Horror and Childhood

One excellent recipe for horror is: children plus danger. Children are innocent, and this innocence increases the tension of the narrative because any harm that befell a child would leave the reader infuriated at the injustice. Children are also relatively defenseless. My youngest brother is seven, and the thought of anything bad happening to him has raised my blood pressure and quickened my breathing. The stakes for every reader are high. It's human instinct.Today, the focus is point of view, particularly the point of view of a child. My little brother does not always answer questions that I ask him, if he does not want to. He'll tell me a different story instead. He does not understand social rules, and often will parrot what our mother and father have told him as if it were handed down from on high. All that to say: a child does not talk like an adult. In literature, my favorite example is Danny Torrance from The Shining. Danny does not understand what is happening to his father. Steven King's diction is apt, highlighting that Danny is aware that something is wrong with his daddy while limiting Danny's words to those a bright kindergartner would know.***Gus liked to play behind the tan house across the street. When he was with his older brothers, he was always the princess or the one who died first, and he liked being in charge for a change. The backyard had a fence with dirt and plenty of bugs to catch, and a lot of empty glass bottles. Gus recognized the glass bottles from parties his mom and dad had at their house. He picked one up and pretended to drink from it, like he'd seen his father do.From the garage, he heard a chuckle. He blushed and expected to see his older brothers in the dark, peering out at him. Instead he saw nothing. There wasn't a trace of movement in the blackness. He put the bottle down. He couldn't decide whether to run and get his brothers or to stay and find out what was happening. The garage seemed too dark. But his brothers would tease him. And it was only a giggle. He edged so that his head was just beneath the garage door. He heard rustling in the corner, and what sounded like a whimper.What Gus found in the corner he could only describe as a bad thing. Eyes peered up at him. Lips revealed teeth that were the wrong color. It was a child. But it wasn't a child. It's skin was gray, and it's hair was thin and dirty. The thing scuttled sideways like a crab. It laughed, and the sound was the purest, happiest baby's giggle.***Little Gus had better run, I think. Tomorrow, we'll talk object based narration.Getting Started: 2Character: 2Point of View and Tone: 2Plot and Narrative: 1Dialogue and Voice: 1Descriptive Language and Setting: 1Revision: 1Overall: 1*Level 1*