For my image, I wanted to use some sort of scenery or environment that I love. I’ve always enjoyed the denseness of forests and the sound of dirt crunching beneath one’s feet, so I went searching for a forest picture that called out to me. Lars-Henrik Snow’s picture of a winter forest has a beautiful contrast of darkness and lightness. I’m especially enamored by the darkness being in the forefront, making the light in the background all that more mystical. I knew my goal going into the assignment was to discover an image and audio that will pair together to completely alter its meaning, which I want to complement with a short narrative. This image was the perfect first step.
Then, it was audio hunting time. I wanted an audio that would change the ambience into something eerie and unsettling. At first I looked into audios where people were murmuring, expecting to use it as an auditory experience for my character’s unsound mind, but none of the audios I found this way felt quiet or isolated enough. Instead, I searched under the keyword ‘ominous’ and found interesting clips, but xtrgamr’s reverbed version of Rock-A-Bye Baby gave me what I didn’t even know I was looking for. Hit with inspiration, I scraped off the rust on my creative writing skills and came up with this:
Two nights, three frigid days now. Matthew’s fingers felt numb even beneath his multi-layered wool gloves. The avalanche swallowing Timmy and Gloria beneath mountains of undiscerning white had been cataclysmic, but the following blizzard even more so. He’d holed up in a cave where the walls had accumulated thin sheets of ice and spent the passing two nights blowing warmth into his unresponsive hands and eating measly rations of jerky and sunflower seeds. The storm had only cleared this morning. He hadn’t realized that wherever he had fallen in the aftermath left him with nowhere to go but through the dense, frozen foliage of an ever-expansive forest. He’s been sludging through 3 feet of snow aimlessly for 4 hours. His joints ached or throbbed – he was unable to discern – and he heard the crooning of his mother’s favorite lullaby. No… that wasn’t a voice, but the mesmerizing trill of the music box he’d unearthed when he was six. Where had it come from? It sounds… distant, back towards the cave. But it was familiar and familiarity is all Matthew has yearned for in the past 72 hours. His feet turned back around and he could not say if it was of his own volition. He followed his sunken boot prints back to the cave, to the warm embrace he was convinced he’d receive. When he was finally back, he entered the belly of the cavern that had not been there. The music stopped.
Apologies for the length of this post! I always get wordy when I don’t mean to… Eerie/creepy/horror writing is not one of my strengths and I was starting to rush it, but I hope it was still atmospheric. Thank you for taking the time to read it all.
Hello Amber!
It’s been awhile since I have taken a creative writing class, and this post sent me back into that mindset. It was a lot like reading a ‘creepypasta’, although I can’t say I’m usually a horror fan.
As soon as I heard the music playing, my mind started to work on the various ways you could connect the song with the picture. Typically you wouldn’t find a music box out in the woods. Having your story follow the subject into a cavern before the music stops was such a good way to leave the reader in suspense.
I really enjoy how each person who completed this assignment has taken a completely unique take on the instructions!
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Amber!
First – great post! The music was absolutely terrifying, and not at all what I expected. I am currently watching the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” for the first time and I’m a little more on edge about forests than usual… this did not help! Thus, I’d say your post was a success.
I am also intrigued by your story… was the music actually playing? Was it madness? Was he even alive as he ventured out of the cave or was it death playing tricks on him? You could develop that into such a story! If you had chosen a different sound, I don’t think the story would have made the same impression.
When I first saw your image, I was definitely spooked but still hopeful at the possibilities of what lies ahead. When I heard the audio by itself, it was a large “NOPE.” Though I can respect the original music box sound as often tied to pretty things, like ballerinas and jewelry boxes. Together, the two have combined to make an unsettling, soul-rattling, fearful place – one that I’m not sure I’d like to visit. I also started imagining all of the chaos that ensued during the series “Pretty Little Liars” and imagined this as a setting for “A.”
When you combine the image, the audio, the blog, and the title, it’s sure to send shivers down spines.
As for technical comments, I had a difficult time locating this specific post. I tried looking by your first name, your last name, and every other combination I could think of because it wasn’t coming up under the traditional “CC” tag. I finally found it by clicking on your most recent post and using your name hyperlink that was attached to the date of posting!
Overall, well done and I’m impressed!