[Kathryn Gerow]

Hi Everyone!

1. Kathryn (Kathy) Gerow

2. One mothballed script.

3. A script I wrote years ago (and would love to revise) competes with an unscripted story I wrote during the pandemic. We’ll see which one wins.

4. Very little is unique about me, but that helps me empathize easily and appreciate other people’s perspectives. What I value about myself is my drive to __________ (fill in the blank!). : ) Actually, what I value about myself is my goal (not yet attained) to unravel enigmas. Oh, and I once might have met a ghost!

I’m grateful to be part of this talented group!

• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.

[Kathryn Gerow]

Kathryn Gerow: “I agree to the terms of this release form.”

GROUP RELEASE FORM

As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.

2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.

I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.

3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.

4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.

5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.

6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.

[Kathryn Gerow]

Kathy’s Horror Situation Track

What I learned from this assignment:

I learned that outlining a story helps build the story as scenes become compartmentalized, objectively improved upon and maneuvered.

ACT 1

Atmosphere of Evil established:

A thunderstorm rages along the coast. Thunder booms as lightning streaks across the night sky.

Horror Situation:

A sailboat capsizes by a reef. The boat’s two occupants are knocked into the choppy water. They swim wildly to craggy rocks along the water’s edge. They cling to the rocks. Waves threaten to pull them back into the chaotic sea.

Reaction – Escape:

They climb onto a rocky ridge and escape the waves. They smile in relief at the sight of a figure in a slicker and goggles standing over them.

Horror Situation:

Relief turns to horror. The wet blade of a raised axe glistens in a flash of lightning. There is no escape. Thunder deafens their screams. The axe wheels repeatedly. The rocky recess becomes a lagoon of blood meshed with seaweed and body parts.

Connect with the characters:

Days later, a professor recaps an overnight assignment to a small group of graduate students in a cabin on a small, remote island. By eight o’clock the next morning, the students are to come to an agreement as a group as to which one of them has the most potential to be a murderer. In their reactions, the students’ character traits are evident.

The characters are warned not to do it:

Although the professor claims that the assignment is a “fun” group effort for a pass or fail grade, the students are uneasy. Their gut instincts are at odds with the gruesomeness of the task, its overnight timing, and the isolated location.

Denial of Horror:

The students shrug off any misgivings. They suppress their initial uneasiness, replacing it with boredom, exasperation, and complacency.

Safety taken away:

To focus on the assignment, the students have left on the mainland all means of communication, such as cell phones, laptops, and tablets. Because the assignment takes place overnight, they’re deprived of sleep, daytime vision, and nature’s bright ambience. They’re forced into an unnatural state of wakefulness at a time when their bodies crave sleep. In the next few hours, they discover emergency flares stored in a shed are missing and their safety boat is scuttled.

Horror Situation:

A student is stalked, terrorized, and butchered. Shortly afterwards, another student is similarly slaughtered.

Reaction;

Shocked by the mutilations, the students rationalize the savagery as revenge killings by a spurned lover, another student in the group. The accused student denies the accusation. The group ties up the suspect, then discovers emergency flares are missing and their safety boat is scuttled.

Reaction – Denial:

The students keep careful watch on the restrained suspect and don’t anticipate another killing will occur. They continue to rationalize events. They presume the suspect hid the emergency flares and scuttled the boat before the killings. They calm themselves, knowing that a boat from the mainland is scheduled to dock on the island in the morning.

Monster: The nature of the beast:

Two more students are hunted, terrorized, and butchered.

Horror Situation:

The group is shocked by the grisly deaths, then discovers the suspect has escaped. They presume the suspect killed the other two students to thrown off the theory that the killer was a spurned lover. The students search as a group for the accused. The suspect is found, butchered.

Reaction:

The remaining students realize the killings have been done by an unknown entity, not the student that they had accused. They realize the deaths are not the result of passion gone haywire or a calculated strategy. Instead, they know the deaths are demonic slaughters.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted:

In the middle of the night, on a remote, minuscule island, the three remaining students feel trapped, isolated, and incapable of defense or escape.

Horror Situation:

Panicking, the three students accuse each other of being the monster/villain.

Reaction:

Two of the students accuse each other exclusively. The third student tries to reason as to who the killer is.

Horror Situation:

The two accusing students fight to their deaths, each at the hands of the other.

Reaction:

After the deaths, the third student, in semi-shock, staggers down the hillside, unsure as to which of the two student was the real killer. Numbed to the insane happenings, the lone student stumbles upon the emergency flares hidden in a rocky crevice, lights a flare, and heads for the dock to await the emergency boat.

ACT 3 – FULL OUT HORROR

Horror Situation:

Near the dock, the student meets the lighthouse keeper. The student is unable to articulate in full the overnight events. The students makes clear, however, that horrific slaughter has taken place.

Reaction:

The lighthouse keeper expresses concern as he guides the student onto his boat. They set out to return to the mainland. The student calms down.

Horror Situation:

On board, the student gives details of the grisly killings to the lighthouse keeper. In the process, the student becomes agitated again. The lighthouse keeper leaves to get a sedative from the medicine cabinet in the galley. While waiting, the student spots blood-splattered goggles on the top deck, then peers down into the galley below. The lighthouse keeper, unaware that he’s being seen, dons a blood-splattered slicker. He grabs a bloody axe and then ascends the steps to the top deck.

Character Death:

The student, hiding beside the doorway to the galley, slams the lighthouse keeper with an ore and, after a harrowing fight, knocks him off the boat into the water. The student grabs the dropped axe and wields it at the lighthouse keeper each time he tries to get back into the boat.

An hour later: A large boat, with the professor on board, approaches the lighthouse keeper’s boat in the middle of the bay. The student is seen wildly swinging the axe in erratic, frantic circles on the deck. The lighthouse keeper is nowhere to be seen.

Resolution:

One month later: In an asylum, a panel of doctors determines that the confined, bedridden student was not the killer of the other students. They discuss an ensuing investigation regarding the missing lighthouse keeper’s mysterious past. They hypothesize that he had somehow infused himself with the lives of lost souls who had died on the reefs near the lighthouse, dead souls that were incensed by their tragic, premature deaths and insanely jealous of living beings. The doctors conjecture that the lighthouse keeper, presumed drowned, was likely the true killer. They agree that the traumatized student, upon complete recovery, should be released into the public again and is not a threat to anyone.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.

[Kathryn Gerow]

What I learned doing this assignment:

I learned that outlining a story gives the writer an objectivity that is often missing when the story is written sequentially. When writing sequentially, without an outline, the writer is more of an active participant in the story than its objective creator. If changes need to be made to the story, it’s harder for a passionate participant to make those changes than an unbiased, objective writer.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established.

A thunderstorm rages along the coast. Thunder booms as lightning streaks across the night sky. A sailboat capsizes by a reef. Its two occupants, knocked into the choppy water, swim wildly to the water’s edge. They reach craggy rocks and cling to them. Waves threaten to pull them back into the chaotic sea. They climb onto a rocky recess. Looking up, they smile in relief. A figure in a slicker and goggles stands over them. Their relief turns to horror. The wet blade of a raised axe glistens in a flash of lightning. The axe wheels repeatedly. The rocky incline becomes a lagoon of blood meshed with seaweed and body parts.

Connect with the characters.

Days later: A professor recaps an overnight assignment to a small group of graduate students in a cabin on a remote island. By eight o’clock the next morning, the students are to come to an agreement as a group as to which one of them has the most potential to be a murderer. During discussion, the students’ character traits and motivations are evident.

The characters are warned not to do it.

Although the professor claims that the assignment is a “fun” group effort for a pass or fail grade, the students are uneasy. Their gut instincts are at odds with the gruesomeness of the task, its overnight timing, and the isolated location.

Denial of Horror.

Eventually, the students shrug off any misgivings. They suppress their initial uneasiness, replacing it with boredom, exasperation, and complacency.

Safety taken away.

To help ensure focus on the assignment, the students must leave on the mainland all means of communication, such as cell phones, laptops, and tablets.

The assignment takes place overnight. Therefore, the students are deprived of sleep, daytime vision, and nature’s bright ambience. They’re forced into an unnatural state of wakefulness at a time when their bodies crave sleep.

The students discover that the emergency flares stored in a shed are missing and that their safety boat is scuttled.

Monster: The nature of the beast.

The first graduate student is butchered. Although traumatized by the mutilated body, the group rationalizes the death as a revenge killing by a spurned lover. The second death supports their suspicion that the jilted lover is the killer. The third and fourth deaths are explained away as red herrings done by the suspected killer to sabotage their accusation. The fifth death blows apart their reasoning. The reality of the horror sinks in. The killings are not crimes of passion or logic.

ACT 2 — THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted.

Eight graduate students are isolated and trapped on a remote island at night. They have no means of escape and no way to seek help.

One of us killed.

The students rationalize the first four grisly killings. They’re convinced that one of them killed two students for revenge and then two others to distract the rest of them from their accusation. With this rationale in mind, the remaining students fear that all of them could become victims of the suspected killer. When this theory is shattered, their fright escalates into absolute terror.

MIDPOINT: The monster is worse than we thought!

Full pursuit by the killer.

Camouflaged by shadows, bushes, trees and nightfall, the monster/villain stalks the victims one by one, then confronts and kills them mercilessly. Seen only by the victims (and audience), the killer hunts its prey while wielding an axe and wearing a blood-splattered slicker and goggles. At first sight of the killer, the victims know their fate. Despite frantic efforts to escape, they are doomed.

Terrorized.

The students initially suspect that a spurned lover killed two students for revenge and then two others to undermine the group’s accusation as to who the killer is. When their theory is disproved, the surviving students are petrified. They realize that they’re dealing with an unknown entity, a demonic maniac bent on butchering them. Convinced that they’re helpless to stop the slaughter, their fear escalates into unquenchable terror.

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight to the death.

Each confrontation with the killer concludes with the victim’s death. The killer wields an axe to butcher and then mutilate the victims. When there are three students left, two of them turn on each other, each suspecting the other of being the monster/villain. They battle fiercely. Both die at the hands of the other.

Hysteria

Hysteria permeates the events, first with two victims who die at the hands of the killer after their boat is capsized, then ratcheting up with each subsequent student-victim upon attack, then catapulting when the remaining members of the group realize that they are dealing with a demonic maniac bent on their slaughter, and finally sling-shotting to extreme terror when the true monster/villain is revealed to the last student.

The thrilling escape from death.

Upon the demise of the last two other students – after their fight to their deaths – the final remaining student collapses, numbed by the insane terror experienced by all. Not sure which of the two dead students was actually the killer, the last student staggers down the hillside, then stumbles across the missing emergency flares hidden in a rock’s crevice. The student lights one of the flares, and then heads toward the dock with plans to meet the emergency boat upon its arrival.

Death returns to take one or more.

On the way to the dock, in the early morning sunlight, the student meets up with the lighthouse keeper, who is preoccupied with untying his boat from a post in an inlet. The student, still in shock, is barely able to speak. The lighthouse keeper warmly explains that he saw the flare while he was on his way to the island to check on the group, which explains his fast arrival, but had accidentally bypassed the dock and disembarked in the inlet instead. After boarding the boat and heading for the mainland, the student, still traumatized, finally blurts out to the lighthouse keeper the overnight events. He tries to calm the student, then says he’ll get a sedative from the boat’s medicine cabinet.

While he’s gone, the student spots blood-stained goggles on the deck of the boat. This strikes the student as odd. The student rises and looks down into the galley of the boat. The lighthouse keeper, unaware that he’s being seen, is donning a blood-splattered slicker and reaching for a bloody axe. The student hides beside the doorway to the galley. When the lighthouse keeper ascends the stairs and reaches the top deck, the student slams him with an ore and, after a harrowing fight, knocks him off the boat into the water. The student grabs the dropped axe and wields it at the lighthouse keeper each time he tries to get back into the boat.

An hour later: A large boat, with the professor on board, approaches the lighthouse keeper’s boat in the middle of the bay. The student is seen wildly swinging the axe in erratic, frantic circles on the deck. The lighthouse keeper is nowhere to be seen.

Resolution.

One month later: In an asylum, a panel of doctors hypothesize on what had occurred on the island. They determine that the confined, bedridden student was not the killer of the other students. Instead, in the ensuing investigation, it had been learned that the missing lighthouse keeper had a mysterious past that had somehow infused itself with the lives of lost souls who had died on the reefs near the lighthouse, dead souls that were incensed by their tragic, premature deaths and that were insanely jealous of living beings. The doctors conjecture that the lighthouse keeper, presumed drowned, was likely the true killer. They agree that the traumatized student, upon complete recovery, should be released into the public again and is not a threat to anyone.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.

[Kathryn Gerow]

What I learned from this assignment:

I learned that characters, to be believable, have overlapping facets that influence their behavior. However, for an audience to fully identify with them and experience their struggles, they need a dominant theme in their character that permeates their actions.

Concept:

A small group of graduate students is victimized by a psychotic killer during an overnight school assignment on a remote, miniscule island.

The Group: Eight graduate students.

Dying Pattern: Students are butchered or tortured by a monster/villain wearing a blood-splattered slicker and goggles.

Characters:

Leader: Hank – Responsible, dynamic pacesetter.

Rescuer/Moral One: Vivek – Honorable, trustworthy white knight.

Red Herring: Zara – Unforgiving, vengeful spurned lover.

Love Interest (Timid): Billy – Weak-willed, cowardly love-cheat.

Love Interest (Aggressive): Chloe – Charismatic, seductive risk-taker.

Complainer: Krissy – Anxious, whiney bellyacher.

Rebel/Rule-Breaker: Joe – Cocky, reckless agitator.

Level-Headed One: Rae – Unruffled, cool-headed realist.

Carrier (draws the students to the island for their assignment): Professor – Unconventional, irresponsible intellectual.

Slaughterer: Lighthouse keeper – Possessed, demonic psychopath; the incarnation of sailors and recreationers who died tragically on the reefs.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by  Kathryn Gerow.

[Kathryn Gerow]

Kathy’s Terrifying Monster

What I learned from this assignment is that what is implied can be more frightening than what is stated outright. I also learned that even an elusive, briefly-exposed monster – like the craggy tip of an iceberg – has a depth from which it percolates.

1. Tell us what or who your monster is.

My monster/villain is a lighthouse keeper. He lives a semi-isolated life as a symbol of hope and salvation but is really a horrific killer. He drifts in and out of reality. His brief moments of sanity are, ironically, more terrifying than his bloodcurdling insanity.

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

Their Terror: The victims cannot escape their slaughter. They die feeling their bodies being butchered.

Their Mystery:

The monster/villain wears a blood-splattered, hooded slicker and wide goggles. His “protective” garment shields him from being drenched by the blood of his victims, and implies to his victims, at first sight of him, their fate.

Their Rules:

He kills only when his victims are alone or when others are distracted. Sometimes he stalks his victims in relentless slow-motion, as if methodically “wading” toward them. Other times, he is hair-trigger fast in hot pursuit. His slaughter is merciless.

Their Mythology: To be decided. Possibly, he is the incarnation of sailors and recreationers who died tragically on the reefs.

[Kathryn Gerow]

I’m sorry, I omitted my response for “Their Mystery” (above) and did not include the “Their Fear Provoking Appearance” section.

Their Mystery:

The monster/villain is a stalker, unknown, unseen by his victims until each individual slaughter. None of the victims know who is butchering their classmates until it is too late.

Their Fear Provoking Appearance:

The monster/villain wears a blood-splattered, hooded slicker and wide goggles. His “protective” garment shields him from being drenched by the blood of his victims, and implies to his victims, at first sight of him, their fate.

[Kathryn Gerow]

(Further above is my assignment regarding “The Amityville Horror.”)

Conventions for My Story:

Concept: A small group of graduate students is victimized by a psychotic killer.

Terrorize The Characters: Ten male and female graduate students are tortured and/or horrifically slain.

Isolation: A cabin and its facilities on a miniscule, remote island.

Death: Grisly torture and/or death by various means.

Monster/Villain: Killer who shifts between sanity and insanity.

High Tension: Uneasiness escalates to raging terror as the body count rises and number of killer suspects shrinks.

Departure from Reality: The killer shifts in and out of reality. Ironically, the killer is even more threatening and dangerous when sane than when insane.

Moral Statement: The pleasure of killing when sane is more horrific than any slaughter caused by insanity.

[Kathryn Gerow]

What I learned from this assignment:

From the movie, I learned that sanity is a construct that is barely held together. Our default state may be insanity. What I learned from this assignment is that screenplays and stories are held together by parts that are as functional as a body’s organs and appendages. They breathe life into the story, move it forward, and give it purpose and relief.

Movie: The Amityville Horror

Concept: A family is terrorized by evil after moving into a house haunted by a history of bloodcurdling torture and murder.

Terrorize The Characters: A man, his wife, and their three children undergo horrific battles with demonic forces for 28 days.

Isolation: Almost all of the scenes take place in the haunted house and its nearby boathouse, on a lake in Amityville, Long Island, New York. The house is set apart from neighboring homes by its massive size and aged grandeur. After the family moves in, they become increasingly detached from each other, victims of the horrific evil that runs rampant in the house. In particular, the father, isolated and insulated in his basement/office, progressively loses his humanity and sanity. He is devoured by the “katch ’em an kill ’em” impulse to murder his family.

Death: Torture and killing of 20 victims hundreds of years ago. Mass murder of a family as they slept, by rifle. Murder of a dog by rifle. Attempted murder of a family by axe.

Monster/Villain: Originally built as a mission for Indians in 1692, the house was run by a wretched, monstrous man – Reverend Ketcham – who tortured and killed 20 victims during his earthly life. Now, as an evil force in the house, he hisses commands to “katch ’em and kill ’em,” first to a young man who obeys and murders his family, and then to a father who terrorizes his wife and step-children.

High Tension: A fast progression of emotions takes place, from lighthearted gaiety, to “pins and needles” uneasiness, to full-throttle, insane terror. As the father is devoured by evil, fear and terror explode.

Departure from Reality: The unreal and real overlap and collide. Pipes bleed black blood. Boundaries of the living and the dead disintegrate. The past, present, and future converge in a bloodbath.

Moral Statement: Evil is unconquerable. There is only submission or escape.

[Kathryn Gerow]

Kathryn Gerow

I agree to the terms of this release form.

As a member of this group, I agree to the following:

1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.

2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.

I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.

3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.

4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.

5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.

6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.

[Kathryn Gerow]

Hi Everyone,

1. I’m Kathy Gerow, from outside of Boston, Mass.

2. I’ve written 1 script, two books, and several short stories, none of which have seen the light of day outside of my home. (I think I should also take a script-selling course!) : )

3. I hope to learn all that I can about the horror genre.

4. I’m an ordinary person, and because I hold ordinary people in good regard, I’m a happy person.

I’m glad to meet all of you.

This will be a fun class!