History SoYouWantTo / WriteAHorrorStory

* If you've ever seen a horror film, you'll notice that a lot of the scenes that are intended to scare people use less light than scenes that intend to establish the setting. That's because in the dark, there's more chance for the monsters to hide, and there's more chance for the intensity to ramp up. Even in scenes without any threat, the darkness can still instill fear into the reader because [[NothingIsScarier they aren't even sure if there's anything in the darkness.]] But don't let this allow you to plunge every scene in darkness. [[DaylightHorror It's not as if scenes can't be creepy if they're shot in daylight.]]

When the characters go down to the basement to investigate that noise, it shouldn't be over and done with quickly. Draw out the scary experiences to maximize impact - the unsteady tread down the stairs, fumbling for the light switch, looking around, and the ''slow'' reach for the sheet-covered object... You get the idea.

Pick your monster. Will it be [[DemonicPossession demons]], creatures from the black lagoon, ghosts with UnfinishedBusiness, vampires? What monsters scare you the most? [[StockMonsterSymbolism Most monsters have some kind of metaphorical meaning]], and touching on that can lend more depth to your story - zombies, for instance, connote apathetic consumption. Of course, one can always go for the scariest hunter of them all... [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters human beings.]]

Horror evokes many emotions; dread, fear, [[ParanoiaFuel paranoia]], suspense and terror. So why not try your hand at some NightmareFuel evoking stories?

* [[UncannyValley Warping the Familiar]]: This is the source of scares in tropes like IronicNurseryTune (a song meant to be comforting turns creepy) and AbandonedHospital (a place dedicated to healing turned evil). It is also the source of the UncannyValley effect. A lot of common horror monsters look suspiciously like humans with only a few features that are slightly ... off. A GlasgowGrin, CreepilyLongArms, UndeathlyPallor, you name it (it is incidentally also why [[MonsterClown so many people fear clowns]]; their corpse-like faces and UncannyValleyMakeup make people's subconscious flinch away from them). Of course, a lot of these tropes are heavily overused and can play into ableist UnfortunateImplications if the author isn't careful. However, if a horror author understands this effect and how it works, it can be leveraged to great advantage.

* Warping the Familiar: This is the source of scares in tropes like IronicNurseryTune (a song meant to be comforting turns creepy) and AbandonedHospital (a place dedicated to healing turned evil).

* [[NothingIsScarier Creepy atmosphere]]: Arguably the most effective of all the tools in horror writer's arsenal. ''Something'' is out of place. ''Something'' is wrong. ItsQuietTooQuiet. Did we just see something, or was it just wind playing with the leaves? NothingIsScarier, becasue it preys on our fear of the unknown. This kind of horror leaves a lot to reader's imagination, and the reader will fill in the blanks with what scares him the most.

Pick your monster. Will it be [[DemonicPossession demons]], creatures from the black lagoon, ghosts with UnfinishedBusiness, vampires? What monsters scare you the most? Most monsters have some kind of metaphorical meaning, and touching on that can lend more depth to your story - zombies, for instance, connote apathetic consumption. Of course, one can always go for the scariest hunter of them all... [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters human beings.]]

!! Is this just a story or is this trying to be realistic?
Again, not every horror work will scare the hell out of the reader and make them [[BringMyBrownPants call for their brown pants]]. Some people may laugh at a zombie apocalypse story that tries to be scary. Do you want to fool people into thinking this was real, or stick with [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo Zombies Everywhere Issue #14528: Electric Boogaloo]]? Keep in mind that both kinds can be scary, so don't go into writing describing everything in great detail, and have a paranoiac writing MadnessMantra all over the walls.

This one is very important. There are many ways to [[NightmareFuel disturb someone to the point of frequent nightmares]]. There are many things that writers use:

* [[NothingIsScarier Creepy atmosphere]]: Arguably the most effective of all the tools in horror writer's arsenal. ''Something'' is out of place. ''Something'' is wrong. ItsQuietTooQuiet. Did we just see something, or was it just wind playing with the leaves? NothingIsScarier, becasue it prays on our fear of the unknown. This kind of horror leaves a lot to reader's imagination, and the reader will fill in the blanks with what scares him the most.

When the characters go down to the basement to investigate that noise, it shouldn't be over and done with quickly. Draw out the scary experiences to maximize impact - the slow tread down the stairs, fumbling for the light switch, the unsteady tread, the ''slow'' reach for the sheet-covered object... You get the idea.

Despite horror being a known genre today, that doesn't mean all types of horror will scare everyone. If you want to scare kids, don't make it as blood-curdling as you can. If you want to scare adults, don't make it as tame as you can. Try to find a balance.

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Horror evokes many emotions; dread, fear, [[{{ParanoiaFuel}} paranoia]], suspense and terror. So why not try your hand at some [[{{NightmareFuel}} nightmare fuel]] evoking stories?
Note that not even this can make you become the next [[EdgarAllanPoe Poe]], [[HPLovecraft Lovecraft]] or [[StephenKing King]]. Try to learn a bit about writing stories first. SoYouWantTo/WriteAStory is a good place to start, and perhaps reading some horror stories would probably help.

* [[{{Gorn}} Graphic violence/Blood and gore]]: If you've ever read {{Creepypasta}}, you'll see blood and gore everywhere like it's a Halloween party. But I'd recommend using something else. To me, it starts becoming less effective the more you read it. You could have thick gooey blood all over the floor described in a very graphic way, but people will not start squealing like girls over it.

* [[NothingIsScarier Creepy atmosphere]]: Arguably the most effective of all the tools in horror writer's arsenal. ''Something'' is out of place. ''Something'' is wrong. It's QuietTooQuiet. Did we just see something, or was it just wind playing with the leaves? NothingIsScarier becasue it prays on our fear of the unknown. This kind of horror leaves a lot to reader's imagination, and the reader will fill in the blanks with what scares him the most.

!! Supplemental Material

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[[header:Choices, choices]]
Ah, horror. Many people think it's just someone writing "boo" on a typewriter and then publishing it. But that's not the case. It's amazing how you can intensely disturb the reader just by using some good techniques and atmosphere.
* Setting can be hard to pick. Do you want mutated scientists shuffling down a moon base corridor in the year 2043, or perhaps childhoods ruined by stalkers and child murderers in the year 1987, or perhaps English snobs getting the living daylights scared out of them in 1845? Surprising are the things you can do.
* Characters are the glue that hold these papers together. Without your victim and your villain, it's going nowhere. Unfortunately, victims are usually depicted as cardboard cut outs in favour of the spooky dude getting all the cool hats while he's left with just an old, crappy beanie with the top cut out. Give your victims depth, as well as your villains. Villains can be vague, but someone who confronts his prey and starts spurting out words like a madman can be a bit more scary. Try not to go overboard; you don't want a Freddy Krueger wannabe saying one-liners all over the place like a cheesy 80's action star.
* Now, plot. Here are a few starters for you. Despite them being basic ones, and rather overused ones at that, they can still be horrific if you twist it a bit:
** You wake up in an [[{{AbandonedHospital}} abandoned hospital]] and try to get your way out. You find out things that you wouldn't like to know, and you find...the people that [[{{CaptainObvious}} are probably not there to let you out]], seeing how they're looking at you like you're a roast chicken dinner.
** You are in your/a house with your friends, and find yourself stuck in there, with no outside communication. [[{{TemptingFate}} Great, how could this get]] [[{{FromBadToWorse}} worse]]? It can, because someone is planning to pick you off one by one. Now what are you going to do?

** You are in your/a house with your friends, and find yourself stuck in there, with no outside communication. [[{{TemptingFate}} Great, how could this get]] [[{{FromBadToWorse}} worse]]? It can, because someone is planning to pick you off one by one. Now what are you going to do?

* Characters are the glue that hold these papers together. Without your victim and your villain, it's going nowhere. Unfortunately, victims are usually depicted as cardboard cut outs in favour of the spooky dude getting all the cool hats while he's left with just an old, crappy beanie with the top cut out. Give your victims depth, as well as your villains. Villains can be vague, but someone who confronts his prey and starts spurting out words like a madman can be a bit more scary. Try not to go overboard; you don't want a Freddy Krueger wannabe saying one-liners all over the place like a cheesy 80's action star.

Horror evokes many emotions; dread, fear, [[{{ParanoiaFuel}} paranoia]], suspense and terror. So why not try your hand at some [[{{NightmareFuel}} nightmare fuel]] evoking stories?

Horror evokes many emotions; dread, fear, {{ParanoiaFuel paranoia}}, suspense and terror. So why not try your hand at some {{NightmareFuel nightmare fuel}} evoking stories?