FEBRUARY FANTASY MONTH
I’ve toyed with the notion of writing a fantasy short story from time-to-time but as yet haven’t produced one. I’m curious what readers of this site would like to see my protagonist pitted against. I’m sidelining Dragons for this poll as they are already so well-represented in countless other tales. Below is a list of potential adversaries. You can vote for as many or as few as you like. If there are ones not listed that you’d like added, enter it in the “Other” category or mention it in the comments and I’ll add it within 24 hours (Keep in mind I can’t use creatures which specifically belong to other authors or properties). You can read what some talented authors had to say about some of these creatures for our Ultimate Fantasy Creatures List from a few years ago by clicking this link: https://horrordelve.com/2017/02/11/ultimate-fantasy-creatures-list/ .
I’m going to attempt to write a story incorporating one or two of the winning creatures, so please share this poll as I’m hoping to get as wide a range of opinions as possible. Whenever it’s completed I’ll eventually post the story here on the Horror Delve site.
ADVERSARIES:
Horror Delve 
I voted for skeleton warrior because I’m a sucker for them, and doppelgangers because they open up an amazing array of plot possibilities. Truth to tell, you have a lot of good choices there. You probably can’t go wrong no matter who wins.
I think this will help motivate and inspire me to write it. Sometimes having a few parameters can get the creative juices flowing. I like most all of these ones listed, it’ll be fun to see which ones win out.
Voted! Can’t wait to read about the winning monster(s)!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Hmm… what would I go for?
Looking at the list, I can’t help thinking that nearly all of these creatures would make good choices. But the two that stood out to me, as I first scanned the list, were ‘Living Statues’ and ‘Goblins’. There’s something creepy about statues (living or not!) and a story of fantasy could put them to good use (but don’t ask me how!). Goblins would also be a good choice; both creepy and scary, one can imagine them lingering in the darkness waiting to pounce or preparing for some sort of malevolence. Weaving either of these creatures into a story of fantasy would, in my view, create a winning formula.
Personally, I’m more inclined to the ghost rather than the fantasy story; and it is the stories of M.R. James that contain most of my favourite tales. However (and I think I mentioned this in an earlier post some time back) others are now doing stories quite similar to James and in a similar style, which is great for readers like me. I recently read ‘Figures on a Hillside’, for example, a story in Steve Duffy’s ‘The Night Come On’ and I thought the story very good. Based on folklore, with creepy images carved into the landscape, it created a wonderful atmosphere, where non believers, towards the end of the story, had began to question their own beliefs in the supernatural.
Anyhow, good luck with your story. Looking forward to reading it.
Thanks for voting and for the feedback on why you chose them. I also tend to find statues creepy, so it should provide good fodder for a story. I mostly stick to ghost/horror stories, but occasionally try my hand at a different genre. Even still, horror elements show up in everything I write. “Figures on a Hillside” sounds like a good story. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that one.