What kind of creatures spook you?

Less Is More

I have to say that the overall ambience and mood is what determines whether I'm scared or not.

But if I actually must choose one type of creature, I'd have to say you're on to something with the ghosts because they're invisible thing. In fact, the less I actually see of a creature the more scared I am. So, if I were to be watching a horror movie, say, I may find it compelling up until the point it turns into a creature flick. Same with SF - just look at the SciFi channel's "original" features for examples of what not to do, if it's just another creature flick I lose interest immediately. And if it's anything covered in slime - slimy demons, slimy aliens, slimy slime molds, I just start to laugh out loud.

Now, take the movie Signs. It has examples of what to do and what not to do. For most of the movie I was actually quite engaged because you don't know what's really going on. There's something outside! It's out in the field making crop circles - can you see it, maybe, no! now it's on the roof! what is it? You don't quite know what's happening, either. Maybe it's aliens, but you get hints it's not quite that simple. Perhaps it's demonic beings from some other dimension, or maybe it's some kind of metaphysical concept about to break through and alter our reality. Who knows? Then Shyamalan goes and ruins it all by putting the creature in the living room. Oh, you say, it's just another futzing alien. Yeah, it spits acid or something. ho hum.

HP Lovecraft remains the master for me. Because his horrors are so insidious and unknown. You're no longer sure exactly what to be scared of, so maybe it's right outside. Maybe it's hiding behind the shower curtain. Or maybe it's out on the roof and if you look out your window, right now, it'll be looking back at you! You spend the next two days thinking like that.

Hmm. Lovecraft. So on that note, I guess my vote for scariest critter would have to go to the classic TMWNMTK (Things Man Was Not Meant To Know). Why, they're so scary we'd be better off not even thinking about them. Don't think about them - no you just did - stop it for the love of God!

Well, that was too long by half but I hope it helped.

Actually, none of the above scares me. I'm more afraid of flesh and blood monsters. Law and Order scares me more than Buffy does because I know those monsters exist. And children may have more to fear from the monster in the next room than the one under the bed.

That said, I watch movies like Queen of the Damned and Blade because I enjoy them. But I still turn the lights out when I go to bed.

And that's why I don't write much horror. I can't think of anything scary enough. If it doesn't scare me, how could it scare anyone else?

If I'm lost, anything will scare me! I hate being lost, period, and my anxiety goes through the roof. Otherwise, no particular creature disturbs me more than anything else. Get me going on a road that doesn't go where I thought it was going to go, in the dark or as it's getting dark, and I'm tired or not sharp, everything starts to look like alien and scary to me.

Horror writers scare me. If you have seen me in the morning you would know why.

Wandering Sensei said:

Law and Order scares me more than Buffy does

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Is Buffy supposed to scare anyone? I'm not a fan, so I wouldn't really know, but I didn't think there were people tuning in to be creeped out. Certainly the original movie was not that way - just a send-up of silly vampire movies.

Mr Underhill said:

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HP Lovecraft remains the master for me. Because his horrors are so insidious and unknown. You're no longer sure exactly what to be scared of, so maybe it's right outside. Maybe it's hiding behind the shower curtain. Or maybe it's out on the roof and if you look out your window, right now, it'll be looking back at you! You spend the next two days thinking like that.

Hmm. Lovecraft. So on that note, I guess my vote for scariest critter would have to go to the classic TMWNMTK (Things Man Was Not Meant To Know). Why, they're so scary we'd be better off not even thinking about them. Don't think about them - no you just did - stop it for the love of God!

Well, that was too long by half but I hope it helped.

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Yep, that's what does it for me, too. That, and the things scared, stupid people might do when they're backed into a corner.

The zombies of Night of the Living Dead have basically been the gist of my worst nightmares. I've never been afraid of werewolves (I got a kick out of seeing American Werewolf in London on cable recently). As for vampires, the only couple of vampire dreams included one that woke me up with a racing heart as I was being chased by a very fast vampire bat. The other one, however, was much more disturbing as I was actually one of them, dressed beautifully in a ball gown (turn-of-the-century), with a beautiful redhaired vampire as a friend, walking along with me along a mosaic tiled floor in an old castle. She was trying to convince me of the beauty of that life. Despite all the surrounding beauty, I knew that I had lost my soul and was forever damned. That disturbed me more than the chase dream. All in all though, flesh eating creatures from the grave beat `em all.

Re: Vampire Dreams

As for vampires, the only couple of vampire dreams included one that woke me up with a racing heart as I was being chased by a very fast vampire bat.

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That's just stress.

The other one, however, was much more disturbing as I was actually one of them, dressed beautifully in a ball gown (turn-of-the-century), with a beautiful redhaired vampire as a friend, walking along with me along a mosaic tiled floor in an old castle. She was trying to convince me of the beauty of that life. Despite all the surrounding beauty, I knew that I had lost my soul and was forever damned. That disturbed me more than the chase dream.

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Now that's quite good. It's that ambient aura of unnamed menace that does it, and dreams are a great place to find that. I find it helpful to try to write up such dreams as soon as I come out of them to try to get all the details and the feeling down. If you can get that ambience into a piece you write it does wonders. Of course, vampires are so overworked right now (for predictable psychosocial reasons) that most publishers are now - ah, what's the euphemism? - "de-emphasizing" vampire fiction.

But perhaps you could write up that scene where you keep the feeling, drop the pointy teeth and have your redheaded friend trying to recruit you into, say, the country club. (Ha!)

I think the unknown is pretty scary. Vampires, werewolves, Frankensteins -- in my mind those don't exist at all and don't even have a chance at ever existing. But things like ghosts - well, you just don't know. Even if you're fairly level-headed and such, sometimes if you're walking alone in the dark and the thought pops into your head you're more than a little spooked.

for me, when i'm deep in thought anything and anyone can scare the daylights out of me. so . . . catch me at the right time and you'll get quite a display of my fright.

Humans will always be the scariest.

When you've seen the hidden basement grave of a ten-year-old killed for his check (he was special needs/state-supported) whom no one noticed was missing...

When you've seen the blood that was slashed out of five children and a mother by her meth-addicted boyfriend...

When you've seen the face of a father as he learns the fate of his runaway daughter...

When you've seen the autopsy of a baby "who just wouldn't shut up"...

When you've seen an old woman die painfully alone because she already gave control of the money to the absent relatives...


Humanity-a horror for all seasons.

Alphabeter said:

Humans will always be the scariest.

Humanity-a horror for all seasons.

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You got that right. Just when you think it can't get worse, it does.