Something about his eyes tapped into the very essence of what scared me.
I was only 8 years old when the movie "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" hit all the movie theaters. Looking back, it was a silly film, horribly acted, poorly scripted, and still, to me, horrific.
The general premise of the movie was simple, but true. A serial killer that wore a white hood over his head terrorized Texarkana, Arkansas for a period in the forties. He only struck at night, hence the title of the movie. He killed, to my knowledge, 6-7 people, and terrorized two more.
The most horrific part of this movie, to my 8 year old brain, was the fact that he was never caught.
And those eyes..
His eyes would alternate between hollowed out and bulging as you would alternately view the movie, depending on the lighting.
Having seen the trailer for the movie, I was scared to death he was still out there... and looking for me.
This horrific image dominated my nights as a child, and I would spend untold hours laying awake at night, peeking at my bedroom door, waiting for that white hood and those eyes to lunge through it.
Now, I am a grown man, father, and husband. I still sleep lightly, and double lock my doors. It makes no difference the guy would be in his geriatric years.
He only needs those eyes and that hood to scare the shit out of me.
Ironically, this is the story of how I came to write horror. It put me in touch with what scared me, of course. More than that, it put me in touch with the darkness of mankind.
I really have wondered through the years why it scared me so. I think now, looking through an adult's eyes, it was the fact that the darkness that lies inside us all, was behind that mask.
For most of us, that darkness is ignored and pushed away because we have a check and balance system. With people like him, the balances are not there, and the darkness is released.
What horrible stagnation of feeling a person must have to look into the eyes of another human being, and feel nothing as he erases their existence?
He must have been animalistic in nature, and driven by pure evil.
Who among us hasn't wished we could slam our car into the asshole that just cut us off in traffic? Yet, we do not. That is the essence of it all. What stops us? How do we give that gene, or that essence if you will, to those with the darkness?
It is this, and other questions of darkness I will be looking to explore in my next novel. It will be titled "Those Eyes" and the first chapter will be up soon.
I wrote this as a sort of intro, to see if there was interest in such a book. Any comments, suggestions, or insight would be appreciated as I plan to do this very soon.
"What scares you, little boy?"
Author notes
Please feel free to share suggestions, and let me know if you are interested in reading such a book! Thanks as always...
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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That was a great little essay. You certainly write well. I think you expressed perfectly the difference between the killers and the people like you and me.
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I like to read a variety of stories and this would be one of them. I think many readers would love such a book, at least one good thing came out of scaring yourself as a child.
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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I would certainly be up for reading such a novel. The one I am working on at the moment is about one man's journey and development into a serial killer. It is a subject that has always fascinated me. I have studied it for several years. It intrigues me as to what it is that causes a handful of people to actually step over that line and kill......
I would love to read your ideas on the subject. -
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Me as well...
Becky, I agree with all you have said. I look forward to yours as well.. Maybe we could get together sometime, and collaborate or brainstorm? -
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That would be great! I think we would come up with some excellent ideas there!
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i live on fear and anything that is scary i just love. i cannot wait until you post the chapters and will be looking out for them. good luck and great work!!!
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Great idea. I believe many authors and screenwriters get inspiration for some of their work from embedded memories as a child, regardless of the genre.
I also believe that we all have a darkness lurking within that we must keep in check.
I would love to read the first chapter of this and see where it goes from there.
~Greg~ -
WOW!!!
THIS IS SOOOO THOUGHT PROVOKING AND DEEP! It is true, that that's what makes us fear so much. We ALL have it in us to commit ghastly crimes of murder.....very well written
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I can't wait to read the first chapter. Sound very interesting. You know when I was young I could watch horror shows. They were more about suspense and such. Nowadays though, I can not watch most of the junk out there. It isn't about the suspense anymore, it's all about the blood.
Well again I want to read the novel.
~*Brooke*~
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thanks for the comments
Hi Brooke, thanks for the nice words. I will say I agree with you for the most part. I tend to write horror and try to lean towards the suspense and the buildup... Folks dont understand that the suspense is the best part. Without it, there is no scare. I do think that you have to have something to dread. My struggle as a horror writer is to do this, without resorting to unnecessary violence. I hope I succeed for the most part. Sometimes, you have to go there to make the story work. .... Tough thing to do sometimes.. lol... Anyway, thanks and Hope you enjoy the first part. I hope to have it up tonight/. Rodney or zuni or zuniac...lol
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