"I mean, anyone can break through a screen door, glass, wood, iron, or anything else if they need to, anyone, especially Arnold Man." (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates, p. 8) Oates manages to make the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" a true horror, because it is relatable. The story takes us through the Connie's life until she meets Arnold Friend and Ellie Oscar, who push Connie to leave her home and leave, thus leading to her murder. Throughout the story we have three main characters: Connie, Arnold Friend and Ellie Oscar Ci we relate to Connie, we know that people like Arnold Friend exist and we could be Ellie Oscar. We know Arnold Friend, not personally, but we know his character Arnold Friend has stalked Connie throughout the story convinced that she was his lover he used threats and calm words to force Connie to leave her house and get into the car of Arnold's friend, Ellie Oscar. Arnold Friend is like many serial killers our society has encountered in the last century, including Charles Schmid, Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson in the way they target their victims, their charisma, and their influence on others. Charles Schmid is the serial killer who influenced Oates to write "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" he had killed three teenage girls while dressing up to look like Elvis Presley ("Serial: It's Not Just For Breakfast", Schumaier, 2002.) Arnold Friend looks like Elvis with his black wig and sunglasses. Ted Bundy was a serial killer, rapist, necrophile, and kidnapper who targeted young women. Bundy would find his victims in a public place, such as a park, then use his charm to convince them to leave the safety of the public area for a more secluded location... middle of paper... me as shown Elizabeth Smart, Anne Sluti and Jaycee Dugard. "Where are you going, where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates is great Southern Gothic in how we, the audience, can relate to the main characters. We know people like Arnold Friend from newspaper clippings and books about infamous serial killers like Charles Schmid, Ted Bundy, and Charles Manson. We could be complicit like Ellie Oscar, as Milgram's experiment, the Stanford Prison Experiment, and Susan Atkins show us. We're finally Connie. Connie is a normal person, living a normal life, until she is killed by a cruel kidnapper who we know could be real from the kidnapping stories of Elizabeth Smart, Anne Sluti, and Jaycee Dugard. Oates' story is scary because it has the ability to be true and we, the audience, can identify with each character: Arnold Friend, Ellie Oscar and Connie..