Cataline on Game of Thrones

Cataline Sergius has an excellent observation on fantasy vs horror.

But heroic fantasy is all about the action. It’s about battle and the being in the now that comes from knowing you are on a three day roller coaster ride and it has no tracks. The feeling of triumph from looking at the body of a guy who was doing every fucking thing in his power to end your life and you made him fail that...

...But here is the thing about horror. It’s all powerlessness. Whatever is after you has all the power. It’s all about the build up and your protagonist’s coming dread as he realizes there is nothing he can do to defeat the thing that is coming for them all. It’s all about fear and powerlessness. 

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Introductions Are In Order...

Greetings, and welcome to my humble corner of the Web.

Pull up a rock, warm your hands by the fire, and feel free to partake of the refreshments...except for that cauldron there.  That one probably wouldn't agree with you; it's reserved for...someone else.

Yes, I tell stories.

Sometimes, they're funny.  Every now and then, there's a lesson involved.  More often than not, my stories are simply meant to curl your toes, or tingle the hair on the back of your neck.  Or, perhaps, make you wonder what might be waiting, in the shadows, beyond the firelight, where you can't see...like that dark patch there, behind you, over your shoulder.

I didn't always tell spooky stories, of course.  For years, I avoided anything scary at all, but a friend handed me an H.P. Lovecraft story and an Edgar Allen Poe collection, and I realized maybe "scary" wasn't such a bad thing after all.

You're a little too close to the fire, there.  You might want to back up, just a bit, in case something comes wandering out of it.

I love a good spooky story.  Something with twists and turns, something that leaves you worried about the shadows under the bed, the creatures in the depths, the bump in the night.

...was that a footstep...?

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