How to Write a Horror Story: Tips for Writing Horror
There’s a good reason horror stories are so popular, with adults and children alike. Like all good stories, horror tales help us escape to another world. But unlike other genres, horror takes things to the next level. Hearts pound, blood rushes, breathing escalates. Reading a good horror story can make us feel the same thrill and adrenaline rush as riding a particularly fast roller coaster.
Horror writing can seem daunting but read on to learn about common horror tropes and writing tips to create your own scary stories.
What Is a Horror Story?
Horror is a genre within creative writing that relies on one thing: instilling a sense of fear in the reader. The celebrated twentieth-century horror fiction author H.P. Lovecraft most famously remarked: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
A truly scary story has these four essential components.
Fear. This might seem obvious, but creating something that is truly terrifying (for an adult reader, at least) is harder than it sounds—and it mainly relies on the writer’s ability to build tension. Of course, though we all fear different things, the trick to a really effective horror story is creating fear out of something that readers would never have suspected to elicit that kind of reaction. Stephen King’s It (1986) is a great example. Before reading the book, you might not have had any kind of trouble with clowns. Might have even found them endearing. But Pennywise the clown changed that for a lot of people. Revulsion. A really good horror story can also make people feel disgusted, too—look no further than the success of franchises like Saw to see how the gross-out factor works. Surprise. When we are faced with a concept or idea we have never encountered before, we struggle to comprehend what is before us. One of the typical first reactions to the unknown is fear. This is why introducing surprising, unbelievable elements in a horror story works so well to instill fear in readers. Terror. A step up from fear, true terror combines all three elements above and adds one final, very potent ingredient: your imagination. The mere suggestion of evil can sometimes be all it takes to create a truly terrifying portrayal in someone’s mind. Writing horror for a young audience has one key difference from writing horror for adults: a happy ending is essential. Children’s horror books are supposed to be like rollercoasters— frightening, but with an understanding that everything will be OK in the end. Here are a few other guidelines for writing horror stories for young adults or children. Create a good plot. Some of the best young adult horror stories read more like adventure novels. Most children’s adventure stories have a similar plot structure: A group of kids is placed in danger, and they need to find a way to safety. However, someone (or something) is trying to prevent them from completing their “mission,” whatever that may be. The book is about the kids using their wits to complete their mission—this is plot-driven storytelling in its most basic form. Invent interesting, relatable characters. The best way to create fun, engaging characters that young readers will relate to is to ask questions and write down your answers. For example, is there a monster in the story? If so, what is it? What does it look like? Who is the villain? The main character? What’s the story’s major conflict? In what kind of situations will your characters land themselves, and how will they get back to safety? Instill a sense of fun. A young adult horror story needs to be fun to read. The kids in the book should be funny, as should the conflicts they face. Technically speaking, you want to write short chapters full of easy-to-read words. Give younger audiences fast-paced, plot-driven stories that are full of cliffhangers. They’ll feel much more inclined to read your books. Add tons of twists and cliffhangers. A cliffhanger is a device that compels readers to find out what happens next in a story.
WRITING CLIFFHANGERS is key to making your book a page-turner and it’s one of the easiest ways to make your writing more suspenseful. Small twists and turns are also a good idea to maintain a playfully spooky atmosphere and keep young readers engaged by directing them away from what they might think the ending will be.
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