How to Write a Horror Story With a Shocking Twist

Horror stories and twist endings go together like peanut butter and jelly.

They both achieve results by surprising the reader in some way. They catch us off guard, creating an emotional afterburn that lingers on.

But how do you accomplish this, as a writer?

The Key to Twist Endings

The key to twist endings (or twist middles, in some cases) can be summed up in a single sentence:

You have to lead the reader or viewer down one path, and then alter course abruptly with some new elemen...