The Busker: An Exploration of Sub-Genre

Recently, I’ve been reading Tim Waggoner’s ‘textbook devoted to the craft of writing horror fiction’ Writing in the Dark. It’s incredibly informative, and it also has a whole bunch of exercises in there to help cement the ideas in each chapter. Chapter 4 is about the sub-genres of horror, from which, The Busker was born.

The exercise in this chapter was to come up with a simple concept, and then consider how it would differ in each of the sub-genres.

The basic premise I came up with was of a protagonist that sees the same busker everywhere he goes.

Read on to see how this plot evolves in each sub-genre.

Supernatural Horror:
After encountering the busker several times, the protagonist learns that the busker is a ghost. The protagonist must solve the mystery of the busker’s death, and during those investigations she finds that the killer is someone important in her life.

Psychological Horror:
The protagonist sees the busker everywhere. No one else can see him. The busker is in the protagonist’s head. The busker’s songs drive the protagonist to do uncharacteristic things, but eventually lead to him unlocking a hiddedn truth or overcoming a past trauma.

Realistic Horror:
The busker follows the protagonist around because they know their secret, which is hinted at through the lyrics to the songs. Can the protagonist stop the busker as they grow in threat?

Quiet Horror:
A slower reveal of the busker starting with only the sound of its music from the distance. Something in the voice or the content of the lyrics is unsettling and suggests threat. This grows to glimpses of the busker which is in some way sinister. A single encounter with the busker would be climatic, or would lead directly to the climax of the story.

Extreme Horror:
The busker plays the song, and when someone pays an interest in him, he stalks them and brutally kills them. The protagonist somehow becomes involved – an investigator of some sort, maybe not a professional – and they must overcome the busker who can only be defeated through strength and brutality.

Literary Horror:
Any of the story elements mentioned above could be included, but there would be a greater focus on the development of the protagonist and their experience.

Cosmic Horror:
The busker’s song opens up a portal to another world where the old Gods reside. Tentacles grab the listeners and drag them to the banquet of the Gods, where they are part of the feast. The protagonist must find a way to stop the busker, but he has extreme strength as he pulls power from the cosmos.

Erotic Horror:
The protagonist is drawn, sexually, to the busker despite his/her/their withered look. After each sexual encounter the protagonist becomes more withered while the busker grows in health and vitality.

Body Horror:
The busker has no ears, but wears a necklace containing the dried ears of her victims. Listening to the song can strip one of their sense of hearing.

Surreal Horror:
The lyrics of the busker’s songs, however surreal, invade the reality of the protagonist.

Young Adult Horror:
A number of the other plot lines could be used but the protagonist(s) and perhaps the buser would be younger. Overcoming the malevolent busker would be a coming-of-age experience.

Dark Fantasy Horror:
The busker is an entity from another world. His songs either transport the listener to a fantasy realm or they open a portal through which horrific and fantastical creatures emerge which must be defeated.

Weird/bizzaro Horror:
The busker’s lyrics come to life. Said lyrics are weird AF.

Pulp Horror:
The busker is the only witness to a crime which the protagonist is being framed for. They must track the busker down through a series of increading more intense scenarios, maybe involving more death while the police are fovever on their trail and the busker remains elusive.

Creature Feature Horror:
Either the busker accompanies a hideous monster, singing songs as it feasts, or the busker is actually a hideous monster, travelling from town to town, playing his songs and feasting on not just the cheers of the crowd, but also their flesh.

Gothic Horror:
We replace the busker either with a creepy piece of piano music or the haunting song of a small child. It all takes place in a large manor house. Is the music originating from the room beyond the locked door, and where do those secret passages lead?

Apocalyptic Horror:
The song is like a virus. Those that hear it die. Wait, that sounds a little like Kit Power’s A Song for the End…

Country/small town/Urban Horror:
Our protagonists visit a strange place in the country, or a small town or area where they encounter a busker singing a song to an enthusiastic crowd. Once the song reaches it’s crescendo, the locals turn on the protagonists.

Folk Horror:
Like the above, but the song is part of an ancient evil or awakens some folk creature which our protagonsists must overcome.

So what do you think? Which version of The Busker would be the one you’d be most interested in reading?