Writing in the Dark

by Tim Waggoner

If you want to write more challenging horror stories—stories which I think get closer to the dark heart of what horror is instead of merely using horror tropes to create only simple entertainment—try playing around with how much, or how little, you explain the weirdness in your stories and see what happens.

The Universe is not orderly and benign, and is in fact chaotic and malicious. This is the terrible revelation that lies at the core of all horror fiction, and it’s what differentiates it from other types.

Many years ago, I read an interview with Stephen King in which he said he got his ideas by looking at something and telling himself: “Something is wrong with that.”