How to Properly Write Scary

Boo.

I have written before about how much I like scary things(link's here in case you wanna read about it). I love a little bit of spook, to the point of having written a small anthology of horror stories. They may never see the light of day, but I enjoyed writing them.

Horror is delicate. To properly scare people, you have to do it right, or the scare factor will just fall flat.

So let's talk about methods we can use to keep your horror from falling flat, shall we?

Jumpscares 

Jumpscares are a true classic in the horror genre. Everyone loves a good jumpscare. But how do you properly deliver them?

There are two approaches to setting up a jumpscare. Method 1: Audiences today feel they have seen it all and can predict anything and everything the writers throw at them. Therefore, bank on the audience seeing it coming.

They know you're going to try to scare them, so they're tense. They're ready... Or they think they are. Drop hints that the jumpscare is coming. For example, if the audience knows that zombies are about to jump out at them, leave person-shaped shadows in the corners. Have the heroes pass an abandoned dress shop with creepy mannequins in the window. Leave a corpse in the middle of the road. Then, just as the readers can't get any more tense, enter  the zombies! Scare them good.

Of course, some of the best jumpscares are also the ones that the audience didn't see coming. Which brings us to method number 2: Add a jumpscare just when they think they're safe. After the monster seems to be gone, just after they've barely escaped. These ones always make people jump out of their skin. 😈

Subtlety

Never have a river of blood when you can have a trickle.

That is one of the best pieces of advice for horror I have ever received. I got it from this post, and I will never forget it. Don't have thirty monsters when a lone, terrifying beast will make the audience quake in their boots. Moderation is key. And don't let the audience know everything there is to know about your dark firce. Sometimes the unknown is more scary.

Off-ness

One of the most useful things you can add to your story to make it creepier is a general feeling of unease. Miasma, if you will. Wrongness.

This feeling will not only help you set up for your jumpscares, but this feeling will set the scene for the novel to be creepy, setting up the suspension of disbelief for you to tell the tale. Not to mention, as a writer, establishing that general feeling of 'off' just feels so. Darn. Good.

Wrapup

Set up for the jumpscare, be subtly terrifying, create the feeling of 'not right'. Make your story great. Of course, there are plenty of things I didn't cover- setting, pacing, how to make a monster scary- but the post is the perfect length right now and I don't want to make it too long. Let me know if you want me to make a part two!



What's the scariest thing you've read lately? Do you have any good writing tips? Let's talk in the comments!