Discussion Thread -- February 2016 75-word Writing Challenge

[Cascade]

My thoughts, some great stories but a few really struck me. I don't really do horror in a ghosts and supernatural sense. Its a personal thing but I've come to realise that there is enough horror in our human flaws, that we don't need to create monsters beyond ourselves. But I love the concept of horror as an integral spur to our imagination and the fact that our minds can conjure terrors (or negate terrors) as we need them.

That impacted my runners up...

@Jo Zebedee- Small Things
Perhaps this story best encapsulates my above thesis. For all the tortures inflicted on the body. It is what is going on in his head that is most powerful. The Knowing. Probably not our authors intention but I immediately thought of the middle east and a hostage, chained, hooded and waiting to be turned into the next piece of hate fuelled propaganda.

@Phyrebrat - The Mourning After
I'm not really sure that I understood this story but the image, and the idea, of mourners being a weight and their grief weighing on the departed, really struck me. I know that Phyrebrat cast it in terms of the narrator being guilty but I took it more widely. What if our grief is a burden to the departed? what if in remembering them and being pained by their passing we are still causing them pain and that every tearful attempt to honour their memory we are causing their soul anguish? Now tell me that concept is not horrific.

@mosaix- Imagine...
I immediately thought of that old urban myth with the dripping and the dog licking the hand. Which was scary, but then my mind turned 90 degrees and I thought of those moments, early in the morning, when you are lying awake beside someone you love. Waiting for them to wake up, hoping they'll wake up soon maybe accidently, tenderly, brushing them with your arm in the hope that they will wake up...

which of course led seamlessly to my winner

@Cat's Cradle - Tea and Clover
Which was such a wonderful, and tender story that the horror almost passes you by. As someone else commented, the detail is compelling. But it also has a depth. Our narrator, knows. He is dead, and whatever it is that has joined her, is not him in any real sense but she keeps her eyes shut. Not to block out the horror of the monstrosity he has become but to block out the greater horror that he is gone.

 

[Vaz]

Monstrous Macabre Mentions.

Phyrebrat
Venusian broon
Parson
Shyrka
Mr O.
Mad Alice
Jo Zedebee
Cats cradle


Frightening favourites

Ashleyne
Ihe

Vampiric vote winner

Ihe


Great month guys! And gloriously grisly reviews, thanks beasty & Victoria.


Thanks for the mention CC!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

@Cascade - it's an ongoing theme of mine - the impact of trauma. So you're pretty close (and I'll say no more as voting is underway. Not that I think Cat's is in danger from me!)
Big thanks for all the callouts.

I've done a first read and am a confused mess of a reader. I will need to reflect and eat cake before I read them all again and decide.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Wow...I know we're not supposed to comment on our stories, but Cascade, thank you for your analysis, CC

 

[Droflet]

I was thinking I was going to go without even a mention, but Fartfar save the day! THANK YOU!

Freudian slip? I've been doing it, ah, accidentally of course, for ages. But I never highlighted it, Parson. Great combination, btw.

 

[Starbeast]

I'm with Tonto. Get a move on Starbeast, or you know what will happen next....

I know too well Bowler1. I'll end up looking like a piece of extra crispy fried chicken. But have to get even with Tonto for destroying my keyboard. Vaz gave me an idea.

Monstrous Macabre Mentions.

Great month guys! And gloriously grisly reviews, thanks beasty & Victoria.

You're very welcome Vaz. By the way, the title of your list gave me an idea. I read all of the stories to my horse buddy, Tonto. And I let him pick the ones that scared him the most, then from there, I picked the winner from the selected bunch.

Tonto's Scary Bedtime Stories​

Ashleyne. B. Watts - Victoria Silverwolf - Cascade - Droflet - Ihe - J5V - Parson - Johnnyjet - Mr Orange - Inca_UK - Nixie -​

Calliopenjo - Kythe - Robert Mackay - Phyrebrat - Pambaddeley - Jo Zebedee - Crystal Haven - JordanSC5 - Mosaix - LittleStar -​

Ursa Major - HazelRah - Willwallace - Tim James - Culhwch -The Judge​

Honorable Mentions​

Mad Alice - Venusian Broon - Farntfar - TheDustyZebra - Grimward - Ratsy - Thomas Sweetman - Chrispenycate -

Alex The G and T - Reiver33 - Alex Darion - Clockworkbot - StilLearning - Cat's Cradle - Vaz - Shyrka - DG Jones​

Best Comedy Horror​

Bob Senior - Glen - MemoryTale - Bowler1 - Cathbad​

 

[Droflet]

Who was your winner, Beasty? Or am I missing something. I can be quite dense at times.

 

[Starbeast]

Who was your winner, Beasty? Or am I missing something. I can be quite dense at times.

Hi Droflet. You're fine pal.

My computer went goofy for a minute. It made the last title disappear and change (Best C H) into unreadable nonsense, then I couldn't vote. But the strangest thing, just before all this happened. There was a bright flash in the night sky. Must of been a magnetic meteor burning up. I saw it (I face a window), it lasted for a second. (flash) And then everything went chaotic on my pc. Weird, but cool. Anyhoo. My vote went through.

I voted for Inca_UK.


Whoa. Cat's Cradle is in the lead. Go get em' Cat's!!!

 

[Parson]

FarNtfar!

Oh, gracious! What an awful typo! You have my sincere apologies FARNTFAR

(But in honesty when I saw what I did I laughed until I had tears. I'm so bad!)

Vaz: Thank you for the mention.

Starbeast: Thank you and Tonto for the "Scary Bedtime Story" listing.

---- Parson double checks for typos!

 

[Starbeast]

Oh, gracious! What an awful typo! You have my sincere apologies FARNTFAR
(But in honesty when I saw what I did I laughed until I had tears. I'm so bad!)

Starbeast: Thank you and Tonto for the "Scary Bedtime Story" listing.

---- Parson double checks for typos!

You're mighty welcome Parson. For a while, I thought I was the only one making typos.

 

[Grimward]

Thanks for the mention, SB. Humbling to be so-regarded!

A second, much deeper read of each completed. No clear choice among so many fine, creepy offerings yet...

 

[farntfar]

Oh, gracious! What an awful typo! You have my sincere apologies FARNTFAR

No problem Parson. You aren't the first and certainly won't be the last.

It's sort of where the name comes from.
The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy: The radio version only. Episode 12.
Farntfar is a priest.
I was trying to attach an MP3 of the relevant bit but can't. MP3s don't seem to insert.

 

[Ursa major]

Farntfar is a priest.

But isn't priest spelt p a r s o n ...?

 

[Dan Jones]

The head is clear, the stories are read, and now it is time to vote!

Hard work whittling it down to a Top 10, but here is my short list, and vote.

Starbeast
Cascade
Cat's Cradle
JohnnyJet
Phyrebrat
Crystal Haven
HazelRah
Ratsy
Culhwch
Venusian Broon

Well played everybody, and good choices, @LittleStar

 

[pambaddeley]

Thanks to you and Tonto, Star beast, for including me in the scary bedtime story category.

 

[Grimward]

This is the first time voting took me into a full third read. Not that I'm an expert by any crazy stretch of the imagination, and horror isn't my normal thing, but I believe the need for the additional read says something about the quality of ALL of the offerings in general, and speaks volumes about how close the competition is. Kudos to all of you (and I'll be sending the bill for the lost sleep!).

There were a number of offerings that stood out for me, so with no further ado ("Yes Grim, get on with it!"):

Honorable Mentions:
Ashleyne - Parasites have always inspired a particular type of horror for me. Brrrr!

Victoria - A very creepy, Sixth Sense chill emanates from this one. Great close!

Starbeast - Visceral. Can literally FEEL the rank apprehension here...

DG - Hat's off to the "image" as well as the story.

Shyrka - Another great closing line.

Cat's - Have to agree with Glen; one just doesn't encounter the phrase "mewling corrupted splinters" every day. Well put!

Ihe - Very scary.

Parson - Another nice gotcha of a last line.

Alex Darion - "...but survival meant more"...four scary words.

Glen - I'll never look at a EULA the same way again.

Bob Senior - Thank you for the well-placed chuckle amidst (if memory serves, it was almost directly in the middle
of the offerings chronologically, too!) all this dread and carnage.

Alex the G&T - Can't help but agree with you. Hell has that one "corner" reserved, and the soundtrack looping...

Ratsy - That's creepy too.

Chrispy - This month's winner of the "I Can't Explain Why I Like It, I Just Do" award.

Finalists:

Droflet - Horror to me becomes more piercing when it has that element of salvation, visible and close, yet without warning becomes hopelessly beyond reach. This captures it perfectly.

HazelRah - Well-balanced subtle terror in a nursery rhyme.

The Judge - "It's actually something eating you"... five scarier words.

Mad Alice - The spectral corollary of extreme cases where "Hell hath no fury..."?

In a digital, laser-measured, photo finish, the vote for this month's story goes to Mad Alice by the thinnest of hairs.

Oh, and welcome indeed to those new to the challenge; you certainly know how to make an entrance!

Finally, wishing you balance amongst your time demands, Tim, and success at both of the noted endeavors!

 

[nixie]

Thanks SB for the mention, and Tonto to

 

[ratsy]

Thank you very much to SB and Victoria for the reviews.

Big thanks to J5V, VB, Littlestar, Mr. Orange, Pambaddeley, Starbeast, DG Jones, and Grimward for the listings, short, long and mentions. Much appreciated!

 

[Shyrka]

Many thanks to @Starbeast, @Vaz, @Mr Orange & @Grimward for the kind mentions and shortlistings!

 

[Bob Senior]

Howdy,
Thank you Droflet, Starbeast and Grimward for the listings.

Vote goes to Robert Mackay.

The Judge scared me the most as I had that very thing a short time ago. OUCH!

Bob