Rayne Hall's next Ten Tales anthology, Cogwheels, is soon to be released and since accepting my "Hole in the Sky" story she's now after another. This time she's requested a dark story involving a demon.
Two things I already know, and I've not yet scribbled any ideas:
- This story will give you a peek into the world of my novel, The Shadow Fabric, just as "Ten Minutes Till Deadtime" (featured in Hell's Garden anthology) and also "Seeing is Believing" (featured in Sirens Call eZine).
- I intend to avoid every cliché there is.
Below, I've listed several of my personal grievances when it comes to demon and supernatural stories, both in literature and on screen.
Possession.
Yeah, this is first on the list. I am not having a dribbling, white-eyed levitation scene anywhere in my story.
Freaky children.
How many times have we seen, especially in film, weird children, floppy arms and vacant stares? Oh, and long, dark hair over the eyes.
Toy/Music box.
Again, especially on screen, the music box plays an important role twinned with a haunting soundtrack.
Dolls.
Don't even get me started on this.
Curses.
If someone's pissed someone else off, what better way than to put a hex on them?
Priests.
I don't want any priest or holy man near my demon.
Exorcism.
As above. May the power of Christ compel me...not to.
Religion.
No church will be seen in or around wherever the hell my story takes place.
Black-cowled sects.
Similar to the last item, no one will wander around wearing cowls either. Indeed, there'll be no chanting, naked-dancing, or virgin sacrifice.
Moving home.
So, let's have a pair of characters (husband and wife perhaps?) move in to a new home...and ohhhhhh, there are weird noises. Um, no. Thanks. But no.
Finding something.
Almost as bad as the moving home thing... Let's have a character who goes to a charity shop or a garage sale and finds something. Something old. Yeah, let's make it a music box. No, better still, how about a doll?
Car.
A possessed car? I believe Stephen King was one of the first to do this with Christine and that was a fantastic story. No one else should bother.
Mirrors.
Anything to do with a demon behind the mirror is too much the metaphor for personal demons.
Pet dies first.
Let's begin the story with a happy family unit. First there's something broken in the house. And then the next step on the freaky-level is the pet butchered by some kind of evil. No. Just don't do it.
Divorced couple.
Yep, cliché right there! Oh how those two hate each other, and one character is troubled by that evil presence. Do they still love each other? Who's the annoying new man/woman on the scene? Yeah, let's kill the lover who broke up the marriage in the first place. That won't shock the reader.
Two children.
Similar to the freaky children, but this one features a pair of siblings. And one of them is possessed, or taken ill, or maybe taken into the nether world.
The main character kills.
Reading a story, often in first person POV, and they're actually possessed by an evil demon. We follow them on their journey and yeah, it's the demon's point of view. Of course.
And, on a last note...
Whilst writing this blog post, I tweeted:
"What are you sick of when it comes to demon and devil clichés? #amwriting a dark story and want to avoid every hackneyed plot out there."
Replies include:
"...Devil-worshipping cults..."
"...random discoveries of magical books..."
"...possessed items...houses..."
"...the Devil as a stranger who 'visits'..."
"...scary-eyed demons...maniacal laughter...putrid smell..."
"...creepy children..."
"...stereo-typical demons, all scary-looking..."
One tweeter even suggested instead of a scary demon, how about one straight from an Armani ad? Another mentioned a misunderstood Devil who's perhaps less evil than most think, and is in fact somewhat hospitable... Both, worthy ideas.
Thanks to all those who helped out there.
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"Fast car...on the highway. On the byway, Mr. Robotron." -Will Ferrell |
So I've begun
As I often do before beginning a story, I scribbled as many word associations as possible before going cross-eyed. With demons, devils and darkness in mind, this is what I came up with:
Demons,
Devils and Devices
Unholy
The
Devil’s Toy
Untouchable
Device
Another
Fire
Inferno
Untamed
Born
of Smoke
Smoked
Unholy,
Unsmoked
One
More Round
Just
One More Round
A
Piece of Mind
How
it Ends
Beneath
it all
Untroubled,
Unholy
Unloved,
Unholy
Unholy,
Unchartered
Haunted
Bullet
Screaming
Demons
Dancer
in the Dark Light
Midnight
Eyes
The
Midnight Stare
Shadow
Soldiers
A
Demon’s Shadow
Demon’s
Shadow
Belief
in Darkness
Darker
than a Demon’s Shadow
Forgotten
Demon
Demon
Field
Demon
Memories
Darker
than the Devil’s Shadows
The
Devil’s Shadow
Devil
Box
Devil
to Promise
Spend
the Evening with a Demon
Crystal
Clear Shadow
Shadows
of Another
Other
Fiendish Qualities
Good
Sense
Sixth
Stench
Looking
for the Darkness
Leaking
Darkness
Liquid
Darkness
Buried
The
Buried Still Bleed
Strangers
Clock the Sorrow
Mighty
Shadow
Played
a Game of Death
Death’s
Delight
Ploughed
Field
|
Devils
and Demons
Best
of Fiends
Girlfiend
His
Master’s Voice
Taken
for a Demon
Demon
Monopoly
The
Devil’s Puzzle
Puzzles
in the Dark
Dark
Pieces
The
Shroud
Devil’s
Shroud
Shrouded
in the Demon’s Fabric
Shrouded
in Fabric
Dark
Demise
Troubled
Devil
The
Devil’s Shirt
Hounded
by Darkness
Stitches
Proud
Father
Proud
to be a Demon’s Son
Demon’s
Son
Demon’s
Father
Demon
Father
Scar
Trek
Devil
Scarred
The
Devil’s Scar
Forty
Demons
Haunt
of Demons
Players
in the Field
Slices
Sliced
Oath
Forgotten
Wheels
Lost
in the Shadows
Lost
in the Darkness
Darknest
Forgotten
Walls
Founded
Fathers
Tethers
of Wonder
Buried
in the Wood
Blasted
in the Dark
Spore
of Satan
Satan
Spore
Hunger,
Misery
Unforgotten
Unforgiving
Gesture
Player
in the Dark
Bleak
Stone
Black
Stone
Stone
Cold Demon
Demon
in the Rye
|
If you have anything you'd like to add to my cliché list
please let me know and I'll be sure to do my best in avoiding it.
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Author photo (c)Christopher Shoebridge |
Mark Cassell lives in a rural part of the UK with his wife and a number of animals. He often dreams of dystopian futures, peculiar creatures, and flitting shadows. Primarily a horror writer, his steampunk, fantasy, and SF stories have featured in several anthologies and ezines.
His debut novel, The Shadow Fabric, is a supernatural story and is available from Amazon.
Twitter: @Mark_Cassell ~ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarkCassell
His debut novel, The Shadow Fabric, is a supernatural story and is available from Amazon.
Twitter: @Mark_Cassell ~ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarkCassell
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