2nd person horror?

[Valeforge]

Just curious, What would you lovely readers think of this idea?

A horror story, presented in 2nd person (you, you, you). However, 'you' aren't the protagonist/victim. You're the villain of the story. Or even a perspective shift. Two chapters, so chapter 1 would be second person, chapter 2 would be first person. I can try either, but I feel like chapter 1 in second would give a more immersive experience. and this wouldn't be gorefest, by the way. more psyche thriller/horror.


(Yes, I know I'm dabbling in other stories, but I'm also planning some shorts. one- or two-shots to whet some whistles while the longer ones stew up nicely.)

 

[Plantorsomething]

You’re on a path in the woods…

 

[Tempokai]

It's will be like this:

 

[Echimera]

2nd person is trippy as heck, I say go for it if you think you can pull it off.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Ramsey Campbell does second person horror fairly well.
One story has you going through a surreal day, slowly remembering finding your family dead the day before, and then coming home to see their bodies still there - along with yours, and you remember killing them before you died (or something like that - it was kind of trippy and unclear - it might be that you stumbled on the killer who murdered you too - or you made up that story to comfort yourself but you really did it; usually I like that kind of ambiguity in stories but this one was a bit heavy with it).
One story has you coming home from a meeting with "the count," having found him to be a much nicer person than you had expected, only to find that someone has placed some nasty-smelling stuff on your windows, your wife has vitriol beside her bed which she screams and splashes you with, and one of your friends apologizes as he's about to stake you through the heart because you've been gone, not a few hours like you thought, but a week...
Another has you in your lab, upset with your wife. You had discovered the secret of immortality, and were about to share it with her, only you found out all the time you spent in the lab had led her to having an affair - and deciding to kill you to be free of you and run off with her lover. Now you just have to get back up these stairs so you can show her that your experiment worked ... and then kill her. You just have to get your head up the stairs to reattach it to your body and then she will pay, oh yes, she will pay...
I know he did a few more in 2p but those are the three that stood out the most for me.

 

[Valeforge]

Ramsey Campbell does second person horror fairly well.
One story has you going through a surreal day, slowly remembering finding your family dead the day before, and then coming home to see their bodies still there - along with yours, and you remember killing them before you died (or something like that - it was kind of trippy and unclear - it might be that you stumbled on the killer who murdered you too - or you made up that story to comfort yourself but you really did it; usually I like that kind of ambiguity in stories but this one was a bit heavy with it).
One story has you coming home from a meeting with "the count," having found him to be a much nicer person than you had expected, only to find that someone has placed some nasty-smelling stuff on your windows, your wife has vitriol beside her bed which she screams and splashes you with, and one of your friends apologizes as he's about to stake you through the heart because you've been gone, not a few hours like you thought, but a week...
Another has you in your lab, upset with your wife. You had discovered the secret of immortality, and were about to share it with her, only you found out all the time you spent in the lab had led her to having an affair - and deciding to kill you to be free of you and run off with her lover. Now you just have to get back up these stairs so you can show her that your experiment worked ... and then kill her. You just have to get your head up the stairs to reattach it to your body and then she will pay, oh yes, she will pay...
I know he did a few more in 2p but those are the three that stood out the most for me.

I was actually planning more of a "You're the neighborhood kidnapper" type story.

The original plan was a swap from chapter 1 in second to chapter 2 being first (since it's just a two-shot). chapter 2 is where the real horror would come in. But I'm thinking I might just full send on 1st. allow the reader to separate themselves a bit from the psychotic villain.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I was actually planning more of a "You're the neighborhood kidnapper" type story.

The original plan was a swap from chapter 1 in second to chapter 2 being first (since it's just a two-shot). chapter 2 is where the real horror would come in. But I'm thinking I might just full send on 1st. allow the reader to separate themselves a bit from the psychotic villain.

I keep wanting to rebuild one I was about halfway through but remember how dark it got. I kept having to step away from it for a few days, and then the hard drive it was on died with no backups.
Each chapter was first person - from a different character. The three main brothers kept coming back and taking over chapters, but everyone else got at least one (and a few times you get to see them die... while they're narrating). But the characters kept getting darker and darker and it just got a bit too heavy.

 

[Echimera]

If you decide to go for it and want some references, I can recommend The End and the Death, specifically the 2nd person sections that follow Horus, the main bad guy (more trying to overthrow his father as the ruler of humanity and less kidnapping though).
It's the finale of the 40k prequel series, so there are about 70 books worth of backstory, but it should work as a reference without that as well.

Conveniently, the community likes to analyze this stuff so there are some good excerpts available without having to buy any of the three books
https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/126lft3 https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/18ahxzc https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/1dgjh83 https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/1b5kbiw

 

[Valeforge]

If you decide to go for it and want some references, I can recommend The End and the Death, specifically the 2nd person sections that follow Horus, the main bad guy (more trying to overthrow his father as the ruler of humanity and less kidnapping though).
It's the finale of the 40k prequel series, so there are about 70 books worth of backstory, but it should work as a reference without that as well.

Conveniently, the community likes to analyze this stuff so there are some good excerpts available without having to buy any of the three books
https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/126lft3 https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/18ahxzc https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/1dgjh83 https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/1b5kbiw

much appreciated. The main reason I was thinking on switching over to 1st is because yeah, it's real world kidnapping, imprisonment, etc. Not glorifying it or anything, but... Yeah, real dark and it might hit a little close for some. Definitely worth a trigger warning if nothing else.