Spooktober and It's Writing Inspiration

10/9/2019

Writers, no doubt you have experienced it before. The bout of inspiration that hits you when an uplifting season comes around. Be it a time of the year that you have fond memories of or the energy of others brings you up. Today, I will be discussing a time of the year that fills me with the creative spirit and why it should lend the same spirit to you as well. It is the time for scares, horror and suspense!

Doot doot!

The Addams Family Aesthetic

The first bit of inspiration I have dubbed the Addams Family Aesthetic. A sense of enjoyment that one feels when surrounded by the spooky and supernatural. The Addams Family, whether you saw the show, movie or cartoon, was a phenomenon. Children, now adults, watched the creepy family revel in the weird and terrible.

Even to this day, the spirit of Addams Family lives on. Writers and artists create inspired by the creepy. Stories and artworks of classic horror icons or simply a cute skeleton have blossomed all over the internet. It is holiday sense that falls perfectly in October with the coming of Halloween. Although a bit childish, it is an energy that I am grateful to have.

What Scares You?

As a writer, I often ask myself what scares me. I enjoy a suspenseful story, but a story that fills me with a dread that is unique to me. With that in mind, a sense of inspiration to create a nightmare is found. No time is better to start writing or at least planning a thriller or horror novel than October. It is during this season that you are surrounded with what could scare you, thus hitting a writer’s block is less likely.

Ideas surround you as a thriller writer, now is the time to jump at the opportunity. Make use of that inspiration, that energy and write something that you wouldn’t read at night. Of course, I am not the first writer to announce this, many of the great authors have made the same conclusion, but to all young writers looking for the right time to write, it is now.

If you lack the time to plan, let alone write, then one need only ask themselves that simple question. What scares you?

Embracing the Season

Taking things a step further than most, it is around this time of year that the horror fans start watching the latest in horror movies. No better time of year for it as Hollywood realises this rise in the market. Horror super-fans or not, anyone interested in watching a spooky movie feels the societal obligation to watch such movies at this time of year.

One can choose to fight it, although where is the fun in that? I live in South Africa where Halloween isn’t celebrated, yet the spirit is happily received here. I, as you can guess, choose to embrace the season whole-heatedly. I watch horror movies, read spooky stories and dabble with creepy art and writing. I wouldn’t say I always had an interest in the unnerving filmography or even the mildly disturbing story when I was growing up. Yet, all it took was a brush with gory horror films and a stack of Goosebumps books to start me on the path.

With a brave heart and a solid spine, I now enjoy the genres that made it difficult to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night. Play the creepy piano playlist and open a fresh document, writers, and embrace your darkest side!

The Ridiculous Side

In addition to the wonderfully sinister side Spooktober, there is a more ridiculous and light-hearted side. Being third last month of the year, it fits perfectly into the silly-season as well. It is around this time of year that people with childish minds, or simply goofy personalities, make fun of the season. Harmless pranks are not what I speak of, but finding comedy in the horror is what is their focus.

These are the people who subvert expectations with stories and art that puts a more positive spin on Spooktober. Stories that start off with a creepy theme suddenly turn ridiculous. I have written such a story myself, Scratch and had a lot of fund writing it as well. It goes further beyond writing, reaching films and art that make light of the season.

Does this take anything away from the time of year? No, not at all. There is a reason that the phrase ‘poetic licence’ is used often when it comes to subverting expectations. Creating something abnormal is in fact, normal. While it might not be to your taste to write something akin to a thriller, perhaps comedy is something that interests you. In which case, you can still get something out of the haunting month!

Spooky Writing Prompts!

A new segment I plan on adding to articles such as this will include some fun writing prompts. Here are 10 writing prompts that you can use to write short stories or full thriller novels!

I have heard of a recent death in the family and to my surprise, the distant relative left everything to me. A month later I find myself driving down a dirt road leading to the out-of-place home that was left to me. Although a small house, evidence suggests it is a lot bigger.
I found an ad for a job in the newspaper that read like it was made for me. I leave to apply for the job and upon entering the office building I am hired on the spot. My coworkers ask me searching questions and my new boss always seems to be watching me.
I participate in a popular joke a ritual with my friends. Yet, it turns out we were the first to ever do it right and summon an actual demon.
I am left alone in a space station to study and observe rock samples in the laboratory. Weeks passed and soon I start counting the days till my crew returns from their expedition. The day of their return passes and upon further exploration I discovered their bodies in a ship that never left the station. The rock samples are missing.
In a night that never ends, I spend my time watching VHS tapes from my past. The most recent ones have been recorded over and I see a side of my past that I never knew about. A side of my family that leaves me shaking in my seat.
I work as a taxi driver that avoids clients as much as possible. Eventually I am forced to take on a client that directs me into a side of town I’m not familiar with. The further I drive, the stranger the buildings become and the more disturbing the pedestrian interactions till I witness murder.
Working in a laboratory, I witness experiments with cadavers eventually lead to the first zombie being created. I watch in horror as it fights its restraints, how it stares at me with evil intent. The zombie is put down, but I start seeing it everywhere I go.
The world is governed by a powerful AI who seeks to remove free-will of all humans. To achieve such mind-control,the AI has manufactured robotic monsters who hunt human beings to control or to kill. I am one of the few who still retains free-will.
I am staying over at a dodgy hotel on a trip across the country to visit my family. Half-way there, I am forced to rent a room at a hotel I never books. The room is luckily cheap, yet I can’t leave my floor. The elevator won’t open, there are no stairs and upon opening the curtains, I see there are no windows.
I have always had frightful nightmares. Having grown used to them, they don’t bother me anymore. Yet, as the days pass I start to wonder if they ever end when I wake up. The monsters follow me into the real world and my fear for them returns stronger than ever.

Conclusion

With that, I will end this article and wish you a frightful Spooktober. Hopefully this peek into the inspirational side of the month has given you the keen energy to create. Have fun and as always…

Happy writing!

Thank You!

Dear Writer

Thank you for finishing this article. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you truly enjoyed it. There are many things you will learn from the writing experience and the 150 above are only a few.

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Thank you very much for reading!
Kind regards

Matthew Dewey, Writer