source material

[joshua neff]

Working in a children's library, I thought I'd post some books I think would make good inspiration for Little Fears.

* The House with a Clock in its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, & The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs. These books scared the absolute hell out of me as a kid, & when I reread the first one a few years ago, I still found it damn scary.

* Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen. No supernatural stuff, but the main character, as girl just starting middle school, kicks serious ass. In one scene, she punches a bitchy girl in the nose! There's a whole series of Sammy Keyes books, but I've only read the first one so far.

* A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Again, no supernatural stuff. But these books, which read like Douglas Adams mixed with Tim Burton & Edward Gorey, are fabulous. & adults never listen to the main characters.

* The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. Not really marketed as a kids' book, but the protagonist is a kid. It's pretty creepy, too.

* It by Stephen King. Duh.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Anyone else got any?

[Paul Czege]

Hey Josh,

...some books I think would make good inspiration for Little Fears....Anyone else got any?


It's not a book, but this article will be my primary inspiration when I get to running Little Fears:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/1997-06-05/feature.html

Paul

[Clinically Insane]

A strange little book if you can find it is about a father and his two sons, and a demonic female who takes them to primal world.

Little Boy Lost by TM Wright


Address:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812550692/qid=997200026/sr=1-4/ref=sc_b_4/103-6843202-4188609

[Clinically Insane]

A click on link

Amazon.com: buying info: Little Boy Lost
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812550692/qid=997200026/sr=1-4/ref=sc_b_4/103-6843202-4188609

[Balazs]

I'm just glad no one suggested Where the Wild Things Are. :wink:  When I was a kid, I always thought the kid in the book looked like a jerk, and seemed all smug and conceited.  It could be that his looks reminded me of one of the bullies at school, but to be honest, the best inspiration I've had come out of that book for Little Fears from that kid was "What would a tainted or darkening child look like as the monsters start to gain control?"

C'mon. Going into the Closet to _Dance_ with the monsters?! How gay is that?!

:wink:

[unterhund]

Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist is an entertaining read, and great source material. I'd change the deus ex machina ending, but rip it off wholesale . . . uh, let it inspire me otherwise.

(I *still* don't have my copy of Little Fears. It's driving me sane!)

[trelliz]

How about 'The House of Birds' by Jenny Jones. Scary as hell, even if the book isn't quite long enough. It's all about a family who made a pact with the devil (could be changed to one of the Kings/the Demagogue?) and live in this weird house, and black-armoured knights steal kids from the local villages and imprison them in birdcages in the attic. i've forgotten how it ends, but it involves two children saving the day.

[Jared A. Sorensen]

There's a new Guillermo del Toro film called The Devil's Backbone that sounds SPOT ON like a Little Fears tale:

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=10137

[Ron Edwards]

Any of the kids' books by John Bellairs, most especially The House with a Clock in its Walls.

One of those stories in which "vague" really is scary.

Best,
Ron

[Astromarine]

I could also suggest a story by Stephen King (publish in "Four past midnight", I think), called "The Library Policemen". I never read IT, but almost all characters in that story will end up in *my* LF campaign as soon as I get the book.

Astromarine

[ This Message was edited by: Astromarine on 2001-09-14 17:24 ]

[Astromarine]

Also, in a totally different medium? anyone here remeber an adventure PC game called Sanitarium? In it, you play what could easily be a Vestal grown-up, but all the children in that game scared the living bejeezus out of me.

Astromarine

[Jason L Blair]

Sanitarium rocked. (Despite that damnable second stage bug that required you to start from the beginning.)

Also, that scene in the house with his sister... one of the few truly moving moments in video game history.

[trelliz]

There are the obvious film links, Nightmare on Elm Street and Candyman. going back to PC games, i've already started a mod based on American McGee's Alice.