Love Letters

[CharleyH]

Receiving a love letter is fine, but thinking about the psychology for a moment - what if you received a love letter that began by describing ever action or movement you performed in the last 15 minutes before receiving it via ... 'snail mail'.

(Twilight zone stuff I know) Would you be freaked, right freaked or totally terrified? Or perhaps not. How do you expect a character to react? I am after the psychology.

 

[NoJo]

I assume by "every action you made" you mean you, the receiver.

Well, how much a creature of habit are you? I daresay some people go through a pretty standard routine in the morning before opening their mail.

Describe them "actions" for us, Charley.

 

[erise]

Receiving a love letter is fine, but thinking about the psychology for a moment - what if you received a love letter that began by describing ever action or movement you performed in the last 15 minutes before receiving it via ... 'snail mail'.

(Twilight zone stuff I know) Would you be freaked, right freaked or totally terrified? Or perhaps not. How do you expect a character to react? I am after the psychology.

I'd wonder who in their right mind would get an envelope stamped, then hang around ouside my window, record what I do and write it down and finally sneak it in among my regular mail as I go out to get it.

Then I'd go and charge the stun gun.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

If it is Twilight Zone material, I assume that by "every action" you mean every action, every detail, even those outside the realm of predictability. I imagine my first reaction would be to be freaked out, and start looking for the CCTV cameras. But then I'd realize the letter couldn't have been written by someone watching me, because I would have had the closed envelope in my hand while some of the actions described occured. That would really freak me out, but would leave me no choice but to read the letter over and over. Astonishment and curiosity would take over. The mystery would be too great to ignore, especially if it's a love letter.

 

[CharleyH]

I'd wonder who in their right mind would get an envelope stamped, then hang around ouside my window, record what I do and write it down and finally sneak it in among my regular mail as I go out to get it.

Then I'd go and charge the stun gun.

Think of it as fantasy.

 

[erise]

Think of it as fantasy.

Yah, but it's no fun if it doesn't get creepy gradually. I assume the weirdness escalates from there. If I sneezed, scratched my butt and opened the envelope and the letter said, "you just sneezed, scratched your butt and opened the envelope" ... ok, then I'd freak and run to the hills in whatever I was wearing.

 

[impressive]

Could go either of two ways -- toward the creepy or toward the fantastic.

The reader would have to believe the reaction to be in character. So, what do we know about the letter receiver? How likely is the character to believe the supernatural? Depends on what you've already told us about the character.

Myself? I would find the possibilities tantalizing and just "go with it." Others would completely dismiss the supernatural as a possibility.

 

[CharleyH]

Yah, but it's no fun if it doesn't get creepy gradually. I assume the weirdness escalates from there. If I sneezed, scratched my butt and opened the envelope and the letter said, "you just sneezed, scratched your butt and opened the envelope" ... ok, then I'd freak and run to the hills in whatever I was wearing.

How erotic

Lauren has an interesting idea

 

[CharleyH]

Yah, but it's no fun if it doesn't get creepy gradually. I assume the weirdness escalates from there. If I sneezed, scratched my butt and opened the envelope and the letter said, "you just sneezed, scratched your butt and opened the envelope" ... ok, then I'd freak and run to the hills in whatever I was wearing.

IE Dear Erise,

I have been sitting here for days and all I see is you. You remind me of my childhood, building lego babes and lego dudes in lego houses. Your red hair flames like my heart
and I am sure I would be caught by your fishnet stalkings. I see your gentle sneeze, it is beauty fuming from your lungs ... and see your hands lift, just almost to your crotch, but descend to scratch your ass. Still - beautiful, in a funny way before you open this ....

 

[CharleyH]

Could go either of two ways -- toward the creepy or toward the fantastic.

The reader would have to believe the reaction to be in character. So, what do we know about the letter receiver? How likely is the character to believe the supernatural? Depends on what you've already told us about the character.

Myself? I would find the possibilities tantalizing and just "go with it." Others would completely dismiss the supernatural as a possibility.

The receiver does not know, but the sender does Supernatural? I never said that. Thanks Imp.

 

[impressive]

The receiver does not know, but the sender does Supernatural? I never said that. Thanks Imp.

Halloween's coming ... I just figured ... well ... (Stop me before I think again.)

 

[ABSTRUSE]

After I changed my underpants?

I would be intrigued and phobic.....then intrigued again.

 

[NoJo]

After I changed my underpants?

I would be intrigued and phobic.....then intrigued again.

I'm picturing you alternating between intrigue and phobia. I'm hovering between disgust and arousal.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

I'm picturing you alternating between intrigue and phobia. I'm hovering between disgust and arousal.

I'll await your letter.

 

[NoJo]

I'll await your letter.

'you sit in front of the computer -- you type frantically, hit enter then immediatey click refresh... another thread has been replied to. You click on "reply to post"...'

 

[CharleyH]

Halloween's coming ... I just figured ... well ... (Stop me before I think again.)

No need to think. pumpkinhead

 

[CharleyH]

I assume by "every action you made" you mean you, the receiver.

Well, how much a creature of habit are you? I daresay some people go through a pretty standard routine in the morning before opening their mail.

Describe them "actions" for us, Charley.

They are posted Joe - Laurel is slow - not me

 

[CharleyH]

After I changed my underpants?

I would be intrigued and phobic.....then intrigued again.

God you people! Ask a question and get depends commercials REALLY!

 

[Liar]

I would naturally assume that I had come back from my own future and posted it myself. it's just so typically me to try to fuck with my own head.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I would naturally assume that I had come back from my own future and posted it myself. it's just so typically me to try to fuck with my own head.

You future sick bastard.

 

[CharleyH]

I'm picturing you alternating between intrigue and phobia. I'm hovering between disgust and arousal.

Depends, in conjunction with MILF ... do come to mind Turned on still, Joe? LOL

 

[Liar]

You future sick bastard.

Lauren, you know me. Strike "future".

 

[CharleyH]

PS WHAT does any of this have to do with my original question? GRRR

 

[The_Fool]

Hmmm....what if the letter is a response to the recievers thoughts. Before opening the letter they had mental questions about the sender and found that the opened letter answered those questions.


If the letter had lines like "How good was that cup of coffee you just had?" or "I love it when you put your hair up like that" would be more of the disconcerting twilight zone type.

The freaky stuff would be if the reciever had just completed a very fulfilling bit of self indulgence to a very satisfying daydream and the letter described the daydream and the self-indulgence. That gets wierd because of the intense invasion of privacy.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

CharleyH,

An intriguing idea for a story.

Since you asked:

As a story, I see the letter written in the second person, with interstitial asides from the reader, in the first person.

At first, s/he merely notes the similarity of actions, but becomes increasingly more nonplussed as the letter's parallelism continues.

Were I in the place of the receiver, my first instinct (possibly even before finishing the letter) would be to check to see the post mark, to learn from where it came.

As for ending the story, I would describe the receiver's actions up to the point where s/he opened the letter. Which would leave the character and her/his reactions to produce a satisfying ending. (Me, I'd dig that piece of spam from the Psychic Friend's Network out of my Junk Folder.)

Alternately, the letter could continue with more future events described before the letter’s end, leaving the recipient to anticipate a future prediction's accuracy, either with anticipation, or dread, depending upon the nature of the prediction.

One final possibility is that the recipient could read to the end of the letter (just a little into the future), then follow the letter's prediction that s/he will check the envelope for a post mark, and look for a return address. When she/he picks the letter up again, s/he notices that another paragraph or two has appeared, which was not there before.