kungfuwaynewho | For me, it's evil little girls.

Today I shall commence the beginning of the first part of my second draft of my vampire screenplay. Well, that's a lie; I've finished the first part, which is going over the first draft with a fine toothed comb, as well as collating everyone's notes. So I guess I have commenced the beginning, and shall now begin the commencement of the rest of the first part of the second draft - the revision manifesto, and a new outline. ("Revision manifesto" sounds all fancy, but it's basically just a brief document to help me keep in mind the larger goals I have when writing, the things it came be easy to lose when you're in the middle of some individual scene and are worrying about the difference between two synonyms.)

Anyway, one thing I want to work on, as per my manifesto, is really nailing all the little scary moments early on. I am not doing blood and gore, but more psychological horror. This is where you guys come in.

Question: What scares you? I don't mean things that are real and could actually harm you - like sharks, or heights - and I don't mean existential things - like what happens after death. I mean, what little creepy things happen, in real life or in the movies, that freaks you out? That even if you rationally and objectively think about it and know it isn't real or isn't scary, still gets to you?

You don't have to pick just one!

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I've been thinking about this and have been having a hard time coming up with something specific, but maybe just that whole "someone's staring at you in a creepy predatory way and you don't realize it" thing? It's pretty cliche and I don't know how well it would translate to the screen without coming off that way, but for some reason, being stalked is a big thing in my nightmares, or more often, turning to look out a window and realizing something's been staring in at me from the dark that whole time.

I'd also like to reiterate all the votes for being ______ alive, bugs getting inside your body, and things moving when they're not supposed to. Just examples being slightly off, or predatory/malicious in some way. I don't know, it's hard to differentiate between what somehow crops up in my nightmares and what would freak me out on screen, since I'm not sure they're the same thing. Like, just seeing someone stare in a window doesn't have the same freaky quality as some other things people mentioned, and it wouldn't really freak me out in a movie, even though it's what really sends jolts through my body in dreams.

Not a helpful comment. I'll let you know if anything else comes to mind. ;)

The blank-faced manservant could do some more staring. :D

*giggle*

One thought: a prime example of the "things being just slightly off" thing is when people start to be animal-like, or animals like people, in a way that's not just understandable behavior, but sort of viscerally disturbing. (Like, that's part of the creepiness of the stalking in my nightmares, I think -- people start staring at me like they're predators, large cats or something.) With your characters changing back and forth occasionally, that could play into things a bit.

Exactly. I could definitely have more foreshadowing of the b-f m's dual nature, which would just be creepy and weird early on. V. good.

For me, it's evil little girls.

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