What are the 5 most obvious (and worst) cliches in horror/supernatural suspense writing and how would you get round them?
5 worst horror/supernatural suspense cliches?
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Here's a reprint of an old article of mine that tried to answer that question.....
For anyone thinking about writing in the horror genre, there are certain situations that, over the years, have been done so often that the audience knows exactly what to expect. Using any of these is fine if you're being post-modern and ironic as in the Scream series, because you can get the audience laughing as they jump. But if you're trying for the big scare, here are some situations to avoid, and alternative scenarios to consider.
The woman alone in the old dark house
She's usually blonde, big breasted and not very bright. She shouts things like "Who's there?" or "Is that you Joe?" Then she goes into dark rooms to see what's in them. Tippi Hedren plays a fine example in The Birds, as does Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. This scene has been so successfully lampooned by the Scream series that its going to be hard for anyone to do it again; but if you must, you'll need to find a new way of raising the tension. Making the woman blind has been done, as has having a man being stalked by a woman. But how about having the stalker existing inside mirrors, and only able to reach out at arms length. What happens if he gets a knife?
The kid who's Mom isn't Mom any more
The kid says "That isn't my mom" A smug doctor says, "It's al in your mind kid: The Mom leads the kid off, and the next day both Mom and the kid give the doctors far-away stares. This was a staple in 1950's paranoia flicks like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Invaders from Mars, and was given a new lease of life in Dark Skies. Serious thought is needed to give a new slant. How about if its the pets that are getting taken over, and only the kids notice?
The experiment gone wrong
They say things like "Morals are for lesser mortals" and "The ends justify the means" Then their creation jumps up and bites them. Think of all the movie versions of Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and you can't go far wrong. A more recent example was Beau Bridges in Sandkings, the pilot for the modern Outer Limits. Anyone planning on using this scenario should really meet some scientists. Many of them are weirder than their fictional equivalents, and they provide great material for stories.
The mob of villagers
Sometimes there's a ringleader, such as an old woman whose grandchild has been killed. Other times there's just an angry mob shouting "Rhubarb" and waving torches. Perhaps the best example is actually in a spoof, Young Frankenstein. How about trying a calm mob? I can't think of a new way of doing this that would be scary, but maybe you can do better?
The priest who's lost his faith
There are two ways this can go. The creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and kills the priest in particularly gory fashion. Or the creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and the priest steps up to the base and drives the creature away. There are fine examples of the first in Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and John Carpenter's The Fog. You could try having the creature banishing the priest to hell? I haven't seen that one... yet.
Running through woods in the dark
People run around in the dark, shouting things like "Mulder, where are you?" and waving flashlights, followed all the time by a malevolent presence in the trees. This is otherwise known as The Blair Witch Project. The idea was taken to extremes in Pitch Black where there wasn't even hope of daybreak to come. A variation would be to do it in daylight, but Big Arnie covered that in Predator. How about having the monster as an urban creature that is actually afraid of the woods when chased into them? Time for that angry mob again perhaps?
Playing with dark forces
Somebody says "Let's play with Grannie's Ouija board" The next thing you know a planchette is flying around the room on its own. This idea has turned up a lot on TV recently, and usually involves scantily clad girls, in shows like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.The way to use this scenario without looking tired is to find a new way of calling up the evil. How about a character who mouths the words as he reads them, thus calling up the beast by accident?
The love of a good woman
The monster dies an inglorious death and somebody says "T' was beauty that killed the beast" Our cavemen ancestors probably told this one round the campfires. On film it dates back to at least 1933 and King Kong. More recently there was a variation in the Beauty and The Beast TV series and even the Disney movie of the same name. Why not try having the beauty fall in love first while the beast never succumbs? You'd need to find a neat resolution to the story, but then again, you're a writer, so that'll be easy
Let's split up
Everybody knows that the monster is around somewhere, but someone says, "We're off to explore that dark place. You go the other way and we'll meet up later." Why does everybody always think this is a great idea? Just watch Buffy TVS and count how often the gang lose each other. Or go back to the original Scooby gang and watch Shaggy and Scooby get split up in every episode. Why not have them stay together for a change? Or maybe they keep in contact via cell phones to foil the bad guys. Or, better still, what about a monster that can split up and be in two places at once?
I'm free
The monster has been vanquished, the victor turns back to the other survivors to take the acclaim, and the suddenly resurgent monster chomps him to pieces. There are nice examples in Starship Troopers and Deep Rising. One way to subvert this would be to have another monster save your victim? Or haw about doing something brave and have your monster die first time?
Conclusion
I'm off to write my new script "Chomp!" It starts as a mob of angry villagers storm the lab of a mad scientist who has been dabbling in powers man is not meant to understand. The priest with the mob is killed by a "creature" that escapes into the forest.
A year later 10 nubile teens are shipwrecked on the island. They split up to search the area and find themselves being chased by a mutated man-beast, half-man, half Komodo Dragon. Soon there's a lot of running through forests at night, and a tense seen where a blonde is trapped in the ruins of the lab.
The big climax comes when the last two of the teens confront the monster. The boy thinks he's killed it, and turns back in triumph, only for the beast to rear up and dismember him.
In a poignant final scene the last girl cradles the monster's head in her lap and weeps as it dies.
Do you think it will sell? If your answer is "No", what would you do to make it work?
( More free reprints of my writing articles are available at http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=William_Meikle )
Willie
For anyone thinking about writing in the horror genre, there are certain situations that, over the years, have been done so often that the audience knows exactly what to expect. Using any of these is fine if you're being post-modern and ironic as in the Scream series, because you can get the audience laughing as they jump. But if you're trying for the big scare, here are some situations to avoid, and alternative scenarios to consider.
The woman alone in the old dark house
She's usually blonde, big breasted and not very bright. She shouts things like "Who's there?" or "Is that you Joe?" Then she goes into dark rooms to see what's in them. Tippi Hedren plays a fine example in The Birds, as does Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. This scene has been so successfully lampooned by the Scream series that its going to be hard for anyone to do it again; but if you must, you'll need to find a new way of raising the tension. Making the woman blind has been done, as has having a man being stalked by a woman. But how about having the stalker existing inside mirrors, and only able to reach out at arms length. What happens if he gets a knife?
The kid who's Mom isn't Mom any more
The kid says "That isn't my mom" A smug doctor says, "It's al in your mind kid: The Mom leads the kid off, and the next day both Mom and the kid give the doctors far-away stares. This was a staple in 1950's paranoia flicks like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Invaders from Mars, and was given a new lease of life in Dark Skies. Serious thought is needed to give a new slant. How about if its the pets that are getting taken over, and only the kids notice?
The experiment gone wrong
They say things like "Morals are for lesser mortals" and "The ends justify the means" Then their creation jumps up and bites them. Think of all the movie versions of Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and you can't go far wrong. A more recent example was Beau Bridges in Sandkings, the pilot for the modern Outer Limits. Anyone planning on using this scenario should really meet some scientists. Many of them are weirder than their fictional equivalents, and they provide great material for stories.
The mob of villagers
Sometimes there's a ringleader, such as an old woman whose grandchild has been killed. Other times there's just an angry mob shouting "Rhubarb" and waving torches. Perhaps the best example is actually in a spoof, Young Frankenstein. How about trying a calm mob? I can't think of a new way of doing this that would be scary, but maybe you can do better?
The priest who's lost his faith
There are two ways this can go. The creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and kills the priest in particularly gory fashion. Or the creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and the priest steps up to the base and drives the creature away. There are fine examples of the first in Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and John Carpenter's The Fog. You could try having the creature banishing the priest to hell? I haven't seen that one... yet.
Running through woods in the dark
People run around in the dark, shouting things like "Mulder, where are you?" and waving flashlights, followed all the time by a malevolent presence in the trees. This is otherwise known as The Blair Witch Project. The idea was taken to extremes in Pitch Black where there wasn't even hope of daybreak to come. A variation would be to do it in daylight, but Big Arnie covered that in Predator. How about having the monster as an urban creature that is actually afraid of the woods when chased into them? Time for that angry mob again perhaps?
Playing with dark forces
Somebody says "Let's play with Grannie's Ouija board" The next thing you know a planchette is flying around the room on its own. This idea has turned up a lot on TV recently, and usually involves scantily clad girls, in shows like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.The way to use this scenario without looking tired is to find a new way of calling up the evil. How about a character who mouths the words as he reads them, thus calling up the beast by accident?
The love of a good woman
The monster dies an inglorious death and somebody says "T' was beauty that killed the beast" Our cavemen ancestors probably told this one round the campfires. On film it dates back to at least 1933 and King Kong. More recently there was a variation in the Beauty and The Beast TV series and even the Disney movie of the same name. Why not try having the beauty fall in love first while the beast never succumbs? You'd need to find a neat resolution to the story, but then again, you're a writer, so that'll be easy
Let's split up
Everybody knows that the monster is around somewhere, but someone says, "We're off to explore that dark place. You go the other way and we'll meet up later." Why does everybody always think this is a great idea? Just watch Buffy TVS and count how often the gang lose each other. Or go back to the original Scooby gang and watch Shaggy and Scooby get split up in every episode. Why not have them stay together for a change? Or maybe they keep in contact via cell phones to foil the bad guys. Or, better still, what about a monster that can split up and be in two places at once?
I'm free
The monster has been vanquished, the victor turns back to the other survivors to take the acclaim, and the suddenly resurgent monster chomps him to pieces. There are nice examples in Starship Troopers and Deep Rising. One way to subvert this would be to have another monster save your victim? Or haw about doing something brave and have your monster die first time?
Conclusion
I'm off to write my new script "Chomp!" It starts as a mob of angry villagers storm the lab of a mad scientist who has been dabbling in powers man is not meant to understand. The priest with the mob is killed by a "creature" that escapes into the forest.
A year later 10 nubile teens are shipwrecked on the island. They split up to search the area and find themselves being chased by a mutated man-beast, half-man, half Komodo Dragon. Soon there's a lot of running through forests at night, and a tense seen where a blonde is trapped in the ruins of the lab.
The big climax comes when the last two of the teens confront the monster. The boy thinks he's killed it, and turns back in triumph, only for the beast to rear up and dismember him.
In a poignant final scene the last girl cradles the monster's head in her lap and weeps as it dies.
Do you think it will sell? If your answer is "No", what would you do to make it work?
( More free reprints of my writing articles are available at http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=William_Meikle )
Willie
An undead devil-eyed dog nips unsuspecting ankles? Whups, sorry Haggis. :}
--Anything with an: old dark house/ship/castle/village
--Anything literary labeled the 'Book of the Dead/ Undead/ half-dead/ small percentage deceased/ one foot in the grave/ decomposing/ or merely disheveled body parts'
--Those who have sex die. Why? Because Freddy, Jason, etc are too butt-ugly to get a date with a discriminating corpse? Jeez!
--Anything with an: old dark house/ship/castle/village
--Anything literary labeled the 'Book of the Dead/ Undead/ half-dead/ small percentage deceased/ one foot in the grave/ decomposing/ or merely disheveled body parts'
--Those who have sex die. Why? Because Freddy, Jason, etc are too butt-ugly to get a date with a discriminating corpse? Jeez!
Thanks Willie that was a great post 
Happily my screenplay has none of those cliches so far. That makes me feel good lol
Happily my screenplay has none of those cliches so far. That makes me feel good lol
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Having the character run upstairs. Don't run UP, you fool! What are you gonna do? Jump out of a window?
Or having the character run down into the basement...is the character really small enough to squeeze out of one of those little windows? No? Oops!
No aspersions on the basement game, folks.
Or having the character run down into the basement...is the character really small enough to squeeze out of one of those little windows? No? Oops!
No aspersions on the basement game, folks.
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What if you really really really really (infinity!) want to write an old-fashioned ghost story? With every G.D. cliche firmly in place. Doomed to failure? No agent or publisher will take a look? Does that mean I am the last reader on this planet that would buy and read such a book if it were well-written?
It makes me mad, because I could probably carve out precisely the kind of writing career that I wish to have, just writing novels for people who enjoy a good old-fashioned ghost story. But it won't happen because "the man" says it's too cliche...won't sell.
It makes me mad.
It makes me mad, because I could probably carve out precisely the kind of writing career that I wish to have, just writing novels for people who enjoy a good old-fashioned ghost story. But it won't happen because "the man" says it's too cliche...won't sell.
It makes me mad.
I would think that if it's well-written, there's a market for it. There have been all kinds of unusual books published in the last few years, some to high acclaim and critical success. Who would've thought Christopher Moore's books would be successful, for instance?
You're right in that there doesn't seem to be an audience for straightfaced, old-fashioned ghost stories right now. But I think there could be if the right book came along, if it was told in a new and exciting way, if it introduced the old themes in fresh manners.
You might try Donald Maass's site, Scott. Maass as we all know has repped a lot of mainstream horror, and he has some interesting things about what kind of horror sells and what doesn't. I also recommend WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, which has a few sections on horror novels that "broke out" and why.
Don't overlook the little things. Something crashes in the house where the busty blonde teenager is alone, with the power out. Her flashlight beam lands on a cat.
Just once I'd like someone to have a clumsy Irish setter.
Maryn, who's known more clumsy dogs than cats
Just once I'd like someone to have a clumsy Irish setter.
Maryn, who's known more clumsy dogs than cats
Well, Peter Straub had a pretty good run with "Ghost Story" which I absolutely loved. Both the book and the movie. Maybe it's based sort of on a cliche, but, darn, it works.
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Ah, to me some things are so FUNDAMENTAL to a Genre that we shouldn't always worry about some clown calling it a "cliche" or not:
Haunted houses, Experiments gone wrong, Zombies, power failures, horny teens, ancient curses ...
Nobody says "I liked Westerns but then the horses became cliche ... "
Do it well and it'll sell, as has been said before.
That said ... you can always explore the imagination and put a new spin on things. What's that one about a HAUNTED starship, EVENT HORIZON ...? There's usually a new spin awaiting the imaginative spider!
Haunted houses, Experiments gone wrong, Zombies, power failures, horny teens, ancient curses ...
Nobody says "I liked Westerns but then the horses became cliche ... "
Do it well and it'll sell, as has been said before.
That said ... you can always explore the imagination and put a new spin on things. What's that one about a HAUNTED starship, EVENT HORIZON ...? There's usually a new spin awaiting the imaginative spider!
HI ,
I am a script writer and I am writing a script
dealing with the spiritual world . I am reading books however I would like some suggestions so pl help me
padma
I am a script writer and I am writing a script
dealing with the spiritual world . I am reading books however I would like some suggestions so pl help me
padma
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padma, I say this a lot, but here goes anyway:
If you haven't already, check out the screenwriting tips sticky thread in our Screen Writing discussion forum, which has links to sites full of scripts free to read for educational purposes, screenwriting software (some free or useable in demo mode), formatting guides, hints & tips, etc. What are your top 20 favorite films? Read the screenplays and discover how the written words turned into the images and dialogue you loved.
Sites like imsdb.com break scripts down by genre, e.g. http://www.imsdb.com/genre/horror
Read more, and help yourself.
-Derek
If you haven't already, check out the screenwriting tips sticky thread in our Screen Writing discussion forum, which has links to sites full of scripts free to read for educational purposes, screenwriting software (some free or useable in demo mode), formatting guides, hints & tips, etc. What are your top 20 favorite films? Read the screenplays and discover how the written words turned into the images and dialogue you loved.
Sites like imsdb.com break scripts down by genre, e.g. http://www.imsdb.com/genre/horror
Read more, and help yourself.
-Derek
Ah, to me some things are so FUNDAMENTAL to a Genre that we shouldn't always worry about some clown calling it a "cliche" or not:
Haunted houses, Experiments gone wrong, Zombies, power failures, horny teens, ancient curses ...
Nobody says "I liked Westerns but then the horses became cliche ... "
Do it well and it'll sell, as has been said before.
There's usually a new spin awaiting the imaginative spider!
All better now!
A great read... but now the image I have in my head is of a slow-moving mob chanting "Rhubarb."
(Which, upon further reflection strikes me as more of a zombie thing. Perhaps a mob of vegetarian zombies descending upon innocent gardens?)
(Which, upon further reflection strikes me as more of a zombie thing. Perhaps a mob of vegetarian zombies descending upon innocent gardens?)
Pretty Teens/People
Suddenly Super-Powered Female Heroes/Killers: It just seems expected in today's market. Shrooms and High Tension. I liked Sleep Away Camp (but then if you've followed it, you know the secret.
) and Silent Hill, the female leads were strong in a much better way.
Flashy Hollywood Horror: This can be a book or movie that seem to be just too "shiney," even the killer seems like he moonlights the graveyard shift at Abercrombie.
"Is It Dead?": "Yes, it is. Now $*^@ing drive!" Should be the answer.
Show the Monster: Lovecraft was the master, maybe still is the master of keeping things in the dark. I love the fact that no one knows the Joker's real origin, you don't know what's in the fog, Name the monster too quick and it seems like a shtick.
Suddenly Super-Powered Female Heroes/Killers: It just seems expected in today's market. Shrooms and High Tension. I liked Sleep Away Camp (but then if you've followed it, you know the secret.
) and Silent Hill, the female leads were strong in a much better way.Flashy Hollywood Horror: This can be a book or movie that seem to be just too "shiney," even the killer seems like he moonlights the graveyard shift at Abercrombie.
"Is It Dead?": "Yes, it is. Now $*^@ing drive!" Should be the answer.
Show the Monster: Lovecraft was the master, maybe still is the master of keeping things in the dark. I love the fact that no one knows the Joker's real origin, you don't know what's in the fog, Name the monster too quick and it seems like a shtick.
Willie, I take issue with Tippi Hedren and Jamie Lee Curtis being named as dumb blondes. Neither of them played brainless - in fact, Jamie was the class plain-Jane-brain, if I remember, and Tippi didn't really do anything stupid, apart from falling for Mr Boring, with his tiresome family. Both Jamie and the Tippster rescued kids and showed courage and resourcefulness when faced with dire peril.
As for my screenplays, guilty to the dark woods and splitting up in one of them, oh, my God, there's even a deputation of angry villagers - no torches, and there's only four of them, but eeek all the same!
The other three I'm wrestling with have none of the cliches, phew!
I like good old-fashioned horror, and I'd say if you want to get past the old cliches, use stuff and situations that have happened in your own life. Only today, in a post on this forum, for instance, I've told about a jacket that kept sliding off a hanger for - seemingly - no reason. It was bloody scary!
As for my screenplays, guilty to the dark woods and splitting up in one of them, oh, my God, there's even a deputation of angry villagers - no torches, and there's only four of them, but eeek all the same!
The other three I'm wrestling with have none of the cliches, phew!I like good old-fashioned horror, and I'd say if you want to get past the old cliches, use stuff and situations that have happened in your own life. Only today, in a post on this forum, for instance, I've told about a jacket that kept sliding off a hanger for - seemingly - no reason. It was bloody scary!
I agree. There are many people who still love the ghost stories, with haunted houses, see through spirits, graveyards, etc....
My own stories are not for the public, they are used to keep images in my head I later turn into artworks. Those artworks are mostly OF ghosts, haunted Houses, etc.... People really love the finished images, maybe because they remind them of the old ghost stories. It's what I think of when I make them.
In the near future, I'll be making an artwork of the original haunted house from Peter's "Ghost Story". Turns out the house was just a few miles away from the World Fantasy Convention, in Saratoga Springs. I met Mr. Straub at the convention, but didn't learn about the house until I returned to Canada.
Go figure.
Personally, what I'd like to see is:
Said busty blonde, alone in the dark, hears a terrible crash. Swings flashlight around - and then sighs and relaxes.
"Oh, Cruncher-of-Bones..." She said, with a little laugh, to what appears to be a seven-foot-tall mass of hair, teeth, and evilly-glowing eyes. "You startled me! Bad monster!"
Then she turns around - and is attacked and killed by a cat....
(*Grin*)
By-the-buy: The 'cat cliche' is actually much deeper than it appears at first blush.
In European folklore, cats have long been viewed as omens - indeed, it is said that a cat can see the specter of death. The 'clumsy cat' cliche is even more specific = folklore holds that cats only loose their natural grace when seeking to flee said aforementioned specter of death. Therefore:
Cat seen in any context in horror movie = sign something bad is going to happen. Clumsy cat seen in a horror movie = HUGE, BLINKING, NEON SIGN INDICATING SOMEBODY IS GONNA GET IT ANY SECOND NOW!
However, should you not have a cat handy, ravens work almost as well...
In European folklore, cats have long been viewed as omens - indeed, it is said that a cat can see the specter of death. The 'clumsy cat' cliche is even more specific = folklore holds that cats only loose their natural grace when seeking to flee said aforementioned specter of death. Therefore:
Cat seen in any context in horror movie = sign something bad is going to happen. Clumsy cat seen in a horror movie = HUGE, BLINKING, NEON SIGN INDICATING SOMEBODY IS GONNA GET IT ANY SECOND NOW!
However, should you not have a cat handy, ravens work almost as well...
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