Christian Horror

[avatarblade2000]

Hey Christian Forums! avatarblade again!

I put up a thread on some sites a while back asking around if anyone was writing any symbolic stories as witnessing tools, to which I got several responses; well, I figured that, being this site has pretty much established that there are some writers who are writing some horror stories, I figured that this was a good thread to start up, or at least a little more prone to response, I'm hoping...

...anyway, all I'd like to ask is, IS ANYONE WRITING SOME CHRISTIAN HORROR STORIES? If so, post, people, post! Tell the forums why you're writing such stories, what truly motivated you to write them, what you think readers will get out of them spiritually and enjoyably, where we can read them, whatever you would like to post. Christian Horror almost sounds like an oxymoron, but it Frank Peretti has proven anything, it's that it's a dynamic witnessing tool that can reach people who need it, whether by scare tactics or not...so post, fellow writers!

God bless you all for posting and doing what you do!

 

[Lycana]

I think it's a very interesting idea! And Frank Peretti scared my socks off but he also educated me alot about the spirit world.

 

[Moonfisher]

I think horror is a very intriguing venue for Christians. I personally don't care for gruesome blood and guts stuff, but I have written a couple of stories I would describe as Occult Horror. The idea is to show how alluring and fascinating, and even beautiful, Satan can appear when he is attempting to seduce people into his web of false promises. Since the end result of succumbing to Satan's temptations is always horrific, it seems like a natural venue for a knowledgeable Christian writer.

 

[avatarblade2000]

Lycana: "And Frank Peretti scared my socks off but he also educated me alot about the spirit world."

You mean THIS PRESENT DARKNESS? Yeah, that's an eye-opening experience to be sure. THE OATH, though, that's the first of Peretti's that I was introduced to, it was the one that scared me the most.

And yeah, blood and guts turn me off too ; it's not integral much of the time, and nowadays in film and literature, it's mind-numbingly overused and glorified. Christian horror has the opportunity to completely reinvent the genre by making that horror element a sort of learning experience, something that makes the audience realize something integral for a change, albeit through a little bit of scare-tactics. I'm getting tired of all of these soulless horror films that are there for nothing more than to make a quick buck . I have to admit, though, some of them are getting better, really having something thematically-consistant and morally-lasting at their centers (watch SHAUN OF THE DEAD, for example)...

...all of my horror stories are like that. They are all crafted around some Christian - or even universal - truth, and half the time, those truths aren't even of a scary nature: the most fear-oriented one I can think of that I am pursuing is, if you don't confront your fears, then they'll start hurting you, as well as those around you. Most of them, though, deal with issues like teenage popularity, maturing into an adult, stripping away one's innocence, holding one's feelings in, how beautiful and inviting evil is, letting the thought of death dictate how you live, doing something yourself when others won't, those sorts of things; the horror elements are all crafted around those, not the other way around. The best horror films are like that, if you pay attention, scaring you mostly with the little humanity-compromising things, and not the monsters and madmen.

 

[avatarblade2000]

Here's a summary of one of mine, so everyone can get the idea of what I'm talking about. There's not much to it really, being it's just a short-story at the moment, or at the most a novella, but it's got potential, I think, to get bigger. It's about this random group of people exiting a public place - a movie theater? - who see these two guys arguing about something, what I won't say (as that's part of the appeal of the story). Well, the bigger spookier one gets fed up, and deftly breaks the others guy's neck...

Needless to say, the group stand there horrified, as a bunch of mind-numbingly horrified people would be after witnessing this. This guy - who turns out to be a vampire (yes, I know, you're thinking, "If he is, why didn't he just bite that guy's neck instead of break it?" Well...) - catches a glimpse of every single one of them. NUTS, now he knows what they all look like. Now this group of people, who knew nothing about one another before, must join together to survive the coming days and figure out a way to do this vamp in before he gets them all first...

...the appeal of the story, Christian-wise, is supposed to be that of fellowship, even if it is forced. All these people have to band together to survive, and now, the reader gets to know all of these characters who practically have nothing to do with one another, and aren't the typical horror stereotypes that you find in these stories: there's no priest with a crucifix or holy water, there's no scientist who knows how to stop the infection of vampirism from spreading into the victim's bloodstream, there's no military man who pulls out an SMG at the last minute and just go out in a blazing ball of glory. These are ordinary people, as one finds out, people that the reader can really relate to, who can come together, corroborate on one another's God-given gifts, and come out of this situation alive - or, at the very least, happy with their lives.

...but that's my vamp story's summary, the only one I've ever written. What does everyone think?

 

[Moonfisher]

Avatar--Your Vamp-horror story sounds fascinating! I wish I could read it. I regret I won't have that moment of shock and dread that I would otherwise experience, at the moment I learned that the neck-breaker was actually a vampire...but oh well. (I _love_ surprises like that in a story!) I would still love to read it; it's an intriguing premise, and not one I've seen done before.

 

[avatarblade2000]

Well, the thing is, the identity of the neck-breaker is found out pretty quick, so it's not that big of a surprise; the real surprises happen in Act 2, and should kind of snowball from there into several, hopefully-potent plot reversals. It's supposed to kind of redefine the vampire mythos, similarly to how my zombie story that I am writing is supposed to redefine zombie mythos. I don't say that arrogantly, like I'm trying to be the next George Romero or something; I only mean that I'm trying to make the antagonists fit a Christian reality, and not the other way around (like some of the vampire mythos being spiritually impossible and blasphemous), so that a moral can get through without being overshadowed by the horror perks and cliches people are used to seeing. I'm tired of seeing blood and guts getting all the glory, with no story and nothing to really gain from a story other than a few scares. Some people may not like that, but that's my philosophy, plain and simple.

 

[rasplundjr]

I tend to meld elements of horror into my fantasy / modern fantasy settings.

Every author has to redefine mythos to fit in their world. I have a totally diffenert take on Vampires and Were as fas as I'm concerned.

It's meant to entertain and get one to think.

 

[avatarblade2000]

"It's meant to entertain and get one to think."

 

[rasplundjr]

The best entertainment always does make one think.

 

[Lycana]

Your stories sound GREAT! It's something new, and I hope it takes off for you! REALLY cool ideas!

 

[avatarblade2000]

"The best entertainment always does make one think."

...OR...makes one REALIZE...

"Your stories sound GREAT! It's something new, and I hope it takes off for you! REALLY cool ideas!"

Thank you, Lycana! I would like to hear some of yours too!

 

[ninetails390]

I don't really write horror stories, per say, more fantasy drama, but my stories are sorta aimed to some degree at witnessing to non-Christians who like horror stories, so I figured I'd post in here. I like to write about Christian vampires... I've written a story (called "Demon of Light") about a Christian vampire, and I'm working on another one at the moment about a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf searching (aimlessly) for a tower to Heaven so hey can ask God for a second chance... Of course, they find out later on that all they really need to do is pray and ask forgiveness, but if they knew that in the first place, there wouldn't be much of a plot, would there?

 

[avatarblade2000]

Wow. A Christian vampire. The concept just - boggles the mind...is his vampirism a disease or a mindset he can get rid of, instead of him being the typical, mythical, undead variety that are supposed to be the vessels of demons...?

You've GOT to let me read this.

I don't know how you've made this concept work, but it sounds great. As soon as I read about the story with the ghost, vampire and werewolf on a pilgrimmage thing, I just thought, "FABLE." I think that would be a great spiritual story to tell, teaching the lessons it has potential for telling...

...so what exactly do you intend to show with this story? Other than the fact that, yes, one only need to ask for forgiveness to get into Heaven? And I'm cursious to know how you're going to get your ghost into Heaven...

Bless ya for posting, and God bless you on your writing!

 

[ninetails390]

Ry, the vampire, was bitten by a vampire and transformed against his will, but stayed a Christian even after he was transformed, with the support of his girlfriend and her dad (who also happens to be their pastor).
As for the ghost, vampire, and werewolf pilgrimage, the main point is that all you have to do is ask forgiveness... and that God gives second chances. Both of my stories are also sort of to show that no one's to far gone for God to save. And actually, I'm still debating between a couple different endings for that story... one involving them directly going to Heaven, the other is a little less direct, along the lines of an actual "second chance" sort of scenario.
Thanks for commenting on my story ideas. I might send post a sample of "Demon of Light" somewhere around here some time... I'd rather not post the whole thing... but I could probably post a sort of preview thing.