Lesson 6

[Hiram Taylor]

LESSON #6 – CHARACTER DEATH TRAP

Hiram Taylor – Character Death Trap
TITLE: MINDBENDER

What I learned is writing a horror is like solving a puzzle you fill in one piece at a time.

SURVIVOR: THE STRANGER: He has never killed anyone.
SURVIVOR: He is Justice, Only kills an unrepentant murderer by making the guilty look at their sins until they kill themselves.
FIRST KILLED: BROTHER DAVID – An old Monk, we never know why he is killed, or what his sins are.
2ND KILLED: BROTHER SILAS – A young, handsome monk, a sculpture, who knocked a young girl up and then killed her to keep her quiet. HOW HE DIES: Beats his head against the concrete wall.
3RD KILLED: BROTHER RICHARD – The cook – He poisoned the members of a Frat House because they did not select him to become a member and burned the house down and escaped justice. HOW HE DIES: He burns to death.
4TH KILLED: BROTHER BANNER – He killed a baby in a hit-and-run accident in a stolen car then returned the car to where he stole it and the owner, an innocent man, went to jail for the crime. HOW HE IS KILLED: He is locked in a meat locker and freezes to death.
5TH KILLED: BROTHER MATHIAS – the head monk, raped many boys over the years and one boy killed himself after telling the Bishop. The church covered his crimes up sent Mathias to run a silent monastery where no priest could discuss their sins. HOW HE DIES: He is stabbed by Brother Corvus and beaten to death by Brother Peyton.
6TH KILLED: BROTHER CORVUS – a serial killer who loved to torture his victims. He stabs Brother Mathias. HOW HE DIES: He is shot by Brother Peyton.
7TH KILLED: BROTHER PEYTON – he bashes Brother Mathias’s head with a tray and shoots Brother Corvus. HOW HE DIES: He hangs himself.

[Aaron Clow]

Aaron’s Character Death Track

What I learned doing this assignment is… This is going to take developing more characters. I hadn’t intended on making the Campers important, but if the first death is supposed to be shocking, they’re going to have to be more fleshed out than they typical group of kids in a movie that get killed first. I hope to do some more work on this soon, but this process is helping my outline come together.

Organize (character list):

The Developer
The Developer’s Assistant
The Police Chief
The Hunter who shot his friend
The Campers
The Environmentalist

Character Death 1: The Hunter
Why: He was “innocent,” but is now actively trying to attack the monster
How: The monster drowns him in a pool of water. He is later found downstream, outside the preserve.

Character Death 2: The Campers
Why: Their callousness and inconsideration of the forces of nature
How: Several are trampled by a herd of ghost bison, the last one is gored by a wild boar

Character Death 3: The Developer’s Assistant
Why: Shock value, the developer will be on his own to figure everything out
How: Falls off a cliff – we aren’t sure if the monster or the environmentalist is responsible

Character Death 4: The Environmentalist
Why: As a warning – the monster is not messing around and NO one is safe, not even its caretakers
How: The monster kills him

Character Death 5: The Police Chief
Why: Raise the stakes for the developer – no turning back now
How: The developer accidentally lures him into the monster’s trap

Character Death 6: The Developer
Why: Closure – the preserve will remain intact from developers
How: The monster takes its last victim

[Selma Ahmed]

Selma’s Character Death Track
What I learned doing this assignment is the emphasis on death/ methods of death drives the plot forward, adding the depth to the storyline.
Character Death 1: Richard. Death by hanging.
Why? It starts to increase the horror (they made a bad decision, didn’t take the witch seriously) He was a practical joker so there is confusion and added shock and horror when he is killed. …Because the monster made the decision.
• How? Sacrificed / Surprised / blindsided

Character Death 2: Grandmother. Burning to death (birthday candles).
Why? (moral reason) She is the matriarch; she has carried on Jennet’s ancestral line (the child who denounced her family as witches). …Because the monster made the decision.
• How? Surprised / blindsided

Character Death 3: Tony. Drawing and quartering.
Why? (character flaw; moral) He has the capacity of continuing the ancestral line with Martha. He is also a flirt, and a ‘know it all.’ …Because the monster made the decision.
• How? Charge blindly into action

Character Death 4: Angel. Beheaded.
Why? (made a bad decision) She tries to help, to save the others. …Because the monster made the decision.
• How? Escape attempt takes them into it

Character Death 5: Martha. strangled.
Why? (made a bad decision) The witch is stronger than her. But ultimately her death saves her daughter.
• How? Attempt something that fails