Atmosphere is everything: lighting and even colour. I love how this got me thinking more about my future stories and their atmosphere. Mexican Gothic had me thinking so much about colour schemes for some reason...
Shameless plug but In my anthology there is a story about a woman who falls asleep on a train only to wake up in a town that seemingly shouldn't exist, at one stage she enters a hotel looking for solace only to find it as unsettling as the town outside. With this, I tried to set an errie tone with the use of liminal space and everything being slightly out of date and just off, shadowly corners and windows of the rooms that look in over the lobby giving a constant feeling of being watched from one of the many glass panels.
House of Leaves is one of my favourite books of all time and I can only dream of crafting an atmosphere like that.
I've always loved the Bates Motel for a horror setting. It's lonely and dark and could be comfortable if it weren't so creepy with the dead birds on the walls and that shadow in the window of the house up on the hill. Settings definitely play a big part in horror stories. Great post, JJ.
So true! There’s also something about the motel and house combination. It’s like they’re related to each other. Two personalities joined, somehow, by blood. Thanks for reading! I appreciate it.
Atmosphere is everything: lighting and even colour. I love how this got me thinking more about my future stories and their atmosphere. Mexican Gothic had me thinking so much about colour schemes for some reason...
Yes! Thanks for reading.
Love this post and agree entirely with it.
Shameless plug but In my anthology there is a story about a woman who falls asleep on a train only to wake up in a town that seemingly shouldn't exist, at one stage she enters a hotel looking for solace only to find it as unsettling as the town outside. With this, I tried to set an errie tone with the use of liminal space and everything being slightly out of date and just off, shadowly corners and windows of the rooms that look in over the lobby giving a constant feeling of being watched from one of the many glass panels.
House of Leaves is one of my favourite books of all time and I can only dream of crafting an atmosphere like that.
This anthology sounds really great! Thanks for reading.
I've always loved the Bates Motel for a horror setting. It's lonely and dark and could be comfortable if it weren't so creepy with the dead birds on the walls and that shadow in the window of the house up on the hill. Settings definitely play a big part in horror stories. Great post, JJ.
So true! There’s also something about the motel and house combination. It’s like they’re related to each other. Two personalities joined, somehow, by blood. Thanks for reading! I appreciate it.