1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/o149033276_2376.gif]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:350: If there was an answer, he’d find it there.]] |
3 | |
4 | ''The Mysteries of Harris Burdick'' is a 1984 picture book made by Chris Van Allsburg of ''Literature/ThePolarExpress'', ''Literature/{{Zathura}}'', and ''Literature/{{Jumanji}}'' fame. |
5 | |
6 | An author and illustrator named Harris Burdick tells an editor that he has written fourteen stories and brings an illustration from each story with a caption, promising to deliver the full manuscript if the editor publishes his stories. Burdick, however, is never seen again. All that remains of him are the fourteen illustrations and their captions. |
7 | |
8 | A collection of stories based on the illustrations written by well-known professional authors, ''The Chronicles of Harris Burdick'', was released in 2011. |
9 | ---- |
10 | !!The book provides examples of: |
11 | * AdaptationExpansion: Many authors have taken it to themselves to write adaptations of the illustrations. One of the more notable examples being Creator/StephenKing, who wrote a short story based on "The House on Maple Street" for ''Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes''. |
12 | %%* DeliberatelyMonochrome |
13 | * MindScrew: Many of the images are this, as they usually show weird, surreal things that couldn't happen in real life. Why is a house blasting into space? Why is a book sprouting vines? How is that pumpkin ''glowing?'' |
14 | * NoEnding: All that remains of each story is a single sentence. Done with the intention that the reader will write their own story based off it. |
15 | * NothingIsScarier: ''Often.'' Quite a few of the pages allude to some unspecified danger or tragedy, and even Burdick's fate is hauntingly ambiguous. Actually a very handy tool for introducing the concept to budding horror enthusiasts. |
16 | * NoodleIncident: What stories could Harris Burdick have in mind for these pictures? The world may never know. |
17 | * RiddleForTheAges: Everything in this book is left a deliberate mystery for different writers to fill in the blanks. |
18 | * SpookyPhotographs: The illustrations themselves can be pretty scary, and their collective backstory is supposed to be unnerving. The [[DependingOnTheAuthor stories written by each individual author go all over the place]], however. |
19 | %%* TheUnsolvedMystery: The disappearance of Harris Burdick and his missing stories. |
20 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The central mystery of each illustration is what the heck kind of story would make the caption work with the art. Of course, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools this is the whole point]] for aspiring writers. |
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FollowingContext Literature / TheMysteriesOfHarrisBurdick
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