BooBerry
07-13-2009, 01:44 PM
Night of the Witch
The Westbrooks are the kind of family you don‘t think exists anymore. Rick and Donna, happily married for twenty-two years this September. Their seventeen year old daughter Zoey, as bright as she is beautiful, and their ten year old son Nick, the neighborhood’s golden boy. And don’t forget Ghost, the obedient, shelter-saved terrier. They’re fun, courteous neighbors. They sit down at a table for meals. They’re well mannered, model citizens. And, as some would say it is the cherry on their perfect sundae, they’ve genuinely earned what they have through dedication and hard work.
Yes, with a sprawling log home, set away from the dangers and temptations outside their quiet, quaint mountain town, the Westbrooks really do have it all.
But as the summer draws to a close, they will be tested.
A woman comes calling one night, weather worn and asking to be let in. But it’s clear to Rick and Donna that this unwelcome visitor is not someone they want to deal with. They call the police and request help in dealing with the obviously disturbed stranger.
The night wears on, and shortly after midnight there is another knock at the door. The woman is back, and this time she doesn’t intend to leave. Rick tries again to call for help, but the phone is out and for some reason, their cells are no longer getting service. The electricity dies, and the woman seems to be everywhere at once. Desperate to get the woman to leave, the family asks about her demands, of which she only has one.
She wants Nick.
The woman tells them a story about her need for the boys blood. She claims she is a witch, and that forces have brought her here to collect the boy for dark purposes. If the rest of the family complies and turns Nick over, she will leave and they will never see her, or their son, ever again.
Immediately they refuse her request and chock the besiegement up to the mad ravings of a mentally unstable woman… but then things start happening.
Rick finds himself seduced and guided by a dreamlike siren, Donna’s innermost fears come to life with the ticking of a clock, and the children find themselves suddenly in the middle of a fairy tale nightmare. So is the woman outside simply a psychotic stranger, or is she truly a witch, using macabre charms and spells the bend the wills of her victims?
The Westbrooks will discover the truth before the sun rises, but will any of them live past that to tell the tale of the Witch?
The Vengeance
The Earth has had enough. It’s had enough war. It’s had enough pollution. It’s had enough foraging and mining. It’s tired of its skies and waters being poisoned, of its children dying off. So its launched an attack against mankind in an attempt to take back the land.
The animals, from insect to bird to mammal, have all become soldiers in a sudden war. Their targets: humans, with orders to kill every one they come across.
Caught in the middle of the onslaught is Autumn Deerfeild, desperate to catch up with her nine year old son and ex-husband a state away. Her brother Will, coming from the West to aide his sister, the only family he has left. But will they, along with the other survivors they’ve joined up with, live long enough to ever see each other again?
The animals are quick and deadly and numerous. They‘re attacking in swarms, flocks, and packs with no sign that their massacre will end anytime soon. And then there are the plants, growing and mutating into seductive, yet lethal gardens.
So the question becomes, where can you hide when everything around you has eyes?
Where do you run to when the entire world wants you dead?
The Pros/Cons so far.
The people doing this go for supernatural horror more than anything, which is a stretch for me because I like writing more realistic horror. But these two have been ideas of mine for a long while.
One is a "true life grim fairy tale" type novel, the other a more "apocalyptic horror". I'm afraid there will be more end of the world type books submitted to compete against, and Witch seems to be more like them in fashion (Leisure Horror if anyone reads them as much as I do.) Sept 30th is the deadline and I have some done of The Vengeance already, not much though.
Also, comment on this, if you like the idea of The Vengeance more, would you be more interested in the other if it were Night of the Witches, with 3 "witches" instead of just the one?
The Westbrooks are the kind of family you don‘t think exists anymore. Rick and Donna, happily married for twenty-two years this September. Their seventeen year old daughter Zoey, as bright as she is beautiful, and their ten year old son Nick, the neighborhood’s golden boy. And don’t forget Ghost, the obedient, shelter-saved terrier. They’re fun, courteous neighbors. They sit down at a table for meals. They’re well mannered, model citizens. And, as some would say it is the cherry on their perfect sundae, they’ve genuinely earned what they have through dedication and hard work.
Yes, with a sprawling log home, set away from the dangers and temptations outside their quiet, quaint mountain town, the Westbrooks really do have it all.
But as the summer draws to a close, they will be tested.
A woman comes calling one night, weather worn and asking to be let in. But it’s clear to Rick and Donna that this unwelcome visitor is not someone they want to deal with. They call the police and request help in dealing with the obviously disturbed stranger.
The night wears on, and shortly after midnight there is another knock at the door. The woman is back, and this time she doesn’t intend to leave. Rick tries again to call for help, but the phone is out and for some reason, their cells are no longer getting service. The electricity dies, and the woman seems to be everywhere at once. Desperate to get the woman to leave, the family asks about her demands, of which she only has one.
She wants Nick.
The woman tells them a story about her need for the boys blood. She claims she is a witch, and that forces have brought her here to collect the boy for dark purposes. If the rest of the family complies and turns Nick over, she will leave and they will never see her, or their son, ever again.
Immediately they refuse her request and chock the besiegement up to the mad ravings of a mentally unstable woman… but then things start happening.
Rick finds himself seduced and guided by a dreamlike siren, Donna’s innermost fears come to life with the ticking of a clock, and the children find themselves suddenly in the middle of a fairy tale nightmare. So is the woman outside simply a psychotic stranger, or is she truly a witch, using macabre charms and spells the bend the wills of her victims?
The Westbrooks will discover the truth before the sun rises, but will any of them live past that to tell the tale of the Witch?
The Vengeance
The Earth has had enough. It’s had enough war. It’s had enough pollution. It’s had enough foraging and mining. It’s tired of its skies and waters being poisoned, of its children dying off. So its launched an attack against mankind in an attempt to take back the land.
The animals, from insect to bird to mammal, have all become soldiers in a sudden war. Their targets: humans, with orders to kill every one they come across.
Caught in the middle of the onslaught is Autumn Deerfeild, desperate to catch up with her nine year old son and ex-husband a state away. Her brother Will, coming from the West to aide his sister, the only family he has left. But will they, along with the other survivors they’ve joined up with, live long enough to ever see each other again?
The animals are quick and deadly and numerous. They‘re attacking in swarms, flocks, and packs with no sign that their massacre will end anytime soon. And then there are the plants, growing and mutating into seductive, yet lethal gardens.
So the question becomes, where can you hide when everything around you has eyes?
Where do you run to when the entire world wants you dead?
The Pros/Cons so far.
The people doing this go for supernatural horror more than anything, which is a stretch for me because I like writing more realistic horror. But these two have been ideas of mine for a long while.
One is a "true life grim fairy tale" type novel, the other a more "apocalyptic horror". I'm afraid there will be more end of the world type books submitted to compete against, and Witch seems to be more like them in fashion (Leisure Horror if anyone reads them as much as I do.) Sept 30th is the deadline and I have some done of The Vengeance already, not much though.
Also, comment on this, if you like the idea of The Vengeance more, would you be more interested in the other if it were Night of the Witches, with 3 "witches" instead of just the one?