May Elements - Repercussions/Van Helsing Explains the Monster

slcboston · May 7, 2012

Ok fellow writers of things that go bump in the night, here's May's elements:

1: Repercussions

This one is something that may or may not fit directly into the story, but is an element that I think needs to be considered more often than it often is. After slaying the monster, or halting the ritual, or undoing the curse, how does that change the monster-slayer? What is their life like post-event?

I think if I'd managed to survive the vampire uprising or zombie rebellion, I'd be pretty @#$% up for quite a while. Nightmares, at least, and probably PTSD. But those might be short term. What about long term?

And if the monster-slayer is someone your protagonist needs to come to for answers about the current goings-on, that might even lead to...

2: Van Helsing Explains the Monster

You know you've written this scene at least once.

Your Van Helsing stand-in needs to explain to the hero the back story or local legend or whatever it is that provides an explanation for what the protagonist(s) is up against, and do it in such a way that it doesn't feel like the story's come to an abrupt halt (or that the character is as bat@#$% crazy as Anthony Hopkins was in the role).

FOTSGreg · May 7, 2012

Awesome, Bos. Even if I'm the one who'll suffer the repercussions..l

Rhoda Nightingale · May 7, 2012

slcboston said:
2: Van Helsing Explains the Monster

You know you've written this scene at least once.

I TOTALLY JUST DID THIS! If I have a YA horror, can I still post in our part of SYW, or should I post it in the YA section? Or will you guys just click whatever link I give you and never mind which section it's in?

slcboston · May 7, 2012

I think you could probably post it wherever, and then just give us the link.

soapdish · May 8, 2012

Ooh, the Van Helsing thing. I *know* I've done this.

Excellent choices, Boston!

Umbrageofsnow · May 10, 2012

I'm not usually much for explaining the monster in general (or slaying it, or breaking the curse for that matter), but I'd like to stretch the horror muscles a bit. Is it okay for a complete newbie to join your exercise before the end of the month?

And if so, I'm curious about when you guys considered a detailed explanation necessary. Forgive me for thinking "out loud" for a moment here. Presumably the monster should be based off folklore in one way or another, so that characters have a reason to understand things about it. And presumably it should be something the protagonist has very little understanding of. And if we really need to explain a creature to the audience, it should not be part of our common English-speaking well-known folklore.

I may be interpreting this too narrowly, but that leaves us with:
a) Monster has come from a foreign place.
b) Protagonist visits foreign place, encounters local monster.

Now Dracula was a foreign monster, but he was rather sophisticated. But it would seem to me that having someone "explain the monster" could lead to an odd sort of cliche about foreign folklore being more true than our own, or even unfortunate implications about 'primitive' cultures, or something... Just seems to samey to me I guess.

I'm interested in all of your experienced thoughts on this, but I had a few ideas to subvert this, I'm wondering if anyone else is doing something like one of these:
1) The protagonist is the foreign monster, out of touch with her own culture.
2) Protagonist is just unfamiliar with own local folklore.
3) Folklore is extremely local, i.e. urban myth of a particular city.
4) Fictional American/British/Whatever-You-Are mythology.
5) House formerly owned by foreign family has a ghost obeying foreign rules, but slowly mixing old rules with more local mythology.

Sorry for the rambling, I was just thinking about this a lot, typing it out in this message box, and wanted to see what you guys think too.

BigWords · May 10, 2012

Umbrageofsnow said:
Is it okay for a complete newbie to join your exercise before the end of the month?

Everyone is welcome to join in.

Umbrageofsnow said:
Presumably the monster should be based off folklore in one way or another, so that characters have a reason to understand things about it.

I'm using a very unique character with a complex set-up. No folklore elements whatsoever (for which I'm sure to get complaints that I screwed up the explanation).

Umbrageofsnow said:
But it would seem to me that having someone "explain the monster" could lead to an odd sort of cliche about foreign folklore being more true than our own, or even unfortunate implications about 'primitive' cultures, or something... Just seems to samey to me I guess.

You can go wild. Unfortunate implications is why I am creating something from scratch. Good luck.

Rhoda Nightingale · May 10, 2012

Welcome, Umbrage!

You raise some interesting points, but like BW, I tend to either create my own monsters or put a new spin on existing ones.

See also my user title (Vampire Junkie). Vampires have been done SO often, and in so many different ways, that it's somewhat necessary to establish just what type of mythology you're working with. Little details like what will and won't kill your monster are very important for a character to know about.

Assuming your protag is trying to kill the monster, of course.

That's what the Van Helsing speech is for--working out what exactly your monster is, what its weaknesses are, and how to kill it.

The reason it's a challenge is because it can be info-dumpy when it's done badly.

slcboston · May 10, 2012

Umbrageofsnow said:
But it would seem to me that having someone "explain the monster" could lead to an odd sort of cliche about foreign folklore being more true than our own, or even unfortunate implications about 'primitive' cultures, or something

I don't think this is the case at all. If you look into any folklore, from wherever (and there is plenty of indigenous lore in any country, the US included, that you could cover a lot of ground without resorting to "foreign" folklore, for whatever that is worth), there always seems to be odd ways and things to kill whatever it is the monster is.

I just learned something the other day about copper bullets being used for... something. Vampires, I think.

:idea:

So anyway, it's less a question of it being "more true" than it is the need to ground it in something. Where did it come from, what does it want (if anything besides the old hack and slash), how do you get rid of it. These are the kind of basic questions the audience will ask, and the Van Helsing speech is as much for the audience as it is the characters.

Moreover, just because it's something familiar, doesn't mean it's the same. If you go back to the actual, original Van Helsing speech, the things he lays out about what Dracula can and cannot do might surprise you a bit.

Even if you created something completely new and different, you still need answers on those fronts.

Good questions, though.

Rhoda Nightingale · May 10, 2012

slcboston said:
If you go back to the actual, original Van Helsing speech, the things he lays out about what Dracula can and cannot do might surprise you a bit.

Exactly--there are a heck of a lot of loopholes in Dracula's story, and a lot of things that are assumed in popular culture that just weren't there in Bram Stoker's novel.

Such as Dracula's ability to go out in sunlight, the extent of his shapeshifting abilities, etc.

Then there's Eddie Izzard's hilarious deconstruction of the Dracula mythos, such as crosses and garlic and what-have-you. Does doing the sign of cross with just your fingers still work? Or does it have to be an actual cross? If the cross gets the top knocked off, and becomes an "T" sign, does that work? Or do you have to hold your thumb up above it?

Your readers will ask these questions.

BigWords · May 10, 2012

Oh, and it isn't just Dracula - werewolves do not look like particularly hairy people (those are wolfmen, and are pretty much a Hollywood invention), but are actual wolves. All that stuff can come into play.

slcboston · May 10, 2012

Rhoda Nightingale said:
Then there's Eddie Izzard's hilarious deconstruction of the Dracula mythos, such as crosses and garlic and what-have-you.

And the next time I need a character to give this speech, that character will now be based of off Eddie Izzard.

:roll:

soapdish · May 24, 2012

I am the first to go, huh?

Rhoda Nightingale · May 24, 2012

Guess so! Mine isn't going to happen this month, unfortunately; I need to rework that whole scene, and while I will have a Van Helsing Explains It All scene at some point, it's not going to happen the way I thought it would.

*off to read*

BigWords · May 24, 2012

Mine isn't so much Van Helsing Explains It All as it is Clarissa Explains It All - as soon as I can get rid of the hellish amount of narm I'll post, but... Ew. You do NOT want to see the mess I am making of this. *sigh*

slcboston · May 25, 2012

BigWords said:
Mine isn't so much Van Helsing Explains It All as it is Clarissa Explains It All

Clarissa has no place in a horror work.

None.

I worry about you, man.

:roll:

slcboston · May 25, 2012

Rhoda Nightingale said:
Guess so! Mine isn't going to happen this month, unfortunately; I need to rework that whole scene, and while I will have a Van Helsing Explains It All scene at some point, it's not going to happen the way I thought it would.

You know, as long as this got you thinking about it, I think that's all that counts. I'm still kicking around Greg's historical zombie prompt, and though it's long past that month, I wouldn't have had the idea for it without it.

:e2writer:

slcboston · May 25, 2012

.... Also, this thread is totally justified for the whole Eddie Izzard thing.

Rhoda Nightingale · May 25, 2012

That's it, I'm posting the link again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QGhSYgPhgA

kkbe · May 25, 2012

Who's Eddie Izzard? I'll google it. Just letting people here know, I've been inspired again. I just wrote a Van Helsingesque thing, which I shall post on the Horror SYW. . .

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Edit. I know who Eddie Izzard is now. I'm pleased with myself.

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SYW, Horror. Over and out.

May Elements - Repercussions/Van Helsing Explains the Monster

slcboston

Pasture-ized

FOTSGreg

Today is your last day.

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

slcboston

Pasture-ized

soapdish

writing

Umbrageofsnow

BigWords

Geekzilla

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

slcboston

Pasture-ized

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

BigWords

Geekzilla

slcboston

Pasture-ized

soapdish

writing

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

BigWords

Geekzilla

slcboston

Pasture-ized

slcboston

Pasture-ized

slcboston

Pasture-ized

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

kkbe

Huh.