Author's Note

06/11/17

Hi there! Thank you for expressing interest in my silly fan fiction! Reading this author's note is by no means a requirement, but if you're interested in my thoughts/process/updates you may want to give it a quick scan. I think I should start off by saying that this is my first ever fan fiction. You have been warned! I'm still not sure what possessed (no pun intended) me to write this. While I've always respected fan fiction, I've never had a particularly strong interest in it. I guess The Frighteners is just such a gonzo movie with so many ideas that it sparked my creativity!

If you've read some of the reviews for the movie, many critics commented on how it could have been three different films. It's hard to argue with that. The flick is ambitious to a fault, but I think that's a lot of its appeal. The story takes on so much even with its two hour time frame. I personally love the paranormal conman aspect of it. That's such a fun idea, and it became the focus of my fan fiction. This story is supposed to be prequel. It opens up about a year or so after the death of Frank's wife. It's pretty much the beginnings of Frank's ghost conning business. The story is going to feature a lot of ghost antics, lol.

So far I've found writing for Stuart and Cyrus surprisingly easy. I've really enjoyed explaining their mishaps, and I think it shows in my work. I've had a hell of a time writing for Frank though! You can't crack one liners with him. He is supposed to be vulnerable and conflicted, but I didn't want him to be mopey or humorless. He is also the heart of the story, so the readers need to root for him. I wanted to show Frank working through some stuff, while still remaining likable. A rarely mentioned theme from the movie is selflessness. While neither would admit it, I feel both Frank and Ray (Lucy's husband) share one major similarity; they both have a selfish streak. Ray blows a bunch of money on a bad investment without consulting Lucy, while Frank builds a basketball court where his wife wanted a flower garden.

I wanted to use this shortcoming for Frank. He is more self-centered here. It is also heavily implied in the film and confirmed in the novelization that Frank had a drinking problem. I have included this in my story. This is something I struggled with. I didn't want this to get too serious, but at the same time I certainly didn't want to depict drinking as some sort of joke. I decided to keep the drinking references to a minimum. Deep down, I think The Frighteners is an immensely silly movie, so I kept a light tone. BTW, the novelization is well worth a read, and I incorporated some of its ideas into my story. I also tried to work in some of the ideas from the wonderful (Albeit long! Like, four hours long!) "Making of The Frighteners" documentary.

I will continue to update this page as I get further in my story. Right now only the first chapter is complete, but I'm wrapping up the second and third chapters! I welcome all comments, but constructive criticism is my favorite! I personally think I need to work on my present and past tense usage. Well anyway, thanks for reading my overly wordy author's note! On to the story!

Author's Note #2

10/10/17

Hello again everyone! It's been a while! I'm still regularly thinking about this fan fiction, but work and college are pretty big time commitments. Chapter two is well on its way, and I'm hoping to finish it in the next week or so. After all, October is the perfect month for a story like this! Extremely minor update, I cleaned up the front page summary. The first one wasn't terrible, but it was a little on the lazy side. The newest one is still concise, but a bit more fun. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience!

Author's Note #3

10/29/17

Hi again, the second chapter is up! It took me far longer than I thought, and it still needs some editing in my opinion. To be honest I never expected this to be the second chapter, but when I crossed over 3,000 words I realized I had to turn this idea into two chapters! It's kind of a boring segment as it's mostly setup, although Rustler is introduced. In the film they never mention whether the dog is a boy or a girl, so I decided to make her female. I know the paratexts mention Rustler was a boy, but I feel my fanfiction is very male dominated right now, so I thought what the hell! Chapter Three should be more exciting! Happy Halloween everyone!

Author's Note #4

06/12/18

Long time no see! Phew, it's been a while! This fan fiction is officially a year old, and I've only written three chapters for it! Haha, well at least I haven't entirely abandoned it! Chapter three is now online! This chapter is significantly larger in several ways. It contains a character of my own creation, it features a lot of visual jokes or ghost antics (which can be hard to put into words, truthfully!), and it has a higher word count. The setting in this chapter is a used car lot. I thought this atmosphere had a lot of possibilities. One of the best scenes in the film is the altercation in the museum. It's fun and exciting, and there is a new sight gag every few seconds. That scene perfectly encapsulates what I think The Frighteners is all about. I really tried to think of that scene while writing my own ghost tomfoolery. I also thought a car lot would be an ironic and difficult first haunt for Frank and his ghouls.

While perhaps my most ambitious chapter, I don't think it's my best work. Certain portions are too on the nose like "the defeatist mindset" paragraph. Though in my defense, there is a similar passage in the novelization that compares the incomplete Frank to his unfinished house. I'm afraid some of the detail in this chapter may come off as a little random or unnecessary, but it has all been put there for a purpose. The Viper story that Stuart tells is a brief anecdote from the novelization, while the scabby red car was Frank's original automobile in the same book. The dilapidated ice cream truck is a reference to the hilarious blooper reel where a Mr. Whippy ice cream truck stalked the actress who played Lucy! I try not to make pop culture references in my work, but there are three brief ones in this chapter. Cyrus make a quick comment about N.W.A., which I feel is fitting for the character and time period. (Since the movie came out in 1996, I feel this prequel is early nineties.) A device is later compared to a Gameboy or a Game Gear. Again, this is era-appropriate. I also make a small homage to the book/movie, Christine. Hopefully these aren't too distracting or extraneous.

Chapter four is far from finished, but hopefully I'll have it online before 2019!