Spookiertober

Howdy, my delicious friend! You've come just at the right time, I was dusting the shelves. Adding dust to them, rather than the opposite. And some cobwebs too, to set the mood. The month before us is expected to be terrifying after all, and my library severely lacks the horror element. But what good would be fear in an already grim setting? But let's not jump to conclusions and properly introduce the october animation.

4 weeks, 4 worlds, one fright

Inspired by Mochi's Eco september, I declare the Spookiertober, for lack of better name. The rules are similar yet adapted to the diversity of my workplace. I will work on four different worlds, a different one for each week. The goal is to create themes of horror in worlds that lack this element. I believe that all worlds, even the most wholesome, can grow from having true terror somewhere.

But what good is a dreadful area in an already grim world? My challenge here is to explore worlds that are not inherently horrific, or contain mostly scary elements. Thus, worlds like The Spheres of Oblogga, After the Fog and The Alchemist's Sanctum, among others, are banned. Then, I will write about a paragraph per day about something scary in non-horrific worlds, with a full article at the end of the week.

Finally and maybe the most important rule for me is to delve into the realm of horror. These articles of mine will set the stage to bring the monster from under the bed to the spotlight. If giving face to the fear is frowned upon in a story, it is important for the worldbuilding to know what the antagonist is. From the darkest corners of these worlds will emerge creatures, laws or people whose monstrous deeds were better forgotten.

Additionally, I will follow Spooktober prompts, as they are historically the easiest to twist and shouldn't post any issue. If you'd like to join me in this challenge, feel free! And remember that this set of rules is solely a collection of suggestions. If you don't feel like doing one of them or it is too restrictive, then simply ignore it! And for my fellow storytellers that recount the tales of a single world, you can still explore different areas of this world. Surely there are multiple continents out there, or multiple floating islands for your monsters to dwell.

In need of inspiration?

Here are some prompts if require some extra ideas. They're free for you to take and share!

My worlds