what if I fell into the clutches of a homicidal maniac theme

We imagine what it might be like suddenly to find one's self in the captivity and at the mercy of a crazed killer.

Examples

In talesoftheunexpected1x05 "The Landlady", young Billy comes to realize that his landlady is a serial killer but, alas, only too late: His tea has been drugged and he is in the end no longer capable of putting up effective resistance as she leads him to his prospective deathbed.

13 total · 2 choice · 10 major · 1 minor

StoryLevelMotivation
columbo1971e10x05 choice Melissa was held captive my a sadistic lunatic who was intent on slitting her throat from ear to ear, after consummating what he considered to be their marriage.
movie: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) choice Especially Sally spent much of the story more or less at the mercy of a family of deranged cannibals
ahh3x27 major Martha increasingly came to believe that her new husband killed his first wife and planned to kill her as well. Because of their living arrange, she had not where else to go and nobody to turn to.
ahp6x19 major A landlady had taxidermied two young men and plotted to do the same to fair Billy Weaver.
movie: 12 Monkeys (1995) major From Kathryn's point of view a dangerous mental patient, Cole, had abducted her.
movie: Get Out (2017) major Chris found himself tied up in the basement and being prepped for brain surgery
movie: The Shining (1980) major Wendy eventually learned that her husband was stark raving mad and hellbent on murder, and that she was practically at his mercy snowed in as they are in a remote hotel.
talesoftheunexpected1x05 major A landlady had taxidermied two young men and plotted to do the same to fair Billy Weaver.
talesoftheunexpected3x01 major Sylvia realized at the end that she was.
talesoftheunexpected7x05 major The hitchhiker was keeping his companions hostage with a concealed pocket gun, or so we though.