How to Write a Bone-Chilling Halloween Story (and Scare Your Readers)

Boo!

It’s that time of year again, and Halloween is just around the corner.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve become a big fan of thriller/suspense stories. I haven’t been able to watch anything too gory, but I love the feeling of a scary story.

Whether that’s a movie, book, or TV show, I like being creeped out by a spooky setting, a scary monster, and a sense of impending doom.

Since most of my readers are not horror writers by trade, let’s talk about some of the basic elements of writing horror, and how you can incorporate those into your story.

Then we’ll talk about NaNoWriMo, and my plans for posting in November.

You don’t even have to be a horror writer to use these techniques! Most of these tips can apply to any story in any genre, as long as you want to scare your readers.

So let’s get started!

Start By Threatening the Character’s Safety

There’s a reason so many horror stories start with the familiar.

Sure, it would be scary to be stalked while you’re in a foreign country by yourself. But it would be even scarier to have a murderer hunting for you in your own house.

We get scared when our safety is threatened. If you attack the characters’ safety, we will feel scared for them. Remember, it’s always scarier to feel safe and then have that safety ripped away.

• Ask yourself what makes your character feel safe. Is it a physical location? Is it another person?
• How could they lose their trust in that safety? Does it betray them?

Make Us Connect With the Characters

If you want to scare your reader, you have to make sure we care about the characters.

Let us connect with them and their goals, hopes, and dreams. Show how much they want to achieve their long and short term goals, in spite of the danger.

Start each scene by asking, “What does this character want, and why can’t they have it?” By giving the characters their own goals, and letting them work towards those goals, it will help us connect with the characters.

Don’t Reveal the Bad Guy Too Soon

When you’re trying to scare the reader, don’t show us the bad guy or the big bad monster right away. Build the suspense.

Give us clues that bad things are coming, but build the tension as long as possible before the monster actually shows up.

If you can’t keep the villain a secret, try to limit how much we see them. We know the bad guys are nearby, plotting something horrible. But we don’t know when they’re going to strike.

Write About What Scares You

The best way to write a scary story is to start by scaring yourself.

What scares you? Try to get as specific as possible.

Now write that out as a story.

If something scares you, there’s a chance that it will scare someone else too. Write to yourself first, and if you find yourself feeling scared, chances are, you’re doing a good job.

Use The Right Words

Horror, like most writing, depends on using the right words to get your point across as clearly as possible.

I’m a big believer in word choice. Using strong verbs and unexpected adjectives can make a huge difference in your story.

I wrote a blog post about how to use verbs correctly, which you can check out HERE.

Also, make sure to look up some lists of active verbs, such as this list from Jerry Jenkins.

Horror is Mainly Internal, Not External

Horror stories are often associated with ax murderers, violence, kidnapping, killer clowns, torture, blood, and death. However, you don’t need any of those things in order to scare your readers.

We might wince at a gruesome scene, but in the end, we don’t really care unless we see how the characters react to it.

When the bad guy is trying to break into the house, does the character frantically call 911? Do they stack furniture in front of the door to barricade it? Where do they hide? Are they shaking? Do they have to cover their mouth in order to stay quiet?

• A Quiet Place (and its sequel, A Quiet Place II) are the absolute best way to see this in action. We don’t need to watch the monsters killing and eating dozens of people. We just watch how the fear impacts the characters. When they feel scared, we feel scared too.

Be Careful With Sensitive Topics

Finally, use your common sense when you write scary stories.

• Consider adding content warnings at the beginning of your story (especially if you’re publishing online). Readers want to be warned in advance if your content is graphic, so they can decide if they want to read it or not.
• Careful about how you portray black characters and LGBT characters. Do they die right away? Are they always portrayed as the bad guys, or more stupid than everyone else? Not a good sign.
• Try to avoid writing about sexual assault. A lot of writers add sexual violence to their story, when any other violent act could work in its place. If you absolutely must write about sexual assault, do your research. And when in doubt, leave it out.

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A lot of people say they dislike horror because they associate it with violence, blood, and gore. However, not every scary story has to be violent.

If you want to go ahead and try writing horror/thriller/suspense, start with these tips and gather some ideas, then just go for it! You won’t know until you try it.

• Plus, imagine your fan mail when you become famous: “Thanks so much, author. I didn’t sleep because I couldn’t put this book down. The suspense is killing me. I have an exam tomorrow but I have to find out what happens to these characters!!!!!!” Mwahahahaha!

Have you ever written horror before? If not, do you ever plan to? Let me know in the comments!

Before You Go: Quick November Update

I will be doing NaNoWriMo this year. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to cheat and use the month to finish my current WIP, or if I’ll abide by the rules and start a new project.

Either way, that means I’ll be writing (or attempting to write) almost 2,000 words per day, on top of my three (potentially four) part time jobs.

So long story short, it’s going to be crazy. I may post a couple of short motivational things during NaNo, but that’s not a promise. It just depends on how much time I have.

In the meantime, good luck to all my NaNoWriMo participants, and Happy Halloween!

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