I like to align a lot of my writing with the seasons, since I take a lot of inspiration from nature. Spring is usually a challenge for me, as I prefer darker themes and imagery. How do you make sunshine and budding flowers scary? I might be able to take some tips from a hugely successful horror movie that premiered in March.
Jordan Peele’s Us featured warm weather, picturesque settings, and children. Peele contrasts these elements with dark tunnels, and a nighttime confrontation between the protagonist’s family and terrifying, murderous versions of themselves.
I can also take literary inspiration from some classic short stories. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is centered around a sunny room. And of course, Shirely Jackson’s famously unsettling The Lottery, detailing the horrifying tradition of a small New England town each June.
What’s your favorite springtime scare?
Everyday Strange 
Great short story recommendations! Don’t know if I’ll be brave enough to see Peele’s latest horror film. Yes, there’s a lot of renewal, rebirth, imagery when it comes to spring, but growth can be horrifying when it is untamed, just like a spring rain can turn deadly when at the extremes. Good luck with your springtime writing!
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Good points, thank you! I’m braving Us tomorrow night, I’m sure I’ll take some inspiration from it.
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Spring has plants and plants can be poisonous 😉 It’s not horror but Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching books have brilliant examples of looking at nice things in nasty ways. And of course there’s always Umbridge from Harry Potter, she was very pastel.
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Very good points! I’ll have to add those books to my reading list!
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Love “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Even wrote a poem in response if you are interested: https://vjknutson.org/2016/02/03/dear-charlotte-perkins-gilman/
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Thank you! I just left you a comment.
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thanks.
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