Group Discussion What are the ingredients of a good horror
story? What kind of scenery or setting might it have? What types of
characters would appear in the story? What events might happen in a
horror story?
Slide 3
Some other pupils opinions There should still be some kind of
mystery at the end so you think the story is not quite over. The
writer should build up suspense bit by bit so youre hanging on the
edge of your seat. To have the evil come from an unexpected place.
Things should happen in places you could see or visit so you would
believe it could happen to you. You should care about one of the
characters so that you invest in their survival.
Slide 4
You will now hear three extracts of stories. Working in pairs,
use the ideas you have just discussed, and the table below, to
decide: Where horror stories usually occur. The type of people
usually involved. The type of incidents that are likely to happen.
Ingredients SettingA forbidden room that is out of bounds.
CharacterSomeone is disturbed by what they see, is in danger of
being caught, but is fascinated and explores regardless.
EventsBuilding/creating character from other peoples bodies
(dolls)
Slide 5
Gothic stories became popular around 200 years ago and have
remained popular ever since. Gothic stories are usually about
ghosts and horror built up through creeping tension. They often
include these features: wild and remote places dark and gloomy
settings graveyards, tombs and corpses family curses and dark
secrets supernatural powers mysterious and frightening creatures,
people or ghosts old, ruined, isolated castles and mansions, often
with secret passages and mysterious towers nightmares, madness and
mental torment science used for evil or disastrous purposes extreme
natural events (storms, full moons etc.).
Slide 6
Task: Write a brief note to a budding gothic horror writer
giving them advice on the elements they should include in their
writing.
Slide 7
Question Time What novels or poems can you think of that may
have been influenced by the gothic genre?
Slide 8
Read the following two Gothic story openings and analyse the
language used which techniques help to convey the Gothic
atmosphere? A Mirkstane Tower finally rose into view behind a line
of dense, gloomy fir trees. The closer we got, the more it looked
like a brooding monster battered and bruised but still menacing. A
fierce wind tugged at its broken shutters. B A sudden dark shadow
swept across the bright moon, momentarily blocking out its light.
Megan stumbled against a gravestone that was leaning towards the
path like a cracked and crooked tooth. An owl gave a ghostly hoot.
Consider: Names and titles which have suggestions or associations
of words which convey fear, mystery, threat Powerful adjectives
(but not overdone). Strong nouns and verbs. Good similes, metaphors
and especially personification to evoke fear. A variety of sound
techniques but not overdone. Experimenting with symbolism and
foreshadowing.
Slide 9
Setting, character and suspense Gothic stories rely heavily on
setting and atmosphere. Writers try to create a clear and
imaginative setting or place where the action happens. They try to
describe that setting in ways that convey a powerful atmosphere or
mood. Suspense or tension can be created in a number of ways,
including having a character react to events and to the setting
around them. Good writers create suspense by: Describing things
that worry the character (and us, the readers!) Making us care
about characters so that we worry about them. Making a character
seem foolishly unaware of what might be about to happen. Making us
expect that terrible things are going to happen. Using a variety of
sentences to vary the speed of the story (see later section on
fierce creatures). Using a variety of powerful words and/or imagery
to describe the setting and the characters reactions.
Slide 10
Which of the techniques mentioned has Arthur Conan Doyle used
to create tension/suspense in this extract from The Hound of the
Baskervilles ? Analyse the passage, making notes as we read
through. Baskerville Hall Over the green squares of the fields and
the low curve of a wood there rose in the distance a grey,
melancholy hill, with a strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the
distance, like some fantastic landscape in a dream. Rolling pasture
lands curved upward on either side of us, and old gabled houses
peeped out from amid the dark green foliage, but behind the
peaceful and sunlit countryside there rose ever, dark against the
evening sky, the long, gloomy curve of the moor, broken by the
jagged and sinister hills. At every turn Baskerville gave an
exclamation of delight, looking eagerly about him and asking
countless questions. To his eyes all seemed beautiful, but to me a
tinge of melancholy lay upon the countryside, which bore so clearly
the mark of the waning year. Yellow leaves carpeted the lanes and
fluttered down upon us as we passed. The rattle of our wheels died
away as we drove through drifts of rotting vegetation sad gifts, it
seemed to me, for Nature to throw before the carriage of the
returning heir of the Baskervilles. Our driver half turned in his
seat.
Slide 11
Which of the techniques mentioned has Arthur Conan Doyle used
to create tension/suspense in this extract from The Hound of the
Baskervilles ? Analyse the passage, making notes as we read
through. Theres a convict escaped from Princetown, sir. Hes been
out three days now, and the warders watch every road and every
station, but theyve had no sight of him yet. Who is he, then? It is
Selden, the Notting Hill murderer. The road in front of us grew
bleaker and wilder over huge russet and olive slopes, sprinkled
with giant boulders. Now and then we passed a moorland cottage,
walled and roofed with stone, with no creeper to break its harsh
outline. Suddenly we looked into a cuplike depression, patched and
stunted with oaks and firs which had been twisted and bent by the
fury of years of storm. Two high, narrow towers rose over the
trees. The driver pointed with his whip. Baskerville Hall, said he.
The lodge was a ruin of black granite and bared ribs of rafters.
Baskerville shuddered as he looked up the long, dark drive to where
the house glimmered like a ghost at the further end.
Slide 12
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Slide 15
Find synonyms of these words to help improve your writing:
DarkBigHorror BadGross Scary Look Alarm Move ScaredFear
Say/said
Slide 16
Try writing your own version of a gloomy, depressing but
suspenseful journey. Make sure you use language effectively to
describe the passing countryside and setting a characters (or
characters) changing mood(s) an ominous mood, suggesting future
danger a final destination in the distance (or a close-up
description upon arrival) probably a huge, dark building will work
best. Use the pictures below to help you with the last bullet
point, if you want, but the earlier pieces of description will need
to be inspired by the Baskerville model.
Slide 17
Group Processing Take it in turns to read your piece of writing
to your group. Each group member is then asked to provide the
speaker with a criticism burger. Once all of your group has been
heard, identify the strongest piece of writing created during the
exercise to share with the class. You also need to identify any
issues or questions your group has had. Keep this anonymous the
point is not to name and shame. Use the language below to help
communicate your problems back to the class. We had issues with One
of our group struggled with We found that Positive comments Things
that can be done better Things that dont work Things that dont make
sense
Slide 18
Fearsome Creatures
Slide 19
Hideous Dogs The first of the creatures had already halved the
distance between itself and Matt, yet it didnt seem to be moving
fast. It hovered in the air between each bound, barely touching the
grass before jumping up again. There was something hideous about
the way it ran. A panther or leopard closing in for the kill has a
certain majesty. But the dog was deformed, lopsided, ghastly. The
flesh on one of its flanks had rotted and a glistening ribcage
jutted out. As if to avoid the stench of the wound, the animal had
turned away, its head hanging close to its front paws. Strings of
saliva trailed from its mouth. And every time its feet hit the
ground, its whole body quivered, threatening to collapse in on
itself. Matt reached the fence and clawed at it with his hands,
crashing his fingers against the wire. He thought he had run in a
straight line, following the way he had come, but he seemed to have
got it wrong. He couldnt find the gap. He looked behind him. Two
more bounds and the dogs would reach him. There was no doubt that
they would tear him apart. He could almost feel their teeth tearing
into him, ripping the flesh away from his bones. He had never seen
anything so ferocious not in a zoo, not in a film, not anywhere in
the real world. Language = word choice, imagery
(simile/metaphor/personification) and sentence structure. Consider
how Horowitz uses the following language techniques: Using vivid,
unusual words. Repeating words and phrases to build up a fast
rhythm. Using short sentences for impact.
Slide 20
Co-op Task Using the Thesaurus to help, write down as many
alternative words (synonyms) as you can think of for:
ghastlybounddeformed stenchtrailquiver clawtearferocious
Slide 21
Timed writing task Use your groups list of alternative words to
write TWO paragraphs: one describing your creature and one
describing your characters thoughts and actions when they come
across the creature.
Slide 22
Group Processing Take it in turns to read your piece of writing
to your group. Each group member is then asked to provide the
speaker with a criticism burger. Once all of your group has been
heard, identify the strongest piece of writing created during the
exercise to share with the class. You also need to identify any
issues or questions your group has had. Keep this anonymous the
point is not to name and shame. Remember, you will succeed or fail
as a team. Use the language below to help communicate your problems
back to the class. We had issues with One of our group struggled
with We found that Positive comments Things that can be done better
Things that dont work Things that dont make sense
Slide 23
Beginnings and Endings The strongest short stories have an
element of their ending relate to information (a hint/detail) that
can be found at the beginning of the story. As writers, we call
this foreshadowing. If the element at the end of the story relies
upon a prop/object of some kind, you may also hear the technique
referred to as a Chekhovs Gun. This label is usually used to refer
to plays rather than prose, but the concept remains a strong one
regardless.
Slide 24
Night of the Stick Insects by Alan Durant You got any pets?
Dog, cat, goldfish maybe? Well, Tommy had lots of pets jars and
tanks of them. Tommy bred stick insects, though I guess it wouldnt
be quite right to call them pets. His pet was really the gecko
lizard that lived in the big glass tank on his chest of drawers.
Every now and then hed get that out and, you know, pet it, stroke
it, chat to it, that kind of thing. The stick insects, well they
had other uses. Some of them, he sold and hed made a fair amount of
cash, too. It was amazing how many kids were willing to pay him for
the brown stick-like things. At school there was a craze for them.
Tommy thought they were kind of boring himself. They didnt do
anything did they? They just hung about on the wire mesh frame hed
put up against the container wall, imitating twigs. Big deal. He
much preferred preying mantises. His dad had a whole collection of
those, but he wouldnt let Tommy near them. 1.What language
techniques does the writer use to grab our attention in the opening
of the story? 2. What do you think will happen in the rest of the
story?
Slide 25
Night of the Stick Insects by Alan Durant By the dark, dark
early hours of the morning, Tommys room was thick with stick
insects, grown to a gigantic size some the size of Alsatian dogs.
In the darkness they hissed and clicked, as if in angry
conversation, discussing what to do. It was to this that Tommy
awoke His first thought was that he was having another nightmare.
And even when they lifted him from his bed with their sturdy,
tree-trunk limbs, he could not believe it was real, that this was
actually happening. It was only when they lifted him towards the
huge, open, slimy, tooth-filled mouth of the now monstrous gecko
that he understood the full, real horror of the situation. And by
then he was half-inside and it was too late. Explain how the tone
of the opening of the story is different from the ending (you might
have to read them again quickly!). Explain how clues in the opening
of the story prepare us for the ending.
Slide 26
Using the Thesaurus to help, write down as many alternative
words (synonyms) as you can think of for: Darkthick gigantic
darkness hissed clickedangry nightmare sturdy limbs hugeopenslimy
tooth-filled monstrous
Slide 27
SettingExamples Think of a location that is striking. Use your
imagination to give it detail. Focus on small features to add depth
to your descriptions. Draw a map or sketch of locations. Ask
yourself what might happen there? Then ask what is the least likely
thing to happen there? Write about something that will surprise the
reader but is believable. A:Deserted airfield, night, where a small
plane roughly touches down. B: A dark forest which someone suddenly
runs into and scrambles up a tree. C: A quiet country shop that
sells handmade trinkets where a tired traveller stops to ask for
directions. Take the ordinary and make it different. Take the
different and make it ordinary. or
Slide 28
Basics of Plot Normality Disruption to normality Attempts to
overcome the disruption/problem/issue Problem is
overcome/protagonist is beaten New normality Think of a basic
step-by-step storyline. Your story needs CONFLICT. Plan the first
stage. Think about what could happen as a result. Choose steps that
might surprise your reader (whilst being realistic). Write out your
plot as a flow chart diagram just the basic features for now.
Consider the final step in your story how do you want it to end?
StartEnd Main Conflict Attempts to overcome First Conflict
Slide 29
Academic Challenge Creating a Display You are tasked with
creating a display to teach the new S1 what you have learned about
gothic genre writing. Ok, time to think about what we should
include.
Slide 30
Information display
Slide 31
Academic Challenge Creating a Display Your display should
include: Examples of some of the vocabulary we have learned. Five
examples of the strongest techniques used in the extracts we have
read so far to create tension/suspense. Write down the quotation
and explain how each one suggests that things will turn out
badly/adds tension to the scene. An overview of the settings,
characters and events commonly found in gothic writing. You may
also wish to include: Examples from your own writing. Your budding
gothic horror note. Examples of well known gothic horror stories.
Pictures/illustrations. Examples of other gothic features we have
studied. Time to plan:10 minutes10 minutes