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An invisible nostalgia. The protagonist is haunted by a vague and distant memory, of which he cannot reach the origin. All he can remember is an image, in some way related to his first car.
One day, he accidentally comes across what appears to have been exactly his first car, seemingly abandoned in the front yard of a house. He is interested not only because it is closely related to his indefinite memory, but also because, after selling it seventeen years ago, he had forgotten something very important in the glove compartment.
(Continues below).
He contacts the current owner and manages to get into the car. He does not find what he was looking for, but only some sheets of paper, which turn out to be a manuscript by an unknown author. He looks at it absentmindedly and is about to put it away when the title intrigues him.
He takes it with him and begins to read, but at one point, he notices something strange: it is as if it describes his memory. Until then, he considers it just a coincidence, but as he continues reading, it seems to him at times as though he is the protagonist. Although he has never experienced the situations described, there are some similarities that link him to his reality.
In some glimpses, it seems to him that the protagonist is trying to communicate with him through the manuscript. He wonders until the end who the mysterious author might be, when suddenly a clue in the manuscript reconnects him to a particular moment in his past, that may hold the key to understanding not only the manuscript but also some of the decisions in his life that have led him to the present.
CONVERSATIONS FROM STORYEXPE RESIDENTS:
Writing tip for horror novels: if your protagonist finds in an abandoned house an ancient, ominous game already begun, in which it’s his turn to make the next move, and you have described your protagonist so far as a smart character, you will not let him continue the game.
Writing tip for horror novels: in the moment of greatest danger in an (apparently) abandoned place, don't let your protagonists decide that the best idea is to split up. You wouldn't do it in real life either (...I hope for you).
Character development for a horror- novel: starting from a situation that intrigues you but you would never want to experience in reality, you make your protagonist delve more and more into his fears, happy that it does not happen to you.
Writing- tip: you better don't believe in karma.
The night was cold. The wind was blowing. The street was deserted. The strange guy with the chainsaw and the hockeymask was very kind. He asked me to follow him. I just said no. Hope I wasn’t too rude. ...If you read this: sorry.
I was just meditating for my own in a forest in Transylvania, near a long abandoned monastery. I saw a rather scary nun. She invited me to follow her in the monastery. I politely declined. Still not sure if I missed something funny inside.
I was walking for my own in a forest. I saw an ancient well. A sinister girl with long black hair covering her face came out of it. She approached me in a somewhat unkind manner. I pushed her into the well and closed it. If karma decides to punish me for this, I really have a problem.
I was walking alone in a forest. A distinguished gentleman with a hockey mask and a chainsaw invited me to follow him into a small wooden house. I thought about it. I politely declined. I’m still somehow fine with my decision.
There was an old house for sale. Excellent offer. Really excellent. Maybe too excellent, if you ask me. I did some research. It used to be an insane asylum. All the previous owners of the house went crazy. I bought it anyway. Good idea? Time will tell.
The car broke down in a huge forest. The only place to go was an apparently abandoned wooden cabin. Chainsaw noises from inside. I went inside anyway. I have regretted it to today.
As an author of mystery & horror, I like to take the readers:
• Into stories that they themselves would like to experience in reality.
• Into stories that they would be afraid to experience in reality (...well, usually me too).
• Inside stories that are completely new to them, to create an entirely unexpected reading experience.
• In stories so close to reality that they become more frightening than any fantasy.
Who believes in ghosts?
I've always had a sort of obsession with ghosts. Not that I invoke them, but as a writer, I am fascinated by the past. And the idea of how a forgotten line from the past could proceed spectrally, appearing vaguely in the present.
What is a great inspiration for writing?
The unknown.
A lost place, where you try to imagine its last echoes.
A mysterious person you have barely seen, and wonder who she might be.
A forgotten memory, the origin of which you try to uncover.
FEATURED COMMUNITIES
This is a free area for communities to get featured on Storyexpe. Main criteria are: originality, relevance and engagement. For this reason, no paid options area available to get featured in this area with your free profile or with a group (read more).
HOW TO GET FEATURED:
Just create a thematically related and relevant presence with your profile, or create a group (this option available only for Storyexpe Residents - read more).
MOST POPULAR TOPICS
Paranormal phenomena
Sure, science in particular in recent decades has managed to dismantle many of the so-called paranormal phenomena that had been created and spread over time. And the increasing availability of information has contributed to making people increasingly skeptical of accepting paranormal phenomena. But then why do they continue to exist? Because all our knowledge ends in the darkness that surrounds it, and the light of reason often succeeds in illuminating only what exists immediately around us. What about everything else? The ambiguous noises that we hear? The undefined shadows we see in the dark? There are several explanations here on Storyexpe, of how the brain interprets something unknown in such a way to assign to it the (seemingly) most plausible forms and contexts. ...And apparently, sometimes a ghost can seem to us to be the most plausible context.
Urban legends
After all, we know that they are false (… …because they are, right?). Of many of them the origin is unknown, of others we know it (just for entertainment, or based on a misunderstanding, or born from something completely different and absolutely not paranormal, which in the course of time has been distorted). But deep down we also like to think that they have arisen from a kernel of truth, whose origin is still worth being explored. And it is precisely that core of (possible) truth, however slight and distant it may be, that makes them so fascinating. But then why do urban legends survive? According to many Storyexpe users, because of their ability to continually readapt their essence to a current context.
Abandoned places
The fascination of abandoned places consists in the mystery of their past. Scattered desolate traces appear as the last remaining echo, as the last voice has been silent for years. You can barely perceive the shadow of those who do not exist anymore, but are still present. It's up to you to discover their past... and hope that any gloomy vicissitude of the past has not lasted into the present.
Mystery and Horror art
From classics of literature like Dracula and Frankenstein to Stephen King. Even in cinema, Horror has always been one of the most popular genres (who among us, coming home at night and passing by an abandoned monastery, does not suspect that there may be a Nun following us? It has probably happened to everyone). Follow the conversations on Storyexpe about all facets of art in mystery and horror, and be part of it with your own ideas and experiences. ... ...But in the meantime try to ignore those strange noises coming from the abandoned Gothic cathedral in your neighborhood.
Enter the community
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You find an inscription with your name, your date of birth and ......your date of death. Which is exactly today (and you are really sure that in this moment you're not dead). What would you do?
1) You use the rest of your time to find out what could cause your death, and try to avoid it.
2) You just run away.
3) You decide to defy death, because you think your time hasn't come yet.
Join the community to go to the options (or add yours).
On a walk, you see a beautiful but apparently sad girl, dressed in mourning, standing at the turnoff to a secondary road, on the edge of a wood. As soon as you're close enough, you ask her if everything's okay. Suddenly she runs away, along the secondary road, and disappears. You...
1) Follow her, believing that she might need your help.
2) Go away because it's none of your concern.
3) Go away quickly, because this matter seems creepy to you.
4) Follow her, but you get lost in a wood. So you decide to:
a) go back
b) go further, even if you risk to get lost even more.
Join the community to go to the options (or to add yours).
