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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/677-.html

Horror/Scary: October 26, 2005 Issue [#677]

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November 2, 2005 >>

Horror/Scary

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Edited by: schipperke
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Happy Halloween, everyone! Some of your other newsletter editors have done an excellent job providing you with the history and customs of Halloween. My newsletter will deal with my favorite body fluid, BLOOD

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I think blood is pretty.

Have you ever seen fresh blood when it is ruby bright on a snowy handkerchief?

Blood is the essence of life for us, the human motor oil for our fragile machines we call our bodies. As a horror writer, you should learn all about blood, and what it can symbolize.

Each of you has about five liters of the stuff (women a little less) circulating around from your toes to your head. Blood delivers the oxygen from your lungs, and removes the carbon dioxide. It brings the elements needed for growth, including hormones and nourishment from the food you ate. Blood removes waste from your system while bringing agents to fight infection.

Wait, don’t leave yet! Your blood is not just the red stuff. You have your ‘red stuff’, the red blood cells, and along with that, you have something yellow, called blood plasma. Plasma is straw colored, carrying the solid cells and platelets. Platelets are the factors of blood that help it clot. Without platelets, you would bleed to death (or exsanguinate).

Why is blood so scary then? What is it about an important body fluid that makes for great horror writing?

For most people, seeing blood on the outside of the body can be a frightening thing because it means something is wrong. You aren’t supposed to see what is underneath our covering shield of skin. It is natural for people to be wary of blood. It could mean someone is dying, sick, or injured. Even animals are tentative around blood. My dog will sniff out a cut and gently try to lick the blood away while holding his ears pressed back against his head like a seal.

How can you use blood as a way to frighten a reader?

What if there was a monster that fed on blood? The vampire is frightening because the creature dines on what keeps us alive. It is almost like selective cannibalism, since the vampire doesn’t bother eating the rest of us, it only sips what it needs. Creatures like the bat, and even the mosquito, have been used in horror stories like the vampire, to represent a threat to life. Creative writers can think of their own creation that could use blood for food.

Writers have also used the real threat to our health from blood borne viruses. AIDS, Ebola virus and Hanta virus, are a few examples of real life horrific illnesses. Instead of being a vehicle of life, contaminated blood is the bringer of death.

Blood means life. And without it, you will die. Simplistic, but true, and a great idea to keep in mind for your horror writing.