Thread:Kefke Wren/@comment-11079349-20131123022529/@comment-4332975-20131123104823

Literal is actually pretty easy. Actually, it works well for the figurative as well. You want to introduce the big obvious evil early on in your story, and make it a focal point. However, and this is the important point, don't have it do anything. People expect that if something is obviously evil, it will do something evil -- someone will be compelled to use the hammer, or its mere presence will cause Bad Things to happen. Resist the temptation to do that. The obvious evil shouldn't be the source of the evil in the story. Instead, have characters react to it. Make their responses believable, but let them drive themselves to do things that lead to terror and disaster, either through a building madness that brings out the worst a human being can be, or an increasing dread that builds until it blossoms into self-destructive blind panic.