2022’s NaNoWriMo pushed me to create this collection of four horror stories that all center around the same theme: What it means to be human. Now that all four stories are in development, I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce you to the concepts. These stories will touch on elements of religion, belonging & becoming, society & community, individualism and survival. Each are a work of fiction that comfortably fit into the horror genre but do branch into other genres as well! Some of my stories are more fleshed out than others, so keep that in mind.
Before we continue on I just wanted to make a note that I still haven’t decided on a name for the entire collection. My work in progress page has this story titled as ‘I’m Only Human’* but that is by no means the name I’m sticking with. Any ‘*‘ seen within the text indicate that the name is subject to change. For other quotes not included in the article they can be viewed on my Instagram here.
Pariah
The taste of blood caused her jaw to involuntarily lock up for a second before loosening and allowing her to flinch back from the pain. A chunk of her skin still clinging to her lips and the steady patter of blood hitting the counter sounding like rain. To Talitha the ruby drops reminded her of the ‘wine’ served at communion. The blood of Christ, spreading slowly (like the closet door) across the old wood countertops, slipping into the furrows. Her gaze was riveted to the sight of her own blood flowing over her knuckles and dripping off her wrist.
Pariah, T.Toney
Pariah is the first short story in the collection and can be considered a contemporary horror. It has heavy themes of religion and mental illness (particularly schizoaffective disorder). This story was inspired by a nightmare of my own religious struggle and mental health issues. Especially considering mental illness runs on my mother’s side of the family. This story will have a decent amount of blood and gore.
Our main character, Talitha Parrish finds herself fighting for her sanity when the ‘devil’ comes knocking and expecting worship. Where are you to look for help within an extremely small religious town and a tightknit community that’s always viewed you as an outcast? Help can come in the most unexpected ways and from unexpected people. The setting for the story takes place in Moral, Alabama. This small town is a combination of Mobile and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It’s the type of small town where everyone stays and few young adults make it out. Talitha is considered a black sheep due to her leaving for college.
Overall, this story is going to showcase the dangers of leaving mental illness untreated through extreme means and settings. Not all mental illness will present in violent ways and cause bodily harm. This story will also highlight the more overlooked symptoms of mental illnesses such as manic periods and anxiety. Remember to seek help and that having mental health issues doesn’t make you less human than anyone else.
Residual
He found himself thinking about her warning. What exactly could she have meant by troubling encounters with wildlife? While it was spring and breeding season was well underway, the park was usually large enough for the wildlife to avoid human interaction if they wanted, and they normally did. There was something else to that, but he wasn’t sure what yet; his mother wasn’t the type to worry unnecessarily. It was always with good reason, her judgements sound.
Residual, T.Toney
Residual is the second story in the collection and has elements of fantasy to it. This story has heavy themes of disability and societal pressures. It focuses on the struggle between belonging and becoming both in terms of society and individually.
Our main protagonist in this is a man named River Altaha and his two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. River is a below the knee amputee, survival expert and a professional nature photographer. During a backpacking trip into Aguja national park, located in NM, River and his dogs come face to face with a monster made immortal through tales told around campfires by his father. An epic battle between survival and rebirth commences, who’ll come out of the forest alive? What would you be willing to do to become accepted by the same society that shuns you?
The national park within this fictional work is loosely based off North Truches Peak in New Mexico and apart of the Rocky Mountains. The wildlife, plant life and environments are inspired by this mountain range and species native to NM.
Sign*
The third story in the collection, Sign, is still in the world building stage. It’ll have heavy elements of horror Sci-fi that’ll also lend towards survival, community and the advantages of individualism. This story will be the first to have cooperation between two protagonists against a common enemy.
Nadia is a woman who struggles with trauma induced selective mutism and communicates primarily through ASL. Very rarely is she able to push out a loud enough sentence. Quick witted and daring, she’ll do whatever it takes to survive. She has high anxiety around other people but can handle the stress of dangerous situations when people aren’t involved. Luke is a mystery and a bit of a red flag to Nadia at first. He’s quiet and always glaring at her and everyone around him. What Nadia doesn’t know is that Luke’s eyesight isn’t that great.
When these two are thrown into an unfamiliar setting with new dangers and an unknown way home, they must find a way to band together and survive the impossible. Possible romance, I haven’t fleshed that out enough yet.
Tilt*
Tilt is the fourth and final short story of the collection and will be horror with paranormal elements. This story will focus on existentialism and the ‘existence precedes essence’ arguments. Again this story will contain two characters whose perspectives will interchange. One is the protagonist and the other the antagonist, the reader has to choose which character falls into the tropes.
Two friends have their worlds tilted after a horrible tragedy changes the direction of their lives permanently. While one must struggle with the consequences of coming out alive, another must come to terms with transitioning to a new stage. Can you still call yourself human if you’re intangible?
Final Thoughts
This collection is supposed to be an exploration into the human psych and really get you thinking about what classifies us as human. This has been a massive project already with a lot of research, interviews and bookmarking. I cannot wait to see where these stories go and how they end themselves. I’m simply writing down what they tell me too.
The release date is a tentative September/October 2023.
