forum USA Gothic (help me please)

Started June 09, 2019 by @hollow-boned

tune

I'm writing a new story and if anyone here is an American in a farm area who knows of or has seen creepy gothic shit I'd love the input. Especially if it involves forests. Example: "If you hear your mom laugh but you know for sure she wasn't supposed to be home yet, I promise, it's not your mom."

Boosting this because it is important.
I suppose… "If you see the guys on the motorcycles coming through, don't get in their way. Let them do what they want. Wave to them if you feel brave. But don't talk to them. And never try to stop them from what they're doing."

Define “farm area.” Would it be in the American south? Midwest?
As for forests, I have a list:

• If you hear a scream, it could just be a fox. Pray that’s all it was, and do not go outside.
• If the trees and landmarks seem to shift, causing you to lose your bearings, it is not a coincidence. You have ventured too far into the forest. There is no escape.
• When walking in the woods alone, don’t.
• It’s normal for the forest to be noisy at night. It’s the times where it’s silent you have to watch out for.

Oh that reminds me. "The screaming is just a cougar. Nothing more. I'm sure of it."

"If you ever hear anything out of the ordinary out there, climb a tree and close your eyes. If you're lucky, you won't feel a thing."

Define “farm area.” Would it be in the American south? Midwest?

i really don't know yet. any rural gothic will do, we havent decided the area yet

I got some Southern stuff!! Living in the South is…weird.

1. If the trees are all equally spaced apart while you're driving, don't look too closely.
2. If you pass a handful of mom and pop shops, don't panic! They're friendly in the day time. If they disappear or seem to move places, don't question it!
3. If older ladies wave at you, don't wave back. Your hands are all they need.
4. When driving near a cotton field, you may forget where you are. Don't be alarmed. If it was never your field, they won't be angry at you.
5. If your air conditioner (in your house or your car) suddenly blasts warm air, turn it off and make sure to keep your doors and windows closed.
6. Never wear long pants.
7. Lots of Southern people are friendly. If they ask you to eat with them, just remember that eating binds you to them.
8. That crackle in the air? It could be a gunshot, or it could be fireworks. But it may not be. Avoid the crackle.
9. If a hound barks at nothing, don't look. His nose never fails.
10. The swamps are alive.
11. You may lose track of time. You may lose time.
12. The mosquito are usually just mosquitoes. Beware the hum.
13. The air is always wet. If the air is suddenly dry, move away from the area quickly.
14. Everyone in the South owns a gun. What do you think they're protecting themselves from?
15. There are churches on every corner. Not all of them are real. Avoid empty pews.
16. There are Bible verses on everything. The verses keep things at bay.

The south has a bloody history. It's quite haunted with the souls of slaves and Native Americans and Civil War soldiers. It's very superstitious and religious and it's always so…hot.

I know confederates scare the shit out of me, mostly in an existential "my state is100 years behind" ordeal

Also, there exist a few urban legends you could use. I'm not suggesting you write about them, but stuff like the Flatwoods monster or the moth man could serve as inspiration on some level.

Also, there exist a few urban legends you could use. I'm not suggesting you write about them, but stuff like the Flatwoods monster or the moth man could serve as inspiration on some level.

y e s p l e a se

I've had an encounter with both the moth man and the jersey devil, and I, living in midwest Indiana, let alone as a witch, can tell you some strange things.
-Screaming in the woods as night is probably just coyotes. They amplify their sounds to make it sound like there's a lot of them when in reality there may be just two…don't go outside though. Never, ever go outside when you hear coyotes.
-Foxes are, for the most part, friendly. Leave out things like milk and biscuits and they'll become your friends…if you chase them off, though, you might want to watch yourself.
-Scarecrows have been known to move.
-Cornfields are great for hiding things. As long as you remember where you hid it, because if you don't, you'll never see it again.
-Popping and shouting noises from midnight to three in the morning is common. It may be fireworks or a gunshot. Looking out the window is fine, although you won't see anything.
-If a dog barks, sniffs, growls, or shows any otherwise reaction to what seems to be nothing at all, take immediate, great precaution. There's something there alright.
-Tornadoes, thunderstorms, and dust storms are some of the least dangerous things to midwesterners. There are much greater dangers out there than a storm.
-Before a tornado, the sky turns yellow and then green, and it suddenly becomes dry, devoid of life, and silent.
-Mothman is big. You will know when you see the mothman.
-Jersey devil screams, although you will not see him. Do not try to look for him.
-Giving things back to the forest will give you things. Give it water, it will give you a storm. Give it a feather, it will give you very high winds. Give it matches, it will give you a forest fire, and give it a rock, it will give you an earthquake.
-Occupied churches are a safe place, where nothing can hurt you. Unoccupied churches can kill you.
-If you get lost in the middle of a crop field road, there is no going back unless you have a digital road map. Even those may fail you. Beware the corn and soybeans.
-If you hear a story that something is out in the middle of the night, something is out in the middle of the night.
-There are undynes in the water. The water is always alive.
-There are faeries in the air. The air is always alive.
-There are salamanders in the fire. The fire is always alive.
-There are gnomes in the forest. The forest is always alive.
-Things shift and change around you, from neighborhoods to the woods. Just keep driving, don't try to find your way.
If you want some other, more detailed stories, urban legends, encounters, yada yada, PM me.

• The trees are always moving, even when there’s no wind.
• The birds sing in the morning. That is normal. However, if you hear them before it’s light out, beware. Those are not birds.
• Don’t concern yourself with the glowing eyes hiding in the shadows. You should be more worried about what they’re hiding from.

Also, there exist a few urban legends you could use. I'm not suggesting you write about them, but stuff like the Flatwoods monster or the moth man could serve as inspiration on some level.
@Winter
i'm not american so i don't understand this vibe you guys have but technically i'm off their turf cuz i live in canada and am romanian so are you saying i shouldn't write abt them bc Something Might Happen or bc it's been done too many times?

Also, there exist a few urban legends you could use. I'm not suggesting you write about them, but stuff like the Flatwoods monster or the moth man could serve as inspiration on some level.
@Winter
i'm not american so i don't understand this vibe you guys have but technically i'm off their turf cuz i live in canada and am romanian so are you saying i shouldn't write abt them bc Something Might Happen or bc it's been done too many times?

The Flatwoods monster and Mothman are urban legends from the state of Virginia. The tales themselves do not appear to fit into what you were asking for, but there is a lot of miscellaneous information flying around that could serve as potential inspiration. For example, the Flatwoods monster served as an inspiration for a (kind of creepy) alien enemy in the video game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, where on one specific day they invade a farm. I'd recommend googling up gameplay footage to understand exactly what I'm talking about.

As someone who grew up in Texas, I have a few

• I know you think you saw her walking around but we had Sara Jean's funeral three weeks ago and don't appreciate you stirring up trouble
• Old Man Davey has always been crazy so it's best to just ignore what he says. Hear that? Ignore it.
• Don't fear the scarecrows, fear the ones that build them
• Be prepared to meet God in Missy Jameson's cornfield.
• Nobody knows what they worship at The Church, but we do know that once you go in you can never come out
• The signs only tell you what you already know. "Hell is real" "You once met a young girl named Sarah. She was beautiful and terrible and every day you live without her, you suffer" "The end is near"
• The thing that was once a deer still roams these woods
• There are rules to follow if you want your salvation.
• See that? No, you didn't.
• Please mind the girl scouts. They bite.

I live in Wisconsin so:

• When in Devil's Lake, you may feel something slippery wrap around your leg. This is normal. Hopefully it's just a watersnake
• Don't mind the overlarge footprints in the snow
• Don't stop for the bloody bridge bride, she can walk home
• And don't pay attention to the screams from Boyscout Lane

Another couple:
-La Llorona is waiting. If you're under the age of sixteen, don't go into playgrounds at night. Likewise, if you're a man over twenty, don't go outside at night.
-If a cat comes to your front door, you have two options. Feed it and bind it to you, or let it go and risk death.
-The cars that zoom down the road late at night are no accident. Don't go outside.
-Beware the scouts. They bite, but the cookies are good.
-It's not about what's in the forest, it's about what's in the fields.

Don't make eye contact with the roadkill; when they rise at night they'll target those who look directly into their eyes.

^^^^^^^^
Unless it’s just bones, don’t look at roadkill. Even then, be very careful. If you’re the kind of person, like myself, who likes to collect strange things like bones, make sure the ones you take are such that the animal will not be able to walk.

And believe me, that takes a lot. Even the deer torn clean in half can and will crawl to you. Their determination is immeasurable.

hello i am now terrified

god im so glad i dont live in the us after reading this entire thread

I mean it’s normal
I once found the bones of a mouse and took just the skull and a leg bone and guess who was skittering around my house that night???? Gotta be careful folks

hhhh
hahhahha

And I used to be scared of forests too
Until I went in the cornfields