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Sample idea: History
repeats itself
Many of the horror writers of the past set their stories firmly
in the period in which they lived. If you look beneath the surface
you'll often find not just a horror story but a deeply felt comment
on the social conditions of the time.
Think of the Victorian
era, when people were encouraged to be more civilised, yet their
behaviour (the way they treated their children and employees,
for example) was often low-brow and brutal. It comes as no surprise
to learn that 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was
written then - as a thinly disguised comment on the double standards
of that society.
But what about today? What are the prevailing social conditions
that you might want to embed and comment upon in your own story?
There are plenty to choose from: the number of prisoners has
never been higher; paedophiles prowl the internet; spam clogs
our inboxes;
computer
viruses and scams are rife; public spending is forever being
cut and services reduced; taxes rise constantly; the planet
is being polluted for future generations; more countries are
becoming industrialised and increasing pollution still further;
highly developed countries refuse to cut back even though alternatives
are available; greed and economics come first; cheap TV fills
our screens yet fortunes are spent on making movies;
youths are turning feral and making our streets no-go areas ...
I could go on, and I'm sure you could too.
Think about how you could turn one of these ideas into a 'monster'
of your own. Once you've done that you could simply reuse the
basic plot of Jekyll and Hyde, or Dracula, or any of the other
Victorian horror stories. Or pick one from a different era if
those don't appeal. How will your story end? How is your 'monster'
dealt with? If you use one of these plots, the answer is
given to you -
because history always repeats itself and we keep making the
same mistakes.
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