[Debbera Hayward]

Assignment Four: Debbera’s Horror Plot

What I learned from this lesson is that the questions help stimulate the “little grey cells”.

1. Act 1

a. Atmosphere of Evil established: Flashback of cousins in bedroom. They have been sent to bed but instead of going to sleep they are being raucous, pillow fighting, giggling, jumping from bed to bed. Their uncle comes in and admonishes them. He tells them the story about the Green Man comes after naughty boys and girls. After the uncle leaves the room, the kids hear a noise at the window. They squeal thinking it’s the Green Man and cover their heads. They settle down for the night. Unobserved the shadow of a menacing Green Man appears at the window. He peers through the bedroom window at the kids.

b. Connect with the characters: Present day: Two of the cousins have volunteered to drive. They gather at the meeting place and load up the vehicles.

c. Denial of Horror: They chat and begin to reminisce about the time their uncle scared them as kids with talk of a Green Man. They discount the danger. All but one (Bryant) believes it was their uncle pretending to be the Green Man. He thinks it might have been real because as a kid, he saw the shadow at the window.

d. Safety taken away: They arrive safely and are greeted by their uncle. Over dinner they remind him of the Green Man story he told them as kids. They confront him to confess that he pretended to be the Green Man. He denies it. They all have a good laugh.

e. The characters are warned not to do it: The uncle proclaims they have nothing to worry about because they are no longer children. Elsewhere an irresponsible camper fails to completely put out their campfire. Later a brush fire breaks out. It spreads overnight into an out-of-control wildfire.

f. Monster: A strange phenomena goes unwitnessed. A row of trees threatened by the growing fire mysteriously moves. Elsewhere in the area, campers have sightings of the Green Man. Some campers have horrific encounters with the Green Man. Locations of the sightings/encounters get closer and closer to the area where the uncle’s cabin is located. The Green Man arrives at the uncle’s cabin.

2. Act 2

a. Isolate/Trapped/Abducted: The uncle and cousins learn about the fires and discover that they are trapped in the area. Their immediate area is not threatened but exits are cut off due to the fires. The cabin is multilevel with a basement. It is beautifully decorated and landscaped with lots of plants and greenery inside and out. It has a pool and boat dock.

b. One of us is killed: The power goes out. The uncle is killed while outside the cabin trying to restore power.

MIDPOINT—The Monster is worse than we thought.

c. Full pursuit by the monster: The Green Man captures Junior and Hazel, his girlfriend. They were trying to go to the next cabin for help. They are wrapped in leaves and dragged deeper into the forest.

d. Terrorized: The Green Man begins to terrorize the cousins. He enters the cabin and pursues the remaining cousins. They learn he can materialize from any form of plant life.

3. Act 3—Full Out Horror

a. Fight to the Death: The Green Man entraps and pursues the cousins through the cabin.

b. Hysteria: Capturing them one by one. He shoots twig arrows, snags them with shooting vines and wraps them up in leaves.

c. The thrilling escape from death: The Green Man chases, wounds and captures them until all but two are left. The remaining two work as a pair to free those that have been captured. They fight the Green Man with an axe and chain saw. They use garden shears to cut off the vines and leaves. They find and rescue their cousins one by one. They wound him and he retreats into the forest.

d. Death returns to take one or more: The cousins realize that they have yet to find Junior and Hazel. They form a search party to go find them. They find them and, on the way back to the cabin, they encounter a recovered monster who kills Bryant. Bryant sacrifices himself to save the others. He threatens him with fire but is overpowered.

e. Resolution: The remaining cousins take their uncle’s boat and head down the river until they reach a safe place and are found by firefighters fighting the fire.

[Debbera Hayward]

1. Assignment Three: Debbera’s Characters for Horror

What I learned from this lesson is that having the different identity types helps add depth and breadth to your story.

1. Concept and Group: The Group is a Social Group. A family of nieces and nephews have been invited to visit their uncle at his cabin.

2. Dying Pattern: The Uncle and the girlfriend of one of the cousins (Hazel) die but the rest of the group are all brought to the brink of death, and some remain emotionally shaken after they encounter with the monster.

3. Identity for each character:

§ The carrier and red herring. The Uncle initially told his nieces and nephews about the monster when they were kids. He used tales of the monster as a way to get them to behave. As young adults, they reminisce about the “good ole days” recalling how frightened of the monster they were as children. While they were frightened as children, as young adults they assumed that the monster they thought they heard was really the Uncle just trying to scare them. They did not believe a real monster existed.

§ The moral one is Junior. He’s the oldest male in the group. He’s willing to be the bait and sacrifice himself to save the others.

§ The complainer is Elouise. She finds fault with every plan someone comes up with but never offers a plan of her own. She gives up easily when faced with a bad situation. Deep within, she is likely more courageous than she knows.

The rebel rule breaker is Belinda. She appears to go along with the plan but is the first to do the opposite when given the chance.

§ Delores is out of control. She does not care who she offends. She shares her opinion at all costs. She is difficult to convince and work with.

§ Baron is the leader. He figures out how to defeat the monster. He is the cousin to the group of brothers and sisters. His mother is the younger sister to his cousin’s Mother.

§ Bryant is the rescuer who at first seems to be a introvert/loner. He rises to the occasion when he is thrust into the spot light.

§ Hazel is the monster bait and love interest. She is Junior’s girlfriend. She’s an innocent. She cries easily and acts helpless.

§ Junior, Elouise, Belinda, Bryant and Baron are sisters and brothers. Baron is their first cousin.

[Debbera Hayward]

Assignment Two: Debbera’s Terrifying Monster

What I learned from doing this assignment is developing a good monster is challenging.

1.Tell us what or who your monster is. The Green Man

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

Their Terror: Produces low roaring wind with sound of eaves rustling
before it attacks. Moves across the ground in a gliding manner and uses
vines and twigs to capture its victims. Vines wrap up victims so they can’t
escape. It kills its victims by shooting them with twig arrows and
absorbing them.
Their Mystery: Can become invisible by blending in with the forest,
plant life and foliage. Can
materialize anywhere there is plant life. Victims are not safe if they are
in close proximity to trees or plant life.

Their Fear-Provoking Appearance: Green tree like figure. Large
mouth with sharp wood teeth. Body covered with leaves and twigs. Face resembles
the bark of a tree. Spews leaves from its mouth. Shoots sharp twig arrows at
victims.
Their Rules: Pursues anyone that does not respect the forest or
plant life.
Their Mythology: TBD

[Debbera Hayward]

A. The monster/villain: An urban legend the green man. A humanoid creature with plant like features who lives in the forest.

B. The interesting terror: Uncle tells his nieces and nephews scary stories about the Green Man who haunts children who are naughty. The stories become reality while they are on a camping trip with their Uncle.

C. An isolated and horrific environment: Uncle takes his nieces and nephews on a camping trip in the forest. They accidentally set up camp in an area that is deeper into the forest than they had planned.

D. The people who will be terrorized: Nieces and nephews.

[Debbera Hayward]

Debbera Hayward

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