The Six Secrets of Suspense

It has been said that "Fear is caused by ignorance."  I have been intrigued by fear for much of my life (perhaps because of how fearful I was as a child),  but I have never considered myself ignorant.

Over ten years ago I picked up a book on fear in a store and began reading it.  In those first couple pages I learned things I had never considered before.  "Perhaps", I thought to myself, " I could grow in my knowledge of fear."  I picked up another book and then another.  I visited every library I knew.  I then began to observe people in every day life.  I worked at haunted houses and experimented with different situations.  I analyzed films and wrote scary stories.

I learned everything I could.

I found the information to be very powerful in my life.  Not just in generating suspense - but in understanding why people - myself included - do things that may seem irrational.  I also was able to catch myself using limiting behaviors that came from fear and change it.

I never intended to write a book about it, but in talking to people, I found there was quite an interest from many different groups.  Some people were like me and wanted to create suspenseful entertainment.  Others (also like me) just wanted to understand their own fears.

The Six Secrets of Suspense are simply true principles that when understood will allow you to create or remove fear.

The book is not finished.  It is all outlined and I am working on fleshing it out a little at a time.  I decided to put it online so that I could get feedback and make it even better.  I don't believe that I have all the answers.  I appreciate input and will probably make several versions of each chapter - with your help.

Please enter your name and email in the box on the side and I will email you each section as it is written.

Thanks again for your interest.  And please come back and share your comments.

Rhythms of Life

Have you ever noticed how people can sleep in a car through all sorts of noises, but when you turn off the car they suddenly wake up?  Could it be that the silence woke them up?

We get used to certain rhythms - like the sounds of the road or the construction down the street - and we don't even notice it after awhile.

Until the rhythm is broken.

Another example of this is kids who have grown up with older sibling will generally sleep through all sorts of loud noises - musical toys, yelling, crying, etc.  If it is consistent enough they are not disturbed by it.

The same principle applies to scary movies, haunted attractions, etc.  If something jumps out and attempts to scare us every 60 seconds then it ceases to be scary and we just get bored.  But if scares are staggered such that they are unpredictable(For example a long break after a scare then two in succession), then we are on edge all the time not knowing where to turn or when to expect the next strike.
 
Rhythm is only used to set people up for one thing then throw them off when the rhythm is broken.

Rocky Mountain Haunters Logo

I designed the logo above for the Rocky Mountain Haunters group.  They are located mostly in and around the Rocky Mountains as the name implies and have a passion for Halloween and haunting.

Nightmares

I do not often have bad dreams, but lately I have had a series of intense nightmares.  I can usually interpret my own dreams (and sometimes other people's) and so I know what they mean. The image below is from a dream that freaked me out so bad I woke myself up yelling. I had a hard time allowing myself to go back to sleep for quite a while.

Suicide Prevention Poster

Very cool.

The Living Dead

"When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the politer names of hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them, they show us the state of our decay."
-Brian Aldiss

I've heard it said elsewhere that the generation gap is caused by adults throwing away their dreams.