Boo! Scary Fictional Characters

Hello again, Wicked Writers. I apologize for my absences this past week or two. I’ve been very busy. Anyway, it’s October and that means pumpkins and candy and things that go ‘bump’ in the night. I love Halloween. Any of you going Trick-or-Treating this year?

The topic this week is: Favorite Scary Fictional “Creature” and why?

I’m going to be egotistical for a moment because my favorite scary fictional creature is the antagonist of my novel, the vampire King Apollyon. Why? Because this guy is a freak in a similar way that Hitler was a freak. Actually – Apollyon is my imaginations version of a vampire Hitler-type overlord. Don’t ask how I came up with this. I don’t want to think about it too hard.

But seriously, Apollyon is the kind of bad-guy that tortures women and children just for fun. Okay, okay, so not just for fun. He has a purpose, a goal – if you will, that he thinks makes his actions justified. You see, to him, us humans should be worshipping vampires like they’re gods. Before you think to yourself “but vampires are dead?” maybe I should explain that vampires are not undead creatures in my novel. Instead, I’ve made them a sub-species. A hybrid of humans and nephilim that have been feared and hunted for years and years, forced into hiding as the only way to co-exist on our planet. Only Apollyon thinks it’s his planet. Or their planet, at least.

In real life, it’s hard to think of a vampire as being scary, especially since they’ve been so romanticized by the media lately. Personally, I like them that way – romantic, undead, Fabios. But it does take a toll on the “scary” factor.

In real life, I’m not afraid of any fictional character (except Apollyon) because they’re fictional. What really scares the pants off me is the REAL stuff – murders, rapist, war, natural disasters, spiders crawling on me in my sleep …

By giving Apollyon’s evil intentions a – in his opinion – justifiable motive, he becomes a little bit more real, and that much more terrifying. Because we know he’s not going to give up until he’s reached his goal, and we all hope the protagonist can stop him before then.

What’s your favorite scary fictional creature? Do you ever write about them or use them in stories? Have you ever used your fear or played off a scary experience to help improve your writing? Tell us about it, and have a happy Halloween!