"Scary" MCs?

CalRazor

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So, for horror novels, is it better to have a "scary" MC or one that isn't? Presuming being mildly to moderately scary isn't the only thing that defines his/her personality.
 

starrystorm

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I don't write horror, but I think it depends on what kind of story you want to write. Do you need your character to be "scary" for the plot? Because I think either way will work. Then again, I don't write horror.
 

Curlz

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In "It" the MC wasn't scary. The main characters there were a bunch of kids. The scary character was the monster they were fighting. In "Poltergeist", another classic horror tale, the MC is also not scary. In all Lovecraft stories (more classics) the MC is not scary.

Your turn to name horror stories with scary MC, and then just compare with the above, and decide. :Thumbs:
 

CalRazor

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I don't write horror, but I think it depends on what kind of story you want to write. Do you need your character to be "scary" for the plot? Because I think either way will work. Then again, I don't write horror.

Yep, it's plot-driven scariness, except I didn't realize or consider my MC might be scary until my partner pointed it out (though she never said if it was a good or bad thing, just an observation).

In "It" the MC wasn't scary. The main characters there were a bunch of kids. The scary character was the monster they were fighting. In "Poltergeist", another classic horror tale, the MC is also not scary. In all Lovecraft stories (more classics) the MC is not scary.

Your turn to name horror stories with scary MC, and then just compare with the above, and decide. :Thumbs:

I'm obviously familiar with those titles, but my mind is firmly rooted in 90s YA horror (MS is adult horror). Just wondering if there has been a more recent shift in what's allowed for MCs in horror books.
 

Curlz

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Me thinks you're thinking about movie posters rather than the actual story. Freddie Krueger, Jason, Swamp Thing etc were all the title monster which sold the story but not always the MC.
 

CalRazor

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Me thinks you're thinking about movie posters rather than the actual story. Freddie Krueger, Jason, Swamp Thing etc were all the title monster which sold the story but not always the MC.

Yeah, title monster doesn't equal MC. Not sure if my MC functions as both, acting as too much of a distraction from the actual antagonist (he's "well-meaning" but maybe a little scary, the MC I mean).
 
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Feidb

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My MCs are the heroes, only scary to the icky bug (or bugs) which aren't necessarily bugs at all. The heroes may have their quirks, but the point of my stories is to make the MC relatable to the reader (more or less) and make the icky bugs the scary parts (and maybe the environment as well). Just my style.
 

Denevius

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I think it’s more that the MC is engaging that’s important for fiction as a whole. For the horror genre, though, there should be something in there that’s disturbing on some level, whether it’s the MC, the scenario, the plot, etc.
 

MoonTheLune

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That highly depends on what your main conflict is.

If you want a Man vs. World, in which you want the character more afraid of what is outside? Then you don't want a scary MC.
If you want a Man vs. Self, in which the character is more afraid of himself? Then you want a scary MC.

Personally, I tend to gravitate towards the latter. There's a lot of good juice in writing, in particular, a female lead who is terrified of her own dark desires... ;)