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Tips on Writing Evocative Horror
- Jennifer Peaslee
- Oct 14
- 3 min read
Horror is probably my favorite genre to write, read, and watch. I love the feeling of being (comfortably) scared. Every month, I get together with a friend to watch a horror movie (last month was Bring Her Back. It was excellent!)
But when I ask myself, "How do you write good horror?" my mind goes, "Uhhhhhh...." No thoughts, head empty.
For this week's post, I decided to sit down and consider what makes for good horror—here's what I came up with. You'll note that these tips can be applied to writing in general, but we're viewing them through a horror lens today.
Create an Atmosphere
This one seems like a no-brainer, but it's so important. First, decide what kind of atmosphere you want to create. That will help you determine which sensory details to highlight.
There is a huge difference in atmosphere between Horrors of the Shopping Mall Ass Slasher (gritty, gross, wacky) and Feeding Lucy (psychological, unsettling, dreamlike). Compare their openings:
Your reader should have a clear idea of your story's atmosphere as soon as possible.
Introduce Relatable Characters
If you've read Donald Mass's Writing the Breakout Novel, you might be thinking, "Nuh-uh! Your characters should be larger-than-life."
I'm here to say that larger-than-life characters are great, but when it comes to horror, you want normal and relatable. You want characters that your reader can become. I am not going to relate to a horror tale with a superhero protagonist, which means I'm not going to feel scared when they're put in tense situations.
Consider the protagonists in some of the greatest horror novels of all time:
The Exorcist: Father Damien Karras - a Jesuit priest suffering from a crisis of faith, who has recently lost his mother
The Shining: Jack Torrance - a father suffering from alcoholism and anger issues, who grew up with an abusive parent
Rosemary's Baby: Rosemary Woodhouse - a housewife and expectant mother
The Haunting of Hill House: Eleanor Vance - a shy, insecure woman who has just lost a difficult parent
There is nothing "larger than life" about any of these characters, and yet, they're some of the most memorable in fiction. I think it's because the reader can easily imagine themself in each one's place.
Include Realism
This goes hand-in-hand with relatable characters. You want to make your horror as realistic as possible, even when it's not realistic at all.
Example: Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space!, a fantastic book about cannibal nuns from outer space.
Cannibal. Nuns. From outer space.
Nothing about that is realistic. (I mean, have you ever even met a nun? No. They don't exist.)
But CNOS is a super dope comedic horror book that takes place in an idyllic British village, with a protagonist who is trying to sober up. There's just enough realism to make readers think, "What if this were me?"
Heighten Suspense
There are lots of ways this can be done. Here are a few:
Slowly introduce unsettling details
Utilize your characters' internal monologues—what they feel, your audience will feel
Pay attention to pacing
Foreshadow doom
Include time constraints
Continually increase the stakes
Withhold information from the audience
Engage dramatic irony—let your reader know when the character is in danger, while the character doesn't know
What do you think? What other ways can you heighten suspense in writing?
Hopefully, this gave you some ideas of what to write—or what to read, because every book I included is a banger that I recommend. Have you read any of them? Let me know in the comments!
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