May Monster Madness #7 - Fiction - Hunting the Hunter PG13

Blog #7 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

So for the last day of the blog hop I've written a short story for you all. Since I raved about vampires so much I thought it should be a vampire story. This one actually turned out quite differently than I expected, but I'm rather pleased with it anyway.

I must warn for mentions of rape and the brief mention of child abuse because I know those trigger some people. The story is suitable for teen audiences and up. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it.

Hunting the Hunter

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

The bar was a dive; not really the place to be wearing an Armani suit, but Gregory had only had to deck one patron with a quick display of mixed martial arts for all of the others to leave him alone. He had learned long ago that if anyone remembered him they would remember the suit, not his face. He made sure to change it up a little each time he ventured out and he always affected a different persona to make sure he was never connected back. That was part of the game.

This time he was the tired businessman drinking himself into a stupor. He knew for a fact at least two of the patrons were waiting for him to collapse so they could steal his wallet, but they were going to be sorely disappointed. He'd already seen the man he was after.

His mark was 6'2'', dark haired and well turned out compared to most of the crowd in the place, which wasn't saying much. It was clear the man carried with him a mantel of fear as even those drinking with him were not as relaxed as they pretended. Gregory could see it all in the way they sat, showing bravado, but making minute movements every time their alpha dog so much as shifted his eyes. Gregory could read them like a book and all he was doing was looking at them; he was not impressed.

May Monster Madness #6 - The Monsters In Me

Blog #6 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

There are monsters in me, metaphorically speaking, and I suspect there are monsters in everyone. That's not to say we let out monsters out, but they are there.

The Vampire

The leach, the bloodsucker, I know I have one inside. It comes out when I just want to take something and not give back. I don't think I'm a selfish person; I like to give, sometimes more than I like to receive, but there is that part of me that is selfish. It's part left over survival mechanism, part laziness and occasionally I have to fight against it to bury the monster back inside.

There's also the sexy seducer of men ... well men translates to my husband and that's all I'm going to say or it would be TMI :).

The Werewolf

The animalistic, wild side of the human psyche. I don't have to fight this one much, I'm not a violent person by nature, but just occasionally I do explode. Usually at this point there is just shouting, but occasionally throwing things comes into it as well. I think I've only actually done this a couple of times in my life, but beware any who push me that far.

As for baying at the moon and shape shifting: I'm a writer, we all signed up to be lunatics, but we mostly shape shift with words.

The Zombie

Rather than 'Brains!' my call should be 'chocolate!' :) I can't drink caffeinated coffee or caffeinated tea because they don't agree with me, so if I have a bad morning start I reach for the chocolate. I'm actually quite a morning person, but every now and then, after a really later night the zombie comes out ;).

The Mad Axe Murderer

You should read some of my horror based fiction - that's where my mad axe murderer comes out :)

The (Little) Devil

Now I definitely have one of these, but she doesn't get to come out much because there's an angel balancing her. My devil pokes fun at other people and laughs at things she probably shouldn't laugh at, but they never get to the outside because the angel points out how making fun would hurt someone and how so-and-so really isn't funny if I think about it.

My devil is more about slightly wicked fun like dirty jokes and innuendo than anything else. I have a very dirty mind; I blame my mother :).

So those are my monsters, do you have your own?

May Monster Madness #5 - Vampires (yes again)

Blog #5 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

So I've done two blog posts on vampires in as many months, but never you fear, I always have more to say about vampires :).

Anyone who knows me would be able to tell you that I'm a little bit obsessed when it comes to vampires. It started in the 80s when I was a teenager and saw The Lost Boys and it continues to this day. Check out my 'Vampires' label on this blog and you will see.

I love vampire legend and lore, I love vampire books, I love vampire movies and I love vampire TV shows. About the only thing I'm not into when it comes to vampires are those groups who consider themselves real vampires. If it makes them happy and they're not hurting anyone I don't see why they can't have their own lifestyle, but definitely not my thing.

May Monster Madness #4 - Fear of the Dark

Blog #4 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

When I was much younger, less than eight, I never had a problem with windows looking out into the dark. I didn't like being in the dark, but looking out into it was never a problem. Then I read a children's ghost story in a Mandy annual (probably the one to the left, but I can't remember the year).

It was a simple story about a girl who heard something at her window and thought it must just be a branch or a bird. Then she looked and it was a face and she screamed and screamed. It wasn't graphic, just a little story, but I still can't sleep with the curtains open. Isn't it strange how childhood things still affect us. I used the same idea in my book Face of the Dead, because I remember it freaking me out so much.

Dark places into which we cannot see are the most fantastic spots for monsters.

The best use of this I have seen recently is the Hammer version of The Woman In Black with Daniel Radcliff. They have this arch at the end of a long hallway that is so dark it is almost completely black and, of course, eventually, that's where the woman in black appears. You can see the black alcove I'm talking about over Arthur's shoulder in this picture.

The Alien films also use dark spaces very well. There is the moment, I can't remember which film, where there is a dark alien hallway, totally still, until the alien suddenly moves. It is a perfect moment of fear.

Of course the darkness of space is superb for horror, as the catch phrase goes: "In space, no one can hear you scream."

Another space horror movie that uses the dark to terrify us is Pitch Black with Vin Diesel. I have to admit, I prefer the sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, which is much more space opera Sci-Fi, but I do have a soft spot for Pitch Black as well.

It's basically another reworking of the Alien genre, but it's well done with an interesting array of characters. The creatures cannot stand light, so, of course, all darkness is dangerous. This is a blatant use of the human fear of the dark and it works very well.

We rely so much on our sense of sight that anything that lurks in the dark can terrify us. My favourite monsters of all don't terrify me (well not usually), but they do lurk in the dark. I am a huge vampire fan and most of them have a big problem with daylight. Bringing this blog full circle, the creepiest vampire I remember gave me another problem with windows.

When I was ten or eleven I think, I remember seeing Salem's Lot (the original mini series) on TV. Now this had a superb scene where Ralphie Glick comes to his brother and floats outside his window (see below). This gave me the heebeegeebees for weeks, especially since, at the time, we were on holiday with relatives and my sister and I were sleeping in a room with the exact same windows. A mist comes up out of the dark, Ralphie floats in and then his brother Danny lets him in, to his doom.

I have to admit, I enjoy the remake, but it doesn't quite manage to be as eerie as that one scene I remember.

What monsters lurk in your dark places? ;)

[Edit: Just thought I'd add, I wrote a drabble (100 word story) inspired by Monster Madness today as well: Cocoon of Safety?]

May Monster Madness #3 - Things That Go Bump ...

Blog #3 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

Okay, so what is scarier than the monster you can see stalking you? The monster you can't see.

In recent years I think Hollywood has forgotten this, because it has budgets for huge special effects. The thing about the human imagination is that we are all different; different things scare us to different amounts. Hence, the more you leave to the human imagination, the scarier it is likely to be for everyone.

The greatest weapon in the arsenal of scare to achieve this in a film is SOUND.

I think one of the genres that understands this best these days is Asian Horror (Japanese, Korean etc). What they do is have long build up scenes where you have really creepy noises and thuds which show you the monster's progress. By the time the monster actually appears the viewer is so scared already it could look like a little fluffy bunny and everyone would still be terrified. The sound of the cat and Kayako Saeki's croaking sound from The Grudge both spring to mind - you can hear them at this site if you would like to.

English and American horror used to understand this as well. If you look at a film like The Haunting (the original specifically, but they used some similar devices in the remake) it relies a lot on sound and the building of fear. The reactions of the actors are what create the atmosphere, not some huge monster leaping out of the cupboard.

One set of films from the modern era that does understand this, I think, is Paranormal Activity. Because the first one was made on a shoestring budget they could not rely on special effects or the Hollywood tricks of big block busters, they had to go old school. They didn't use sound all the time, but what they did was quite stunning. The fact that we didn't really see anything was total genius. Having to nip to the loo at 3am after seeing Paranormal Activity suddenly became much scarier :).

Paranormal Activity is also a genre that shows how simple effects can be brilliant. In #3 the bit that scares the hell out of me isn't any of the big scenes at the end, it's the scene with the babysitter and the sheet. Now a sheet is the cheesiest representation of a ghost ever and yet this scene scared the stuffing out of me the first time I saw it.

All it is, is a moving camera the swings from left to right and back again past a central pillar. The sheet ghost never moves when the camera is on it, only when it is not, and it is terrifying. What may or may not happen is left totally to the viewer's imagination and that's the worst part. I didn't enjoy PA3 as much as PA1 and PA2, but that scene was magnificent.

The same principles can be applied to the written word as well. The build up to a monster in a book is just as important as it is in film. If a writers describes the monster straight away, they've lost something. Sound can play an important part in this and an author has the advantage of being able to use smell and touch as well. The cold clammy touch on the back of the neck, the tap, tap, tapping on the window, the low moaning that could be the wind, the dank smell of mould and decay: all can be used to build the mood.

Too many people seem to think instant gratification, instant scare with full on monsters is the best way to go, when in fact it's the build up, the tension that creates the terror. I think monsters are much more likely to terrify when we can't see them.

Thank you for reading. What are your favourite scary moments in movies or books?

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If you enjoy books with a ghost story build up, you might like my book Face of the Dead:

Face of The Dead
Old houses creak and groan and make noises. Miles had expected that when he bought the farmhouse, but the tapping on the windows is a bit of a shock the first night he moves in. Of course there has to be a rational explanation and Miles is determined to find it, which would be easier if things didn't keep getting stranger.

You can see all of my other titles listed beside this blog.

May Monster Madness #2 - The Monster Under the Bed

Blog #2 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

Everyone must have had one of those moments where you tuck yourself under the covers so the monster won't get you. I know I had them as a child and I still have them and I'm *coughs loudly to mask the number*.

The human brain is an amazing place. One moment we can be perfectly rational and the next we turn off the light and suddenly we are surrounded by monsters.

Two places held certain terror as a child: the wardrobe and under the bed. The wardrobe door had to be completely closed and there was no way I was ever looking under the bed when the light was off. I honestly have no idea what I expected to come out of either place, but it was definitely some sort of monster. These days I hate it when the door to our back bedroom is open at night; it just spooks me (probably something to do with that room being really cold too :)).

When I was younger I remember reading a short story in a horror anthology about a mummified arm that an explorer brought back from Egypt that proceeded to come to life and stalk his house and kill people.

I can't remember who wrote it or what eventually happened. but I do remember a scene where the arm climbs the bedclothes to a sleeping person; inch by inch, making its way closer to the person just lying there. To me that mental image is way worse than a whole mummy. The idea of an unattached arm moving by itself filled me with dread.

It's like in Evil Dead 2 - the hand is far scarier than the zombies. Of course this doesn't apply to Thing from The Addams Family, because how could anyone not love Thing? Then again that is one universe that breaks many rules when it comes to monsters :).

Of course there is one rule with bedroom monsters in horror; if you are under the covers you should be safe. One of the films I really love and scares me silly is Juon (The Grudge) - now there are some monsters for you. The part that scared me totally witless the first time I saw it was where they break the golden rule. In the bed should be safe; under the covers is a haven, only, not so much:

Thank you so much for reading, please, tell me about the monsters under your bed.

Some of my books you might like:

When Darkness Beckons
This is a two story horror anthology created for All Hallows Read 2012.

Catcher of Souls by Natasha Duncan-Drake (that's me :))
Is a ghost killing people?
Some Things Are Stranger... by Sophie Duncan
A werewolf is being hunted and finds a friend who might not be all he seems.

Book of Darkness
An anthology of six short horror stories.

Sleep Of The Damned by Natasha Duncan-Drake
How would you cope if you discovered your bed was haunted?
BFF by Sophie Duncan
New school, new best friend, but Karen discovers that Debbie has dark secrets.
Just One Day by Sophie Duncan
The house is haunted for just one day a year.
The Crosses We Bear by Natasha Duncan-Drake
If there is a cross above your bed in a hotel, might be best not to move it.
Queen Of My World by Sophie Duncan
Alfred doesn't like people very much, but he knows how to use them to get what he wants and he wants Lissy.
Dead Not Dying by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Tigger died, only the old cat came back.

May Monster Madness #1 - A Myriad Monsters

Blog #1 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

It's my write-like-a-mad-thing month so, of course, I signed up to another blog hop :). In my defence, this one is irresistible  how can I not join something called May Monster Madness?

This is a seven day hop and I have created posts for every day, so please, do keep checking back. If the A to Z Challenge taught me anything it's get everything done in advance.

Today I thought I'd talk about all the different types of monsters I can think of off the top of my head, going back in my memory to dredge up some of my earliest recollections.

When I think monster and look back to being young, the first thing that comes to mind is fairy tales. Giants and wicked witches are the monsters I remember in these. Have a piccie of the wicked witch from the recent Hansel and Gretel film as an example. Now she was a lot nastier and graphic in the movie than I remember from the stories, but The Brothers Grimm always did sanitise their fairy tales.

Another early memory that comes up when I think of monsters is Ray Harryhausen (RIP) because his Sinbad, Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonaughts movies are still some of my favourite.

The one that always comes to mind is Medusa from Clash of the Titans. It's her scaly skin and that look in her eyes that has stayed with me since I first saw the film and that sound she made as she moved. I always loved the monsters from Greek myths and Ray Harryhausen brought them to life for me throughout my childhood.

Of course the older we get, the nastier our monsters get as well, although not always more frightening. When I was a teenager I enjoyed movies where the monsters were gorier and often humans gone bad, like Candyman and A Nightmare on Elmstreet. I revelled in monsters along the lines of Freddy and his friends, but I find these days I tend to prefer monsters that are less slasher and more fangs and claws.

I think it's that I have more of a sense of my own mortality these days and so I like monsters to be more supernatural. I know Candyman and Freddy both had powers, but they were still nastily human.

One type of monster I avoid all together is the slasher movie madman as in Saw. I enjoy a good serial killer film or book, but not when it takes the leap into slasher territory. For example, I really enjoy Silence of the Lambs, but the follow up, where Hanibal slices off the top of one of the investigators heads and has him sitting at dinner - that takes it too far for me. It's a very fine line and probably a bit arbitrary  but I do not argue with my squick index :).

These days I like my monsters alien (Alien, Predator, Species), romantic (Dracula, Underworld, Anita Blake, Salem's Lot), dead (Resident Evil, Zombieland, The Haunting, The Lady in Black), demonic (The Exorcist, ), or animal (American Werewolf in London, Dog Soldiers).

Time for the shameless self promotion :). If you enjoy ghost and monsters I have a couple of books out you might like.

When Darkness Beckons
This is a two story horror anthology created for All Hallows Read 2012.

Catcher of Souls by Natasha Duncan-Drake (that's me :))
When Miles sets foot inside The King James pub he knows instantly there is a disembodied soul in residence. The question is, is the soul responsible for the deaths that have happened on the site or were they just accidents. It's Miles' job to catch troublesome lost souls, but when danger strikes he might just be too late.

Some Things Are Stranger... by Sophie Duncan
Life is weird enough for Jake being a werewolf on the run from The Pagan Dawn, ruthless hunters determined to wipe out all 'paranormal scum'. His luck runs out when he is ambushed after a Halloween party and, badly injured, he dives into the shadows of an abandoned warehouse with his pursuers on his heels. Yet, Jake discovers that he is not alone and his encounter with a goofy hobo, who talks about the place being haunted, teaches him that all strangeness is relative.

Book of Darkness
An anthology of six short horror stories.

Sleep Of The Damned by Natasha Duncan-Drake
How would you cope if you discovered your bed was haunted?
BFF by Sophie Duncan
New school, new best friend, but Karen discovers that Debbie has dark secrets.
Just One Day by Sophie Duncan
The house was a bargain and Georgie loves it, so she's not going to listen to the strange warning from the estate agent that for one day every year it is haunted.
The Crosses We Bear by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Shitty hotel, shitty team bonding weekend, but Lyle gets more than he bargained for when he removes the cross from above his bed.
Queen Of My World by Sophie Duncan
Alfred doesn't like people very much, but he knows how to use them to get what he wants and he wants Lissy.
Dead Not Dying by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Jo loves her cat, Tigger, but when he comes back from near death, Jo eventually realises that it might actually have been death itself.