Tales of Courageous Terror

Our favorite legends are heroic or scary. Our favorite fiction is likewise. We love stories that thrill us, especially when they are about life and death.

My favorite stories are heroic and scary, especially when they are weird. The protagonists may seem ordinary at first but prove extraordinary by surviving strange horrors. They slaughter the monsters that normally slaughter normal people with pathetic ease.

Ambient horror is my favorite. Suspense is secondary. Shock is tertiary. I bask in a gloomy setting that is eerily silent or I hear strange noises. I prefer long moments of uneasy tranquility to the thrills of sudden terror.

My favorite monsters are normal people. They are dehumanized by the evil, one way or another. They are scary because what happened to them can happen to anyone. We realize the people we know can be turned against us.

There should be sexiness in fiction, both in its pictures and its story. Beautiful girls assure this quality, no matter their roles a characters. They are usually protagonists as victims or the heroine. They are sometimes the villains. They are seldom the monsters.

Strange or ugly can be sexy.

Women with soulless black eyes are unsettling but still attractive. Their strangeness adds to our interest. A deathly complexion, a monstrous countenance, horns or fangs are all weird but can make a comely form especially interesting. Bodies can be sexy whether dead, undead or alive.

The best story is an actual story. Its characters have parts to play in a grand scheme. There is a point to everything. The obvious and subtle alike are meaningful.

An action-adventure as a horror story is about a hero against monsters. Unlike most people, the protagonist is prey that kills his predators. He may be on a quest to save the world… or someone he loves… or himself. He may be clueless but resourceful. His adventure is what it is regardless: a terrifying test of his prowess.