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Discussion » Questions » Books and Literature » If you were to begin writing a horror story how would your first sentence or two start out?
Kittigate

If you were to begin writing a horror story how would your first sentence or two start out?

Eg.. I heard those kinds of awful fearsome sounds that I never in my life would I ever want to hear again....

Posted - December 6, 2021
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Responses


  • 44649
    He would never see his head again in a mirror as it was ripped off his neck by the mutant Barbie Doll.
      December 6, 2021 8:54 PM MST
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  • 13277
    That wasn't really what would be called a lede (correct spelling) in journalism. You basically told the whole story in one sentence.
      December 6, 2021 9:50 PM MST
    3

  • 44649
    I'm not a writer. And you missed my missing comma.
      December 7, 2021 7:15 AM MST
    2

  • 13277
    You missed it, not I. And "Doll" is not part of the brand name, so it should be "Barbie doll." Actually, "doll" is redundant, so it could just be "Barbie."
      December 7, 2021 7:37 AM MST
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  • 44649
    I had a friend named Barbie.
      December 7, 2021 9:22 AM MST
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  • 13277
    Nobody would think of anything but a childrens' toy if you just said "Barbie." Grrrrr.
      December 8, 2021 8:01 AM MST
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  • 53524

     

      By omitting the comma between the two separate clauses of the opening sentence. Grrrrrrr.

      December 6, 2021 9:05 PM MST
    6

  • 13395
    That adds to the horror.
      December 6, 2021 9:16 PM MST
    4

  • 53524

      It IS the horror!
    ~

      December 7, 2021 3:12 AM MST
    4

  • 23641
    It's already been taken by John Wyndham. His opening sentence for his life-changing-for-me novel "The Midwich Cuckoos" :


    "One of the luckiest accidents in my wife's life is that she happened to marry a man who was born on the 26th of September."




    Followed by: "But for that, we should both of us undoubtedly have been at home in Midwich on the night of the 26th-27th, with consequences which, I have never ceased to be thankful, she was spared."


    I fell under Wyndham's spell immediately. And I still do, anytime I reread the novel. 

    Wyndham's book is actually science fiction but it scares the crap out of me in the very best of ways.  :)





    This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at December 7, 2021 1:55 PM MST
      December 6, 2021 9:09 PM MST
    6

  • 13395
    Sounds pretty wild!
      December 6, 2021 9:13 PM MST
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  • 23641
    Yes! VERY wild! yet, very understated in its plot - - creeps up on you the whole time with quiet little shudders.


    The Midwich Cuckoos: John Wyndham: Amazon.com: Books

    And the great (to me) 1960 movie "Village of the Damned' was based upon the book -- I first saw the movie  and was annihilated. and I enjoyed every second of it. :)

    A scene:

    The 10 Best Movies About Mind Control | Taste Of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists

    And I wanted to then read the book. And the book even further blew me away.



    This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at December 17, 2023 1:39 PM MST
      December 6, 2021 9:19 PM MST
    5

  • 13395
    Very interesting.
      December 6, 2021 9:28 PM MST
    5

  • 23641
    Very much so for me, yes.  :)
      December 6, 2021 9:42 PM MST
    5

  • 13277
    It was a dark and stormy night.
      December 6, 2021 9:51 PM MST
    6

  • 13395
     'And not a tilde in sight'.
      December 6, 2021 10:00 PM MST
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  • 13277
    LOL
      December 6, 2021 11:00 PM MST
    4

  • 53524

     

      Et tu, StuBrutus? Grrrrrrr.
      ~

      December 7, 2021 3:17 AM MST
    5

  • 13277
    Yes.
      December 7, 2021 7:39 AM MST
    2

  • 53524

     

      Hey! Grrrrrrr.

      
      ~

      December 7, 2021 3:14 AM MST
    4

  • 16829
    He was a dark and stormy knight.
      December 7, 2021 4:41 AM MST
    6

  • 13277
    He was a dark and stormy knight. On a dark and stormy night...
      December 7, 2021 6:28 AM MST
    5

  • 16829
    Or on a stark and dormy night?
      December 8, 2021 12:48 AM MST
    4

  • 13277
    Of course not. But perhaps a starm and dorky night.
      December 8, 2021 8:03 AM MST
    4