Line #55 SoYouWantTo/WriteACosmicHorrorStory


1	The CosmicHorrorStory is a treat for speculative fiction fans: Science fiction, fantasy, and horror and blended into one work of literature. The "father" of this genre is generally considered to be H.P Lovecraft, "founder" of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. A recurring theme in cosmic horror stories is the idea that good and evil are simply human concepts, and humanity inhabits a bleak and uncaring universe.
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3	!Necessary Tropes
4	* PunyEarthlings: The idea that [[HumansAreInsects humanity is completely defenseless]] in the face of the gibbering horrors from beyond the stars, and that Earth is an insignificant little blue planet of no interest to anybody, except the occasional brain-eating monster from beyond our universe.
5	* EldritchAbomination: One of the staples of the cosmic horror story genre. Cosmic horror stories very rarely feature [[RubberForeheadAliens rubber forehead aliens]]. Expect to see [[StarfishAlien starfish aliens]], [[StarfishLanguage starfish languages]], and a whole lot of tentacles. {{Humanoid Abomination}}s can also occasionally work, ala' [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos the Slender Man.]] They can be whatever embodiment or presence you want, as long as they are incomprehensible greater beings. Another option is to [[InvertedTrope invert it]] and make the [[HumansAreCthulhu humans incomprehensible]], to a degree [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters they are the true horror compared to the genuinely innocent and neutral cosmic entities]], even within the inversion, [[YouCantFightFate the pessimistic and powerless nature of men]] never change.
6	* EldritchLocation: Usually where the monsters originate from. It can be an underwater city housing an alien monster, another planet, or another dimension.
7	* DownerEnding: Cosmic Horror Stories ''rarely'' ever end happily. If it ''[[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu does]]'', it's usually [[PyrrhicVictory an ending that can only be considered happy in the broadest sense of the term.]] If it has an obviously happy ending, or a BittersweetEnding, it's probably LovecraftLite.
8	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: The [[TomeOfEldritchLore eldritch knowledge]] is [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow not meant to be known]], this is the result of one attempting to understand and correlate the contents of the world.
9	* HumansAreInsects: The easiest way to sum up the role of humanity is that under a cosmic scale of horror, they are a group of clueless, defenseless ants, whereas the otherworldly monstrosities are more like people who step upon ants for various reason we cannot comprehend, be it accidentally stepping on us because they don't care about creatures as tiny as ants, or they're somehow interested in playing with ants and decided to pour a bucket of hot water on us and see what would happen.
10	* PyrrhicVictory: Even if you can permanently stop this thing from ever being a threat again, the price tag attached is unthinkable. It has to involve the destruction or permanent alteration of enormous swathes of civilization, a FateWorseThanDeath within sight (often involving a DealWithTheDevil or some other sort of foul bargain that was only made because the alternative was much worse), or some other sort of absolutely gigantic loss that is only acceptable because the other option was just that bad. Bonus points if no guarantee is made of a complete defeat, or if there is a solid chance that all of this attracted the attention of worse things. Even more bonus points if there is a very reliable chance that it will come back courtesy of some cultists who don't know what they're doing, an idiot occultist whose thirst for knowledge exceeds their common sense, or the simple likelihood that this thing is very patient and will just wait until future civilizations have forgotten about it, and then pose as some relic from the past in order to get the new civilization to let it loose.
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12	!!Storyboard
13	How you integrate your CosmicEntity into your story is important, one should avoid [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere shoving your cosmic horror elements into the world without planning]]. If an EldritchLocation can be accessed by everyone effortlessly, it would render the horror element redundant.
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15	There are many ways to begin your story. Do you prefer an UrbanFantasy escue opening? Disguising your cosmic horror story [[GenreShift into other genres]] (Such as a heartwarming SliceOfLife, an overly generic SlasherMovie, or a seemly-logical {{Dystopia}}n DownerBeginning) and then [[CosmicHorrorReveal bombard the insanity later on]]? Anyway, one must leave enough clues to [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadow]] the events.
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17	!!Assembling your Eldritch Abomination
18	How would you assemble your Eldritch Abomination? Do you prefer a HumanoidAbomination or a StarfishAlien? Just use your creativity and assemble your creature as you desire.
19	----
20	* AdaptationalAbomination: An entity which was not so eldritch in the original story becomes more of an abomination in the adaptation.
21	* AdorableAbomination: Some of them are cute, but beneath their cuteness, they can still be [[KillerRabbit deadly]].
22	* AlmightyIdiot: Sometimes, it's scarier when the EldritchAbomination ''doesn't'' know what it's doing.
23	* AnimalisticAbomination: When the being bears at least a superficial resemblance to an Earth animal, but is really something far more alien and terrible.
24	* AngelicAbomination: [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angels]] which look extremely bizarre and alien, instead of being more humanoid. Interestingly, while most angels in Literature/TheBible look like what one would expect from religious art, some of them ''do'' [[BenevolentAbomination appear as this type]].
25	* BenevolentAbomination: An eldritch entity that is [[CreepyGood genuinely good]] and [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu friendly towards mortal beings]], instead of being maliciously evil or [[BlueAndOrangeMorality amorally alien]].
26	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: It may be an intelligent being, but its thought process may also be so alien that it simply cannot effectively communicate with civilization or understand it. Common human approximations of inhuman thought processes include "pragmatic self-interest", "ignorant apathy", and "incidental curiosity".
27	* BodyHorror: Gruesome body parts are scary.
28	* BodyOfBodies: In case body parts weren't scary enough, stack thousands of corpses into a creature.
29	* BotanicalAbomination: An eldritch organism which appears to be an extremely bizarre and unnatural plant.
30	* BrownNoteBeing: When the being's visage is so hideous or utterly divorced from the spectrum of human perception that it nukes the mind of anyone who sees it.
31	* CelestialBody: Giving your being a body made out of (or at least looks like it's made out of) stars will highlight its cosmic nature.
32	* CombatTentacles: Several Eldritch Abominations have tentacles to make them resemble aquatic creatures.
33	* CosmicEntity: A being so great its mere existence can affect space itself. Alternatively, could be made of space itself.
34	* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: Octopus head resembles a large human brain, or a human skull, and they feed on your mind.
35	* DemBones: Bones and skulls are the motif of death.
36	* DigitalAbomination: A virtual eldritch being originating from {{cyberspace}}.
37	* DraconicAbomination: When the being is recognizably draconic, but is something far more powerful and alien than a big magical lizard, or is from a setting where dragons have special significance.
38	* ExtraEyes: To make them see through everything, we need more eyes.
39	* EyesDoNotBelongThere: Placing eyes in locations they shouldn't be will highlight how otherworldly your creature is.
40	* FleshGolem: A being that is made up of merged skin, turning them into a fleshy blob.
41	* FreudWasRight: Imagine someone jumping out of a bush[=/=]alleyway[=/=]etc. and flashing you. This would essentially be the cosmic equivalent.
42	* GeneticAbomination: {{Mutant\|s}} monstrosities born from {{genetic engineering\|IsTheNewNuke}}.
43	* TheGhost: For the logical conclusion of incomprehensible beings, who needs form?
44	* GiantSpider: Spiders are scary, so how about alien spider gods?
45	* GodOfChaos: Eldritch abominations are often associated with chaos and disorder.
46	* HumanoidAbomination: If you want to invoke UncannyValley, make them partially human-like.
47	* InscrutableAliens: You can't communicate with this thing, it can't or won't communicate with you, and you know next to nothing about it. It just ''is''.
48	* {{Kaiju}}: [[AttackOFThe50FootWhatever giant monsters]], often [[TheTokyoFireball destroying cities]] and/or [[BehemothBattle fighting other monsters]].
49	* MadGod: Common candidates for ascension into abominationhood, if they don't already qualify.
50	* MechanicalAbomination: Sufficiently powerful, alien, and/or unrelatable mechanical beings are likely to be this.
51	* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: When your creatures are in a dire hunger.
52	* TheOldGods: In settings with a FantasyPantheon, eldritch abominations are often portrayed as entities that are above and/or came before the gods.
53	* OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious: Creatures originating from folklore and urban legends can make great inspiration for eldritch abominations.
54	* OurMonstersAreWeird: Monsters with surreal designs. Not surprising for an eldritch creature.
55	* {{Santabomination}}: SantaClaus is a strange being of unfathomable power. Though considering he can travel all over the world in one day, this actually makes a lot of sense.
56	* SeaMonster: Deep sea creatures are good templates because there are already plenty of mysterious sea creatures in RealLife. Plus, the ocean isn't fully explored, leaving one to wonder [[EldritchOceanAbyss what is truly out there]]...
57	* SpaceWhale: Large creatures that live in space. They tend to be benevolent creatures who prefer a [[AdorableAbomination softer appearance]].
58	* StarfishAlien: When your creature doesn't resemble anything natural.
59	* StarfishRobot: Robotic counterparts of starfish aliens, and they are often cold, inhuman.
60	* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: A race of aliens with a level of advancement hopelessly far beyond our ability to relate to or comprehend, who cannot or will not explain themselves to us, and whose attitude towards us is, at best, ignorant apathy, and any sort of genuine curiosity or interest in us is likely to have effects comparable to a child frying an ant with a magnifying glass.
61	* TentacledTerror: If they were to possess tentacles.
62	* TheWormThatWalks: If one Eldritch Abomination isn't enough, let's make an Eldritch Abomination made of multiple creatures, or even multiple Eldritch Abominations.
63	* UndeadAbomination: When the being is undead, but is something much worse than your average undead being, or is from a setting where undeath is fundamentally reality-violating and abominable.
64	* WingedHumanoid: Wings are angelic, godlike.
65	* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: Some eldritch horrors are such that it is impossible for the human mind to grasp them completely without going completely mad. Such beings may select AFormYouAreComfortableWith when dealing with other beings.
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67	!!Human Characters
68	Even when writing about [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]], human characters are still necessary. There are several common human characters in cosmic horror stories:
69	* HumansAreInsects is a very common trope in cosmic horror. Most of the time, this makes the majority of humans helpless bystanders, or accidental bringers of doom. The Eldritch Abominations couldn't care less about them, and don't usually take notice when crushing them.
70	* There is also sometimes a [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom human who summons the Eldritch Abomination]], either thinking they have it under control, or to worship it. These characters work well as minor villains, and usually come to a bad end by the hand of whatever they've summoned.
71	* Occasionally, there is a human who might manage to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu banish or otherwise defeat the Eldritch Abomination]]. Usually they [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu come out of it a little worse for wear]], but that doesn't always have to be the case.
72	* More often than not, the human protagonist or narrator either dies or goes insane by the end of the story. This is still a cosmic horror story, after all, and that traditionally means a DownerEnding.
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74	!Pitfalls
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76	!'''Potential Subversions'''
77	* [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Abominations with little to no "human" morality]] are almost the norm of Cosmic Horror Stories, so why not going with something different? Maybe the abomination ''really'' is as sadistic as it seems on the first place. Or maybe the abomination is actually [[BenevolentAbomination benevolent]], but the same doesn't apply to his appearence, leading to an ultimately benevolent being that ends up [[TragicMonster being the doom of those lesser than them]].
78	* Humans will generally get the [[HumansAreInsects short end]] [[DownerEnding of the stick]] in any Cosmic Horror History. So why not [[ThrowTheDogABone give them a bone]] and actually have them triumph over the abominations for once? One can still keep the Cosmic Horror tone while this happens by either having humanity become [[BodyHorror as horrible]] [[LovecraftianSuperpower as the abominations]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters they fought against]], the victory being only against [[FightingAShadow an avatar of the real abomination]] that is still very much alive and is just biding his time or it turns out that [[HumansAreCthulhu humanity really IS Cthulhu]]. Or maybe [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu they genuinely won this time]] against the Eldritch Abominations, but beware on using this as it's very difficult in doing so without becoming a more [[LovecraftLite "Post-Lovecraftian"]] fiction.
79	* [[NothingIsScarier The origins of the Abominations are generally kept secret]] simply because the very idea of understanding such alien beings might be ridiculous at first. But why no actually delve into that? Maybe your [[MechanicalAbomination Deus Ex Machina that controls the entirety of Earth]] had completely human origins before it turned rogue. Or maybe the [[AnimalisticAbomination monstrous octopus]] that lives in the depths [[HadToBeSharp had to become like that]] because the other things dwelving in the ocean are even '''worse'''. All in all, a well-made backstory can make your abomination even scarier by there being a "rational" explanation on why something so alien exists.
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81	!Extra Credit
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83	!!Blog
84	* A discussion of what made H.P. Lovecraft's work so ground-breaking can be found here. ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/05/musing-on-lovecraftian-horror.html Musings On Lovecraftian Horror]]'' by the Blog/TheUnitedFederationOfCharles.
85	* Similarly, by the same site, there's a discussion of what ''not'' to do by pointing out the pitfalls of Post-Lovecraftian Horror. ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-is-post-lovecraftian.html What is Post-Lovecraftian Horror?]]''
86	* ''Webanimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' produced [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzP_LPtndz0 a video on the subject]]. Needless to say, following every one of his pieces of advice will ensure the production of [[DoubleMeaning a truly horrible]] work of Cosmic Horror.
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88	!!The Greats
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90	* Franchise/CthulhuMythos (Forefather to the genre)
91	* Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos
92	* Literature/HouseOfLeaves
93	* Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica
94	* VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}
95	* Literature/WarOfTheWorlds
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