Newt, a little girl, is the sole survivor on a planet of human settlers that has been ravaged by the aliens. Very spooky in context. But lose that context and what have we got? Let’s break it down.

We have a ‘they’. This is, of course, quite ambiguous and gets our minds racing: Who or what is ‘they’? They could be supernatural creatures, they could be human or animal. Because of the night-time reference, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine ‘they’ might even be vampires. That the monster was, as a matter of fact, one of the most terrible imagined (for its time) is neither here nor there. The implication is that these guys come at night — when humans are always vulnerable — and that they are really very bad news.

The ‘mostly’ fills us with an unexplained dread, too. Not only do we have an unimaginable terror running around in the dark that we must, simply must, hide from, that terror could actually come in the day-time too. No vampire, this, eh?

That’s my take, anyway. Discussion always welcome.

I was thinking of what a fellow writer said to me, too, about thrillers needing that horror kick. Indeed, the thriller kick is nearly always something that could have, or has, happened in reality: the serial killer’s history; the torturer’s den; the stalking of another. Which brings to mind the opening line of the first novel I ever wrote, Razor. Though I classify the novel as a dark fantasy/horror, my beta readers always assumed it was a thriller until half-way through the opening chapter. Here’s the line:

“Raul watched the man who watched the children.”

So, your turn now — why is it scary?

…Or not, as the case may be.

Write or quote a SINGLE sentence in which the very essence of horror is embodied.

In the interest of education, I believe we are allowed to post small excerpts from published works and films…? If anyone disagrees, please let me know and I shall remove said excerpts. I would, of course, like to discuss each line accordingly, for its merits and value — how exactly it gives over that horror kick, and how strong the reaction. Let’s try to use quotes that don’t need context. Do they fail because of that lack of setting, history, etc? Which are scarier, the one’s which make us say “eeeewww” or otherwise. How can we use this knowledge to help with our horror/dark fant writings?

And I’d like to post up some originals too. Email me with ideas, etc: womblinATwomblin.com

How about this one to start with, from a movie: Aliens — “They mostly come at night. Mostly.”

Mwhahahahaaa…

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