 Horror/Scary: August 13, 2025 Issue [#13289] |
This week: Let me out! Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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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
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Quote for the week:
"Her cold wind calls, and so I follow.
No time to rest my weary bones.
I hear her voice, and my heart grows hollow.
Best not walk these woods alone.
Best keep to the roads and out of the shadows.
Best get on home.
Best to leave them ghosts alone."
~From "The Land Unknown" by Landon Blood.
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Imagine that you wake up in a strange bed in a room you have never seen before. You go to the door but it seems to be locked from the outside. You jiggle the knob, but nothing happens. You run to the only window, but find that it is boarded up. You shout, "Hey, is anyone there? Let me out!" There is no response. You start banging on the door, screaming, "Let me out! Let me out!"
Being locked up against my will is one of the most frightening situations I can imagine. One of the basic instinctive responses to a threat (flight) is not possible. It would be especially frightening not to know who has imprisoned me, where I am, or why it is happening.
Imprisoning a character against their will might be the main focus of a story or just a part of the horror. The character might be in an actual prison, whether or not they deserve the sentence, but could be restrained anywhere in your evil writer's imagination.
In a horrible real life situation in 1968, an heiress named Barbara Jane Mackle was kidnapped from a hotel room in Atlanta and held prisoner while the kidnappers demanded a ransom payment from her father. The kidnappers placed her in a buried box which had been equipped with an air pump, a battery powered light, water, and food. After approximately three days, Mackle was found alive and the kidnappers were caught soon afterward. Mackle's kidnapping and imprisonment were the subject of the book and movie "83 Hours 'Til Dawn."
Well known horror stories in which a character is held captive include "Misery" by Stephen King, "The Collector" by John Fowles, and "The Girl Next Door" by Jack Ketchum.
Depending on the story, the prison might be anything from a squalid shack to a luxury suite in a country villa. Any place would be terrifying for a person who is not allowed to leave.
Something to try: Write a horror story where a character is imprisoned against their will.
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| | Turned (13+)
A writer is haunted by her past. My submission for the May writing competition
#2339740 by M  |
| | Forever More (18+)
Story of visiting Poe's grave one year after his passing, only to become a raven's victim.
#2329604 by Charles 🐾  |
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| Question for next time: What subjects would you like to see discussed in future horror newsletters? |
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