How to Write a Horror Story: 7 Tips for Writing Horror

Many readers now believe that zeitgeist-defining horror literature are a thing of the past. Children in the 1990s devoured Goosebumps novels like The Blob devoured, well, everything.

But don’t overlook today’s enormous horror fan audience, eager for their next dose. The first step is to study horror tale writing.

1. Tap Into Common Fears

Fear is the most essential element in every horror tale. People read horror to be titillated and frightened, not for simple pleasure. That being stated, here are some components to utilize to frighten your reader.

Instinctive Fears

Logic and biology-based fears are frequently the most powerful in horror. Darkness, heights, snakes, and spiders are all instinctive fears. As a consequence, they tend to scare readers well.

This is particularly true when random acts of terror occur, such as a murderer trapping them in their home or a stranger armed with a handgun. Fear is the awareness that terrible things happen to decent people, according to horror writer Karen Woodward.

Monsters & Supernatural Entities

These go beyond rationality into Freud’s “uncanny” world. That vampires, werewolves and ghosts aren’t real doesn’t stop them from terrifying us. The very ambiguity they provoke is what makes them so sinister: what if monsters exist but we haven’t seen them? This is a common dread in horror, but your tale must be believable to be effective.

Societal Tensions

Another excellent way to scare people is to tap into social tensions and worries. The Babadook addresses mental health, while It Follows investigates the taboo of casual sex. However, like in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, social conflicts may readily be represented in a horror tale.

2. Strike The Right Atmosphere

The “right atmosphere” for your narrative relies on the genre. Are you more Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Silence of the Lambs? Tonality and atmosphere are determined by genres.

Thriller-Horror. Psychological dread, typically at the start of horror tales before anything happens.

Gross-out Horror. Used to shock the reader with graphic descriptions of spurting blood, sliced flesh, and gouged organs.

Classic Horror. Gothic (or Southern Gothic) horror features eerie surroundings and terrifying figures like Dracula and Frankenstein.

Terror Horror. Creates an atmosphere of dread that may either be the story’s climax or last throughout.

Subgenres may also be combined as the narrative develops. You may start with exciting psychological horror, then progress into gothic overtones, and finally fear.

Regardless of the horror genre, it should be profoundly powerful for the reader — and you! “Creeping yourself out with your own work is generally a very good sign,” says editor Harrison Demchick.

3. Make The Stakes Obvious

To help your readers really enjoy your horror tale, make them aware of the stakes. Establish your character’s primary issue or motive, and what they stand to lose if they don’t solve it. Stakes and incentives may include:

Survival

Characters in every horror tale want to live. But there are subtleties to that aim. In a Jekyll and Hyde-type situation, their goal may be to not only survive, but to also defeat their homicidal adversary.

Defending Family

The stakes rise as the protagonist must protect more individuals. Many terrible stories end with the main character’s loved ones being threatened with death (as in Phantom of the Opera or Red Dragon).

Solving Unsolved Puzzles

Because some horror tales are about discovering the terrors of the past, not fleeing current danger. This is particularly true in subgenres like cosmic horror, which deals with cosmic secrets and frequently ancient history.

Like atmosphere, you can always combine stakes. For example, a character may be investigating a series of strange killings, only to be targeted themselves!

The most important thing to understand about horror, particularly horror tales, is that simple stakes have the most effect. “Plain spikes, thrust firmly into the breastbone,” says novelist Chuck Wendig.

4. Carefully Consider Your Point Of View

When the stakes are high, your reader should feel a sense of connection with your main character. This may be done in first person or third person restricted. (Prevent using third person omniscient while writing horror to avoid distancing the reader from the narrative.)

First Person POV

Look no farther than The Tell-Tale Heart for a superb example of first-person narrative in horror. Few Poe tales are as renowned as this one, in which the main character is driven to kill his elderly roommate. Poe uses first person POV from the very beginning of the story:

It’s true! Yes, I have been ill, very ill. But why do you say that I have lost control of my mind, why do you say that I am mad? Can you not see that I have full control of my mind? Indeed, the illness only made my mind, my feelings, my senses stronger… I could hear sounds I had never heard before. I heard sounds from heaven; and I heard sounds from hell!

First person POV is great for grabbing your reader and keeping them intrigued throughout the narrative. Not suitable for lengthier, more complex works, or when attempting to hide information from your readers.

In a horror narrative, first person past tense POV implies they’ve survived, which may spoil your dramatic conclusion. If you do utilize first person narrative, keep it in the present tense.

Third Person POV

If you’re having trouble using first person POV, try third person restricted. This style of storytelling is popularized by authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz. See how it’s used in King’s 1974 book Carrie, in describing the title character:

Carrie stood among [the other girls] stolidly, a frog among swans. She was a chunky girl with pimples on her neck and back and buttocks, her wet hair completely without color… She looked the part of the sacrificial goat, the constant butt, believer in left-handed monkey wrenches, perpetual foul-up, and she was.

This narrative provides a more personal image of the character while yet allowing for criticism. Third person restricted narration also works effectively for establishing mood rather of diving straight into it, as Poe’s narrator does.

Unreliable Narrators

To avoid giving away too much to your audience, you may also use an unreliable narrator. Many mystery and thriller books use faulty narration to build up to a major surprise. So, whether you want an unreliable narrator depends on how your narrative ends: straight or with a twist.

5. To Twist Or Not To Twist?

Plot twists are memorable and thrilling, exposing the truth and relieving tension. These are notoriously tough to come up with and to execute – you must delicately hint at a surprise without being too predictable or clichéd.

To Twist

The victim is the murderer, the person we believed was dead isn’t, or worse, it’s all in their mind! Remember that subtle narrative twists may be just as powerful (if not more).

Consider William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. After Emily dies, the villagers find a long-missing traveler’s body and a strand of silver hair in one of her spare beds. The finding of Emily’s hair (suggesting she liked hugging a corpse) is what truly bothers you.

Not To Twist

Your story’s conclusion doesn’t have to be unexpected to shock and horrify readers. The traditional horror technique keeps the reader guessing until the end with a deadly climax (think slasher films).

The confrontation itself is predictable, but the events building up to it create suspense and anticipation for the finale. So the big moment still has drama.

6. Don’t Forget The Basics

“A horror book, like any narrative, is about a character or people striving to accomplish a goal,” Demchick adds. “Horror loses much of its appeal if idea overwhelms character.”

As you write, keep in mind fundamental narrative principles and avoid getting caught up in the scary drama. Answer these questions regarding your characters and storyline before you start:

• What fear or struggle must your protagonist overcome?
• What decision do they make to put them in this situation?
• How will they defeat or escape their adversary, if at all?
• What are the ultimate consequences of their actions?

With this basic structure, you may add mood and tension to your horror tale. A detailed plan and emotionally relevant components are essential in plot-driven genre tales.

A superb horror tale combines drama, realism, tension, relief, and even comedy. As shown in this passage from Gillian Flynn’s horror tale The Grownup, where the narrator is planning to profit on her “spiritual cleaning” services:

I could go into business for myself, and when people asked me, “What do you do?” I’d say, I’m an entrepreneur in that haughty way entrepreneurs had. Maybe Susan and I would become friends. Maybe she’d invite me to a book club. I’d sit by a fire and nibble on Brie and say, I’m a small business owner, an entrepreneur, if you will.

7. Look For Something New

Think on overused horror tropes and make sure your tale isn’t “been there, done that.” After all the Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and True Blood hoopla, the “vampire romance” narrative is a dead horse.

That doesn’t imply you can’t utilize current trends in your work. You must personalize it and make it your own!

For example, when Seth Grahame-Smith released Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in 2009, it was a well-worn genre. To his credit, he placed it in the Regency period, with characters from Jane Austen’s works, and established a whole new audience for zombie fiction. In Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers pay tribute to Stephen King and Steven Spielberg, which smart viewers will enjoy.

Every excellent horror story has been written, making your own ideas appear corny. It just takes one brilliant concept to make a horror movie a success! So don’t worry about it, and know that just by reading this article, you’re one step closer to being a literary cemetery hit.