NOTE: I AM VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE STORY, "AMERICAN APPETITES", HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN ISSUE 47 OF THE SIRENS CALL, SO YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO READ IT ON THIS SITE. YOU CAN FIND THE LINK FOR ORDERING THE MAGAZINE ON THE STORY'S HOMEPAGE. PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE MAGAZINE BY DOWNLOADING THE ISSUE. IT'S FREE!
As this is an author’s analysis, THERE WILL BE ***SPOILERS*** OF THE STORY OF COURSE, so if you are reading this BEFORE you read the actual short story, I have two things to say:
1. Please don’t and
2. This is a post strictly to discuss characters, the plot, and my crazy mind that created this story, so all will be revealed and you will know everything about it before you even had the chance to read it. So, with that being said, let’s begin!
A known, recognizable cryptid like Bigfoot or Mothman? Nope. This cryptid is simply a brief encounter known only to the Hopper family in the small Appalachian town of Coldshaw, which will surely make them sound crazy to folks when they spin this yarn in the future, right? Maybe Ol’ Man Chuchip will corroborate their tale? Surely, he must, since he’s so... close to the story.
Is he? I don’t know! That’s for you, the reader, to decide... although, I, the writer, know what the true answer is --- the “canon” of who Ol’ Man Chuchip is and why he's even mentioned in this story. After all his name is the native word for “deer spirit” ... Perhaps he is of his own story that is not yet written but that takes place in Coldshaw years prior to “There’s a Crooked Deer on Pricket Bellow Lane”? Perhaps time will tell. But for now, let’s talk about this disturbing, headless thing and the havoc it wreaks in late October of 1986.
My little brother would be mad if he knew I was explaining this story without mentioning him. After all, he's the one I have to thank for inspiration! One night, Hunter (my little brother) came into my room telling me about this deer that he saw (we live in Tennessee, so we see tons of deer every week). He told me it was odd in how it looked, like the night made it almost look like it didn’t have a head. He was so bothered by the thought of a headless deer that it really messed him up for a while. So, what do I do? Well, I do what any sweet and loving big sister would do when their little brother has mild childhood trauma based off of something that they think they saw... I use it in a short story.
When I started writing the story, all I knew was that I was going to make some kind of creepy cryptid creature based off of what Hunter said he saw. I had no idea how or why or what or when or who... but... I had a headless deer.
I always wanted to write a horror story that somewhat resembled an 80’s scary story or movie --- one that had believable, young characters who faced off against some bizarre monster or killer in their home. I wanted to write a horror story that wasn't a true blue horror story; something that was more like a dark fiction piece that could lean into the horror genre but could also stand out of it by itself as simply weird fiction (think H.P. Lovecraftian tropes and monsters without the elaborate literary tone). I wanted it to be straight forward without the flourishing of words or symbolism... just a self-contained, enjoyable, could-be-read-to-younger-audiences, horror--ish story. Well, I think I did just that, and considering that it has been published with The Sirens Call, I would say it is a success! While this story isn't my favorite by a long shot, as I consider it more laid back and a little too simple compared to my usual style of writing, I think that it is mainly a fun read, one that doesn’t require hidden meanings or fancy language. It doesn’t even truly have an end, as with all cryptid encounter tales. The cryptid lingers on throughout time in folklore and myths passed down, which is the idea I wanted to create with this deer.
A cryptid is what you would consider any number of the strange creatures people over the years have claimed to have seen, such as the Loch Ness Monster, the Fresno Nightcrawler, Bigfoot, or the Jersey Devil. All of these creatures exist in myth originating from an encounter that someone told others about long ago which may have some validity to it hidden beneath all of the hearsay, telephone game-like end result (you know, the game where everyone starts with a sentence and by the time it reaches the last person it is complete gibberish?) Most likely, of course, the cryptids were created in oral storytelling fashion simply so people like us years later would question the truth of it.
The disturbing visitor that comes knocking on the Hopper’s front door was an interesting twist that I didn’t really plan for. I wanted my cryptid to be more than just a weird rendition of a deer. I wanted it to be able to hide in plain sight if need be as all cryptids are somehow able to do if we are to believe that they are real. So, I made the deer take on human form, although one that ended up as more of an alien than human. I wanted to convey the idea that this “thing” could even possibly be of demonic decent with the myriad of flies buzzing around him, but that is up to you to decide what he/it is exactly.
I had another ending in mind with something happening to the Hoppers, like perhaps they went missing for unknown reasons after the event, but I felt that with this creature being cryptid-like in its characteristics, I wanted the people who encountered it to survive --- to be able to tell their story and to spread the idea of this deer/man to others, thus creating a myth for the town of Coldshaw. I don't have a name for the deer like the "Fresno Nightcrawler" or "Jersey Devil", but I think that's what makes it better. It doesn’t have a name, because no one knows about it... yet.
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