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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.128.174
Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 09:57 pm:   

My favourite is the "usually" small town horror tale of the stranger or strangers who arrive in an isolated community that appears outwardly normal but that hides a dark secret that "usually" leads to his/her or their downfall.

Classic examples are; 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth', 'The Witches', "Ringing The Changes", 'Rosemary's Baby', 'The Santaroga Barrier', 'The Stepford Wives', 'Harvest Home', "Children Of The Corn", etc...

So what is your stock horror plot?
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 2.24.7.171
Posted on Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 11:51 pm:   

Narrator visits old friend whose life has taken a turn for the worse, and notices some oddities. Then they meet some time later and things are completely shot to hell. Narrator is left somewhat fucked off with life in general.

Classic examples are many Robert Aickman stories, several Walter de la Mare stories, and large chunks of the 'slipstream' canon.
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.79.137.235
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 02:19 am:   

And "The Voice of the Beach".
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 109.156.185.130
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 09:53 am:   

Author/filmmaker given chance of a lifetime advance to write book/make film about mysterious person/group that disappeared many years ago only to find that the rumours are not only true but the evil is alive and well...
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.29.107.160
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 10:29 am:   

Childhood friends reunited as adults to confront again some horror only they experienced back in the day.
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 217.212.231.230
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 10:41 am:   

Cast of mismatched characters besieged in some desolate location by some kind of evil force either human or supernatural. Eg precinct 13 or many other john carpenter films, the mist, charles grant's night's swift dragons or raven,
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.239.242.23
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 10:49 am:   

Also night of the living dead and dawn of the dead are classic examples of this stock plot.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.29.107.160
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 11:38 am:   

And King's The Langoliers, which I love.
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Kate (Kathleen)
Username: Kathleen

Registered: 09-2009
Posted From: 86.152.14.127
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 12:14 pm:   

Something terrible happened here ("here" being either a physical location or a person's mind) and the rift needs closing or healing.
As a subcategory: I love the "Is it real or am I just mad?" scenario. The Haunting of Hill House being the classic example of all of the above.
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.16.245.126
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 03:12 pm:   

Family suffers a tragedy (usually the loss of a child) and moves to a big old house and/or isolated community in the country to try and heal. Supernatural shenanigans ensue.

Yeah, I watched the first episode of The Secret of Crickley Hall last night.
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Craig (Craig)
Username: Craig

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 99.126.164.88
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2012 - 04:29 pm:   

In literature I've always liked ones where a person comes back from somewhere—expedition, vacation, maybe just the state of being missing—and though at first all seems well with said person, all most certainly isn't, anymore....

And, in horror films at least, yes, I do love one of the most basic of stock plots: the body count. Especially as done in the giallo school, where this stock horror intersects stock mystery....
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Mbfg (Mbfg)
Username: Mbfg

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 80.5.8.49
Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012 - 04:34 pm:   

The slow dissolution or metamorphosis of a character, as exemplified by the descent into posession and madness of Jack Torrence in my all time favourite horror novel "The Shining".

Cheers
Terry

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