I popped back just to say that I understand I have blurred the line between tropes and cliches quite a bit in this video, my apologies. I still believe everything I mention here requires more than the usual level of creative approach to be fresh, but we should never completely bury (pun intended) zombie and haunted house stories of course. Anyway, I made a video a while back clarifying my view on tropes vs. cliches! th-cam.com/video/XCeTv6nFYT4/w-d-xo.html
Would you say a controlled town is a cliche? Meaning everyone that acts nice but when it comes to their secret being secret they go full on purge mode in the blink of an eye.
There is actually a reason for why its always kids with an imaginary friend. In myths around the globe, one of the most often seen assumption is that those that are pure of heart can see what is hidden to most of us. We see this in folklore from fae creatures in europe to the japanese enenra (smoke elemental) to american nature spirits. With children often being considered yet untainted by our greed or a monk having achieved the same state through ardous training and true faith. And we often have those with pure heart being able to see whats hidden to us, whose hearts are clouded with selfishness. Since most of our storys are an evolution of the myths our cultures had at some point, we subconciously bring a lot of these assumptions into our writing. The imaginary friend or the monster under the bed are just the next logical step if you consider it from a writers point of view.
If technology makes your story not make sense, consider changing the time era. I was criticized for doing this but the way I see it horror works best in the past where all of the modern forms of safety and rescue are not an option.
@@DeadlyAlienInvader or have the Characters use the technology but the thing that causes the horror causes the people who come to help Incorporated with the mess
What I'm doing in my current novel is setting it in 2008. For no reason, really, except that I just didn't want to deal with smartphones and social media and shit like Uber. Also because I simply have a lot of nostalgia for that era because it was the last year of my life I was happy lol. But it doesn't really affect the plot in any way. One other idea I had for a screenplay I wrote was that I had them intentionally leave their phones and computers behind because they wanted to disconnect from technology for a few days (among other reasons, but that'd be spoiling it ha (not that it'll ever actually be made into a movie, but still)).
Say it louder for the future writers in the back. That or taking a page from Brian Keene's Urban Gothic. Eldritch Location interferes with satellite signals. In addition, dead zones are still a thing. So you can work with that.
My favorite thing is when the characters are aware of the trope. Like seeing a mirror and just throwing a coat over it like that's going to solve the problem!
These tips are super helpful! Ironically enough, the goal of my story is to overuse horror cliches and twist them around, so thank you for going into depth on each of theses, it's really great info to have :D
On the subject of the haunted house trope, it was always a headscratcher for me that the family just bought the house sight unseen without mom and dad at least going out to check the place out before they move the whole family in. If the house is being sold super cheap, it would be a good idea to at least see if the place needs repairs or is infested with vermin.
That's the thing that always gets me, lol. Like, you didn't know you had an... attic? Like, the one that is in no way hidden? Why on earth do you not even know what you bought? It's one thing to not realize there were *well hidden* compartments, but another to not even know what your kitchen looks like or that the sinks are rusting because you've never set foot in there or only walked as far as the living room. Even if they aren't invested in seeing the house, you would think they'd want to when they realized it was unrealistically cheap to get in.
I know a good many short stories that do okay, but granted they have the advantage of being short haha 😂 I think horror does best in short bursts to be honest. What about you Steve? Any recommendations?
@@CamWolfeAuthor No recommendations, no, hah! But then, keep in mind I don't object to any of these things the way you do - I'm perfectly happy for a horror novel to have any or ALL of them, provided the author does an energetic job.
"They're all sitting around in the dark, looking like a bunch of fucking idiots." I spat all over my phone at that part, thanks for the laugh and great video!
sounds like culleoka, tennessee where i'm from. i get a whopping 1Mb of download speed with my internet, and my cell doesn't work at the bottom of the hill i live on (luckily it does somewhat on top of the hill where my house is).
I was addicted to scary movies when I was nineteen, I kept watching them ever since but then, I stopped so I had a sick feeling that it look like Halloween everyday which is not my time. I was gonna write and make scary drawings for Halloween seasons like the crossovers with cartoons.
I’m writing a short story that’s a combination of supernatural and psychological horror, and it uses the kid with the imaginary friend trope BUT the story chronicles the kid as he grows up and begins falling in love with his imaginary friend, until he realizes the ghost that he thought he imagined is actually REAL, and went through the same real-life horror that he did. It’s a bit of a genre-bender, so I think it’s still a hot take on an old cliche ;)
Funny thing is I recognized all of the other cliches you mentioned as being really common but not the kid with the imaginary friend. That one surprised me.
Summary 1.) Haunted Houses 2.) Dystopian Zombie Story & Creepy Clowns 3.) Accidental Rituals (Lmaooo) 4.) Phone/Car not working 5.) The friends not believing them; The cop doesn’t believe them; (this one’s a long one :P) Peeps are sceptic and they don’t believe that there’s a humongous jacked psychic killer -> Something supernatural happens -> and when they go to the cops, they don’t believe them. The kids are like “What?” 6.) Soldier dude who gives a good fight but obviously died 7.) The new guy suddenly has a doctor’s degree 8.) If there’s a mirror, it’s definitely a horror 9.) The creepy kid with the imaginary friend 10.) Humongous, juggernaut, and jacked killers 11.) If there’s a forest, there’s gonna be a forest chase 12.) The ambiguous ending, that leaves the door open
Horror Story: The dad's secretly a clown, find a 'red pom pom' in a net and then dad's like outside the window Lightning flash Clown Suit and a knife silouetted as his hand lurches open the window, explosively jumping inside and attacking the character.
How about zombie clowns who live in a haunted house, making a living doing accidental rituals, summoning invisible friends? Actually... *goes and writes that down*
Lol my horror story has a few twists on the cliches 1: The majority of the murder takes place in broad daylight. At worst it's cold and cloudy. 2: Happens during the beginning WW1. NO Victorian era 3: The Mirror thing. It happens EVERYWHERE, not just when MC is trying to use the John. 4: The main villain IS the Creepy Child with the Imaginary Friend, BUT he's all grown up! And so is his first victim! There's more, but I'd better get back to writing it.
In a story I have been working on the closest cliche I have is the police officer, but instead of dying or being skeptical, he just picks up the protagonist, sort of believes him, and then he turns out to be one of the antagonists.
In 21st century America, law enforcement is more likely to be a liability than an asset when needing a wellness check let alone safety from Dr. Toothy. As for cabins out in the woods, the wilds get pretty distant. After a climbing accident my mom got to babysit the corpse of her climbing buddy for a day before rescue brought in a helicopter to lift the body out. So even when the authorities are alerted to campers in danger it might still take hours IRL.
Kid with the imaginary friend being subverted: instead of him actually knowing the monster, your cool popular friend bullying said kid you thought was real is the monster.... and no one but you and the kid know he exists. And the kid's imaginary friend? I was thinking maybe an angel or just an imaginary friend because the kids lonely.
*grabs me popcorn* The dad with the money into the house is SO ON POINT. Cut ya loses and get the fuck ouuutttt. ALL THE TIMES WEEEE HAD TOGGETTTHERRRR.
Not accidental at all, the entire exposition was intentional, even her mother ordaining the cult to decapitate her and put her corpse in her daughter's attic, so that King Paimon could be summoned. They didn't accidentally "bite off more than they could chew" as with other movies that take the easy "oops" way out on demonic summoning. Examples: Oculus, Ouija and its sequel, Drag Me To Hell (even tho it was on purpose, to be somewhat Sam Raimi unique in its humor). Agree with you, Hereditary was amazing, but I wouldn't lump it with all those OOPS WE MESSED UP DEMON TIME movies.
Ramiro @ the 04:00 mark he calls it accidental. In ‘Hereditary’ the mom gets tangled up in a demonic ritual with Paimon after trying to speak to her dead daughter. It was nefarious on the part of the lady who taught her how to do it, but from her perspective it was an innocent attempt and what actually happened was ultimately accidental. She literally had no intention of summoning the demon and having her entire family wiped out in the process.
I think we've had a lot of _contrived_ hauntings. Townhouses on burial mounds, sites of family annihilations, labs where mad science took place. An old lumberyard is going to have a body count, as is a prison. A big old hotel in a municipal are will assurredly have interesting stories. Any large construction site will team with dead workers and industrialist misconduct.
Dude thanks this actually helped I was trying to scrap an idea I had and was trying to find an excuse to get rid of it and come up with a new and now I have the perfect excuse as far as the cliche of people not believing the protag I'm satisfied now😌
I'm just waiting for Prehistoric Horror to take its time to shine. I'm glad Out of Darkness exists, but the Ice Age can certainly be done better than just that.
Idea for horror book: Family buys a house and experience strange and frightening phenomena. Turns out that the house was not only built on an ancient burial site, but was also once home to a serial killer who hid the bodies in the basement AND once was owned by a family who committed mass suicide, and now the ghosts are all competing against each other over who gets to haunt the house. Enter the heroes: three ghost hunters with varying specialties who have to team to cleanse the place.
The thing that always annoys me about forest chases is that the advantage is just about always on the one trying to get away, at least if they do the blindingly obvious thing and hide, rather than crashing through the greenery making loads of noise. Especially in the types of overgrown forest normally portrayed, and doubly so if it's night.
Horror is a genre I actively try to avoid just because I'm a big scaredy cat. That being said, I still like zombies. The Walking Dead is one of my favorite TV shows, despite recent seasons focusing less on the zombies and more on the various human groups. Anyway, great vid, Cam!
Personally I'm torn. I have issues with zombie stories but a part of me wants to give writing one a go just to see if I can come up with something interesting.
As far as zombies go, they can still be done well. I was watching Anna and the Apocalypse the other week and thought that was a lot of fun (though I guess it being a horror/comedy makes it not strictly horror). I also *hate* the disappearing body trope. If you really want to bring a supernatural killer back from the dead, I think necromancy has more creative potential. If you have a more realistic killer, then lock them up or something.
I agreed so much with your opinions in this video. I picked this video because I am doing a short story contest and the genre is horror, and I haven’t creatively written in awhile due to some mental issues but I am better now and I’ve always loved writing
This was a great vid, really :) I just have one issue - King's _The Shining_ involves a lot of the "family wanting to leave - but dad says no, that all will be lost if we leave"... And it's an exquisite horror novel, IMO Aside from that, thanks for this video, I liked watching it!
I agree with most of these, but I don't wanna do away with haunted houses lol, they're so classic. I do agree that a lot of the things that happen in haunted house stories are overused. But I'm convinced that there are ways to do them more creatively.
like maybe towards the end, they vanquish the ghost, then something truly terrible happens to them, making them realize the error of their ways... but it's too late.
Well, there is one horror story idea I do have: partly inspired by Dolls and well, Parker stories [the professional thieves] and one TH-cam comment from a WatchMojo video about scary dolls. Summary: A veteran thief is feeling his age and wants to retire, but his employer ropes him for one last job. It's to teach a small group of upcoming thieves his trade. The house? It's a small house within a rough neighborhood. It's confirmed that the owners there are on vacation visiting their grandchildren in another city. However, there's one thing that's peculiar, it's full of dolls and all.
@@CamWolfeAuthor Thanks. The comment from said video: "We lived in a bad neighborhood at the time, so my mom said the dolls protected our house as an assurance." In hindsight, I believe criminals should be the protagonists of horror stories more. Why? They have a higher chance of running into one because they're on the run for the most part.
That explains why they created Creepypasta stories in it, from Laughing Jack killing off James’s family dog to Jeff killing off his parents and his brother. But spoiler alert, turned out that Liu and Jeff’s bullies are actually alive.. That’s what kills me is that he gets drunk at the age of 13 or 17.
You would be surprised. In Jason Takes Manhattan (Not The Best Part) Jason did a lot of things you mentioned. Boarded a train in NY and chased them the entire time. Everyone looked at him as if he were normal though... He also climbed a ladder quite a few times. I believe he did it in Part II - Part V - and Part VIII. He also did things like open doors and lock them. There are also the scenes where he did something like hide in the RV and kill silently. As for Michael Myers, in the 1st movie drove a car, locked doors, managed to climb, etc. However, I can agree with you for the most part. Also, Michael Myers was originally an average-sized man with a slim body. The complete opposite of Rob Zombies' version.
There are still many areas in the US that the cell service sucks. I have a friend who lives in a small town in a U created by two mountain ranges coming together. Half the town can only use ATT and the other can't. There are also large areas in Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and surrounding states that get no reception at all.
And again... I've known several veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan now, plus I myself am a very useful jack-of-all-trades type of guy. And Ive been in and heard first hand accounts of trained or competent people like me stepping during stressful and dangerous circumstances and taking charge. Sometimes to their own harm; knew a Sheriff's Deputy who tried to do a Superman and push himself in between to large houseboats on the lake in order to stop them from colliding. Got folded in half like an accordion, and ended up paralyzed from the waist down. It happens, man.
Hopefully this doesn't come off as defensive or aggressive sir, Horror IS my life so I have to comment. :P The imaginary friend, inept police, and general stupidity of characters, are popular tropes used within the genre. Though listening to this video I have to ask, if some of these are inspired by fiction, or movies. Because things like the police officier being offed just as they are about to get help, or the unstoppable, mute, juggernaut are things I see more often in Movies than books, especially with the juggernaut one because a mute killer is harder to make compelling in prose when you don't have the visual component. Prose-Slashers usually have more personality and charisma to them. - Basically there are more Freddy's than Jason's when it comes to horror fic. Some of the others you mention I am not sure even qualify has a cliche/trope, such as the Haunted Houses and Zombie Fic. Because they are their own sub-genre of horror itself. Within Haunted House fic you have your own plethora of cliches, as with Zombies. Things like Clowns are just general tropes of the genre, to say we should avoid them or take special care to be more creative when using them would be like saying to someone writing an action novel, "Y'know big explosions have been done to death, I think you should find some other way to do this." And I guess that's where I diverge from you a bit in this video, because there is a difference between a trope and a cliche. You definitely hit on some cliches that some authors use as crutches. The Cell phone signal, and car breaking down is one for sure. These are things people fall back on when they don't quite know another way to isolate the characters, since a LOT of horror requires isolation for it's atmosphere. But some of these others are tropes of the genre, that exist and are markers used to identify something AS horror to begin with. You definitely want to try to do your own spin on any of these if you were to include them, but to be fair, every author approaches every idea in a different way. As long as you keep working on your craft and develop your own authorial voice, tropes aren't something to avoid or allocate extra effort when used... they are just things that'll naturally happen through the ebb and flow of your story. Just so long as it fits the character and the consistency of the story youre telling they're powerful tools to connect with an already established audience hungry for the genre. Though I'll back pedal a little and contradict myself here at the end when I say this. Tropes are a powerful tool that we can use to make our work more identifiable to readers who look at a glance, who are trying to find this type of story. However, the great authors, the ones who will find the most success (whether indie or trad pub) are the ones who will take the tropes and subvert them, flip them around, establish the reader expectation and then pull the rug out from under them - again, as long as you stay consistent with the story being told up to that point. Tropes are really fun to play with. Alright, that's my lecture for today haha, great vid sir.
Yeah, I can completely agree. I probably blended the idea of a trope and a cliche more than I intended, in retrospect. Mostly these videos are just compilations of what the general audience of the genre is saying they are getting tired of, but my intention is always just to try and say if you ARE doing these things, it’s more important than ever to do it your own way (and like you said, flip it), cliche or trope. That’s kinda why I mentioned zombies is almost a genre in itself and went into the specifics with the haunted house, just to say there’s nuances people are catching and getting turned off by. Even noting that most Authors have different styles, it’s losing them points here and there. I definitely need to watch my mixing of terminology with tropes and cliches going forward though haha
@@CamWolfeAuthor ya it was a good surface level compilation of some of the common (and I'll agree that some are even overused) elements people put into a piece of horror work. And I totally agree with you that some of these are things that general audiences may have issue with. I dont necessarily think that the niche horror fans are included in that statement for the most part, but if were looking at the general reading population who dabble with horror books occasionally then definitely. I still think a lot of these apply more to film/tv than books. But theres certainly a conversation to be had about it for sure.
9:21 - Well, that trope has been played around with to a degree. Mainly in a Punisher MAX comic and this one horror novel whose title escapes me at the moment.
Wonderful! I'm a steampunk author transitioning to horror. I'm out trolling for tips, and your vid is among the best I've seen. Most of these weren't on my radar, but you've instilled a streak of caution that I think will serve me well in the stories to come. Great job!
@@DrMoonRose Gosh, never really thought about it, other than the fact that I was interested in lighter-than-air ships and the fantastic gadgets that steampunk allows. If I had to offer some tips, I would say be consistent with your gizmos, and don't explain them. The gunslinger in a western doesn't draw his six-gun and explain its inner workings to a bystander before he uses it. It's an ordinary part of his world, like a TV remote is to you. If your character uses his device without explanation, your readers will see what it does and accept it as part of the world the next time they see it. Above all, keep it the same from use to use; if he pulls out an optical device that enables him to see heat patterns in water, for example, don't have him pull it out later and use it to see toxic mold in a kitchen. Be consistent, and your readers will love you for it. Also, a good guide for beginners is Writing Steampunk by Beth Daniels. An easy, well-organized read that will really help you get off to a good start. Best of luck!
Actually, it was the Victorians who decided that Victorian Ghosts would be a thing. Spiritualism and Occultism became quite a thing in Victorian society. Seances were super popular at social gatherings, travelling carnivals would frequently feature cursed or haunted objects. Even the Egypt Craze of the era dovetailed into it all with cursed tombs and mummified corpses preserved for the afterlife. Ghosts and Spirits were to the Victorians what zombies were to the early 2000's.
Personally I like to replace the “my phones not working” thing with a “I must have dropped my phone while I was running” I’ll typically use that as a “that’s one of our ways out of here, let’s go try to get” kinda thing that either kills someone off or they succeed in getting the phone back and use it properly Or I say fuck it and make it cold outside so it dies while it sits out in the grass cuz fuck battery retention, it’s cold
UGH the "people not believing the character who tells them about whatever spooky thing" is My Biggest Pet Peeve in horror. Even 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' establishes that the boy lied as a habit, and the townspeople BELIEVED HIM the first few times, before the real tragedy happens! If you dont go out of your way to establish the character as a prankster or liar then it doesnt work...
And frequently people are actually dismissive of friends, relatives, or acquaintances when they come forward with claims of abuse, or nonsensical explanations for weird shit they've experienced. It's not hard to be labeled the Crazy or Dramatic One in a group if you're talking about experiences that the rest of the group haven't shared themselves. Especially if there's any sort of a power dynamic at play; I've even dismissed my own child for claiming there were huge red hornets in her bedroom for several days before I finally witnessed one myself. Turns out a piece of wood I used for decor in her room was loaded with Ash Borers. Oops...
For the car, have the characters already be tense, have whoever is driving, and someone else be having some sort of fight in the background. Once the horror strikes, let them escape. While escaping the final straw breaks causing one of them to be irrational and begin fighting and cause a wreck.
One thing I CANNOT STAND ONE SECOND OF is the dimbulb character who hears a scary noise from an unseen source and starts creeping TOWARD it saying "HELLO? WHO'S THERE? HELLO?" What evil creature worth its salt would answer? ...and don't forget the Three Deadly Words Said By Stupid People Caught In A Horror Place: "Let's Split Up."
0:32 Was my reaction when I saw you uploaded a new segment! Your editing's getting better. Great to see a video from you again! 3:02 Are they talking about Warm Bodies? lol On a side note, I wish you could have shown or named a book for each cliche and maybe read a passage for it. But meh, that's just me. Loving this channel so much!
@@CamWolfeAuthor So COOL! Cam, I'm interested in your personal thoughts and opinions regarding the genres out there as a writer. Like YA and Adult fiction and which you prefer and why and what books and part of those books inspired you. haha You can tackle genre a video at a time! Er, just thinking. More success and happiness to you!
This may not be an example straight from a book. But if you want to write a scene but want to work around the cliche, I have two potential solutions. 1. You should write a scene before the actual breaking down of the device. An example of this is in Friday the 13th Part III, a biker gang comes and takes all of the gas out of the van to use it for violent reasons. They did this after fighting with the "supposed" owners of the van. Later in the movie (Towards the end) the car starts up but dies midway during her attempt to escape from Jason. They used the scene that happened at the beginning of the movie to explain the sudden breakdown of the van. 2. Write so that they never had it in the first place. You could write so that the characters all walked there or were taking there by public transportation. You could also write a scene from the beginning of the story where they did something bold like destroying their phone. Or getting so frustrated that they threw it into the nearby lake. Or start it off with something like the character wanting a phone and/or begging to get one/ working to get a phone or being known for never having a phone, to begin with, as a way to both define their character and to set-up a scene for later in the story. *Message* Also, sorry if this was explained badly. It's nighttime and I'm a bit tired. On top of that, I'm not very good at explaining.
The driver is texting and driving, hit a deer totalling the car, and the phone flies out of their hand and is smashed as it bounces around inside the car from the impact...or...it's raing heavily as they're speeding trying to makeup for lost time, so they are unable to see a deeply flooded portion of the road. The engine and inside of the car gets quickly flooded, and the phone gets ruined in the process as well...or... the cell phone could instead be lost from them slipping or tripping as they climb a hill or mountain trying to get a better single, like it's submerged in mud or the screen strikes a rock.
I agree with alot of these and honestly I would love to see a list on psychological horrors because I am currently writing one rn lol. Would love to know some of the annoying cliches to avoid while I'm writing it.
Hounted house story idea: A group of youngsters go to a haunted summer house (wooOOoooOo) to celebrate end of the school year. Another group of their friends wait for the weekend to join them becuase They have jobs. And then two days in SH!T GETS CRAZY, WEIRD MONSTERS EVERYWHERE, GHOSTS AND SH!T, GOD SAVE US ALL! And the phones do go out BUT not before one of them makes a desperate call to a member of the other group. That member calls the police and They are like ,,We'll send a patrol to have a look" and he's like ,,I don't think it will be enough, officer" but you can't send all the forces to a forest because someone "swears" there is some sh!t going down. So the person calls in all the other friends and goes: ,,Get all the weapons you have" while pilot sunglasses materialize on his face and the posse goes to the most sick rescue mission ever. AND THAT'S THE FIRST ACT
Book idea: A nice city family moves to an old country house built in the 1890's some where pretty, like Vermont. It's a bit dilapidated but it's modern enough with water, power, a sewer system... fantastic cell reception and hey, the family has two trucks and a coup. But IN THE BASEMENT: Three skeletons in tattered rags, and one pare of groovy 70's vintage sunglasses, lurk, waiting for revenge against the people who killed them. When the family moves in they slowly feed off of the warmth and energy of this loving living batch of humans. PLOT TWIST: these three dead dudes don't want no trouble, and the story is mostly from their point of view. They have to figure out how to communicate with this family with out A. having them call for an exorcist, B. mentally scar any of them (Especially the children) and C. get them to call the cops to present the evidence. PLOT TWIST #2: They can't talk to people because they have no vocal cords, but they can "Talk" to each other so they have to indirectly contact this very modern family with wavering "Ghost powers", a complete lack of knowledge about modern technology, and an inability to be in strong direct light. (Hence why they hide mostly in the basement.) Bonus points if one of them sometimes gives up and lays pathetically in sun beams while the family is away, commenting on how nice the house looks now that someone cared for it and how much they appreciate the drapery and throw pillows. The horror part? two people killed our hapless bone trio, and one is now a ghost who will stoop to any level to keep the murders a secret to protect the murderer who is still alive.
I most definitely agree with 99% what you said. And here I thought it was only me feeling desensitized to my favorite genre. I only have to disagree with you about The Amityville Horror. Before Hollywood filmmakers spawned remakes and reboots of The Amityville Horror, it was a true life horror story, which actually happened, in the 1970's. The family from The Amityville Horror house heavily supervised the author of the book because they did not want anything over exaggerated for the sake of sensationalizing what they personally endured.
Want to ensure I don't read / watch something horror? Start the synopsis with "Teenagers go......" That's it! Can't express how done I am with "teenagers", they always do the stupidest things in horror stories. Appreciate your videos!
Here's a cliche: the person who conceals being bitten, infected, or otherwise exposed to the in-story Bad Thing. They KNOW what will happen, and the danger they now present, but say nothing. A very lazy way to create drama or advance the plot. There are exceptions. Shaun's mother doesn't want to be a bother (and isn't genre-savvy), so she doesn't count. There are more important things to worry about than a bite on her wrist, to her mind. Unbuilt trope: the Coopers' little girl has some manner of infection that kills her. We're well into the action before we realize that Johnny's teasing was horribly true. That movie implies it's radiation from a satellite causing the zombies.
here is an idea for a horror novel... Zombie clowns!!! basically the character puts on a clown costume he found in the basement of the cheap house they bought. the costume doesnt come off. he uses scissors to try and snip along the clothing, but he starts bleeding... yes the clothes are now his skin. other characters start noticing skin colour changes, a redish tint to their nose. the clown virus spreads and they focus on spreading by touch. the houses change into fleshy clown houses, the animals, the trees... it spreads everywhere. and then... i dunno the world changes and adapts to this new clown society.
This was awesome, I hate stupid, brainless monsters and ghosts, so I am giving my monsters intelligence and motivations beyond mindless killing. Clever killers :) Mirrors and vents are fun doorways, but you're right I see the challenge of coming up with new doorways to parallel universes or spirit worlds.
But what if i could use the imaginary friend as a random friend, and then revealed as someone you should know but was killed before you were born. Also the spirt inhabits something. I would be more specific but i am not giving away my current story im writing.
I'm slowly but surely writing a horror series set in 90's rural Canada because modern technology wouldn't make sense in some parts of my story otherwise...
I popped back just to say that I understand I have blurred the line between tropes and cliches quite a bit in this video, my apologies. I still believe everything I mention here requires more than the usual level of creative approach to be fresh, but we should never completely bury (pun intended) zombie and haunted house stories of course.
Anyway, I made a video a while back clarifying my view on tropes vs. cliches!
th-cam.com/video/XCeTv6nFYT4/w-d-xo.html
"The Haunting of Hill House" found a really creative way to tell the haunted house story. It's all about perspective.
Would you say a controlled town is a cliche? Meaning everyone that acts nice but when it comes to their secret being secret they go full on purge mode in the blink of an eye.
There is actually a reason for why its always kids with an imaginary friend. In myths around the globe, one of the most often seen assumption is that those that are pure of heart can see what is hidden to most of us.
We see this in folklore from fae creatures in europe to the japanese enenra (smoke elemental) to american nature spirits. With children often being considered yet untainted by our greed or a monk having achieved the same state through ardous training and true faith. And we often have those with pure heart being able to see whats hidden to us, whose hearts are clouded with selfishness.
Since most of our storys are an evolution of the myths our cultures had at some point, we subconciously bring a lot of these assumptions into our writing. The imaginary friend or the monster under the bed are just the next logical step if you consider it from a writers point of view.
R.L Stine uses 9/13 of these cliches, which is simultaneously the best and worst thing about his books.
When I returned to his books, I wasn’t impressed
@@thegalvean2220 I was never scared by them
@Joko Widodo Supreme leader of Za Warudo only slappy kinda holds up
i loved in mile 81 when the police where actually helpful. Like. "Evil car? yeah i'll help y'all out"
@@duck8083 Met R.L.Stine once at a writer's convention where he was the keynote speaker. His humor is so dry and witty. Super nice guy.
"There is no way to do the imaginary friend trope something creative"
The Haunting of Hill House: allow us to introduce ourselves
I love your sense of humor. You're also very calming; it feels like your discussing things with us instead of just talking to us.
If technology makes your story not make sense, consider changing the time era. I was criticized for doing this but the way I see it horror works best in the past where all of the modern forms of safety and rescue are not an option.
Or get creative and cause excuses for why modern technology won’t save you
@@DeadlyAlienInvader or have the Characters use the technology but the thing that causes the horror causes the people who come to help Incorporated with the mess
Or make fantasy horror where transportation relies on a fragile magic crystal and cell phones don't exist
What I'm doing in my current novel is setting it in 2008. For no reason, really, except that I just didn't want to deal with smartphones and social media and shit like Uber. Also because I simply have a lot of nostalgia for that era because it was the last year of my life I was happy lol. But it doesn't really affect the plot in any way.
One other idea I had for a screenplay I wrote was that I had them intentionally leave their phones and computers behind because they wanted to disconnect from technology for a few days (among other reasons, but that'd be spoiling it ha (not that it'll ever actually be made into a movie, but still)).
Say it louder for the future writers in the back. That or taking a page from Brian Keene's Urban Gothic. Eldritch Location interferes with satellite signals.
In addition, dead zones are still a thing. So you can work with that.
I’m totally writing a dystopian zombie story
I’ll post a link to it here when I start making it
Did you?
Sounds cool!
Same! Minus the dystopia
This was a year ago, so, i don't need sleep i need answers..did you finish writing it?
basically what im hearing is im not allowed to ripoff the evil dead.
oml i just realized that
Hah! 😂😂
My favorite thing is when the characters are aware of the trope. Like seeing a mirror and just throwing a coat over it like that's going to solve the problem!
Me too!
These tips are super helpful! Ironically enough, the goal of my story is to overuse horror cliches and twist them around, so thank you for going into depth on each of theses, it's really great info to have :D
Nomad:
I guarantee you can't write a creepy clown that hasn't been done over and over.
Joker 2019:
"hold my cigarette"
Well said! 😂 That movie was pretty amazing
On the subject of the haunted house trope, it was always a headscratcher for me that the family just bought the house sight unseen without mom and dad at least going out to check the place out before they move the whole family in. If the house is being sold super cheap, it would be a good idea to at least see if the place needs repairs or is infested with vermin.
That's the thing that always gets me, lol. Like, you didn't know you had an... attic? Like, the one that is in no way hidden? Why on earth do you not even know what you bought? It's one thing to not realize there were *well hidden* compartments, but another to not even know what your kitchen looks like or that the sinks are rusting because you've never set foot in there or only walked as far as the living room. Even if they aren't invested in seeing the house, you would think they'd want to when they realized it was unrealistically cheap to get in.
With the body thing I'm gonna have my main character just stare at the body until the cops come to make sure it doesn't disappear
That first one was basically the synopsis of so many bad horror films.
You’ve basically eliminated every horror story. 😂
@@ab1847k what are you writing?
@@ab1847k That's a pretty interesting story!
@@ab1847k Haha no problem! Hope you finish it! I bet it's gonna be great
@@ab1847k when you release it, can you tell me it’s name
@@ab1847k I wanna read too :D
This was great! Here's my question: Have you yourself ever read even one horror novel that successfully avoids every single one of these?
I know a good many short stories that do okay, but granted they have the advantage of being short haha 😂 I think horror does best in short bursts to be honest. What about you Steve? Any recommendations?
@@CamWolfeAuthor No recommendations, no, hah! But then, keep in mind I don't object to any of these things the way you do - I'm perfectly happy for a horror novel to have any or ALL of them, provided the author does an energetic job.
That’s fair enough. Does this mean for once I get to be the more critical of us two? haha 😂
House of Leaves maybe?
"They're all sitting around in the dark, looking like a bunch of fucking idiots." I spat all over my phone at that part, thanks for the laugh and great video!
I've only written two horror stories but both involve a big house or castle
It's not really haunted but crazy shit happens in both houses so 🤷🏿♂️
Same,some demons just live their together,theyre just ghostz of humans.
"2018, satellites are a lot better now" ..Tell that to sprint and Idaho lol it's 2019 now and I still can't get service in a damn grocery store.
hahaha damn, that's rough
That’s like a town near me. No phone signal at all. It’s a dead zone. It’s an old roman city too (UK)
sounds like culleoka, tennessee where i'm from. i get a whopping 1Mb of download speed with my internet, and my cell doesn't work at the bottom of the hill i live on (luckily it does somewhat on top of the hill where my house is).
1 - haunted haus
2 - dystopian zombies
3 - (satanic) ritual
4 - phone / car not working
5 - friends not believing / skeptical
6 - overly cocky friends /military-trained
7 - mirror
8 - creepy kid with imaginary friend
9 - serial killer with indistinguishable face
10 - ambiguous ending
I was addicted to scary movies when I was nineteen, I kept watching them ever since but then, I stopped so I had a sick feeling that it look like Halloween everyday which is not my time. I was gonna write and make scary drawings for Halloween seasons like the crossovers with cartoons.
I’m writing a short story that’s a combination of supernatural and psychological horror, and it uses the kid with the imaginary friend trope BUT the story chronicles the kid as he grows up and begins falling in love with his imaginary friend, until he realizes the ghost that he thought he imagined is actually REAL, and went through the same real-life horror that he did. It’s a bit of a genre-bender, so I think it’s still a hot take on an old cliche ;)
Funny thing is I recognized all of the other cliches you mentioned as being really common but not the kid with the imaginary friend. That one surprised me.
“Ridiculously cheap house that they don’t look into” American horror story? Is that you?
Yep! Amityville Horror, Hill House, etc. the list goes on 😬
This really helped. I realized a lot of these things were in my writing. I like how you also encouraged to use these in creative ways. Loved this.
What you said about every writer at one point wanting to write a zombie plot is so true it hurts.
Plot twist, the cop IS the killer.
Summary
1.) Haunted Houses
2.) Dystopian Zombie Story & Creepy Clowns
3.) Accidental Rituals (Lmaooo)
4.) Phone/Car not working
5.) The friends not believing them; The cop doesn’t believe them; (this one’s a long one :P) Peeps are sceptic and they don’t believe that there’s a humongous jacked psychic killer -> Something supernatural happens -> and when they go to the cops, they don’t believe them. The kids are like “What?”
6.) Soldier dude who gives a good fight but obviously died
7.) The new guy suddenly has a doctor’s degree
8.) If there’s a mirror, it’s definitely a horror
9.) The creepy kid with the imaginary friend
10.) Humongous, juggernaut, and jacked killers
11.) If there’s a forest, there’s gonna be a forest chase
12.) The ambiguous ending, that leaves the door open
Scrolling down looking for this summary. Thanks a lot. 🙏🏻❤
2:34
When someone touches my chicken tendies
Horror Story: The dad's secretly a clown, find a 'red pom pom' in a net and then dad's like outside the window
Lightning flash
Clown Suit and a knife silouetted as his hand lurches open the window, explosively jumping inside and attacking the character.
How about zombie clowns who live in a haunted house, making a living doing accidental rituals, summoning invisible friends? Actually... *goes and writes that down*
The "whoopsie daisy, we did a satanic ritual" part absolutely *murdered* me.
Lol my horror story has a few twists on the cliches
1: The majority of the murder takes place in broad daylight. At worst it's cold and cloudy.
2: Happens during the beginning WW1. NO Victorian era
3: The Mirror thing. It happens EVERYWHERE, not just when MC is trying to use the John.
4: The main villain IS the Creepy Child with the Imaginary Friend, BUT he's all grown up! And so is his first victim!
There's more, but I'd better get back to writing it.
I'd read that♡
And if you throw in a sex scene, make sure the guy and girl are fat and unattractive and actually survive getting killed
In a story I have been working on the closest cliche I have is the police officer, but instead of dying or being skeptical, he just picks up the protagonist, sort of believes him, and then he turns out to be one of the antagonists.
#americanjusticesystem
Me: It is impossible to make a horror video funny.
Page: Hold my camera, oh wait I need that.
In 21st century America, law enforcement is more likely to be a liability than an asset when needing a wellness check let alone safety from Dr. Toothy.
As for cabins out in the woods, the wilds get pretty distant. After a climbing accident my mom got to babysit the corpse of her climbing buddy for a day before rescue brought in a helicopter to lift the body out. So even when the authorities are alerted to campers in danger it might still take hours IRL.
Kid with the imaginary friend being subverted: instead of him actually knowing the monster, your cool popular friend bullying said kid you thought was real is the monster.... and no one but you and the kid know he exists. And the kid's imaginary friend? I was thinking maybe an angel or just an imaginary friend because the kids lonely.
“The jury’s in…zombies are out”
2023 biggest show of the year: THE LAST OF US
…that uh, that didn’t age well
Interesting ideas Cam! Buuuut... My phone never works and no one ever listens to me. My life is a horror story cliche! =[
Aw that’s kinda sad haha, chin up pal
^_^
I honestly prefer Michael Myers with an average build, like in the original Halloween.
*grabs me popcorn*
The dad with the money into the house is SO ON POINT. Cut ya loses and get the fuck ouuutttt.
ALL THE TIMES WEEEE HAD TOGGETTTHERRRR.
I knew I’d see you here, the first Booktuber I think of when it comes to horror!
For phone not working in the mountains it’s a pretty frequent problem.
i don't live in the mountains, but in a small, rural farming community and i have the same problem.
This video was actually pretty cool to watch, not only because of the tips. Nice job, man. Thanks for the help!
Thanks mate, glad I could be any help!
‘Hereditary’ used the accidental demonic ritual trope, and it was terrific 🤔
I haven't seen that one but it sounds like they took a cliche and did something creative with it, it's always awesome when that happens
Not accidental at all, the entire exposition was intentional, even her mother ordaining the cult to decapitate her and put her corpse in her daughter's attic, so that King Paimon could be summoned. They didn't accidentally "bite off more than they could chew" as with other movies that take the easy "oops" way out on demonic summoning. Examples: Oculus, Ouija and its sequel, Drag Me To Hell (even tho it was on purpose, to be somewhat Sam Raimi unique in its humor). Agree with you, Hereditary was amazing, but I wouldn't lump it with all those OOPS WE MESSED UP DEMON TIME movies.
It wasn’t accidental. Did you even watch the movie??
Ramiro @ the 04:00 mark he calls it accidental. In ‘Hereditary’ the mom gets tangled up in a demonic ritual with Paimon after trying to speak to her dead daughter. It was nefarious on the part of the lady who taught her how to do it, but from her perspective it was an innocent attempt and what actually happened was ultimately accidental. She literally had no intention of summoning the demon and having her entire family wiped out in the process.
I think we've had a lot of _contrived_ hauntings. Townhouses on burial mounds, sites of family annihilations, labs where mad science took place.
An old lumberyard is going to have a body count, as is a prison. A big old hotel in a municipal are will assurredly have interesting stories. Any large construction site will team with dead workers and industrialist misconduct.
Dude thanks this actually helped I was trying to scrap an idea I had and was trying to find an excuse to get rid of it and come up with a new and now I have the perfect excuse as far as the cliche of people not believing the protag I'm satisfied now😌
I'm just waiting for Prehistoric Horror to take its time to shine. I'm glad Out of Darkness exists, but the Ice Age can certainly be done better than just that.
If you *do* want to do then “phone cuts out” cliche, you can just set your story in the 70’s or 80’s where most slashers are set
or have them intentionally leave them behind. that's what i did anyway.
Idea for horror book:
Family buys a house and experience strange and frightening phenomena. Turns out that the house was not only built on an ancient burial site, but was also once home to a serial killer who hid the bodies in the basement AND once was owned by a family who committed mass suicide, and now the ghosts are all competing against each other over who gets to haunt the house. Enter the heroes: three ghost hunters with varying specialties who have to team to cleanse the place.
The thing that always annoys me about forest chases is that the advantage is just about always on the one trying to get away, at least if they do the blindingly obvious thing and hide, rather than crashing through the greenery making loads of noise. Especially in the types of overgrown forest normally portrayed, and doubly so if it's night.
Horror is a genre I actively try to avoid just because I'm a big scaredy cat. That being said, I still like zombies. The Walking Dead is one of my favorite TV shows, despite recent seasons focusing less on the zombies and more on the various human groups. Anyway, great vid, Cam!
Thanks Abbie! I’m a huge Zombie fan too, despite them being overused. I remember begging for Max Brooks ‘Zombie Survival Guide’ when I was young
Personally I'm torn. I have issues with zombie stories but a part of me wants to give writing one a go just to see if I can come up with something interesting.
@@Wright805 omg im a horror fanatic but TWD is the one thing I can’t handle…just gave me too many nightmares
As far as zombies go, they can still be done well. I was watching Anna and the Apocalypse the other week and thought that was a lot of fun (though I guess it being a horror/comedy makes it not strictly horror).
I also *hate* the disappearing body trope. If you really want to bring a supernatural killer back from the dead, I think necromancy has more creative potential. If you have a more realistic killer, then lock them up or something.
I agreed so much with your opinions in this video. I picked this video because I am doing a short story contest and the genre is horror, and I haven’t creatively written in awhile due to some mental issues but I am better now and I’ve always loved writing
This was a great vid, really :)
I just have one issue - King's _The Shining_ involves a lot of the "family wanting to leave - but dad says no, that all will be lost if we leave"... And it's an exquisite horror novel, IMO
Aside from that, thanks for this video, I liked watching it!
The Shining is so old and influential, it is one of the reasons why the cliche exists.
Yeah never call a old horror story bad for a cliche because they most likely wrote the cliche
I've written a forest chase in the past. It was fun. But looking back now, I realize its cheesy 🤣
I agree with most of these, but I don't wanna do away with haunted houses lol, they're so classic. I do agree that a lot of the things that happen in haunted house stories are overused. But I'm convinced that there are ways to do them more creatively.
This guy: clowns are done
It chapter two: comes out a masterpiece with roomers of a third
I want a horror movie where the characters are actually smart.
And then they still all die
Most horror character is just dumb but has high amount of luck that saves them
How about a horror story where there's a zombie clown but the plot twist is that YOU are the zombie clown
I always wanted to see a haunted house where the ghost wasn't actually evil, but was trying to help the family, and they just don't get it.
like maybe towards the end, they vanquish the ghost, then something truly terrible happens to them, making them realize the error of their ways... but it's too late.
Well, there is one horror story idea I do have: partly inspired by Dolls and well, Parker stories [the professional thieves] and one TH-cam comment from a WatchMojo video about scary dolls.
Summary: A veteran thief is feeling his age and wants to retire, but his employer ropes him for one last job. It's to teach a small group of upcoming thieves his trade.
The house? It's a small house within a rough neighborhood. It's confirmed that the owners there are on vacation visiting their grandchildren in another city. However, there's one thing that's peculiar, it's full of dolls and all.
That sounds pretty good!
@@CamWolfeAuthor Thanks.
The comment from said video: "We lived in a bad neighborhood at the time, so my mom said the dolls protected our house as an assurance."
In hindsight, I believe criminals should be the protagonists of horror stories more. Why? They have a higher chance of running into one because they're on the run for the most part.
ima write a horror story with almost all of these cliches in it, cept for haunted houses
That explains why they created Creepypasta stories in it, from Laughing Jack killing off James’s family dog to Jeff killing off his parents and his brother. But spoiler alert, turned out that Liu and Jeff’s bullies are actually alive.. That’s what kills me is that he gets drunk at the age of 13 or 17.
You would be surprised.
In Jason Takes Manhattan (Not The Best Part) Jason did a lot of things you mentioned. Boarded a train in NY and chased them the entire time. Everyone looked at him as if he were normal though...
He also climbed a ladder quite a few times. I believe he did it in Part II - Part V - and Part VIII. He also did things like open doors and lock them. There are also the scenes where he did something like hide in the RV and kill silently.
As for Michael Myers, in the 1st movie drove a car, locked doors, managed to climb, etc. However, I can agree with you for the most part. Also, Michael Myers was originally an average-sized man with a slim body. The complete opposite of Rob Zombies' version.
There are still many areas in the US that the cell service sucks. I have a friend who lives in a small town in a U created by two mountain ranges coming together. Half the town can only use ATT and the other can't. There are also large areas in Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and surrounding states that get no reception at all.
And again... I've known several veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan now, plus I myself am a very useful jack-of-all-trades type of guy. And Ive been in and heard first hand accounts of trained or competent people like me stepping during stressful and dangerous circumstances and taking charge. Sometimes to their own harm; knew a Sheriff's Deputy who tried to do a Superman and push himself in between to large houseboats on the lake in order to stop them from colliding. Got folded in half like an accordion, and ended up paralyzed from the waist down. It happens, man.
Hopefully this doesn't come off as defensive or aggressive sir, Horror IS my life so I have to comment. :P
The imaginary friend, inept police, and general stupidity of characters, are popular tropes used within the genre.
Though listening to this video I have to ask, if some of these are inspired by fiction, or movies. Because things like the police officier being offed just as they are about to get help, or the unstoppable, mute, juggernaut are things I see more often in Movies than books, especially with the juggernaut one because a mute killer is harder to make compelling in prose when you don't have the visual component. Prose-Slashers usually have more personality and charisma to them. - Basically there are more Freddy's than Jason's when it comes to horror fic.
Some of the others you mention I am not sure even qualify has a cliche/trope, such as the Haunted Houses and Zombie Fic. Because they are their own sub-genre of horror itself. Within Haunted House fic you have your own plethora of cliches, as with Zombies. Things like Clowns are just general tropes of the genre, to say we should avoid them or take special care to be more creative when using them would be like saying to someone writing an action novel, "Y'know big explosions have been done to death, I think you should find some other way to do this."
And I guess that's where I diverge from you a bit in this video, because there is a difference between a trope and a cliche. You definitely hit on some cliches that some authors use as crutches. The Cell phone signal, and car breaking down is one for sure. These are things people fall back on when they don't quite know another way to isolate the characters, since a LOT of horror requires isolation for it's atmosphere. But some of these others are tropes of the genre, that exist and are markers used to identify something AS horror to begin with.
You definitely want to try to do your own spin on any of these if you were to include them, but to be fair, every author approaches every idea in a different way. As long as you keep working on your craft and develop your own authorial voice, tropes aren't something to avoid or allocate extra effort when used... they are just things that'll naturally happen through the ebb and flow of your story. Just so long as it fits the character and the consistency of the story youre telling they're powerful tools to connect with an already established audience hungry for the genre.
Though I'll back pedal a little and contradict myself here at the end when I say this. Tropes are a powerful tool that we can use to make our work more identifiable to readers who look at a glance, who are trying to find this type of story. However, the great authors, the ones who will find the most success (whether indie or trad pub) are the ones who will take the tropes and subvert them, flip them around, establish the reader expectation and then pull the rug out from under them - again, as long as you stay consistent with the story being told up to that point. Tropes are really fun to play with.
Alright, that's my lecture for today haha, great vid sir.
Yeah, I can completely agree. I probably blended the idea of a trope and a cliche more than I intended, in retrospect.
Mostly these videos are just compilations of what the general audience of the genre is saying they are getting tired of, but my intention is always just to try and say if you ARE doing these things, it’s more important than ever to do it your own way (and like you said, flip it), cliche or trope.
That’s kinda why I mentioned zombies is almost a genre in itself and went into the specifics with the haunted house, just to say there’s nuances people are catching and getting turned off by. Even noting that most Authors have different styles, it’s losing them points here and there.
I definitely need to watch my mixing of terminology with tropes and cliches going forward though haha
@@CamWolfeAuthor ya it was a good surface level compilation of some of the common (and I'll agree that some are even overused) elements people put into a piece of horror work. And I totally agree with you that some of these are things that general audiences may have issue with. I dont necessarily think that the niche horror fans are included in that statement for the most part, but if were looking at the general reading population who dabble with horror books occasionally then definitely.
I still think a lot of these apply more to film/tv than books. But theres certainly a conversation to be had about it for sure.
I'm new to writing horror do you have any tips especially how to write serial killer stories especially
*replies*
*Let's play beer pong!*
guilty: haunted house
based on real experience:
*doors open/shut: check
*lights flicker on/off: check
Then I moved tf out! Bye!
9:21 - Well, that trope has been played around with to a degree. Mainly in a Punisher MAX comic and this one horror novel whose title escapes me at the moment.
Wonderful! I'm a steampunk author transitioning to horror. I'm out trolling for tips, and your vid is among the best I've seen. Most of these weren't on my radar, but you've instilled a streak of caution that I think will serve me well in the stories to come. Great job!
I've been wanting to get into Steampunk writing! Do you have any tips on writing it
@@DrMoonRose Gosh, never really thought about it, other than the fact that I was interested in lighter-than-air ships and the fantastic gadgets that steampunk allows. If I had to offer some tips, I would say be consistent with your gizmos, and don't explain them. The gunslinger in a western doesn't draw his six-gun and explain its inner workings to a bystander before he uses it. It's an ordinary part of his world, like a TV remote is to you. If your character uses his device without explanation, your readers will see what it does and accept it as part of the world the next time they see it. Above all, keep it the same from use to use; if he pulls out an optical device that enables him to see heat patterns in water, for example, don't have him pull it out later and use it to see toxic mold in a kitchen. Be consistent, and your readers will love you for it. Also, a good guide for beginners is Writing Steampunk by Beth Daniels. An easy, well-organized read that will really help you get off to a good start. Best of luck!
@@jacktyler2880 thanks for the suggestion and advice! I'll be sure to keep this all in mind
Actually, it was the Victorians who decided that Victorian Ghosts would be a thing. Spiritualism and Occultism became quite a thing in Victorian society. Seances were super popular at social gatherings, travelling carnivals would frequently feature cursed or haunted objects. Even the Egypt Craze of the era dovetailed into it all with cursed tombs and mummified corpses preserved for the afterlife. Ghosts and Spirits were to the Victorians what zombies were to the early 2000's.
Personally I like to replace the “my phones not working” thing with a “I must have dropped my phone while I was running”
I’ll typically use that as a “that’s one of our ways out of here, let’s go try to get” kinda thing that either kills someone off or they succeed in getting the phone back and use it properly
Or I say fuck it and make it cold outside so it dies while it sits out in the grass cuz fuck battery retention, it’s cold
UGH the "people not believing the character who tells them about whatever spooky thing" is My Biggest Pet Peeve in horror.
Even 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' establishes that the boy lied as a habit, and the townspeople BELIEVED HIM the first few times, before the real tragedy happens!
If you dont go out of your way to establish the character as a prankster or liar then it doesnt work...
just discovered this channel. very cool stuff
Okay but what about zombie clowns?
WHEN YOU INCLUDED NICK MILLER 🙌🏼 dude you are so funny and your tips are so useful. subscribing!
And frequently people are actually dismissive of friends, relatives, or acquaintances when they come forward with claims of abuse, or nonsensical explanations for weird shit they've experienced. It's not hard to be labeled the Crazy or Dramatic One in a group if you're talking about experiences that the rest of the group haven't shared themselves. Especially if there's any sort of a power dynamic at play; I've even dismissed my own child for claiming there were huge red hornets in her bedroom for several days before I finally witnessed one myself. Turns out a piece of wood I used for decor in her room was loaded with Ash Borers. Oops...
I was sick of haunted houses too. Thanks for the tips!
I actually love the mirror cliche!
Between you and me, I do too 😬
I wish it never existed because now I'm legitimately scared of mirrors and I'm 14
That third picture of Vorhees was WAY too attractive 😂
The thing is, I lived in a boarding school for two years where my phone had no connection.
For the car, have the characters already be tense, have whoever is driving, and someone else be having some sort of fight in the background. Once the horror strikes, let them escape. While escaping the final straw breaks causing one of them to be irrational and begin fighting and cause a wreck.
As a horror writer myself, I can certainly understand your points about cliches.
One thing I CANNOT STAND ONE SECOND OF is the dimbulb character who hears a scary noise from an unseen source and starts creeping TOWARD it saying "HELLO? WHO'S THERE? HELLO?" What evil creature worth its salt would answer?
...and don't forget the Three Deadly Words Said By Stupid People Caught In A Horror Place: "Let's Split Up."
Don't forget zombie-clowns.
I very much appreciate the piano
Awesome, thank you!
0:32 Was my reaction when I saw you uploaded a new segment! Your editing's getting better. Great to see a video from you again! 3:02 Are they talking about Warm Bodies? lol On a side note, I wish you could have shown or named a book for each cliche and maybe read a passage for it. But meh, that's just me. Loving this channel so much!
I can keep that in mind going forward!
@@CamWolfeAuthor So COOL! Cam, I'm interested in your personal thoughts and opinions regarding the genres out there as a writer. Like YA and Adult fiction and which you prefer and why and what books and part of those books inspired you. haha You can tackle genre a video at a time! Er, just thinking. More success and happiness to you!
Does anyone have any ideas for getting around the car breaking down/cell phone cliches?
This may not be an example straight from a book. But if you want to write a scene but want to work around the cliche, I have two potential solutions.
1. You should write a scene before the actual breaking down of the device. An example of this is in Friday the 13th Part III, a biker gang comes and takes all of the gas out of the van to use it for violent reasons. They did this after fighting with the "supposed" owners of the van. Later in the movie (Towards the end) the car starts up but dies midway during her attempt to escape from Jason. They used the scene that happened at the beginning of the movie to explain the sudden breakdown of the van.
2. Write so that they never had it in the first place. You could write so that the characters all walked there or were taking there by public transportation. You could also write a scene from the beginning of the story where they did something bold like destroying their phone. Or getting so frustrated that they threw it into the nearby lake. Or start it off with something like the character wanting a phone and/or begging to get one/ working to get a phone or being known for never having a phone, to begin with, as a way to both define their character and to set-up a scene for later in the story.
*Message*
Also, sorry if this was explained badly. It's nighttime and I'm a bit tired. On top of that, I'm not very good at explaining.
@@HomellAlcautor Really good examples, thanks.
The driver is texting and driving, hit a deer totalling the car, and the phone flies out of their hand and is smashed as it bounces around inside the car from the impact...or...it's raing heavily as they're speeding trying to makeup for lost time, so they are unable to see a deeply flooded portion of the road. The engine and inside of the car gets quickly flooded, and the phone gets ruined in the process as well...or... the cell phone could instead be lost from them slipping or tripping as they climb a hill or mountain trying to get a better single, like it's submerged in mud or the screen strikes a rock.
5:45 im set- its the protagonist that doesnt believe the friends ✨
3:51!!!! OH THE FLASHBACKS!!! They used that song for my 5th grade “moving up” ceremony and just imagine 100 bored 10yr olds singing……it was bad
I agree with alot of these and honestly I would love to see a list on psychological horrors because I am currently writing one rn lol. Would love to know some of the annoying cliches to avoid while I'm writing it.
I’m writing a psychological horror at the moment too! 😁
Depends on how you set up and use them.
@@CamWolfeAuthor Holy cow how I didn't notice that you replied to me... I don't know but wow that's such a crazy coincidence. I love your content btw.
Hounted house story idea:
A group of youngsters go to a haunted summer house (wooOOoooOo) to celebrate end of the school year. Another group of their friends wait for the weekend to join them becuase They have jobs. And then two days in SH!T GETS CRAZY, WEIRD MONSTERS EVERYWHERE, GHOSTS AND SH!T, GOD SAVE US ALL! And the phones do go out BUT not before one of them makes a desperate call to a member of the other group. That member calls the police and They are like ,,We'll send a patrol to have a look" and he's like ,,I don't think it will be enough, officer" but you can't send all the forces to a forest because someone "swears" there is some sh!t going down. So the person calls in all the other friends and goes:
,,Get all the weapons you have" while pilot sunglasses materialize on his face and the posse goes to the most sick rescue mission ever. AND THAT'S THE FIRST ACT
Book idea: A nice city family moves to an old country house built in the 1890's some where pretty, like Vermont. It's a bit dilapidated but it's modern enough with water, power, a sewer system... fantastic cell reception and hey, the family has two trucks and a coup.
But IN THE BASEMENT: Three skeletons in tattered rags, and one pare of groovy 70's vintage sunglasses, lurk, waiting for revenge against the people who killed them. When the family moves in they slowly feed off of the warmth and energy of this loving living batch of humans.
PLOT TWIST: these three dead dudes don't want no trouble, and the story is mostly from their point of view. They have to figure out how to communicate with this family with out A. having them call for an exorcist, B. mentally scar any of them (Especially the children) and C. get them to call the cops to present the evidence.
PLOT TWIST #2: They can't talk to people because they have no vocal cords, but they can "Talk" to each other so they have to indirectly contact this very modern family with wavering "Ghost powers", a complete lack of knowledge about modern technology, and an inability to be in strong direct light. (Hence why they hide mostly in the basement.)
Bonus points if one of them sometimes gives up and lays pathetically in sun beams while the family is away, commenting on how nice the house looks now that someone cared for it and how much they appreciate the drapery and throw pillows.
The horror part? two people killed our hapless bone trio, and one is now a ghost who will stoop to any level to keep the murders a secret to protect the murderer who is still alive.
Write that.
Cool! Lemme know if you write it, cuz I'd read it!
There is no way to do kid with the imaginary friend trope good? INCORRECT PLAY HELLO CHARLOTTE ITS A MASTERPIECE
I most definitely agree with 99% what you said. And here I thought it was only me feeling desensitized to my favorite genre. I only have to disagree with you about The Amityville Horror.
Before Hollywood filmmakers spawned remakes and reboots of The Amityville Horror, it was a true life horror story, which actually happened, in the 1970's. The family from The Amityville Horror house heavily supervised the author of the book because they did not want anything over exaggerated for the sake of sensationalizing what they personally endured.
Want to ensure I don't read / watch something horror? Start the synopsis with "Teenagers go......" That's it! Can't express how done I am with "teenagers", they always do the stupidest things in horror stories. Appreciate your videos!
Here's a cliche: the person who conceals being bitten, infected, or otherwise exposed to the in-story Bad Thing. They KNOW what will happen, and the danger they now present, but say nothing. A very lazy way to create drama or advance the plot.
There are exceptions.
Shaun's mother doesn't want to be a bother (and isn't genre-savvy), so she doesn't count. There are more important things to worry about than a bite on her wrist, to her mind.
Unbuilt trope: the Coopers' little girl has some manner of infection that kills her. We're well into the action before we realize that Johnny's teasing was horribly true. That movie implies it's radiation from a satellite causing the zombies.
HATE THIS, agree 100%, this crap drives me insane and I just want the infected person to die
here is an idea for a horror novel... Zombie clowns!!!
basically the character puts on a clown costume he found in the basement of the cheap house they bought.
the costume doesnt come off. he uses scissors to try and snip along the clothing, but he starts bleeding... yes the clothes are now his skin.
other characters start noticing skin colour changes, a redish tint to their nose. the clown virus spreads and they focus on spreading by touch.
the houses change into fleshy clown houses, the animals, the trees... it spreads everywhere.
and then... i dunno the world changes and adapts to this new clown society.
This was awesome, I hate stupid, brainless monsters and ghosts, so I am giving my monsters intelligence and motivations beyond mindless killing. Clever killers :) Mirrors and vents are fun doorways, but you're right I see the challenge of coming up with new doorways to parallel universes or spirit worlds.
But what if i could use the imaginary friend as a random friend, and then revealed as someone you should know but was killed before you were born.
Also the spirt inhabits something.
I would be more specific but i am not giving away my current story im writing.
I'm slowly but surely writing a horror series set in 90's rural Canada because modern technology wouldn't make sense in some parts of my story otherwise...
To be fair, Jason did take a boat to Manhattan on Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan, so I guess he could go over seas.