Spooky suggestions

Here are the examples of horror suggested by our ds106ers, along with what they had to say about each of them:

Film
The Ring This was the first rated R horror movie I ever watched and it still chills me to the bone. However, it is also a mystery that lends itself nicely to wonderful storytelling attributes. The main character’s quest to find out everything she can about the tape and the girl in it while also trying to save herself gives the main character depth and motherly qualities, in more way than one, while also terrifying anyone who watches the movie.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil As far as horror stories go, it is likely a terrible example of storytelling, I just am not familiar with anything better. The movie is very overt about what is going on, and fairly overt with the body-horror (it is a slasher-style parody after all). It is an excellent parody however, as it turns the slasher stereotype 100% on its head. Instead of the villain pulling the strings, leaving the victims in terror, and picking off characters in suspenseful sequences, the supposed villains watch cluelessly as a group of determined and organized kids accidentally and abruptly fall victim to their own aggressions.
Let The Right One In (2008) It’s a good example of storytelling because it’s a very observant use of pacing and atmosphere. Very few scenes feel wasted.
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead It is a good mix of comedy and horror which is a difficult thing to do. It also is very over the top which is good for horror movies in my opinion.
Annabelle I consider this a good example of storytelling because it really puts you in the scenes with the characters and the story was based off of true events so the details come together and make sense. The story really made me feel like the same situation could happen to me and my family which is part of what made it scary.
The Exorcist This movie was one of the first of its kind in 1973. Regan’s transformation from a “normal” 12-year old girl to a demonically possessed child embellished the fears of many Christians. It was so frightening, at the age of 14, that I do not like to watch horror movies any longer.
Army of Darkness Army of Darkness reminds me a lot of Creepshow. It fits our genre of horror perfectly.
The Village I believe this is a good example of story telling because it has a major plot twist in the end. You’re terrified for all the wrong reasons because the story only gives you a certain amount of information. Even once you find out that the monsters aren’t real, you can still feel the terror of the woods. Since the characters were raised to believe they were real.
Poltergeist is a good example of a good scary story because it combines all the essential parts of a well made scary movie.The movie included dramatic music, objects jumping out at you, and the idea of the super natural. A well made movie in any genre needs the key components for whatever genre that is and I think this movie captures the most important things to create a scary environment

Literature
Pretending to sleep doesn’t work Ever since a young age I enjoyed watching horror films, my first horror / thriller film being Prom Night. I usually do not read very many horror stories however, I found the short story “Pretending to sleep doesn’t work” to be very entertaining. I feel as though the author created a very detailed narrative which allowed me to gain a greater sense of imagery while reading. Basic requirements which I believe contribute to a great horror story are, imagery and realization. Everyone gets a little scared when a horror film or movie becomes so realistic!
The Raven As the poem progresses, we learn that there is a “rapping on the chamber door” late at night, and as these lines are repeated, the suspense builds, as readers want to find out what is on the other side of the door that wants in! Once we find out that the “rapping” was coming from the black, ominous raven, the bird just perches in his room and about drives the narrator crazy, and this ‘craziness’ is expressed through the bird repeatedly whispering “Nevermore”. Suspense builds in the beginning, and then the story takes a turn in a direction that the readers were not expecting.
Tell Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe is known for short stories that fit perfectly into the horror theme of this course and because they are short stories they fit nicely with the pace of the course. Edgar Allan Poe’s works include topic that conjure up images of murderers, premature burials, madmen and mysterious women who return from the dead.
The Tell Tale Heart This short story opens with a motive, which turns into an actual murder as the audience comes to find out a little bit later. On the outside, the character seems completely normal, except for the fact that he despises the old man’s creepy eye, but we see the character reach his breaking point and he finally snaps and kills the old man. The character does not regret what he has done, but thinks himself quite brilliant and cunning. But when later he is sitting in the same room as the hidden corpse, we see his mind turn on him and he is hearing things and eventually loses it. At the very end of the story, the audience is given a confession to the murder. Although this story is reminiscent of a crime, there are still elements of fear, horror and ‘gore’ as well.

Television
Grimm Although this entire series is not horror, there are still moments in the show that can be horrific, gory, scary, etc. This series is full of cliff hangers and suspenseful moments that will keep you coming back for another episode. (I may also be biased, because they use German to name these ‘alter egos’ and the translations actually line up with what species of ‘alter ego’ a character is. FYI I studied abroad in Germany and am a German major…)
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni It has an unconventional storytelling style which makes the show a bit confusing but that confusion builds on the horror of the dark themes. I find it a good example of storytelling because it keeps you on your toes and is extremely unpredictable. The true horror of this show for me personally is the theme that trust can be broken in an instant. We let down our guard in front of friends and family without giving it much of a second thought but that housemate COULD kill you in the middle of the night, your mom COULD put poison in your food. We all just rely on the societal conventions of trust that allow us not to entertain those suspicions. This show centers around the fact that things aren’t always what they seem.
Boy Meets World: And Then There Was Shawn This episode may not be be considered “horror” to some people, but I think it does a good job combining horror elements with comedy to tell a good story. It also has a deeper underlying meaning to it, as it deals with a break-up between two of the main characters, and how a third character (the killer) deals with it.
Supernatural Not only is this TV show a “horror” themed show but is gives so many perspectives of unnatural beings. There are ghosts, vampires, demons, and then some really creepy humans, but sometimes the monsters weren’t always the villains. To me, this is awesome storytelling because it explains so much backstory and is not limited to one character’s point of view or story.

No one thought of spooky audio. Does it not exist, or does no one listen to it? We’ll have to make some when audio week comes around. When I was little, my brothers and had great fun playing this record:

Scary what happens when people don’t take care of their LPs, isn’t it?