June Elements Of Horror - Sounds Of Fear

There has been much made in recent years of the sounds of fear - indeed, several films have played with the strange sounds which give people pause for reflection on what they consider to be "strange" - the abysmal way in which most of these have been handled doesn't invalidate the use of sound, but highlights the delicate touch required to properly implement the use of acoustic horror.

One quote which consistently makes me think about the way sounds are incorporated into storytelling is the oft-overlooked "the scariest sound in the world is children's laughter in an empty room". Playing off this, and using the introduction of senses in prose to their fullest, highlight what you believe to be the scariest sound you can imagine.

For those who want to play further, you can also utilize smell to enhance the mood of the piece, though (an added wrinkle for those accustomed to traditional horror pieces) I would rather visual descriptions were left out, or dealt with in unconventional ways - the notion that something is indescribable is something of a cheat.

That should keep people busy and out of trouble for a while...

FOTSGreg said:

But what other sounds are there? The sound of intestines slithering behind a walking corpse that's been disemboweled, the sound of shambling feet on pavement (what's that going to sound like amplified to a hundred or a thousand corpses?), the screaming (oh, yes, the screaming) as some unfortunate is dragged down and eaten alive?

Click to expand...

There are more sounds than the big, flashy ones (the sounds that grab our attention - a whisper in your ear, when you know that you are alone in the room, is more terrifying than any amount of screaming. Echoes are good as well, playing off the fear that the words coming back might not be the ones you said.

And you guys do realize you have a wealth of words to play with, right? I haven't seen "ululations" in print in... damn, it must be years now.

I've been thinking about this a ridiculous amount.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no limit on the number of pieces you put up (well... within reason - sticking a dozen up in one go is probably gonna annoy peeps).