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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/11692-Ghost-in-the-machine.html
Horror/Scary: December 07, 2022 Issue [#11692]




 This week: Ghost in the machine
  Edited by: Arakun the Twisted Raccoon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Quote for the week:

“Walls have ears.
Doors have eyes.
Trees have voices.
Beasts tell lies.
Beware the rain.
Beware the snow.
Beware the man
You think you know.
-Songs of Sapphique”

~Catherine Fisher, Incarceron


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Modern society has become dependent on computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. I am old enough so I can remember life without them, but many younger people have never lived in a world where they did not exist.

What if our electronic devices stopped working, or turned against us? If you remember all the warnings and fears surrounding Y2K you have the possible ingredients of a horror story. Those fears came to nothing, but imagine the world we might have been living in if they had come to pass.

Sci fi tales often feature a futuristic world which has been made better by the use of robots and other electronic devices. This scenario turns to horror if the devices stop functioning or turn evil.

Although modern electronic devices are a basic part of our lives, many of us only have a general knowledge of how they work. Anything that is unknown is always a good basis for a horror story.

Many wild conspiracy theories surround the possibility that we might be watched or stalked through our electronic devices. While most of these theories are exaggerated, the fear of being monitored without our knowledge can inspire horror stories.

One great example of a horror story that involves technology is the movie, "The Ring" in which a malevolent individual's consciousness is able to target victims through a VCR tape. Another example is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "I Robot, You Jane," in which a demon that had been trapped by a spell inside a book is freed when the book is scanned into a computer. In the 1970s horror movie, "The Manitou," technology is used to help banish an evil entity. A vengeful Native American sorcerer, Misquamacus, is reincarnated and begins destroying everything around him in his quest to take revenge on white people for colonizing his people's land. (I understand why he was doing this but he was destroying good people along with the bad.) Because his power is tied to nature, nothing in the natural world can defeat him. He is finally defeated by calling up the spirit or manitou of a computer, since it is unknown to him.

Even if nothing supernatural or demonic happens, technology can be a great addition to a horror story. A stalker might use social media, email, or text messages to hide his identity while stalking his victims or might manipulate surveillance video to hide evidence of a crime.

Something to try: Write a horror story that involves technology.



Editor's Picks

The Doll  (ASR)
Man loses his mind
#2273242 by Sumojo


STATIC
Cave of Fears  (13+)
Lost in a labyrinth
#2282139 by 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕫


The Last Halloween   (18+)
Mankind gets what’s coming and a man gets enlightened.
#2282281 by Kotaro


STATIC
The Funeral  (13+)
A twelve year old loses faith in his father after the tragic death of his mother
#1171144 by W.D.Wilcox


Dust Like a Shroud  (13+)
A midnight prank in a cemetery turns nasty
#2283419 by Graywriter

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

Question for next time: What subjects would you like to see in future horror newsletters?

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