THE MAN IN THE WOODS (8 page short horror script) by Luke McCain

Things take a truly terrifying turn when a man burying his wife in the woods crosses paths with a lost stranger.

Nothing good ever happens in the middle of the woods, at least not in horror movies. This couldn’t be any truer in Luke McCain’s chilling new short horror script, “The Man in the Woods”, which is currently available for production.

“The Man”, or at least one of them, in Luke’s story is William Hobsmire, a rugged, scraggly bearded 1800’s woodsman. The story takes place in the woods and this is, indeed, a horror story. So it’s safe to say that William is probably doing something he doesn’t want to get caught doing. In this case, burying his dead wife – who he does, at one point, admit to murdering.

After dumping his wife’s cold body into the makeshift grave, William soon finds out that getting away with murder isn’t so easy…

Suddenly, a voice from far in the distance calls out through the trees –

            VOICE
     (Far away)
Helloooo!

IN THE DISTANCE – A hazy figure: A MAN. He waves his hand in the air.

            MAN
     (Far away)
Hellooooo!!

Their encounter is friendly enough at first, the man merely a lost traveler looking for a point into the right direction. But despite William’s efforts to cover things up, the man can’t help but sense something a little off, to say the least.

            MAN
…Is that a grave?

William wipes a bead of sweat from his eye.

            WILLIAM
Ah – Indeed it is. You caught
me burying my dog. Due south
is that way.

The curious stranger continues to ask questions after noticing a pair of women’s boots near the makeshift grave:

            WILLIAM
Those are my wife’s. She’s
gone to pick a bouquet of flowers
for the headstone.

            MAN
Your wife went to pick a
bouquet of flowers in the
woods… with bare feet?

Sensing that the lost stranger is onto him, William is left with no choice…

I’ll stop right there as to not spoil the story for you any further. But it’s at this point where things take a truly terrifying, unexpected turn. Why did William murder his wife? Who is this stranger really and where did he come from? You’ll have to read the rest of it yourself to find out. And trust me, you’ll have a great time doing it.

BUDGET: Shoe string. All you need is the woods, 4 actors and a little makeup. Costumes should be a piece of cake.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Luke McCain is a writer / director based in San Diego, California. He owns and operates Pure Cinema – a commercial production company working with brands such as Google, Netflix, NFL, Chevy and many more. As a writer and filmmaker, Luke’s style is influenced by art house horror, blending odd stories with visceral imagery. His films often find characters in morbid or distressed situations, unfolding with uniquely dark twists. Luke can be reached at luke (a) purecinema.tv

Read: The Man In The Woods (8 page short horror script)

^*This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.

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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, “Rage”. His horror feature, “They Never Left” is currently in development.