Title: Gaslight
Author: BellonaBellatrix
Category: Dark Arts
Rating: T
Words: 7,335
Published: February 3, 2007
Status: Oneshot
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3375683/1/Gaslight
Summary: Ginny faces her past, with Harry's help. not as optimistic as you think...
Status: One-Shot

This is a one-shot I found while trawling through fav lists.

I love how the author handles the mental breakdown Ginny experiences. Gaslighting, as the author explains it, is "a form of psychological abuse (that) uses persistent denials of fact which, as they build up over time, make the victim progressively anxious, confused, and less able to trust his or her own memory and perception.

A variation of gaslighting, used as a form of harassment, is to subtly alter aspects of a victim's environment, thereby upsetting his or her peace of mind, sense of security, etc.”

While this may not be the usual Indy!Harry types we're so fond of, the atmosphere and the author's execution of the plot is more than good enough to earn this one a place in the Library.

... For the more mindless bashers, Ginny gets owned.

4.75/5.


Checked by Minion, Nov. 24, 2012

 

Quite a good addition to the library, utilizing a rather confusing chain of events to move forward the plotline. Ginny's insanity was well done, artistically so in a way that allowed for Harry to become even more menacing.

Solid 4/5. Decent writing executed well.

 

Simply put, I liked it. The increasing insanity was nicely done. The atmosphere and trippy nature were equally well done. It may be the time I read it but it was difficult to distinguish just what was real and what wasn't, which fits well with the theme. I didn't care about Ginny losing it, though, which is not so much a criticism as something that would have made it perfect.

4/5

 

Good find, Mors. The best part was how uncertain the story was, even through the end. You really don't know if what you read actually happened, or if Ginny was just insane and fabricating it.

5/5 for mind games.

 

I really liked this one too. 4.5/5 from me. It made me want to keep reading it. Very well written, for a horror story.

 

Very well written. Nice and twisted.

5/5

 

I definitely enjoyed this but I found it to be slightly confusing with the whole memory blank outs and the fact that Harry was Voldemort. Otherwise this was an excellent one-shot therefore I give it a 4/5.

 

4/5 from me. An excellent example of psychosis and long term effects. Voldemort was much better than in canon.

 

4.5/5 from me, the whole thing was just amazing, even the Harry/Ginny scenes were amazing.

 

Really quite interesting and well planned. Had sort of a "Yellow Wallpaper" and "Crime and Punishment" vibe. You know I think the thing I liked best about it was that even at the end you weren't quite positive what was real and not. The "And he smiled" leads me to believe that perhaps the whole 'Voldemort in Harry's head' was a possibility, but you know I like that perhaps maybe on an even darker level that it was Harry himself.

Maybe it's my dislike for Ginny popping up here, but I could understand how a young famous wizard may not enjoy being saddled with a difficult/mentally disturbed wife and decided to push her the rest of the way into madness. The little speech about being Voldemort might simply have been the final push, because who else would terrify Ginny more. Let's face it, Ginny had a point, he couldn't simply leave her. He's boxed in first by having to live up to the 'hero' image and his best friend is her brother. Maybe he devised a little plan to get rid of her and still maintain the status quo, in fact have people like him more. Not only did he stick by her but he did all in his power to save her.

Kind of brilliant when you think of it like that, almost like that better. I'm probably putting too much thought in it, Voldemort possessing Harry likely was the writer's intention. (cliche there) Harry's ambition at being the Minister of Magic seems a bit more Voldemort than Potter. But I can't help but enjoy seeing Harry himself as the manipulator. And, honestly, can't really picture old Tom Riddle lusting after Ginny. Really?

Still good read, well written, certainly just a one time read, but good.

 

Most HP stories aiming at horror go the crucio crucio crucio route, with possibly a rape or two if they're feeling 'edgy'. A decent shot at psychological horror is to be treasured. Especially with such delicious ambiguity, as highlighted by della_couer.

 

As della_couer said- and as I and many others were probably thinking- the 'And he smiled' leaves Harry himself open to debate. Was it Riddle? Was it Harry simply trying to free himself from a burden? Was it simply Ginny's mind playing tricks on her? Was it a skewed Harry- mind torn by what he's seen- that did it for the kicks?

Maybe the possessed!Harry was what the author was going for, but I don't remember actually reading that.

Oh, and 5/5. Real horror is a rare genre in the fanfiction world.

 

Gaslight by BellonaBellatrix

This story made me laugh in fear. Scared the shit outta me. Excellently done, utilizing a flummoxed Ginny to adequately represent her deteriorating mental state. I especially enjoyed watching her doubt the world around her, finding the truth, but ultimately losing to her own devices. 5/5

 

Either that or it really was Tom possessing Harry. You cant really tell cause even though its written from a third person, it doesnt give insight to what other people think. Only Ginny. So in reality its more a first person perspective using third person terms.

So it gives it an even more creepy vibe. What is up, down, left, right, real, imaginary, right, or wrong when you, yourself, dont know it.

Gaslighting. Nasty. Oh I dont need glasses, now I do, now I dont, I do, I dont, I do, I dont, do, dont, do, dont. BLARGH!

5/5 from me. Best horror I've read in a while.

 

One of very few fics deserving the title of Horror. You can compare other horror fics to this as you would compare 'Silent Hill' the movie against Saw.

One has a shit loads of ugly shit and scary monsters which illustrate modern day darkness. Whereas on the other hand you have Saw, which leaves the audience stunned and shocked by the sheer audacity of the ending, in a era of 'Happy endings'.

TLDR: Leaves the ending to the audience's imagination. The best way to elicitate horror.

 

Very well done. I don't know whether I like having all the open questions or not; however it was definitley a great one-shot. 5/5

 

A horrible yet confounding masterpiece. Frankly I can't decide wether or not it was Tom or Harry because they both have valid reasons to destroy Ginny as well as the strength to pull it off. Tom because she's someone that escaped the first time around. Harry to escape the golden boy image.

The uncertainty of the ending frankly both puzzle and fill me with joy. On one hand Ginny the princess of mediocre hood is given some form of punishment in her complete descent into insanity. Yet we have no definite impression if wether Tom possessing Harry did it or Harry. The last in itself only manages to further entice the reader.

4.5/5.[SIZE=+0]
[/SIZE]

 

I agree with Elvin, by leaving so many questions unanswered he leaves the reader feeling slightly dissatisfied. The line between great horror and good horror is the ability to seemingly have answered all the questions and then for all those answers to be wrong and to leave one question in the mind of the spectator, not how, but rather what will he now do?

The insanity was well portrayed, but the questions were too open ended, not answered sufficiently and the ending too abrupt. The author tried to imitate those horror films where there is a brief final scene which lets the viewers know that the bad guy isn't dead. I'd recommend reading some good horror fiction, because what works very well in films doesn't necessarily work so well in fanfics.

3/5