
—Reaction:
Utter terror knowing you’re going to lose your eyes eventually.

The thrilling escape from death:
—In the meantime, the two escapees decide to go back and somehow save the other three. They break in nervously holding a gun on the Bros. Two of their buddies now have no eyes and one is still screaming on the dental chair about to have his second eye removed. (Ironically, he’s the only one who ultimately survives.) They untie him and the others.
The leader shoots the monster in the head and down he goes. The blinded will have to be guided out while keeping the now furious Bros at bay.
—Horror Situation:
Two bikers escape, but friends are being tortured in cabin.
—Reaction:
Go back and save them.

—Horror Situation:
A Bro approaches a downed biker.
—Reaction:
A biker shoots him.

—Horror Situation:
The blind friends are impeding the survivor’s escape.
—Reaction:
Leave them behind or be killed yourself.

—Horror Situation:
On the way back, the three surviving bikers get lost in the fog.
—Reaction:
They search blindly for each other. One shoots a biker and wounds him in the leg. Now he must limp.

—Horror Situation:
Laughing voices in the woods yelling, “Boxcars,” the word our bikers would yell when they rolled a winning pair of double sixes.
—Reaction:
Fear. Uncertainty. Terror.

Death returns to take one or more:
—On the escape, the rest, but one, are killed in horrendous ways. The monster has survived and is killed again. [Will fill out the story here as we progress in the course.
—Horror Situation:
Can’t escape and survive without dumping blind friends.
—Reaction:
Reluctantly, facing reality, the bikers leave the blind behind.

—Horror Situation:
The Bros are observed getting nearer.
—Reaction:
The three remaining bikers cleverly creep around a lone gooseberry bush to avoid being seen.

—Horror Situation:
Survivor with one eye helps blind friend escape chasing Bros.
—Reaction:
Must ditch friend to survive.

—Horror Situation:
A blind friend is left behind to fend for himself.
—Reaction:
He goes insane, kills an attacking bro before being killed himself

Resolution:
—Back to civilization, the one-eyed survivor has a dream that the monster has survived and has come to take his other eye. The last thing we see is that the monster did survive and is proudly adding another epoxied eyeball to his collection.
—Horror Situation:
The monster enters the surviving bikers bedroom.
—Reaction:
He wakes up in a panic. It was a nightmare.

xxx

[Barry Barry Durbin Durbin]

Barry’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned from doing this assignment is that scary doesn’t have to be gore. I’ve learned to incorporate different situations that cause terror that are more psychological.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR
Atmosphere of Evil established: Native American guide with hikers crossing a stream on the outside of the forest tree line. They see movement and noises in the forest. An unseen creature lets out an extended, earth-shattering scream. Something is there and we don’t know what it is.

Connect with the characters: Characters are loading the vehicle for their trip and traveling to their destination.

Horror Situation: One character is hiding, jumping out at to surprise someone. Reaction: They scream, then laugh it off. Denial.
The characters are warned not to do it: An elderly Native American woman warns them about the spirit of Shampe, Choctaw word for Bigfoot and cautions them not to go.

Denial of Horror: The leader assures everyone that he is an expert woodsman, and they have nothing to worry about and the old lady is crazy.

Horror Situation: They get lost trying to find the cabin. They lose their sense of direction. Reaction: Solve it. The leader figures out the right way to go and calms everyone down.

Safety taken away: The car becomes disabled, and they discover there is no cell service at their location.

Horror Situation: Two characters venture out and kill a young mysterious creature and bring the body back to cabin. This will draw horror to them. Reaction: One character warns of the danger, while the others deny any danger.

Monster: The nature of the beast: With the dead young creature inside the cabin, the adult creature is lurking outside. It’s found them!

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: Trapped inside the cabin with the creature outside. They don’t know what is outside or how to defend themselves.

Horror Situation: Only one character can see the creature. Reaction: The other are in denial and don’t believe them.

Horror Situation: They hear the creature outside. They aren’t sure what it is. Reaction: They hide inside and try to stay quiet.

Horror Situation: The leader comes up with a plan to protect them. Reaction: The others disagree with his plan and causes an internal conflict.

Horror Situation: The light goes out causing them to be in the dark. Reaction: They search for a different light source.

Horror Situation: The creature goes silent. They think it’s gone, and the female character goes outside to look for her phone she dropped earlier. The Leader goes to protect her. The creature isn’t gone. The Leader tries to fight the creature. Reaction: The female frantically runs back to the cabin. The creature chases her, but she barely makes it back to safety.
Horror Situation: Those inside can hear horror happening outside the others. Reaction: They hide behind a barricade. They are almost hysterical.

One of us killed: The leader is killed.

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought: They now realize that the creature is after them.

Horror Situation: The female makes it back into the cabin. She becomes hysterical trying to recall what she saw. Reaction: They try to come up with another plan to kill the monster.

Full pursuit by the killer: Creature tries to gain access to the cabin, and they have to come up with a new plan to stop it.

Horror Situation: The creature circles the cabin, pounding on the walls. Reaction: They try to solve it by finding the weak spots and putting out barricades.

Horror Situation: As the creature gets near them, the Native character says something in Choctaw and the creature backs off. Reaction: The others are paranoid that he is part of the terror.

Terrorized: As the creature becomes more aggressive, the leader goes to confront the creature with a rifle. The weapon is of no use the leader is killed. Meghann is now ready to fight to the death.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR
Fight to the death: The remaining victims come up with a new plan.

Hysteria: Creature crashes through the cabin wall and snatches another victim pulling them out and killing them.

Horror Situation: Character is sitting with their back to the wall. The creature sneaks up without being noticed. Just when the person inside is relaxed, the creature crashes its arm through the wall and snatches them. We assume they’re dead. We don’t see them again. Reaction: The others become hysterical and try to escape by running to a different room in the cabin.

Horror Situation: As the characters run from the horror, one-character falls through the floor and lands in a hidden room (they find something to help fight the creature, e.g. Weapons, explosives, etc.) Reaction: The others are in a panic. They look for a way to get the person out.

Horror Situation: One character can’t contain themselves and run from the cabin hoping to reach safety. The creature stalks them. It seems to be all around them, but they can’t see it. It toys with him before killing him. Reaction: He runs trying to escape but fails.

Horror Situation: The two remaining characters come face-to-face with the creature. They are forced to fight to the death. Reaction: The two attempt to fight back with the weapons found in the hidden room.

The thrilling escape from death: Just two remain. The Native American male sacrifices his life thinking he will save Meghann. The creature destroys the cabin leaving Meghann hurt and under a pile of debris.

Death returns to take one or more: The creature finds the dead baby (or collect the Native artifact). Let’s out a blood curling scream, take the body and disappear. There is movement in the pile of debris, Meghann is alive.

Resolution: Creature takes the body, and we get a glimpse of its world, hidden from humans.

[Patricia Semler]

Pat’s Horror Situation Track
What I learned doing this assignment is taking this one step at a time slows my process to a crawl. I normally work with a broad stroke outline, not this level of detail and its pushing itself into a beat sheet. Cause and effect should be simplier than this.
ACT 1 –
Atmosphere of evil established –
In the past – Esperanza a bundle of starved bones, interred in root cellar. Last out behind the priest, a witch blesses her witchy bundle and hides it in a mouse hole.
HORROR SITUATION: Esperanza locked in the house
REACTION: She places a curse on the family
HORROR SITUATION: Witchy bundle inserted to bind her in
In the present – the house is on the fringe of a development property that can’t be touched – historic designation. Someone hurt on the job. Developer forced to restore not raze.
HORROR SITUATION: Impending doom – machines won’t work near house
REACTION: Try to solve. Fine we’ll restore the damn thing.
HORROR SITUATION: Innocents put in harm’s way

Connect with the characters – vocational HS, carpentry class. 2 girls deal with pranks and taunts, teacher Franklin their champion
HORROR SITUATION: character refuses to take action, not warning a classmate that he’s using a power tool wrong
REACTION: Escape. Teacher catches mistake before serious harm is done.
HORROR SITUATION: tensions created between students
Characters warned not to do it – Teacher Dahlia researching history of the house, dire gossip of hauntings and deaths. In this day and age? Come on. We’re keeping a part of our heritage alive and out of the hands of developers like Ivan.
HORROR SITUATION: Denial of horror. Ghost stories aren’t real.
REACTION: Move ahead with the renovation plans
HORROR SITUATION: forced into dangerous area. The access road is problematic, the house is in a remote area

Denial of horror – Ivan tries to bribe Franklin, then threatens them with ghost stories. Kids have absolutely no belief in the supernatural.
HORROR SITUATION: Threatened. The developer Ivan tries to talk them out of the project.
REACTION: Denial. Gen Z doesn’t believe in ghosts.
HORROR SITUATION: Whispers follow them through the house.

Safety taken away – they arrive at the house to find the construction workers have been pulled. They have the weekend to themselves and chancy cell service, no electricity or running water. Dahlia volunteers to get enough food and water for a long day.
HORROR SITUATION: Trapped. The development is fenced in with iffy cell service
REACTION: Denial. Let’s just work and things will resolve themselves.
HORROR SITUATION: Gen Z learns the hard way that missing modern conveniences are worse than poor internet connections.

Monster: nature of the beast – franklin tours the house to see the damage and decide where to start first. The roof. whisperings in the halls are shrugged off to old age. Up top one of the boys almost goes over the side after a pick point fails.
HORROR SITUATION: Lured into danger. Safety equipment undoes itself.
REACTION: Try to solve. Must have been a weak spot, move the anchor positions.
HORROR SITUATION: The witch can manipulate objects at will.
Face the monster: the kids find an old mirror, try the Bloody mary summoning. Dahlia sees the witch.
HORROR SITUATION: Face to face with the monster
REACTION: Hide. Dahlia covers the mirror, hoping that will be enough of a shield
HORROR SITUATION: Whisperings pick up as the witch incites discord to learn about these intruders

the developer Ivan dismisses the witchy bundle as meaningless, tosses it in a trash fire.
HORROR SITUATION: Warning. This is a spell, something we should know.
REACTION: Denial. He has less interest in ghost stories than the kids.
HORROR SITUATION: With the witchy bundle destroyed the witch is released from her prison

Act 2 point of no return
Isolated/trapped/abducted – Dahlia returns with supplies. A librarian follows to give her old diaries about the house.
HORROR SITUATION: Warning. Dahlia searches the old records for relevant history. Esperanza was some kind of Santeria wise woman.
REACTION: Escape. We should leave well enough alone.
When she leaves – she has some kind of accident that takes out the bridge on the only road in. The rest of the development is fenced off with 10 foot barricades.
HORROR SITUATION: The bridge has been destroyed. Cell service goes out completely. They’re stuck.
One of us is killed – one of the boys is freaked out by the whispers.
HORROR SITUATION: He’s lured into danger, herded to the root cellar where he’s enveloped in quicksand.
REACTION: Denial. No one misses him for a while.
HORROR SITUATION: Try to solve it by explaining it away as an accident. Be more careful.
Midpoint – work continues, but now the tools seem to be possessed and the whisperings are getting stronger.
HORROR SITUATION: Injured or wounded – the witch causes close calls, minor injuries.
REACTION: Denial. You’re not being serious about this job.
HORROR SITUATION: Denial. The Adults actively discount the superstitions.
Full pursuit by the killer -monster is worse than we thought – weather and the lost bridge traps them for a night. They camp out at the fireplace. Dahlia reads about Esperanza.
HORROR SITUATION: Trapped – by the lost bridge, locked development fences and approaching storm.
REACTION: Hide. We’ll camp out in the drawing room for the night. Dahlia works her way through the cursive diaries.
HORROR SITUATION: Denial. The kids aren’t buying it, laughing off the “typical” horror story themes.
Terrorized – pranks are no longer written off and tensions are rising. The girls feel threatened. Franklin dies in a fall off the roof when his harness undoes itself before his eyes.
HORROR SITUATION: forced into a dangerous environment
REACTION: Fight. Franklin goes to the roof to secure loose boards. Dies in a fall.
HORROR SITUATION: Escape. There must be a way out. We can shelter in the machine cabs.

Act 3 full of horror
Fight to the death – dahlia is left to keep the kids safe. But where can they go? The house is working against them. What happens to their vehicles? If they try to drive out how does the witch stop them? Ivan dies here.
HORROR SITUATION: See another killed. Ivan is strangled by power cords
REACTION: Escape. Run. Keep moving. Pray for help.
HORROR SITUATION: Hysteria – can we cut through the fence? Can we hide in the construction shacks? A momentary respite but still vulnerable.
REACTION: Hide, but the safety is only temporary
HORROR SITUATION: thrilling escape from death – a machine is possessed, demolishes the shack they’re sheltering in, forced to return to the house.
REACTION: Denial. Panic. We don’t know what to do.
Death returns to take one or more – who dies now? Dahlia faced with a blood sacrifice to save the remaining kids.
HORROR SITUATION: Face to face with the monster.
REACTION: Fight. Dahlia finally finds a possible strategy to use against the witch but it calls for replacing the baby shoes, which are destroyed.
HORROR SITUATION: The alternative – a blood sacrifice. The witch teases her about her nonbelief. I’ll show you what you can do, but I know you won’t do it.
Resolution – Esperanza is imprisoned once more. The remaining kids try to explain what happened. The runaway machines are blamed and the development put on hold as historians demand the house be preserved.
HORROR SITUATION: Walking into a trap
REACTION: Dahlia keeps the witch busy while the last of the kids make their way to the fallen bridge.
HORROR SITUATION: sacrifice. Dahlia completes the spell with her own blood, forced at the last second to join the witch in her prison.
REACTION: Denial. The town can’t simply raze the house so the development has to move elsewhere. The place is boarded up and cordoned off.

[David Zelitzky]

David Z’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned doing this assignment is this is the crux of the construction and the most difficult for me. Creating the bones to hang the story on is basically writing the movie in short hand and I need to continuously let go of the resistance to creation and allow myself the flexibility to throw out multiple ideas – any of which can change throughout the creative process.

ACT 1
Atmosphere of Evil established: Open on unknown girl being dragged into the basement by faceless/masked man and shackled in the dark

The Barn Punishment (Psychological & Physical Torture)

Victim: Ryan (First to rebel)
Trigger: Ryan makes a sarcastic joke about authority at dinner. Jordan laughs. Dad has it out for him.

Horror: The Colonel forces Ryan Jordan outside in the dead of night, stripping him down to his underwear and tying him to a post in the freezing barn. The Colonel whispers in his ear: “Disobedience must be corrected.”
REACTION: No one knows what happened to him. He’s gone in the morning. They assume he just took off cause of the pressure.
The Sargeant is not surprised.
Do we see a glimpse of the monster in the window?

2. The “Cleanse” (Waterboarding with a Sinister Twist)
Victim: Jude
Trigger: Jude kisses their boyfriend/girlfriend by the fire.

Horror: The Colonel believes in “purification” and forces Jude into an old, water-filled livestock trough, holding their head under while calmly instructing them to “repent.” The others scream, helpless.
Escalation: Just before Jude drowns, the Colonel stops, letting them gasp for air. He coldly warns: “Love should be clean, not indulgent.” The implication is clear—next time, he won’t stop.
They hear screams. Catch sight of the monster. jude is unconscious. they know something is going on. They need to stick together.
The father says they can’t leave. It’s booby trapped. He’s a paranoid schiphrenic and they’re catching on to the fact that he has something to do with this.

3. The Obedience Drill (Military Training Turned Torture)
Victim: Tasha
Trigger: Tasha tries to escape in the night.
Horror: The Colonel catches her and forces her into a brutal, impossible obstacle course in the dark. She must crawl through barbed wire, climb an electrified fence, and sprint through an open field while dodging rifle shots at her feet.
Escalation: If she fails, the Colonel forces her to watch a live-feed of her captured friends being punished, ensuring she follows orders.
4. The Sermon Room (Mind-Breaking Isolation)

Victim: Marcus
Trigger: Marcus defends Claire and refuses to kneel when ordered.

Horror: The Colonel locks Marcus in a pitch-black soundproof room with only a speaker playing old recordings of his sermons: “Obedience is strength. Disobedience is sin.”

Escalation: The darkness warps his mind. The whispers in the recording start to distort—Marcus hears his own father’s voice, his own self-doubts, his worst memories. It’s not just discipline—it’s psychological warfare.

5. The Silent Hunt (Prey vs. Predator)
Victim: The entire group

Trigger: They attempt to escape through the woods.

Horror: The Colonel cuts the ranch floodlights, leaving them in total darkness. Then, he starts hunting them.
Escalation: He whistles an eerie military cadence, his voice echoing. He taunts them over the loudspeakers: “You think you’re free? Run. Let’s see how far you get.”
Twist: He’s set silent traps—bear traps, tripwires, and hidden pits filled with sharpened bones from past victims.

6. The Confessional (Forced Confessions & Electric Torture)
Victim: Claire
Trigger: Claire challenges the Colonel’s authority.

Horror: The Colonel straps Claire to an antique electric chair in the basement, forcing her to confess her “sins” while slowly increasing the voltage.

Escalation: He doesn’t ask about escaping—he demands she admit her queerness is a mistake. The true horror isn’t just the pain—it’s that Claire’s own father wants her to erase herself.

7. The Scapegoat Execution (A Friend is Forced to Kill Another) – after Colonel sees them make out…
Victim: Ryan and Marcus

Trigger: The group refuses to obey a command.

Horror: The Colonel drags Ryan and Marcus into the yard and places a loaded rifle between them. He tells Marcus: “Kill him, or I kill you both.”

Escalation: If Marcus refuses, the Colonel shoots Ryan himself—then hands the gun to Marcus for the next round. The horror isn’t just the death—it’s forcing a friend to become a killer.

8. The Branding Ritual (Scarring for Obedience)
Victim: Jude
Trigger: They talk back after the Colonel misgenders them.

Horror: The Colonel ties Jude down and heats a branding iron, saying: “If you don’t know who you are, let me brand you with what you really are: disobedient.”
Escalation: The brand is shaped like a Bible verse—a permanent scar of religious control. But before he presses it down, the lights flicker, and he hesitates—his own demons surfacing.

9. The Mirror Punishment (Forcing the Colonel to Face Himself)

Victim: The Colonel himself (Unintentional Horror)

Trigger: The group finds his hidden past—his love letters and old photos of a male lover.

Horror: Ryan and Claire throw the old letters at him, forcing him to read them aloud. His repression breaks into pure rage.
Escalation: He begins self-harming, scratching at his own skin, screaming that it’s a lie. The monster isn’t just external—it’s inside him, eating him alive.

10. The Final Act: The Boiling Room (Transformation into the True Monster)
Victim: The Colonel
Trigger: The group finally turns the tables.

Horror: The group traps the Colonel in the basement boiler room, where the heat warps his mind. He finally sees himself in the mirror—and sees the monster.

Escalation: His hallucinations intensify. He sees the ghost of his former lover. He screams, attacking his own reflection. His body contorts in the heat, his mind fully broken.

Climax: Instead of dying, he locks himself inside, embracing the flames rather than face the truth of what he is. His final words are not of rage, but of regret: “I could have been free.”

A Villain Who Breaks Himself: The Colonel isn’t just destroyed by the group—he’s destroyed by the truth he tried to bury.
Would you like any of these expanded into full scenes or dialogue? 🎬🔥

ACT 2

1. The Forced Dinner (Eating with the Dead)
Victim: The whole group

Trigger: The group refuses to sit for dinner after the first punishment.

Horror: The Colonel drags them back to the table, force-feeding them while a rotting corpse sits at the head of the table—the mummified remains of a past victim who “didn’t obey.”

Escalation: He speaks to the corpse as if it were still alive, saying: “Unlike you, these kids think they can disobey me.”
Reaction: Claire vomits, Jude starts crying, and Ryan tries to flip the table but gets pistol-whipped.

2. The “Brotherhood” Ritual (Psychosexual Horror)
Victim: Marcus

Trigger: Marcus refuses to hit another friend as ordered.

Horror: The Colonel forces Marcus into an old military-style initiation, stripping him to his underwear, smearing mud on his face, and whispering: “You need to be made into a real man.”

Escalation: He caresses Marcus’s face but instantly recoils in disgust, breathing heavily as though fighting himself. Then, enraged, he forces Marcus to kneel at gunpoint, screaming, “Say you’re weak!”

Reaction: Marcus starts hyperventilating, realizing the Colonel’s rage is a mask for something even more dangerous.
3. The Gas Mask of Silence (Sensory Deprivation & Horror)
Victim: Jude

Trigger: They scream defiantly at the Colonel.
Horror: The Colonel straps an old military gas mask onto Jude’s face—but blocks the airflow, forcing them to struggle for breath.

Escalation: As they thrash, the Colonel whispers: “You don’t get to speak. You don’t get to exist.” Just before they black out, he removes it, making it clear: “Next time, I don’t take it off.”

Reaction: Jude hyperventilates as soon as it’s removed. Later, they whisper, “He wants to erase us.”

4. The “Hunting Dog” Execution (Turning Victims into Killers)
Victim: Tasha
Trigger: Tasha tries to attack the Colonel with a knife.
Horror: The Colonel breaks her wrist, takes the knife, and hands it to Marcus, ordering him to “prove his loyalty” by stabbing Tasha.
Escalation: If Marcus refuses, the Colonel cuts her himself and hands Marcus the bloody blade.
Reaction: Marcus, sobbing, fakes a stab just to get the Colonel to stop. Later, Tasha whispers, “He’s making us into him.”
5. The Ashes of Sin (Forced Body Horror & Branding)
Victim: Ryan
Trigger: Ryan mocks the Colonel’s rules.
Horror: The Colonel burns a Bible page and forces Ryan to hold the ashes in his mouth, whispering, “Cleanse your filthy soul.”
Escalation: He duct tapes Ryan’s mouth shut and leaves him gagging on the ashes.
Reaction: Ryan convulses and nearly suffocates, later whispering: “He wants us to choke on his rules.”
6. The Flooding Cellar (Drowning & Psychological Horror)
Victim: Claire
Trigger: Claire openly defies him.
Horror: The Colonel locks Claire in a dark basement as water begins flooding in. She must either escape or drown in total darkness.
Escalation: The Colonel speaks over an intercom: “Obedience is breath. Disobedience is drowning.”
Reaction: Claire, gasping, starts hallucinating her mother warning her to escape.

ACT 3 – FIGHTING, RESSURECTION – ULTIMATE FIGHT

DISCOVERS KATIE – EX GIRLFRIEND SHE THOUGHT GHOSTED HER

7. The Mirror Room (Forcing Self-Hatred into the Open)
Victim: The Colonel (Unintentional Horror)
Trigger: The group leaves his old love letters out for him to see.
Horror: He stares at his reflection and sees himself as monstrous—his skin cracked, his younger self begging to be free.
Escalation: He punches the mirror repeatedly until his hands are bleeding, screaming at his reflection, “You are not real!”
Reaction: The group sees this moment and realizes: His worst fear is himself.
8. The Glass Coffin (Being Buried Alive)
Victim: Jude
Trigger: They keep fighting back despite torture.
Horror: The Colonel buries Jude alive in a glass box underground, forcing them to stare up at the dirt slowly covering the surface.
Escalation: A small intercom inside plays the Colonel’s voice: “Let the weight of your sins crush you.”
Reaction: The others frantically dig Jude out, but Jude emerges screaming, unable to stop clawing at their own skin.
9. The Branding Iron of Sin (Horrific Public Shame)
Victim: Marcus
Trigger: Marcus refuses to denounce his bisexuality.
Horror: The Colonel heats a branding iron with the word “FRAUD” and presses it against Marcus’s chest, declaring: “This is what happens to men who lie to themselves.”
Escalation: If Marcus passes out, the Colonel slaps him awake, forcing him to repeat: “I am a fraud.”
Reaction: Later, Marcus whispers to Claire: “I never hated myself before. He wants me to.”
10. The Final Horror: The Self-Destruction (The Monster’s True Form Emerges)
Victim: The Colonel (Final Transformation)
Trigger: Claire reveals his past love to the others.
Horror: The Colonel physically starts convulsing, his mind breaking. He sees his younger self, and in a terrifying moment of body horror, he scratches his own face raw, screaming, “I will kill this part of me!”
Escalation: Instead of killing Claire, he burns his own skin, trying to “purge” himself.
Reaction: Claire whispers: “You are the real monster. And you’re afraid of yourself.” The Colonel stares at her, terrified—not of her, but of what he’s become.
Why These Escalations Work
The Colonel Becomes the Monster: His punishments start as discipline but transform into horrific self-destruction.
Queer Horror as Psychological Terror: The group isn’t just physically tortured—they are forced to confront the horror of oppression, conversion tactics, and forced shame.
Repression is the True Horror: The Colonel becomes his own punishment. His monstrous actions aren’t just violence—they are his own mind trying to erase itself.

[Ira Drower]

I Lewis Drower’s Horror Situation Track
I learned from this lesson how to piece horror situations together into a story. It’s like picking dishes from a Chinese menu. One from column A, one from column B, only in this case are the choices dismemberment of a person, someone shot, stabbed, tortured, trapped, etc. All tasty dishes, indeed.

Act I. Set Up for Horror
Atmosphere of evil established: two Mexican drug Cartel members operating an illegal marijuana crop relax and fish at the nearby long-closed Summer Camp. They are suddenly attacked by an unknown creature lurking in the lake.
Horror Situation: Environment Changing around them. The men notice the trees and grass swaying but there is no wind. A blood-red moon rises high into the night sky.
Reaction: Denial: They question the trees movement while drinking beer but do nothing.
Horror situation: Attacked: One man is harpooned by a tentacle shot out from a large water plant dragging him into lake as it opens a mouth filled with teeth.
Reaction: Friends in Danger: Second man attempts to save his partner as he wades into lake a few feet and uses his belt for the caught man to grab. Failing that…
Horror Situation: Monster Approaching: The carnivorous plant pulls the man closer to its mouth.
Reaction: Fight/Escape: The man grabs is rifle and fires it at the creature’s mouth as it pulls its prey closer. The gunfire causes the plant to release his friend. The second man wades into the lake to retrieve him.
Horror Situation: Injured, Wounded, debilitated: The two men run from the lake only to be attacked by a tree branch which knocks them both toward the shoreline.
Reaction: Escape: One man is harpooned again and pulled beneath the water. The second man attempts to run again only to be caught by a vine.
Horror Situation: Trapped: The vine wraps around the man’s legs as he is dragged into a small shack 50 yards from the embankment. The door closes behind him.
Reaction: Denial: A light goes on inside the shed. A menacing shadow rises behind the man who screams. Then silence.

Connect with Characters: Meet the teens from a group home for young adults who were former wards of the state. They are having dinner together with Jack, Diane’s boyfriend. Jack makes fun of food cooked by Rob, one of the groups. Everyone raves about the food and asks for seconds even though it is terrible. Talk about what they should do this weekend. Each resident either thought they saw Caretaker or received an automated email or text message about 7-year reunion at their old Summer Camp.
Deceptive Situations: Lured into the Horror: The characters are warned not to do it. Resident Director of group home informs the teens there are warnings of flash floods in the area near the closed camp where they wish to visit.
Denial of Horror: Teens brush off storm warnings from the Resident Director of the group home. Always felt safe at Madame Marie’s camp even though they have no memory of anything that happened there. This is the last weekend getaway before college and new jobs start. Nothing will stop them from fun and games.
Safety taken away: Make it to camp. Discover no cell phone service. No cell service in valley. Search of area discovers no one. Stuck listening to Skeeter’s playlist.
Horror Situation: Group views video of pot grower’s cell phone showing guns, crops, gang-approved message kind of video. They see monstrous sized carnivorous plants.
Reaction: Denial: Mixed reactions between concern and “we can handle them” from the guys. Leah and Tony are concerned about Cartel’s quick exit from the site. Skeeter identifies the plants by Latin name starting with the pot plants and remarks how huge they are. The group views a plant trapping and consuming a rodent.

Act II. The Point of No Return
Isolated/Trapped/Abducted: The flash flood wiped out only access/exit from the area. The valley and hills prevent cell service from working. The group decides Tony will ride out in the morning and find cell service. Jack storms off after the group plays a joke on him and sits in his car. Becky returns from a late evening swim.
Monster: Spooky: An unknown entity shadows Becky to the shore. As she exits the water a Blood Red Moon rises.
Horror Situation: Attacked: Becky walks toward the group still laughing outside the cabin. She steps on some ground moss and her leg falls into the mouth of a voracious plant which chews on her foot. As the group rushes to her aid, they are attacked by tree branches, vines, spikes from bushes, Jack’s car is attacked by vines and tall grass.
Reaction: Fight: Jack drives car back through the camp grounds toward the group dodging and being hit by tree branches and bushes as he strikes back through the window with a small baseball bat. As Jack runs over the vines and bushes some teens are freed and retreat to house as Tony, Leah, and Skeeter help Becky. Jack pulls Diane inside as she tries to help Becky.
One of us is killed: Becky is bleeding out fast.
They pull and cut the long grasses wrapped from Becky that the ground plant shot out to grab and hold Becky. They barricade themselves in the cabin. Confusion and anger rise in the teens.
Horror Situation: Becky’s leg is almost severed, losing lot of blood. She will die without medical help.
Reaction: Denial: Grace is in denial. Rob tries to list what the hell is going on but is freaking out. Skeeter is by Becky’s side holding her hand trying to comfort her. Leah applies a tourniquet on Becky’s leg.
Reaction: Escape: Tony decides to ride out on his bicycle now to get help.
Midpoint – The monster is worse than we thought
Horror Situation: Terrorized: The teens are trapped in a cabin as they try to fend off carnivorous plant creatures. Plants continue their assault on cabin.
Reaction: Fight Back: Jack rallies the group to fight back. They come up with a plan to search the shed for weapons to use against the plants.
Horror Situation: Walking into a Trap: Tony uses his skills to reach the edge of the Campsite avoiding the attacking plants and trees. As he turns to avoid another attacking bush he confronts three armed cartel soldiers in search of their associates.
Reaction: Escape/Hide: Tony tries to use the swaying trees to hide while returning to the cabin to warn the others but is shot as the soldiers shoot in all directions at the attacking plants.
Horror Situation: Shackled/Kidnapped: The Caretaker appears at the shed and captures the teens.
Horror Situation: The Caretaker ties Leah and Rob and straps Jack to the grafting table.
Reaction: Denial: Jack doesn’t believe what is happening to him. Rob and Leah are next and struggle with vines that bind them.
Horror Situation: Torture/Transformation into something else: When Caretaker leaves the shed, a shadow appears to grow from the ground. It injects a green liquid (Chlorophyll) into Jack’s veins while pumping out his blood. Jack turns into a carnivorous plant creature.
Reaction: Escape: Rob uses a box cutter he swiped from the workbench earlier to free himself and Leah and escape from the shed with shears, a portable tank with a hose, and chain saw.
Horror Situation Trapped: The teens are again trapped in a cabin as they collect tools and weapons to try to fend off the carnivorous plant creatures and the Caretaker.
Reaction: Fight: Skeeter comforts Becky. Grace boils water for a leg amputation. Leah and Rob return with tools and weapons to use to battle the plants and try to retrieve Jack’s car to escape.

Act III. Full out Horror
Horror Situation: Tormented/Another Character Loses It: Tony returns to the cabin, wounded. Shots are fired outside the cabin. Diane cuts off Becky’s leg.
Reaction: Hysteria: Grace becomes hysterical and runs out of the cabin. Leah runs after her.

Full Pursuit by Killer:
Fight to the Death: Leah and Grace retreat to the cabin after finding safety in the Marie’s garden. The cabin is being ripped apart by branches and vines and now mobile plant creatures. Tony returns.
Horror Situation: Tormented /Friend in Danger: Grace and Leah confront Caretaker outside.
Reaction: Fight: Leah sprays Caretaker with salty water from the spray tank, blinding Caretaker. Grace runs off toward Miss Marie’s Mystic Garden, Leah runs back to the main cabin.
Horror Situation: Paranoia /Menacing Stranger: Two drug Cartel members burst into the cabin with guns drawn.
Reaction: Try to Solve It: Tony collapses on floor. Leah lets a vine in as she returns to attack Cartel member. Skeeter saves the cartel guys and swings a deal – an alliance to defeat the plants.
Character Death: Becky dies.
Horror Situation: Torture/Injured/Transformed: leaf stalks begin to appear from Becky’s leg. Tony’s features take on a wooden appearance as he picks up Becky’s body and exits the cabin , walking toward the lake. The lost cartel member appears as a giant carnivorous plant with extending vines for arms.
Reaction: Denial: The brother of the lost gang member stands before him frozen in terror.
Character Death: One cartel guy is captured by the plants (his brother) and ripped apart.
The Thrilling Escape from Death: Grace discovers the plants are moving toward Marie’s Mystic Garden. Skeeter discovers the plants’ weakness, an aversion to salt.
Character Death: Tormented/Save another Char: Rob sacrifices himself for Leah and is killed as a giant mobile Venus Flytrap that ensnares and dissolves him.
Horror Situation: Pursued/Out of Frying Pan into Fire: The Cartel boss goes berserk and starts a massive fire to kill everything in the campsite, the third cartel guy runs into the monster Jack.
Character Death: 3rd Cartel gang member killed by Jack.
Reaction: Fight back: – Skeeter rushes off to storage shed for 50 lb. bags of salt. Diane and Leah hook up a hose to the water tank. Cartel leader uses machete on plants as he burns with them.
Horror Situation: Spooky: As the Cartel leader heads toward the lake he is dragged into lake by lake plant.
Character Death: Cartel Gang Leader killed by plant in the lake
Reaction: Fight back: – Leah, Diane, and Skeeter grab bags of Salt and dump them into the large water tank by Miss Marie’s Garden. Grace grabs the hose as Leah helps Diane. Skeeter faces Miss Marie who moves underground to try toppling the water tank.
Death Returns: Although the killer plants are dead, or horribly blanched, the Caretaker returns.
Character Death: Leah is killed by a water plant inside the tank when she dives underwater to clear an obstruction.
Horror Situation: Pursued/Attacked: Plants close in on Diane, Skeeter, and Leah. Caretaker says he tried to warn them but Miss Marie already injected you.
Reaction: Fight: Grace returns to help with Diane hosing the half-creatures and plants with salt water. The water tower is toppled, and the water kills the approaching plants.
Horror Situation: Isolated/Forces of Nature: As the blood-red moon disappears, a thunderstorm pops up putting out the remaining fires.
Reaction: Relief: Grace, Diane, and Skeeter relax for a minute as the forest recedes and the fires are quenched.
Horror Situation: Tormented/Possession: As Grace sits at the edge of Mystic Gardens a hand reaches out and grabs Grace’s hand. Grace is possessed by the spirit of Miss Marie.
Reaction: Escape: Grace doesn’t move. Skeeter pulls Diane away.
Resolution: Skeeter and Diane return to their lives in LA awaiting the time when they will change into a plant. Grace applies for a business license to reopen Mystic Gardens.

[Pam Ewing]

Pam’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned from this assignment is that I like thinking about it more than actually writing it down! But this is a good approach for a procrastinator like me.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

• Atmosphere of Evil established

Horror Situation: Streetlight flickers at night woman takes out trash in the alley. Dogs fight angrily. She hears a crack nearby.

– Reaction: Startled she trips and falls into muck.

Horror Situation: Rodents stare at her. Boots appear by her.

– Reaction: She yelps and covers her face. But it is a neighbor also taking out trash. Neighbor helps her up. They chat about her wedding trip tomorrow.

Horror Situation: She opens the loaded trash bin and is greeted by a dead animal covered in swarming maggots. It takes a minute for the image to register as she drops bag on it and is splashed with decay.

– Reaction: She runs away screaming and stripping off the gunk. The neighbor laughs and calls after her with comment that will later be ironically significant as a warning.

• Connect with the characters – Disheveled and dazed the woman returns to her apartment as people are leaving dropping intro intel. One of the men, not her fiancé, is protective of her.

Horror Situation: Her fiancé looks on angrily. She sees him as his look flashes demonic.

– Reaction: Terrified she faints into the other man’s arms.

• Denial of Horror – She sleeps fitfully.

Horror Situation: Nightmare as a beautiful, mottled sunset is transformed into swarming maggots and attacking snakes.

– Reaction: She wakes up to see her friend upset on a phone call about missing product for her research. Her friend hangs up and they discuss last night’s fright and dismiss it. They finishing packing for the destination wedding.

• Safety taken away – The tipsy wedding party deplanes in Haiti

Horror Situation: Voodoo omen pops at airport.

– Reaction: Bride hyperventilates but tries to brave it out.

Horror Situation: They all settle into a creepy private resort.

– Reaction: While most laugh it off, she withdraws. The same protective man from the party, looks out for her.

Monster: The nature of the beast

Horror Situation: Groom viciously attacks the man. She sees the groom’s skin ripple and muscles explode.

– Reaction: she screams in horror which halts the fight. Her friend kicks the men out.

Horror Situation: The groom spouts anger indicating an abusive personality.

– Reaction: The bride says the wedding is putting him on edge and her nervous behavior is responsible (red flag response).

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

• Isolated / Trapped / Abducted

Horror Situation: Bride steps out of her cabin drinks in the sun when a bag is thrown over her head.

– Reaction: fights until choking on the ground – her friends are kidnapping her to a wedding shower.

Horror Situation: The groom has planned tattoos for all. The groom demands that her tattoo, and only hers, be done in red. Next to the tattoo shop is a voodoo priest who gives each a “reading”/warning/symbol/talisman/tattoo designation

– Reaction: Even surprising herself, the bride tries to find out more about voodoo

• One of us killed –

Horror Situation: while the wedding party is getting tattoos and having their fortunes told, man who was comforting to the bride reacts to the tattoo causing his body to contort and he dies a gruesome death. The bride’s girlfriend becomes worried about the death as it reminds her of her medical research.

– Reaction: the bride clings to the dying man then runs to get the voodoo priest for answers

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!

• Full pursuit by the killer –

Horror Situation: The bride tells her friend she wants to postpone the wedding which creates a chain reaction IN her – the tattoo becomes direct communication with an entity IN her writing on her arm. She also finds herself robotically saying that the wedding must proceed. The groom tries to hold her.

– Reaction: Bride runs away. Her friend follows. They walk on the beach. Ironically they find the location of the next day’s wedding.

Horror Situation: The writing on her arm erupts in symbols and messages.

– Reaction: Bride tries to scrape off her skin to stop messages. Her friend tells her it might be related to her medical research.

• Terrorized – The groom finds them and takes the bride away before her friend can tell her more

Horror Situation: the bride’s arm has a visceral reaction to the boyfriend and gives her headaches.

– Reaction: Bride plays compliant then pretends to sleep.

Horror Situation: She sees him physically transform in a nonhuman way as he gives her a caress.

– Reaction: She tries not to react as she pretend to sleep. As he showers, she mumbles to herself and the writing on her arm answers.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

• Fight to the death – The bride runs to her friend.

Horror Situation: Her friend tries to tell her about her research but her mouth contorts – she can’t talk. The friend seems to be fighting herself but tries to choke her/push her over the railing/fights her

– Reaction: the bride gravely injures her friend as she fights back. The friend gives her a message.

Horror Situation: The groom shows up and kills her friend. He is demonically deformed. He explains that this is very innocent, he just wanted to help her over her jitters, so he borrowed nanotech research from her friend.

– Reaction: she turns to her arm asking what she can do?

• Hysteria –

Horror Situation: She discovers that the groom is manipulating the thing in her – he took the nanotech from her friend’s research – he injected her with nanotech – he is reprogramming her/it. They fight but she escapes. He also injected it into himself to control his strength.

– Reaction: It shows her a way to shut off his computer access. Then it says more red ink. She runs to the tattoo shop.

Horror Situation: The groom has morphed. He can’t use the computer to control the tech in him anymore so the process continues to twist him. He takes off after her.

– Reaction: it is a race in which she uses the ink to get more power herself.

• The thrilling escape from death – She breaks into the tattoo shop. The owner appears from the back office.

Horrific Situation: the groom has caught up to her and is also trying to break into the shop.

– Reaction: she tries to explain she needs the red ink or the substance added to it. The tattoo owner calls the cops and tries reason with her.

• Death returns to take one or more –

Horror Situation: The groom breaks in and kills the shop owner.

– Reaction: she finds the red ink and fills an array of needles with it. She slaps the needle array onto her hip/back/butt. The whites of her eyes swirl with ink. She is bonding to the entity to save herself.

– She hides waiting for the ink to give her answers. She tries to talk to the ink, but it is not working.

Horror Situation: The groom stalks her around the shop. He talks about how her so smart friend used him to help her program the nanotech so he helped himself to the tech that only he could control. She is grabbed.

– Reaction: She fights but it is the voodoo priest from next door who pulls her out through a connecting door.

Horror Situation: The voodoo priest and shop are terrifying.

– Reaction: She begs the voodoo priest not to do anything to her. To her surprise the voodoo priest admits being a total fraud to earn a good living off the tourist trade.

Horror Situation: the groom breaks into the voodoo shop. The voodoo priest uses a powder that disorients the groom.

– Reaction: The priest shows her to a back alley and they run away.

• Resolution –

Horror Situation: The voodoo priest falls and can’t move.

– Reaction: she tries to drag the voodoo priest with her but the best they can do is to hide the priest. In parting the priest says there is a word for her – cure.

Horror Situation: She has run to the beach and is stopped by rocks and waves on one side and the approaching groom on the other side. Oddly, it is the photogenic wedding site set up for their sunrise wedding.

– Reaction: She readies herself for a fight. Her arm itches. She scratches and notices that the nanotech is back at work. Her skin swirls with designs.

Horrific Situation: She fights the groom while stealing glances to read her arm.

– Reaction: The ink is not telling her how to fight. It talks about its design to cure ovarian cancer. She kicks the groom in the balls.

Horrific Situation: The police are running toward them on the beach and the groom is morphing painfully.

– Reaction: Waiting for the police she pins him down and asks him what the nanotech programmed for. He says cancer. She says yes – ovarian cancer – specifically designed to work only in XX chromosome – it goes crazy in the pesky Y chromosome is encountered.

Horrific Situation: She looks in the mirror and her eyes swirl with red.

– Reaction: She talks to it. We are stuck with each other for now so behave. She dons sunglasses. The airport PA calls out departing flights.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by  Pam Ewing.