Instead, I'm going with fear. Fear creates a lot of emotion and I enjoy using it to my advantage in my writing. Fear changes people. It causes them to do things they wouldn't normally do. Fear paralyzes people. Fear motivates people. Fear creates villains...and heroes. I love the theme of conquering fear to create a hero. There is a great struggle along the way, but the payoff, success, or reward is far greater in the end. Fear creates great stories.
In line with the fear topic, I am also a fan of horror (books and movies). I can't really explain why I enjoy it so much; my parents have often asked me because I am the only horror fan in the family. Maybe because it was a way of rebelling through my teenage years and now it's nostalgic. Maybe it was a way to build my identity and differentiate from the family instead of actually rebelling. Maybe it was me conditioning myself. I started off scared and therefor determined to continue to watch things that scared me until I conquered that fear, by which time I started to enjoy them. Maybe my morbid fascination stemmed from having a cemetery as a playing ground as a toddler. It's interesting for me to think about, but I don't have a definitive answer. All I know is that: I remember being scared of Michael Jackson's Thriller when it first came out (I must have been 4 or 5), Nightmare on Elm Street 3 was the first real horror movie I remember seeing (from 3rd or 4th grade) and thereafter haunted by nightmares of the puppet scene, and I was afraid of clowns long before I read Stephen King's It (no explaination on that one besides clowns are just scary).
And with that, I'd like to leave you with a few of my favorites in horror:
- It (book)
- The Exorcist (book)
- The Exorcist (movie)
- Halloween (movie, original)
- Poltergeist (movie)
- Saw (movie)
- Paranormal Activity (movie)
- American Horror Story (TV show)
I'm too whimpy to watch horror. I like suspense, and I can read Holocaust stories, which is its own horror. I don't like the graphic gore of the "Saw" type movies.
ReplyDeleteFacing our fears, though, it a huge task!
Play off the Page
That's how my wife is, too. I have to watch them alone.
DeleteI love horror so much, and I can't explain it either. I'm totally into foreign horror at the moment, and the more gore the better! (You want the French ones for that)
ReplyDeleteI also write horror and I'm totally fascinated by what scares people and why, and how to play with that in unexpected ways.
I need to check out some French horror. I do like Japanese horror.
DeleteI stay far away from Horror movies, books, etc. However, performing is sometimes it's own horror experience.
ReplyDeleteOn fear - I like to say, "Courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway."
Like Susan Jeffers' book! Definitely.
DeleteAh, I don't appreciate horror. Fear is not an emotion I enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAllison (Geek Banter)
I can appreciate that. It's definitely not for everyone.
DeleteTo me fear is not a pleasant emotion, I suppose we all have a fear of some description and I'm no exception. I wish I didn't think about my fear when it's in the middle of the night and can't get to sleep, as living on one's own have no-one to converse with either.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy reading your F post.
Happy Easter.
Yvonne.
I am such a coward; I cannot watch a horror movie without leaving the room. It's ridiculous, I know. And really graphic books I avoid, although I like mysteries. I enjoy your posts, though.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I've never really gotten into scary movies. But I do think that a good creepy tale can be excellent motivation sometimes. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of the old-school classics and I LOVE Poltergeist and The Exorcist. Also, The Shining. Great post and happy A-Z blogging!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice with The Shining!
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