User blog:CryptidBryn/Introduction to the Mythos

I was recently tasked with writing a guide to the Fear Mythos for anyone who came across it and wanted to learn more. Since we have a bit of a tangled web of links to various sites and pages, some of which are outdated, this list is going to include summaries of the basic elements of the Fear Mythos and links to up-to-date and newbie-friendly material.

Part 1: What is the Fear Mythos?
Basically, the Fear Mythos is an open-source set of concepts that started life as a spinoff of the Slender Man Mythos back in February 2011. Since then, things have gotten a lot more complex in some ways, but the main thing you need to know going in is that the roots of the Mythos lie in a collection of open-source beings known as the Fears. The Fears can be monsters, items, living locations, former humans, abstract concepts, or just about anything else. Their main commonality is that, in most settings, they represent different types of fear.

That brings me to my next point: since the Fear Mythos is open-source, not everyone will write in the same setting. Some stories are standalone and self-contained, while others take place in a larger setting, but unless the people behind the stories in question agree, no two stories are assumed to take place in the same setting.

Relevant links

 * The Fear Mythos
 * The Fear Mythos Manifesto
 * The Fears
 * The TV Tropes page
 * What is the Fear Mythos?

Part 2: So what stories are in the Fear Mythos?
An excellent question! The answer is, a lot of them. Nobody's expecting you to have read/watched everything in the Mythos, a task which would take a very long time, so just go for whatever sounds interesting.

The Beginner's Guide to the Mythos includes some good recommendations for beginner blogs, such as Faces, Strange and Secret, Jordan Eats Normally Now, brighter than a spoon, and Eccentrically Bored/Hidden in the Trees, as well as informational blogs such as The Archive and Channel Fear that explain elements of the Mythos from the perspective of the characters inside it.

While standalone stories are the easiest to start with, you might have a craving to read multiple stories set in a single universe. If that's the case, you should check out the List of Verses, which gives an overview of the different settings of the Mythos and links to their respective pages, which in turn will list the stories set in a given universe.

Relevant links

 * Beginner Recommendations
 * Beginner's Guide to the Mythos
 * Blogs
 * Blogpasta
 * Games
 * List of Completed Fear Works
 * List of Verses
 * Vlogs

Part 3: What if I want to make something for the Fear Mythos?
Simple: you just do it.

Admittedly, that's a little on the vague side, but the fact that anyone can create projects for the Fear Mythos- whether a blog, a creepypasta, a vlog, an ARG, a video game, a fashion project, or anything else- is one of its core strengths. With a couple exceptions I'll explain shortly, you can write what you want, how you want.

Anyone can make their own Fear, and anyone can use existing Fears as they like. You can combine existing Fears, give Fears traits they don't usually have, or turn Fears into characters with backstories and personalities. There is no right or wrong way to use a Fear.

Non-Fear characters, locations, or organizations, like the Fears' individual servants, might not be open-source, so it’s best to check before you write with them. Thankfully, there are pages listing open-source characters, locations, and organizations that can be used in your stories without specifically getting permission from the authors behind them.

The List of Verses also notes whether the settings in question are open-source. The Sandbox Verse, for example, was specifically created with that idea in mind.

Since the Fear Mythos is open-source, not everyone will write in the same setting. Some people might write standalone stories that don't affect anything else, some people might write multiple stories in the same setting, and some people might collaborate with other authors to create shared settings that multiple people can write for. I myself have done all three at different points- it's really just about what you want to do with a story.

The Fear Mythos lends itself well to horror, because it was initially created by people who wanted to write horror, but you can do whatever you'd like in terms of tone. People have done everything from comedy to action to tragedy in Fear Mythos stories, and if you have an idea for a non-horror Fear Mythos storyline, go ahead and do it.

Relevant links

 * List of Verses
 * Open Source Characters
 * Open Source Locations
 * Open Source Organizations
 * The Sandbox Verse
 * Writing Guide

Part 4: So who are these people?
Well, me, that's a bit of a weird way of putting it, but if your question is where we denizens of the Fear Mythos like to lurk, the answer is a lot of places. The Discord server is our de facto main hub as of late, but the forum, the Facebook page, and the comments and blog posts of this very wiki are all places where we like to discuss the Mythos.

Relevant links

 * The Fear Mythos Discord server
 * The Fear Mythos Facebook page
 * The Fear Mythos Forum
 * r/FearMythos (currently inactive but could theoretically be revived)