Writing Tips and Reviews

Terrifying Characters

I'm going to be talking about Mephiles from Sonic 06 for the rest of my life. That guy creeped the hell out of me, and trust me, I don't get creeped out that much. The one scene with Shadow at the end of his arc is probably the best thing to come from that game, which doesn't say much. Whoever wrote Mephiles needs to be hired for a horror movie.

A terrifying character doesn't need to come from blood and gore, and definitely not from bragging about how much they hurt themselves or how their mind is broken blah blah blah. A terrifying character can be like Mephiles, slow moving, creepy voice acting, the fact he's a sociopath. Trailers for horror movies are like this, the cut to scenes with a character looking back then going straight to black. That's creepy. The terror they place on other characters and the audience. If you get nightmares, they did their job.

In movies and such, the music that accompanies them helps out. In written stories, it's the tone and feeling that the writer conveys. It's not Halloween all day everyday, it's more like, an occasional scare. Mephiles shows up a few times for each arc, mostly because he's a loner, but also because too much of him will lessen the effect he has on people. The way he speaks is calm and almost emotionless, his words are literally all lies and the way he walks closer or backs away is just creepy.

Dialogue:

Dialogue like "I stab myself 200 times a day and shoot myself 400 times a day and am killed everyday" sounds more bragging. Am I supposed to be afraid of a character who brags about hurting themselves like they won the lottery? Am I supposed to be afraid when the tone is the same as "I go to the store and pick up groceries then go home"? Here's an actually creepy set of dialogue:

"I'm Mephiles, Mephiles the Dark. [long pause] What, did you forget me? I owe much to you, Shadow. [short pause] Oh, yes. [energy ball in his hand] What you gave to me, I now return to you: a 1-way ticket to oblivion!"

"But it still time for you to change your mind. Join me, Shadow. Let us teach this world a lesson and rewrite the future."

If you can find the specific scenes from the garbage pile that is Sonic 06, then you'll see more what I mean. The dialogue, even when he's trying to be sympathetic and remorseful comes off as his usual cold and uncaring tone. The pauses in his dialogue just makes it terrifying with how his creepy he is, and his theme song plays which is creepy, to say the least, everything about him makes him a character that will haunt dreams.

Presence:

A character's presence is how they feel when they're around. Guede from Tales of the World Radiant Mythology 2 is this way. I've talked about Mephiles so let's mix it up. If the others aren't scared when the character is around, then why should the audience? Guede's mannerism, his way of speaking and his facial expressions just scream "I'm going to make you suffer". He doesn't ever need to say it, because his time on screen shows it clearly without words. Actions over words kids.

When Guede is on screen, the characters raise their weapons, they back up during some scenes and when trying to help him, his pushes them away then laughs at their pain. He doesn't need to do it, but he does it because he likes it. That's a sociopath for you all. And my husband. I have a thing for him, shut up.

If a character's presence is seen as a joke rather than being scary or intimidating, no one is going to be afraid. Like I said before, just saying "I can mentally break you" then never doing it, isn't worth anything. Characters who are meant to be terrifying can turn into jokes. Showing that they're a whiny brat, showing that their words mean nothing, showing that they're pathetic, all things that will destroy any tension they once had.

You as the writer always need to keep a character consistent, even comedy does it when they're making a joke. Terrifying characters need to stay that way or slowly change, a sudden transition from terrifying to joke is what destroys them.

Relationships:

With other characters, friends or not, the character needs to stay their usual way. The others just accept it and let them do it. Most of time these characters have no allies. Mephiles is alone and Guede, unlike the other antagonists of Radiant Mythology, is also alone. They don't spend time with others, they may start opening up and caring. They're alone because they rely on themselves, they manipulate others to following them, or make the world hate them. Kind of a birth right for Guede, poor guy.

They're feared because of what and who they are and what they've done. Their past defines them just as much as their present does. They're usually powerful, if not, cunning. They don't have to be splattered in blood and gore. They're not made with what's "cool" for one person, they're made with what will literally terrify people for years to come. Not the five years that will make them outdated.

Tip of the day: if you use modern slang or what's "cool" now, you will be outdated in the future. And also, don't make excuses to why a character can't be hurt. That's lame.