History Literature / InsideTheWorm

* OurWereBeastsAreDifferent: Construction and inhabitation of a papier mache-headed dragon costume under [[ThereAreNoCoincidences deliberately beneficial circumstances]] instills in its thirteen-year-old operators a love of violence, consummation of which briefly imbues both them and the costume with the attributes of an actual dragon.

* AdultFear: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Mrs Morgan following Fliss's nightmare. "There's nothing worse than being woken in the middle of the night by a scream."

A 1994 novel by Creator/RobertSwindells. As the small town of Elsworth nears its thousandth anniversary of the martyrdom of resident Saint Ceridwen, Mr Hepworth tasks Year Eight to stage a re-enactment of the Saint’s banishment of the Elsworth Worm, and subsequent martyrdom by vikings. As the class arranges a cast of villagers and vikings, with Fliss Morgan in the role of Ceridwen, David “Trot” Trotter, Lisa Watmaugh, Ellie May Sutherland and Gary Bazzard begin work on a costume replica of the legendary dragon. The ease of its construction amazes all involved. While Fliss reflects uneasily on the fatalistic appearance of this, the Worm’s builders thrill at the remarkable ease with which they inhabit and operate it. Their shared thrall spurs them to acts of mounting hooliganism. The thrill is so intoxicating that their strangely shared view through only two eyeholes hardly seems to matter...

* AdultFear: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Mrs Morgan following Fliss’s nightmare. “There’s nothing worse than being woken in the middle of the night by a scream.”

* ContinuityReboot: Possibly. While the story revisits the main cast of ''Literature/Room13'', the class is referred to as Year Eight rather than Second Year, and no obvious mention is made of the previous book’s vampiric adventure.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Ellie May specifically compares her Worm-induced hooliganism to Ronnie’s alcoholism.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Year Eight’s decision to depict Ceridwen’s martyrdom in serene silence.

* GrammarNazi: Mrs Evans chides Trot for saying “ta” as opposed to “thank you.”

** This may also be the case with [[spoiler: Fliss protectively throwing herself into the Worm’s path, whereupon its loses its hold on the costume and operators]].
* HomeBase: The Worm operators meet in Trot’s parents’ garage.
* AFeteWorseThanDeath: At the eventual town festival, following the start of Year Eight’s re-enactment, [[spoiler: a suddenly very real dragon goes on a brief, potentially lethal rampage]].

* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: On the Worm’s furious emergence from the marquee, [[spoiler: Fliss finds herself compelled by a strange urge to distract it from its intended victims. This is implied to be instilled by the spirit of Ceridwen]].

** Mr Hepworth can be a bit strict, but has a sense of humour, and lends a kindly ear to Fliss’s worries.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Invoked by a pair of car reflectors which serve as the Worm’s eyes.

* ThereAreNoCoincidences: The ease of the Worm’s construction, which includes acquisition of car reflectors for eyes and a green cinema curtain for a body, seems ominously deliberate.

* YourMindMakesItReal: The crafters and operators of the Worm are rather taken aback by the ease and effectiveness of their efforts. When rampaging in it, all four operators see through its eyes, and leave giant saurian footprints.

* GrammarPolice: Mrs Evans chides Trot for saying “ta” as opposed to “thank you.”

* HolyBurnsEvil: The faith of Saint Ceridwen rendered the Worm docile, whereupon it retreated to the fen.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Mr Hepworth can be a bit strict, but has a sense of humour, and lends a kindly ear to Fliss’s worries.

* RegularlyScheduledEvil: A thousand years following the banishment of the Worm, it awaits opportunity to rampage once more via the corrupted minds and possessed bodies of several adolescents.

* ShoutOut: The terrorising of a medieval village by a serpentine dragon recalls ''Literature/TheLambtonWorm'', while its banishment by the faith of a latterly martyred hero somewhat evokes ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}''.

* ContinuityReboot: Possibly. While the story revisits the main cast of Literature/Room13, the class is referred to as Year Eight rather than Second Year, and no obvious mention is made of the previous book’s vampiric adventure.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[invokedTrope Invoked]] by Year Eight’s decision to depict Ceridwen’s martyrdom in serene silence.

A 1994 novel by Creator/RobertSwindells. As the small town of Elsworth nears its thousandth anniversary of the martyrdom of resident Saint Ceridwen, Mr Hepworth tasks Year Eight to stage a re-enactment of the Saint’s banishment of the Elsworth Worm, and subsequent martyrdom by invading Danes. As the class arranges a cast of villagers and vikings, with Fliss Morgan in the role of Ceridwen, David “Trot” Trotter, Lisa Watmaugh, Ellie May Sutherland and Gary Bazzard begin work on a costume replica of the legendary dragon. The ease of its construction amazes all involved. While Fliss reflects uneasily on the fatalistic appearance of this, the Worm’s builders thrill at the remarkable ease with which they inhabit and operate it. Their shared thrall spurs them to acts of mounting hooliganism. The thrill is so intoxicating that their strangely shared view through only two eyeholes hardly seems to matter...

* ShoutOut: The terrorising of a medieval village by a serpentine dragon recalls Literature/TheLambtonWorm, while its banishment by the faith of a latterly martyred hero somewhat evokes Literature/{{Beowulf}}.
** The mounting aggression of several adolescents, roused by a bestial emblem (albeit here, a genuinely supernatural one) recalls Literature/LordOfTheFlies.