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Short horror story essay 8 Models

Last updated Friday , 15-03-2024 on 11:35 am

Short horror story essay is one of the popular intimidation methods that help parents in correcting children and improving their behavior in many educational aspects.

Through this article, we will provide you with many models that talk about stories of horror and intimidation that may help or influence the behavior of children, show the goals of horror stories, and the extent of the impact of these stories on improving children’s instincts, and strengthening their personality.

Short horror story essay

The school plays an important and significant role in educating children and improving their behaviour. In a similar article that talks about horror stories, the student can learn about the dimensions of these stories, the extent of their impact and why they are used.

The student can talk about his fears and terrifying situations he went through. The teacher can take advantage of these events and try to address these fears by guiding him and talking to him, or by making him research more about the dimensions of the problem and the benefits that he benefited from despite going through a terrifying situation.

At the beginning of the article we will put several points that show the goals that must be present within the topic, and several models will be created using these points inside them, so that the articles are useful for the student in case he wants to present them to the school, or if he wants to know the aspects that he should talk about inside a similar article he talks about the horror stories and the bad situations he was exposed to.

Objectives of the article

1- To obey orders.

2- Giving up bad behavior.

3- Repressing the evil instincts that are inside every human being.

4- Controlling the child in the safety zone next to the parents.

5- Planting correct means and methods through intimidation.

Several years ago, my father told me a story about a boy who went out without telling his family where he was going. And this was late at night. After he left, he met some children and played a little with them and enjoyed this, but because of the late time these children left him, some of them returned to their home alone, and some of them their families came to to pick them up, and he found himself alone in the end.

He decided to walk around for a while, so that he might encounter other children and continue playing with them. But after walking for a long time, he found that all the streets were empty, and it was dark everywhere, and he could no longer discern where he was, and that he was far from home and lost his way.

And whenever he tried to return from where he came, he found himself in dangerous areas with street dogs, and in order to avoid them, he kept entering other streets, until he lost the way completely. So he sat crying and did not find anyone to bring him home because all the people of the town were asleep.

The time at night was getting hard for this naughty little boy. Every minute that passes feels like it’s a long time and he’s so afraid of darkness and loneliness. And whenever he heard the sound of dogs howling, intensified in crying. And whenever he called his father, he did not come to take him, because he was far from the house and did not tell them that he was going out, and did not tell them where he was going.

Then he learned that he had made a big mistake and that his father would not come to look for him because he thought he was asleep. And he decided to try to call for help and search for any place where there are people and tell them what happened.

And he kept walking in the dark crying for a long time until he found some people, and told them his name, where he lived, and the name of the neighborhood in which he lived. Fortunately for him, they weren’t bad guys, and they brought this guy home.

The father was very angry with him for this behavior and punished him for a week for this behavior. But the boy was happy that he came home and learned the lesson well and knew that this wrong behavior was dangerous and could have lost his family for life.

While hearing this story, I was very afraid and put myself in the place of this boy, and I found myself learning from him what to do. And that I must tell my family where I am going, and watch the time, and take care of myself and not stay away from home. When I finish playing, I go home.

In the early morning, I was very careful to memorize my full name, the name of the neighborhood in which I live, the name of my mother, and the house number.

Although the story was scary for me, I learned a lot from it and had a reaction to every event that takes place in it.

Dear student, a basic form was submitted for the topic on short horror story essay, In addition to many other models such as, horror short story essay, creepy short horror story essay, a short horror story essay, short ghost story essay, short ghost story essay, scary short story essay, scary experience essay.

If you prefer to add any other topic, you can contact us through the comments of this article and we will study your request and add it as soon as possible.

horror short story essay

At the weekend I went on a trip with my friends to the forest. We took camping equipment, some food and water. The weather was nice, the trees were leafy, the birds were flying from tree to tree, the landscape was beautiful.

We wandered in the woods and ate the fruits on the trees, and as we wandered, a huge bear appeared in front of us, looked at us and prepared to attack us.

We were all very terrified, but the instructions reminded us not to run, not to scream, and to act calmly. I took out of my bag a self-defense spray bottle, which should be used in this case. But the bear left quietly and none of us were hurt.

creepy short horror story essay

I get up early and sit in the garden of the house, enjoying the fresh air, listening to the sound of birds, watching beautiful flowers and other beautiful landscapes, but yesterday something terrifying happened to me.

When I sat on the bench in the garden and was enjoying nature I felt something moving under the chair.

I quickly looked under the chair and found a large black snake.

It moves slowly, I felt very terrified and could not move, I remained frozen in my place, the snake crawled slowly and I looked at it with horror, until it moved away several meters, I called the competent authority immediately and a trained man came and caught the snake.

a short horror story essay

Last week I went with my family to the zoo, the weather was nice, and we were enjoying the nature, where there are a lot of green leafy trees and decorated with beautiful flowers and large areas that allow us to run and play, everything was beautiful.

Then we went to the animal cages and watched the animals from a distance.

But there is a person who got very close to the lion’s cage, even though there is a sign on it that says Do not go near the animal cages.

He was not satisfied with that, but he extended his hand into the cage, and the lion grabbed his hand with force, and this person was unable to rid his hand of the lion’s fangs.

The man screamed loudly from the severity of the pain, and the guard came quickly and tried to give the lion a piece of meat to leave the man’s hand, but to no avail.

The veterinarian quickly intervened and gave the lion an anesthetic injection, and the man was able to get his hand out of the cage, but it had many wounds and was taken to the hospital. It was really terrifying moments.

Short ghost story essay

There are many people who feel terrified in the dark, and my brother is very afraid of the dark and feels terrified and imagines frightening things.

So when the electricity went out and the house became dark. I went to his room quietly without feeling, and stood in front of him, making some strange sounds.

My brother jumped quickly and came out of the room saying a ghost of a ghost, but he hit the wall and cut his head and bled a lot, it was a big wound.

At that time I was telling him don’t be afraid, I am your brother, but he was very frightened. I was very sorry for him and regretted that I had caused him to feel terrified and made him crash into the wall.

And I told him I was just trying to joke with you and I wouldn’t do it again but you should train yourself not to be afraid of the dark.

A Short Scary Story Essay

Last weekend I went with my friends on a fishing trip. We chartered a fishing boat with all our fishing gear and went into the sea for a long distance, so that we could see neither the beach nor the city.

We started fishing and we were very happy because there are many fish and they are also big, and the weather was nice.

Suddenly strong winds blew and the waves rose, and the fishing boat was swinging with us over the water, up and down, and we couldn’t control it.

At this time we felt so afraid that we would drown.The fishing boat cannot withstand these bad weather conditions.

But after a while the wind calmed down a bit and we miraculously survived.

Scary short story essay

Last weekend I went with my colleagues on a school trip to one of the archaeological sites, and we had some teachers with us organizing the trip and supervising our transfers.

We entered a museum that houses great antiquities and stood listening to the tour guide talking about the history of these antiquities.

I was fascinated and listened to the tour guide with great interest, so that I did not feel the departure of my colleagues and teachers, as they left the museum and got on the bus and left this place and did not feel my absence.

When I found myself alone in the museum, I felt very afraid and searched for them all over the museum, but I could not find them, so my fear increased and my crying became louder.

Suddenly I found one of the teachers entering the museum and looking for me, so I ran towards him and grabbed his hand and felt safe.

Scary Experience Essay

At the end of the year I had a frightening experience. I went to the beach and decided to snorkel, so I bought wetsuits, put them on, and dived into the sea. But it was not what I expected and almost drowned.

I was so scared when I found myself unable to dive, and could not swim to the top.

It was a difficult situation but one of the lifeguards on the beach saw me, knew I was going to drown and ran to save me.

Therefore, I advise others to learn before we do anything that might endanger our lives.

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132 Best Horror Writing Prompts and Scary Story Ideas

Horror stories send shivers down our spines. They are gruesome, shocking, and chilling. Scary stories are meant to horrify us, and there are many ways to make a powerful impact on the reader. The element of surprise is crucial to make the readers’ blood freeze.

There are different types of horror stories. They often deal with terrible murders, supernatural powers, psychopaths, the frightening human psychology and much more.

Although many horror writing prompts and scary ideas have been written, the following 132 horror writing prompts can spark great creativity in aspiring writers of the horror genre.

A family is on a camping trip. The parents are walking with their two children, a daughter and a son. The little boy trips and falls into a dark river. His father jumps to rescue him. Somehow the boy manages to swim to the surface. The father is nowhere to be found. When the mother gets a hold of the boy, she can’t recognize him. She tries holding him, but the moment she touches his wet body, her hands start burning.
A young girl goes missing in a nearby forest. The whole town is searching for her. Her parents find her sitting and smiling in a cave. Her eyes are completely white.
A woman starts watching a movie late at night. The movie seems all too familiar. Finally, she realizes that it is a movie about her own life and that she might be already dead.
A house finds a way to kill every visitor on its premises.
A child makes her own Halloween mask. She glues a lock of her own hair on her mask. The mask comes to life and threatens to take over the girl’s body.
While digging in her backyard, an old lady discovers an iron chest. She opens it and finds a pile of old photographs of her ancestors. All of them are missing their left eye.
A priest is trying to punish God for the death of his sister. He is getting ready to burn down the church, when supernatural forces start to torture him.
Every year a woman goes to the cemetery where her husband is buried, and when she looks at his tombstone, she notices her own name carved in it.
A woman puts a lipstick on in the bathroom when she hears a demonic voice saying to her: “Can’t you see?”
A mysterious child psychiatrist promises parents to cure their children if they give him a vile of their blood.
A group of 10 friends decide to rent an old English castle for the weekend. The ghosts are disturbed and seek their pound of flesh.
A photographer travels to an Indian reservation for his next project. He starts taking photos, but there are only shadows in the places where people should have been.
A young married couple decide to renovate an abandoned psychiatric hospital and turn it into a hotel. Everything is going well until their first guest arrives.
Three sisters are reunited for the reading of their grandmother’s will. She has left them a diamond necklace, but they have to fight psychologically and physically for it.
An old woman pretends to be lost and asks young women to help her get home. She offers them a cup of tea and drugs them. When the women wake up, they are chained in the basement. The old woman gives them tools and boards, so that they can build their own coffin. If they refuse, she inflicts pain on them.
A mysterious stranger with a glass eye and a cane commissions a portrait. When the portrait is finished, the painter turns into stone.
A little girl’s sister lives with a monster in the closet. She exits the closet on her sister’s birthday.
The demons under the nuclear plant get released after an explosion and start terrorizing the families of people who work at the plant.
A woman gets trapped in a parallel universe where every day she dies horribly in different ways.
A cannibal hunts for pure children’s hearts hoping they will bring him eternal youth.
A politician hides his weird sister in the attic. She’s had her supernatural powers after their family home burned to the ground.
A 16-year-old girl wakes up on a stone-cold table surrounded with people in black and white masks. They are chant and start leaning forward. All of them carry carved knives.
A boy hears screaming from his parents’ bedroom. He jumps and hides under his bed. Suddenly, everything becomes quiet. A man wearing army boots enters his room. He drags the boy from under the bed and says: “We’ve been searching for you for 200 years.”
A husband and his wife regain consciousness only to see each other tied to chairs, facing each other. A voice on the radio tells them to kill the other, otherwise, they would kill their children.
A mysterious altruist gives a kidney to a young man, who has potential to become a leading neuroscientist. After a year, the altruist kills the young man because he proves to be an unworthy organ recipient. The following year, the mysterious altruist is a bone marrow donor.
A group of friends play truth or dare. Suddenly, all the lights go out and in those ten seconds of darkness, one of the group is killed.
A young man becomes obsessed with an old man living opposite his building. The young man is convinced that the old man is the embodiment of the devil, and starts planning the murder.
Concerned and grieving parents bring their 8-year-old son to a psychiatrist after their daughter’s accident, believing that the boy had something to do with her death.
A woman is admitted to a hospital after a car crash. She wakes up after three months in a coma, but when she tries to speak, she can’t utter a sound. When the nurse sees that she is awake, she calls a doctor. The last thing the woman remembers is hearing the doctor say: “Today is your lucky day,” right before four men in black robes take her out.
A small-town cop becomes obsessed with a cold case from 1978. Three girls went missing after school, and nobody has seen them since. Then one day, in 2008, three girls with the same names as those in 1978 go missing. The case is reopened.
After his parents’ death a cardiologist returns to his small town where everyone seems to lead a perfect life. This causes a disturbance in the idyllic life of the people since none of them has a heart.
A man is kidnapped from his apartment on midnight and brought on a large private estate. He is told that he will be a human pray and that ten hunters with guns will go after him. He is given a 5-minute head start.
A strange woman in labor is admitted in the local hospital. Nobody seems to recognize her. She screams in agony. A black smoke fills in the entire hospital. After that, nobody is the same. A dark lord is born.
A young girl finds her grandmother’s gold in a chest in the attic, although she isn’t allowed to go there by herself. She touches the gold and she starts seeing horrible visions involving her grandmother when she was younger.
An anthropologist studies rituals involving human sacrifice. She slowly begins to accept them as necessary.
A family of four moves in an old Victorian home. As they restore it, more and more people die suddenly and violently.
An old nurse has lived next door to a family that doesn’t get older. Their son has remained to be a seven-year-old boy.
A girl wakes up in her dorm and sees that everybody sleepwalks in the same direction. She acts as if she has the same condition and follows them to an underground black pool where everybody jumps.
A bride returns to the same bridge for 50 years waiting for her husband-to-be to get out of the water.
An old woman locks girls’ personalities in a forever growing collection of porcelain dolls. Parents of the missing girls are in agony and they finally suspect something. When they tell the police, their claims are instantly dismissed.
A chemistry teacher disfigures teenagers who remind him of his childhood bullies. One day, he learns that the new student in his school is the son of his childhood’s archenemy.
A girl starts digging tiny holes in her backyard. When her mother asks her what she is doing, the girl answers: “Mr. Phantom told me to bury my dolls tonight. Tomorrow night I am going to bury our dog. And then, you, mother.”
Twin brothers were kidnapped and returned the next day. They claim that they can’t remember anything. The following night, twin sisters disappear.
A boy has a very realistic dream about an impending doom, but nobody believes him until during a storm all the birds fall dead on the ground.
Room 206 is believed to be haunted, so hotel guests never stay in it. One day, an old woman arrives at the hotel and asks for the key to room 206. She says that she was born there.
A genius scientist tries to extract his wife’s consciousness from her lifeless body and insert it into an imprisoned woman who looks just like his wife.
Two distinguished scientists develop a new type of virus that attacks their brains and turns them into killing machines.
A woman steps out of her house only to find four of her neighbors dead at her doorstep. Little does she know that she isn’t supposed to call the police.
A bachelor’s party ends with two dead people in the pool. Both of them are missing their eyes.
A young woman wearing a black dress is holding a knife in her hand and threatening to kill a frightened man. She is terrified because she does not want to kill anybody, but her body refuses to obey her mind.
A strange religious group starts performing a ritual on a playground. The children’s hearts stop beating.
A woman discovers that her niece has done some horrible crimes, so she decides to poison her. Both of them take the poison, but only the aunt dies.
A man encounters death on his way to work. He can ask three questions before he dies. He makes a quick decision.
An older brother kills his baby sister because he wants to be an only child. When he learns that his mother is pregnant again, he decides to punish her.
A husband and his wife move to a new apartment. After a week, both of them kill themselves. They leave a note saying: “Never again.”
A man is trying to open a time portal so that he could kill his parents before he is ever conceived.
A famous conductor imprisons a pianist from the orchestra and makes him play the piano while he tortures other victims, also musicians. Every time the pianist makes a mistake, the conductor cuts of a finger from his victims.
A popular French chef is invited by a mysterious Japanese sushi master for dinner. A powerful potion makes the French chef fall asleep. He wakes up horrified to learn that he is kept on a human farm, in a cage.
A nuclear blast turns animals into blood-thirsty monsters.
A mysterious bug creeps under people’s skins and turns them into the worst version of themselves.
A kidnapper makes his victims torture each other for his sheer pleasure.
Four friends are invited to spend the afternoon in an escape room. A man’s voice tells them that they have won a prize. They happily accept and enter the escape room. They soon realize that the room was designed to reflect their worst nightmares.
Two sisters have been given names from the Book of the Dead. Their fates have been sealed, so when they turn 21, dark forces are sent to bring them to the underground.
A mother-to-be starts feeling severe pain in her stomach every time she touches a Bible. Despite the fear for her own life, she starts reading the New Testament out loud.
A literature professor discovers an old manuscript in the college library. He opens it in his study and suddenly a black raven flies through the window.
You are the Ruler of a dystopian society. You kill every time your control is threatened.
You are an intelligent robot who shows no mercy to humanity.
You are a promising researcher who discovers that all the notorious dictators have been cloned.
A nomad meets a fakir who tells him that he would bring agony to dozens of people unless he kills himself before he transforms into a monster.
A most prominent member of a sect goes to animal shelters to find food for the dark forces.
A man hires unethical doctors to help him experience clinical death and then bring him back to life after a minute. Little does he know that one minute of death feels like an eternity full of horrors.
You travel home to visit your parents for the holidays. Everything seems normal until you realize that demons have taken over their consciousness.
A mysterious woman moves into your apartment building. One by one, all of the tenants start hallucinating that monsters chase them and jump into their own deaths.
Divorced parents are kidnapped together with their son. Both of the parents have been given poison, but there is only one antidote. The boy needs to decide which parent gets to be saved. He has 30 seconds to make that decision.
A patient with a multiple-personality disorder tells you that you are one of six characters.
You wake up in bed that is a blood-bath.
The Government abducts children with genius IQ and trains them to fight the horrors in Area 51.
A woman who has just given birth at her home is told that the baby is predestined to become the leader of the greatest demonic order in the country.
A man signs a document with his blood to relinquish his body to a sect.
A woman enters a sacred cave in India and disappears for good.
A man opens his eyes in the middle of his autopsy while the coroner is holding his heart.
You look outside the windows in your house only to see that the view has changed and there is black fog surrounding you.
The gargoyles from the Notre Dame have come to life and they start terrorizing Paris.
Somebody rings your doorbell. You open the door and a frightened girl with bloody hands is standing at your doorstep. “You’re late,” you reprimand her.
You wake up in the middle of the night after a frightful nightmare, so you go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. You turn on the light and a person looking like your identical twin is grinning and pointing a knife at you.
A renowned book editor receives a manuscript elegantly written by hand. The title grabs her attention and she continues reading page after page. When she finishes, the manuscript spontaneously starts burning, and the editor is cursed forever.
The last thing you remember before losing consciousness is fighting a shady Uber driver.
You find yourself in a cage in the middle of a forest and black mythological harpies hovering above the cage.
A woman wants to quit smoking, so she visits a therapist who is supposed to help her with the use of hypnosis. She goes under and when she wakes up, she feels like a born killer.
Five hikers get stranded during a horrible storm. One of them kills the weakest and starts burning his body.
A mother goes in the nursery to check up on the baby and discovers that the baby is missing and, in her place, there is a baby doll.
A killer is willing to pay a large sum of money to the family of a volunteering victim. A cancer patient contacts the killer. The killer ends up dead.
The sacred river in a remote Asian village fills up with blood. The last time that happened, all the children in the village died.
A tall, dark, and handsome stranger invites a blind woman for a romantic date in his botanical garden. The garden is full of black roses in which women’s souls have been trapped. He tells her that she will stay forever with him in his garden.
A frightened man is trying to lead a werewolf into a trap and kill him with the last silver bullet.
An architect designs houses for the rich and famous. What he doesn’t show them is that he always leaves room for a secret passageway to their bedrooms, where they are the most vulnerable.
A man’s DNA was found on a horrible crime scene and he has been charged with murder in the first degree. He adamantly negates any involvement in the crime that has been committed. What he doesn’t know is that he had a twin brother who died at birth.
Every passenger on the Orient Express dies in a different, and equally mysterious way.
A magician needs a volunteer from the audience in order to demonstrate a trick involving sawing a person in half. A beautiful woman steps on the stage. The magician makes her fall asleep, and then he performs the trick. In the end, he disappears. People in the audience start panicking when they notice the blood dripping from the table. The magician is nowhere to be found. The woman is dead.
A mother discovers that her bright son is not human.
Specters keep terrorizing patients in a psychiatric hospital, but nobody believes them.
A man’s mind is locked into an immovable body. This person is being tortured by a psychopath who kills his family members in front of him, knowing that he is in agony and can’t do anything to save them.
A bride-to-be receives a DVD via mail from an unknown sender. She plays the video and disgusted watches a pagan ritual. The people are wearing masks, but she recognizes the voice of her husband-to-be.
A man turns himself to the police although he hasn’t broken the law. He begs them to put him in prison because he had a premonition that he would become a serial killer.
Jack the Ripper is actually a woman who brutally kills prostitutes because her own mother was a prostitute.
A ticking noise wakes her up. It’s a bomb, and she has only four minutes to do something about it.
After a horrible car crash, a walking skeleton emerges from the explosion.
A world-famous violinist virtuoso uses music to summon dark forces.
A philosopher is trying to outwit Death in order to be granted immortality. He doesn’t know that Death already knows the outcome of this conversation.
A beautiful, but superficial woman promises a demon to give him her virginity in exchange for immortality. Once the demon granted her wish, she refused to fulfill her end of the deal. The demon retaliated by making her immortal, but not eternally youthful.
A voice starts chanting spells every time somebody wears the gold necklace from Damask.
Three teenagers beat up a homeless man. The next day all of them go missing.
Thirteen tourists from Poland visit Trakai Island Castle in Vilnius. Their bodies are found washed up the next morning. They are wearing medieval clothes.
A group of extremists ambush the vehicle in which a head of a terrorist cell is transported and rescue him. They go after anybody who was involved in his incarceration.
A hitman is hired to kill a potential heart donor.
A man is attacked by the neighbor’s dog while trying to bury his wife alive.
A woman disappears from her home without a trace. He husband reports her missing. The police start to suspect the husband when they retrieve some deleted messages.
After moving to a new house all the family members have the same nightmares. Slowly they realize that they might be more than nightmares.
A psychopath is drugging his wife, pushing her to commit a suicide so that he could collect the life insurance.
A woman loses her eyesight overnight. Instead, she starts having premonitions.
A vampire prefers albino children.
A man commits murders at night and relives the agony of his victims during the day.
A black horse carriage stops in front of your house. A hand wearing a black glove make an inviting gesture. Mesmerized, you decide to enter the carriage.
Demons rejuvenate by eating kind people’s hearts.
People are horrified to find all of the graves dug out the morning after Halloween.
Men start jumping off building and bridges after hearing a mysterious song.
A voice in your head tells you to stop listening to the other voices. They were not real.
A severed head is hanging from a bridge with a message written in the victim’s blood.
A delusional man brings his screaming children to a chasm.
A 30-year-old woman learns that a baby with the same name as her died at the local hospital 30 years ago.
A vampire donates his blood so that a child with special brain powers can receive it.
A teenager is determined to escape his kidnapper by manipulating him into drinking poison. He doesn’t stop there.

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Scary Story Essay example

Scary Story I looked up at the black sky. I hadn't intended to be out this late. The sun had set, and the empty road ahead had no streetlights. I knew I was in for a dark journey home. I had decided that by traveling through the forest would be the quickest way home. Minutes passed, yet it seemed like hours and days. The farther I traveled into the forest, the darker it seemed to get. I was very had to even take a breath due to the stifling air. The only sound familiar to me was the quickening beat of my own heart, which felt as though it was about to come through my chest. I began to whistled to take my mind off the eerie noises I was hearing. In this kind of darkness I was in, it was hard for me to believe that I could be …show more content…

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Short Story

Before I engage in a run, my panic-filled eyes dart around in front of me as I perceive a path through the forest. Branches and twigs catch my hair, yanking out strands as they become entangled, yet I keep running. Only until I hear the sound of John's engine fade away do I cease my running, and lean my shoulder against a tree as I take deep lung-fulls of air, all the while, my sobs remain heavy as comprehend what just happened. All around me is darkness. Only slithers of moonlight seep through the dense fir trees. With my mouth closed, my shuddered breaths drown out the eerie quietness. However, the pounding of my heart continues to deafen me. I retrieve my phone from my bag and illuminate it to expel light, as assess my surroundings. All around me are the dense trees, and I'm unable to ascertain the way back to the road. A panicked whimper escapes my lips as I envision spending the entire night out here in the cold. As my remaining energy depletes, I rest my hand upon the tree closest to me, caressing the roughness of the bark under my fingertips. My eye throbs, as does the cut just beside it. Consequently, my hand flutters up to cover the wound, though does little to abate the pain. The quivering of my body intensifies as the warm adrenaline disperses, allowing the chill to seep through to my bones. I can't stay here all night, I'll freeze to death. With no recollection of my path into the woods, I turn to what I believe to

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Descriptive Essay Fear

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Narrative Essay About Fear

President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Throughout my elementary school years, multiple teachers asked me to write a poem. I wrote my first poem in kindergarten with Miss Maggee at Collegium Charter School. Surrounded by white walls and colorful posters, I put my pencil to the paper. She asked me to write a fear that I had. Mrs. Buckley asked me to complete the same task in fourth grade at Starkweather Elementary School. Fear. Fear is included in a biography poem. For years, I would write the most common fear my classmates had, whether it was heights, bears, or clowns. Why couldn’t I think of a fear? Why did my classmates each have a specific fear? What do I fear? As I asked myself these questions, I found my answer. I am afraid of failure. The

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Scary Story Essay

As one reads through a spine-chilling tale, have you ever found yourself captivated, unable to avert your gaze despite the creeping sensation of terror that permeates your being? If so, you’re not alone. Scary stories essays have been popular for centuries, and they tap into our deepest fears and anxieties and transport us to a world where anything is possible.

If you are struggling to develop ideas for your scary story essay, don’t worry – with the right tools and techniques, anyone can write a terrifying tale that will leave readers begging for more. Whether you are an experienced wordsmith or a fledgling novice, continue reading to acquire the knowledge necessary to pen a narrative that will ensnare your audience and leave them tossing and turning throughout the night. Write my essays with confidence and create your spine-tingling tale today!

What is a Scary Story Essay?

A scary story essay is a narrative essay designed to frighten and unsettle the reader. It typically involves supernatural or horror elements like ghosts, monsters, or otherworldly creatures. The objective of an essay centered around a frightening narrative is to instill a feeling of uneasiness and apprehension within the reader while concurrently maintaining their attention until the very conclusion.

Some characteristics of a scary story essay include:

An eerie or ominous tone
Vivid descriptions of the setting, characters, and events
A sense of foreboding or impending doom
Suspenseful pacing and plot twists
An unsettling or unexpected ending

Differences between a scary story essay and other types of essays

One of the key differences between a scary story essay and other types of essays is the emphasis on creating an emotional response in the reader. While most pieces are designed to inform or persuade, a scary story essay spm is intended to evoke a specific emotional reaction.

Another difference is using narrative techniques such as plot, setting, and character development. In a scary story essay, these elements are used to create a sense of tension and unease rather than simply advancing the plot or conveying information.

Elements of a Horror Story

The key elements that make up a horror story include:

When these fundamental components are merged and executed efficiently, they coalesce to generate an overwhelming sense of dread and discomfort in the reader. For example, the creepy setting might make the reader feel like they are being watched or followed, while the vulnerable characters make them feel sympathetic and protective.

The plot and tone of the story might create a sense of dread or anticipation as the reader wonders what will happen next. And when a sudden shock or surprise does occur, it reinforces the idea that anything can happen in this world and that the characters are never truly safe.

Types of Horror Stories

Numerous horror tale classifications exist, each presenting distinctive attributes and themes. Some of the most common types include:

How to Start a Scary Story Essay (Horror Story Essay)

Tips for brainstorming ideas.

Consider the setting, characters, and plot when brainstorming ideas for your scary story essay. What kind of horror elements do you want to include? Are there any real-life fears or anxieties you want to tap into?

After formulating a rudimentary concept, endeavor to generate several plot twists or scenarios that could unfold within the established framework. Do not hesitate to allow your creative faculties to soar unrestricted and endeavor to formulate a concept that exudes individuality and unpredictability.

How to create a compelling opening that sets the mood

The opening is one of the most important parts of a scary story essay. The opening sets the tone for the entire paper and should grab the reader’s attention immediately.

Consider starting with a startling or eerie image or scene to create a compelling opening. This might be like a character stumbling through a dark forest or a haunted house looming in the distance. You could also start with a quote or dialogue that sets the mood.

Examples of effective opening lines from famous horror stories

“The horror, the horror!” – Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
“It was a dark and stormy night…” – A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” – A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” – The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Writing a Scary Story Essay

How to structure the essay for maximum impact.

To structure your scary story essay for maximum impact, consider starting with a compelling opening that sets the mood, followed by a gradual buildup of suspense and tension. The story’s climax should be the most intense and terrifying part, with a resolution that provides some closure for the reader.

Developing a well-rounded plot and characters

To develop a well-rounded plot and characters, consider the motivations and fears of your characters. What propels their actions, and what are their most profound terrors and apprehensions?

Try to create real and relatable characters, even if they are dealing with supernatural or horror elements. This will make the story feel more immersive and engaging for the reader.

How to create suspense and tension

To create suspense and tension in your scary story essay, consider using pacing and structure to build up to the climax. You can do this by gradually increasing the frequency and intensity of horror elements, such as jump scares or moments of suspense.

You can also use foreshadowing and other literary devices to hint at what’s to come while still keeping the reader guessing. Furthermore, do not hesitate to leave certain details to the reader’s imagination, which can engender an even more disconcerting feeling of terror.

Using sensory details to enhance the scary atmosphere

To enhance the scary atmosphere of your story, consider using sensory data to help the reader visualize the setting and characters. This might include descriptions of sounds, smells, textures, and visual details like lighting and shadows.

You can also use figurative language and metaphors to create a more vivid and evocative picture for the reader. For example, you might describe a character’s fear as a cold, clammy hand gripping their heart.

Scary Story Essay Examples

“the tell-tale heart” by edgar allan poe .

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a classic horror story that features a narrator who becomes obsessed with the eye of an old man, to the point of murdering him. The story is told from the perspective of the murderer, which creates an unsettling sense of intimacy and psychological tension.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is another famous horror story that involves a cursed object. In this case, a family possesses a monkey’s paw that grants wishes but with terrible consequences.

Analysis of what makes these stories effective and how they can be used as inspiration.

These narratives are potent as they delve into ubiquitous dreads and trepidations, such as the fear of demise and the inscrutable. They also use literary techniques like pacing, foreshadowing, and sensory details to create a vivid and unsettling atmosphere.

As you work on your scary story essay, you can use these stories as inspiration for your plot and characters while also studying their structure and pacing to see how they create suspense and tension.

Tips for Writing a Successful Scary Story Essay

Dos and don’ts for writing a scary story essay

Use sensory details to create a vivid and evocative atmosphere
Build suspense and tension gradually, with a well-paced structure
Create well-rounded and relatable characters
Use literary devices like foreshadowing and metaphor to create a sense of foreboding

Don’t:

Rely too heavily on jump scares or gore to create horror

Neglect the importance of setting and atmosphere

Use clichés or tired tropes that have been overused in horror stories

Tips for editing and revising to improve the overall quality of the essay

When editing and revising your scary story essay, consider the pacing and structure of the story. Make sure that the buildup of tension feels natural and engaging and that the climax is both satisfying and terrifying.

It is also crucial to prioritize character progression and dialogue, ensuring each persona is distinctive and multifaceted. Ultimately, it is imperative to contemplate the all-encompassing tone and ambiance of the narrative, guaranteeing that it evokes a pervasive feeling of discomfort and foreboding from the opening sentence to the closing line.

In conclusion, writing a scary story essay can be a thrilling and rewarding experience, but it requires careful attention to detail and an understanding of what makes horror stories truly effective.

By adhering to the pointers and techniques explicated in this article, you can compose a hair-raising anecdote that will keep your readers teetering on the precipice of their seats. So why not start brainstorming ideas for your scary story essay today? With a little creativity and imagination, you can create a story that will haunt readers long after they finish reading.

Remember to focus on the key elements of horror, such as setting, characters, and plot, and use literary techniques like pacing and foreshadowing to build suspense and tension. With practice and perseverance, you can hone your writing skills and create stories that will chill and thrill readers for years.

What is a Horror Story essay?

A horror story essay is a narrative essay designed to frighten and unsettle the reader. It typically involves supernatural or horror elements like ghosts, monsters, or otherworldly creatures. A short horror story essay aims to create a sense of unease and fear in the reader and keep them engaged until the end.

How do I start a scary story essay?

To start a scary story essay, consider starting with a startling or eerie image or scene that sets the mood. You could also start with a quote or dialogue that creates a sense of foreboding. From there, gradually build tension and suspense until you reach the story’s climax.

What are some tips for writing a good scary story essay?

Some tips for writing a good scary story essay include:

Don’t rely too heavily on jump scares or gore to create horror
Avoid clichés or tired tropes that have been overused in horror stories

Can I use real-life experiences in my scary story essay?

Yes, you can use real-life experiences as inspiration for your scary story essay. However, be sure to use them in a way that is respectful and doesn’t exploit real-life trauma or tragedy.

How can I make my scary story essay stand out?

To make your scary story essay free stand out, try to create a unique and unexpected plot that subverts readers’ expectations. You can also use vivid and evocative language to create a more immersive atmosphere and focus on creating well-rounded and relatable characters. Lastly, do not fear to take risks and experiment with fresh concepts – the most exemplary horror tales frequently challenge conventions and surpass limitations.

Lesley Hummings

Primer on the Construction of a Scary Story Essay

Welcome to The Knowledge Nest's comprehensive guide on how to construct a bone-chilling and captivating scary story essay. In this primer, we will delve into the art of storytelling, the elements of suspense, and the techniques to engage your readers with spine-tingling narrative experiences. Whether you're a student or a curious writer, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and expertise to craft a truly remarkable and unforgettable scary story essay.

Understanding the Genre

Before embarking on your journey to writing a scary story essay, it's crucial to gain an understanding of the genre itself. Scary story essays are a unique form of literature that seeks to engross and terrify its readers simultaneously. The goal is to craft a narrative that elicits fear, suspense, and a sense of unease. To achieve this, one must employ various literary techniques to create an eerie atmosphere and deliver spine-chilling moments to the readers.

Elements of a Scary Story Essay

A well-crafted scary story essay requires careful attention to several key elements. These elements work together seamlessly to heighten the sense of fear and tension in the narrative, captivating the reader's imagination from beginning to end.

The Setting

Creating an atmospheric setting is essential in a scary story essay. By vividly describing the surroundings, you can immerse your readers in a haunting world filled with darkness, isolation, and unknown terrors. Use your words to paint a detailed picture and let the setting become a character in its own right, contributing to the overall sense of dread and anticipation.

Characters and Characterization

Well-developed characters are integral to a compelling scary story essay. The protagonist should be relatable and vulnerable, allowing the reader to empathize with their fears and struggles. Additionally, introducing intriguing and mysterious secondary characters can add depth and complexity to the narrative, leaving readers to question their motives and trustworthiness.

Tension and Suspense

The heart of any good scary story essay lies in the art of building tension and suspense. Through carefully structured plot twists, foreshadowing, and unexpected revelations, you can keep your readers on the edge of their seats, eagerly turning the pages to uncover what lies ahead. Harness the power of pacing and timing to ensure every moment is infused with an unsettling and captivating vibe.

Moments of Horror

A successful scary story essay relies on its ability to deliver moments of horror that will leave a lasting impact on the reader. These moments can manifest through vivid and unsettling descriptions, blood-curdling twists, or encounters with the supernatural. Use your words to elicit genuine fear, making every page an exhilarating and chilling journey for your audience.

Techniques for Engaging Your Readers

Now that we've explored the essential elements, let's delve into the techniques that will help you engage your readers and keep them hooked throughout your scary story essay.

Mystery and Intrigue

Creating an air of mystery and intrigue will captivate your readers, compelling them to continue reading in search of answers. Use subtle clues, enigmatic occurrences, and unresolved questions to pique their curiosity and keep them invested in the story's unfolding.

Imagery and Description

Utilizing vivid imagery and descriptive language will allow your readers to vividly imagine the haunting scenes you're depicting. Engage all their senses as you describe eerie sounds, ominous visual details, and chilling atmospheric conditions.

Character Development

Investing time in developing your characters will create a stronger emotional connection between your readers and the narrative. Develop their fears, desires, and motivations, allowing your audience to relate and empathize with their experiences.

Plot Twists and Surprises

Unpredictability is a powerful tool in a scary story essay. Strategically place plot twists and surprises to keep your readers guessing and constantly on edge. These unexpected elements will heighten the suspense and deliver a rollercoaster ride of fear and anticipation.

Writing a scary story essay is a thrilling endeavor that allows you to explore the depths of your imagination and engage readers with an unforgettable narrative experience. By understanding the genre, incorporating the essential elements, and employing effective techniques, you can craft a truly bone-chilling masterpiece that will keep readers up at night.

At The Knowledge Nest, we are passionate about providing comprehensive guides and resources to help you unlock your writing potential. Whether you're a student, an aspiring writer, or simply someone who enjoys captivating stories, our aim is to empower and educate. Explore our website to discover more valuable insights and embark on your journey to becoming a masterful storyteller.

Embark on the construction of your scary story essay now and let the chilling tale unfold!

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110+ Horror Writing Prompts (With A Twist)

Give yourself the chills with this list of over 110 horror writing prompts. From scary ghost stories to creepy stories about animals and monsters. Now is the time to write your own horror story , just like Goosebumps or The Haunting of Aveline Jones.

From the gory to the scary, from the monstrous to the supernatural, from the humorous to the wacky, we have it all! Use this horror writing prompts generator to get a random horror writing idea to write about:

Keep on reading for a list of horror story prompts.

Most horror stories are based on one thing, fear. And it’s always a good idea to have a bit of that in your own life. Fear makes us all think differently, it makes us do things we wouldn’t normally do. And it’s the same thing that makes horror stories so scary. It’s a good idea to think of something that scares you, and then write about it. As a starting point, we have provided you with this list of horror prompts. For some of these gory ideas, we have included a twist, while for others it’s up to you how the story goes! Feel free to use any of these prompts in your writing, and to expand on any of the ideas.

List of Horror Writing Prompts

This list of horror writing prompts will you give you the well-needed inspiration for a good horror story:

The Haunting Hospital: A small girl named Julie is walking down a country road when she finds a cemetery and realises it is her home town. She goes to her house and finds that it has been turned into a hospital. She finds her father and her mother there. Her father tells her that she is now a part of the hospital and that she must work to be paid. Julie and her mother go to work as nurses.
Chasing Shadows: A girl named Becky is walking in her neighbourhood when she sees a little boy playing in the street. Becky runs over to him and asks him what he is doing. He tells her that he is a little monster and that he will kill her if she does not leave him alone. Becky takes off running and the little monster chases her.
Park of Peril: A little girl named Melissa is walking through the park when she finds a little boy who tells her that he will eat her if she does not take him home. Melissa takes off running and the little boy chases her.
Claws of the Night: This one involves a kid named Angela. One night she goes to sleep and when she wakes up the next morning her hands have turned into the claws of a cat.
The Poisoned Harvest: A boy named Billy is walking down the street one day when he sees a homeless man. He notices some fruit by the man. When the homeless man is not looking, Billy steals the fruit. Later on, he goes home and eats this piece of fruit. The fruit is poisoned, and Billy goes blind.
Carnivorous Confrontation: A story of a kid who loves to eat the flesh of dead animals, but one day a man appears and tells him not to eat them.
Invisible Menace: Write a story about a young boy who is terrorized by an invisible monster.
Nightmare Room: The invisible monster is eating kids and it is in their room all the time.
Enchanted Chaos: A handsome prince on a quest to learn magic wants to marry the beautiful princess, but the kingdom is being attacked by demons, ghosts, and…his dad.
Insanity’s Feast: The whole little town goes insane. They start killing people with their mouths. They kill them in the most gruesome way.
Shuttered Nightmares: A serial killer is taking photos of their victims. He is telling them how he is going to kill them. And then he starts his killing.
Witch’s Chains: Two kids named ‘Bud’ and ‘Chip’ got separated from their parents. They live next door to a witch and are unable to leave the house. One day, the witch makes their parents get into a container, and leaves them in the backyard, chained to a tree.
Enchanted Camp: A summer camp where a powerful wizard casts a spell on the children to make them do his bidding.
The Weeping Specter: A ghost that follows you around and cries on your shoulder and if you get sad it gets angry and turns into a ghostly voice that spooks people.
Haunted Truths: The lead character is haunted by a ghost who knows the truth about their past.
Distrustful Shadows: A girl named Dana, who works at a daycare centre, doesn’t trust anybody. This causes her to make sure she does everything she can to stop any other person from ever entering her place.
Realm of Nightmares: One day, the princess wakes up in a terrible nightmare. She is being chased by something, she cannot see what it is. And then she hears the voice of her mother, telling her to run away. She goes to her room and sees that the covers on her bed are in a shape that reminds her of the monster she just saw. She knows she cannot sleep in this place. She goes to the other side of her room and sees a window. She goes to the window and finds that it is an opening to a new world…
Witch’s Wrath: A girl named Misty lives with her parents and their next-door neighbour who is an evil witch. One day her father and the witch get into a fight and the witch accidentally kills him.
Brief Awakening: A boy named Sam is suffering from a terrible disease and he only has days to live. He’s in a coma, and he’s not responding to any medical treatments. Until one night he starts to experience some new changes…
Vengeful Wishes: A little girl named Mina finds a genie. The genie grants her 3 wishes. Because Mina has been a victim of bullying, she uses all her wishes to punish her bullies with ghoulish consequences.
Jar of Horrors: One day, a boy named Marcus went out to take a walk, and he found a jar that he thought was full of gold. Marcus had also found a bag that was heavier than he could lift, but he drags it home anyway. When he opens to bag he discovers something disgusting…
Game Over: A creepy character named Nemesis is trying to kill Luke, who plays video games and lives in his basement. At night, Luke hears voices telling him to hide. He goes to the basement and a creature knocks him out. He ends up as a character in his gruesome game.
Bracelet of Resurrection: A boy named Josh loses his best friend to a freak accident. He finds the other half of a bracelet he gave his friend that day. He hangs on to it until one night the bracelet brings his best friend back to life.
The Ghost Writer: Write a story titled, The Ghost Writer. Write about the ghost of someone who haunts you.
Eternal Specter: Write a scary ghost story about a man who is cursed to spend eternity as a ghost.
Hidden World: A boy named Brody is having problems adjusting to life in his new home after his parents divorced. He tries to see his dad, but they don’t want him around. One day he discovers a secret passage to a hidden underground world where his father now lives.
Stuttering Shadows: A story about a young man named Kenny, who works as a garbage man. He also has a terrible stuttering problem that he has to deal with. One day he discovers that his stuttering is getting worse and worse and he becomes scared to death because of it. He thinks that the talking squirrel next to him is a demon.
Haunted Corner: Write a story about an object in your room that becomes haunted.
Ghostly Deception: A boy named Bryce has been hiding out from his abusive father. One day his father is gone and his dad’s new girlfriend walks into the house. He thinks it’s the ghost of his dead mother. The ghost shows him that his dad’s new girlfriend has been lying to him about how his birth mother died.
Trapped in Terror: A young boy named Spencer and his sister Sarah, are on a camping trip when they find a box of mysterious objects. When they open it, one of the items shoots at them, striking Sarah and trapping her in a pod inside a tree. While locked inside the tree, Sarah meets an evil doll named Alice.
Possessed Playtime: A young girl named Cassandra is babysitting her neighbour’s two kids. One day the kids eat some forbidden foods and a demon spirit possesses one of the kids and turns him into an evil creature who haunts the neighbourhood.
Eyes of the Bunny: A little girl named Hayley discovers a secret house that no one in the neighbourhood knows about, and is welcomed inside by a red-eyed white bunny. One day when Hayley goes to a party, her newfound friend kidnaps her and traps her inside this mysterious house.
Eternal Echo: Write a horror story about a horrible accident or a nightmare that has haunted you your whole life.
Drowning Destiny: A boy named Joshua falls into a river and is about to drown when he gets rescued by a beautiful mermaid. She tells him that he will die the next day because that is his destiny.
Keys of Madness: A young boy named Alex finds a set of glowing door keys and uses them to enter a huge abandoned mansion. When he explores the mansion, he is visited by a dark spirit who attacks him and drives him insane.
Alien Abduction: A boy named Sam wakes up one day to find that his parents have been missing for over a year. The day he discovers them, they tell him that he was kidnapped by aliens, and they built an experimental human brainwashing machine.
Dreams of Stella: A young boy named Toby starts having strange dreams of a girl named Stella. One day, he sees Stella when he’s on a roller coaster, but it turns out to be a ghost who is trying to take over his mind.
Eye of the Leaf: A little boy named Ben is playing outside one day when he finds a strange leaf. When he picks it up, it turns into a leaf with a red eye and starts to follow him.
Vengeful Spirit: Write a horror story about a ghost who just wants to kill the person who called him a monster when he was alive.
Nightmare Adoption: A young girl named Annabelle is adopted by a family that lives in a very old house. One day when is playing outside, she is kidnapped by a scary man named the Nightman.
Stuffed Shadows: A young boy named Jack gets lost in the woods and finds an old abandoned house. He enters the house and finds a huge stuffed animal. When he touches it, it wakes up and attacks him.
Depths of Fear: Imagine your worst fear and write a scary story about it.
A Rude Awakening: Write a horror story titled, A Rude Awakening. What would you do if you woke up in a place that you weren’t familiar with?
The Mysterious Case: What happens when someone goes missing and no one knows where they’ve gone?
Dreamstalker : Write about a monster that might be stalking you in your dreams.
Write a story titled, When The Wind Blows. This story could be about a sudden change in weather that comes with a new problem.
Mirror Demon: Continue the following story: Suddenly, the demon in the mirror reappeared and she began to scream.
Doctor’s Dread: When the doctor gave her the news, she screamed out loud and ran in circles.
Safekeeping Shadows: In her final hours, she told me to be thankful that I had done my best to keep her safe. That I had made sure no evil would ever hurt her again.
Camping Secrets: Continue the following horror story: As I was growing up, every year our family went camping in the woods. My grandfather passed away a few years ago. He was a rich man, and I wanted to visit his grave at the cemetery.
Forest of Shadows: While walking around the forest, I came across a monstrous-looking creature. I was scared and ran back home. The next day, I decided to go back and see what the monster was doing.
Echoes of Dread: Write down your biggest fear. And then write a story based on this fear.
Silent Stalker: When I looked in her file I saw that she had gotten five serious stab wounds. But, I could not see any sign of her attacker. Her wounds were all over her body and all over her arms.
Arachnid Terror: After discovering that a spider was sleeping in her bed, a young girl named Amy screams and runs away, locking herself in the bathroom.
Electric Fury: A scientific team is doing research on electricity. They find a very strong cell that could create many things when it is exposed to electricity. Suddenly the electricity static comes alive. It gets angry and attacks the scientists.
Imaginary Friend: A little girl named Amber loves to play with her new imaginary friend. She calls him “Giant” and she makes up stories about him. She believes that he is her friend for real.
Melting Nightmare: Continue the following story: As it continued attacking, it even caused my teeth to start to melt off of my jaw. My skin would start to burn, and my hair would become brown.
Friday Night Terrors: It’s Friday. The TV is on, and you are wide awake. As you lie there listening, you begin to feel tired. And just as your eyes begin to close, you hear a creak of the floorboards. Your eyes snap open. What you see scares the living hell out of you.
Blood Dawn: You wake up one morning to find your entire body covered in blood. What do you do?
Room of Despair: How would you react if you were locked in a room and told you could never leave?
Haunting Memoirs: What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you? Can you explain this in great detail?
Chilling Chronicles: Make a top ten list of the creepiest books or stories you have ever read.
The Gruesome Creation: Describe the most gruesome and disgusting creature you can imagine.
Zoo’s Menace: Write a horror story where there is a threat of animals getting out of the zoo.
Red-Eyed Pursuit: Continue the following starter: A red-eyed man of tall and dark build looms over a bus stop on a lonely, deserted country road, staring at me intently. I run like hell to get to the other side of the street, but it’s too late…
Homebound Horror: A strange animal has been following you through your home. Have you been doing anything strange or dangerous that has made it freak out?
Midnight Messages: Someone is leaving you messages in the dead of night. What’s the creepiest message you’ve received?
Ghostly Watcher: Create a ghost story about a creature that watches and waits in the corners of dark, abandoned places.
Jack and Jill’s Nightmare: Jack and Jill went up the hill, but they never came back down. Will they ever make it to the bottom? Write a horror story based on this idea.
Dark Secrets: The history of your town has a long dark secret that nobody wants to talk about. What is it?
Mutated Reality: Reality show participants get kidnapped and sent on a dangerous mission, where they must learn how to blend with mutated creatures.
Beastly Intrusion: In a small community in Japan, a supernatural force enters the community through a sewer. To beat it, the village must learn to work as a team and think like a beast.
School of Shadows: School kids don’t believe in ghosts until they’re suddenly being terrorised in their school at night.
Vampiric Genesis: Someone is using a contaminated strain of bat DNA to create vampires in real life. And it’s up to a group of scientists to put an end to it.
Promised Souls: The dead walk, and all they want to do is get what they were promised. Will you figure it out?
Spellbound Silence: An aspiring rapper, who always dreamed of singing in front of an adoring crowd, becomes the target of a spell that makes him unable to sing, his most cherished talent. Will he survive the consequences of his initial desire to be a star?
Mirror Man: Continue this story: You look into the mirror and see a man in black standing in the corner…
Cryptic Chronicles: Imagine that you stumble upon a really creepy story in your local library and it leads you on a very strange and frightening journey.
Lost in a Strange World: When night falls, people get teleported to an area far away, in a very different world! The only way to return home is by combining body parts with the different elements of the land.
Wicked Takeover: A small town gets taken over by a wicked witch, who’s on a mission to suck the souls of all the inhabitants.
Soul Seeker: When someone posts an ad online about finding a soul and bringing it home for a price, things get really interesting.
Human and Beast: What would happen if human DNA was spliced with that of a deadly monster?
Unknown Beyond: A guy receives an advance warning from his friends in the afterlife to get ready for the afterlife, or something worse may happen…
Death’s Present: A girl gets a letter that someone wants to give her a present before they die, but the present comes with a very specific clause. What happens when she follows the instructions?
Dark Diary: As a local woman is trying to recover from the death of her husband, she discovers an old diary, in which she discovers something that happened in her past that has led to events that followed.
Christmas Carnage: It’s beginning to look like Christmas! But there’s more to Christmas than Santa and presents. A deadly secret is hidden away in a child’s bedroom. And with a massive killer about to make an appearance, it’s a race against time to track him down.
Empire of Evil: A ship sets sail for the distant colony of the Empire, but its mission becomes a mission to find the source of evil.
Hell Town: Using a sinister new machine, a small-town mayor is convinced to turn his town into a hell-like world.
Wild Dogs: A group of four friends are lured into an abandoned house by a pack of wild dogs.
I Went To A Party: Complete the following sentence in three different spooky ways: I went to a party and…
Sea’s Claw: The captain was anxious to get home, but the sea was so rough that his ship could not make it. Suddenly, from the fog, a giant black claw appeared. The giant black claw grabbed the ship and then brought the ship to the bottom of the ocean.
Dybylu’s Awakening: A monster named Dybylu wakes up one morning, alone in her room. She can feel it in the air; her pet cat is afraid. She goes to look in the mirror and see’s a human staring back at her.
Murdered Spirit: A little boy is asked to help a spirit of a man who was murdered, but as he hears the story, it sounds weird and a bit confusing, and he begins to wonder if the story is even true.
Playground Horrors: In a playground near an orphanage, there are many playgrounds where kids play. The best playground is found next to an abandoned asylum.
Barn Cat’s Secret: A drifter named Mick goes to a farm with his friend Sam, and the owner of the farm is a creepy scientist. Mick climbs a barn ladder and sees a strange cat in there…
Cape Creature: A sweet girl named Annie and her sister, Charley, are having an adventure in their neighbourhood. Suddenly, Annie spots a strange black cape creature lurking in the distance. It was the most feared and horrible creature Annie has ever seen.
Island of Souls: The main character goes to an island that no one has visited before. He is enjoying his vacation, but one night he finds out that his home is being invaded by creatures who want to steal his soul.
Spookie’s Nightmares: A witch known as ‘Spookie’ causes horrible hallucinations to victims of her nightmares. Her victims can’t scream or cry or run. All they can do is panic.
Stick’s Mischief: A girl named Paige finds a stick that attracts a mysterious creature that will play a sick joke on her.
Black Blood: One day, a girl named Robin started having problems in school. Her parents, who are very smart and caring, see something is very wrong with Robin so they take her to the doctor. The doctor makes her go through a lot of tests, and everything is okay except for one last thing. Robin has black blood running through her veins.
Mirror’s Curse: A teenage girl named Sarah who is obsessed with her appearance starts turning into an old, ugly witch every time she looks into a mirror.
Bee Killer: When bees start dying suddenly out of nowhere, the lead detective in a bee colony must find the culprit.
Demon’s Puzzle: A strange jigsaw puzzle holds a horrific secret… In it, a grinning demon holds a girl’s head in its giant mouth.
Forbidden Drawing: A little boy sees a drawing of him in a forbidden book he had found. He is then transported to a never-ending forest, lost forever…
When the Past Comes Back: An adult is being haunted by their younger self.
Beast of the Woods: A reporter goes into the woods where there was a fierce animal attack. In this attack, five women and a little boy were killed. He decides to search for evidence on who this killer creature might be…
Letters of London: A man lives by himself in a flat in London. A mysterious person starts sending him letters which talk about how scary things will happen if he doesn’t leave his flat.
The Ghost in Her Friend’s Mother: A 7 year old girl is having a sleepover at her friend’s house. Her friend’s mom leaves them alone, but they soon find out that she was poisoned, and that a ghost has taken over her body.
Creepy Crawlies in Your Kitchen: The first animal the kids see is a snake that eats people’s brains. It sneaks around in people’s kitchens.
Revolving Nightmares: The story starts off with a character telling the readers about the night he and his parents got stuck in a revolving door. The night would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Tommy’s Window: A long time ago there was a man named Tommy, who was lost in a forest. Tommy thought he heard a ghost calling him. Tommy went in the direction of the noise and found a scary-looking house that has windows that never opened. Tommy finds out that the house belongs to a witch and that if he opens the windows, the witch will turn Tommy into a puppet.
Tommy the Dog: This is a story about a little boy and his dog. The little boy goes to a big park, and he sees a dog that is alone. He walks over to the dog, but it just barks and then runs away. The next day Tommy starts turning into a human-sized dog.

Fear no more! Just use this list of horror writing prompts to start writing your own fantastic horror story! Use any of these scary prompt ideas to take the story from your mind to your computer screen.

Looking for more creepy horror prompts? Check out this list of Halloween writing prompts , as well as this scary Halloween picture prompts .

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the 5 elements of a horror story.

Every good horror story contains the following five elements: Character, Setting, Action, Horror and Resolution. You can’t write a good horror without these elements.

How do you write in creepy writing?

To write in creepy writing, you need to immerse yourself in the world of horror. You think to think exactly like your main character or antagonist. Imagine yourself as a ghost, a demon, a monster, or a murderer. You can be a ghost who haunts people in their dreams or a monster who stalks them in the real world. Use extreme details to describe scenes of horror with gory and disgusting elements.

How do you get inspiration for horror?

Most horror stories are based on fear. Think about the things that scare you or haunt you in your nightmares. You can also get inspiration from watching scary movies or reading about scary stories. Finally, horror stories can also be inspired by real-life situations. For example, a girl who is bullied decides to take revenge on her bullies in a gruesome way. Of course, you can also use this list of horror writing prompts to inspire you too!

What are common horror themes?

Horror themes can be based on personal experiences, fears, or nightmares. Here are some common horror themes to explore:

Stalker: Someone who stalks you in your dreams or in the real world.
Monsters: Someone or something who appears to be human, but isn’t.
Revenge: Someone who is still haunted by a past event, and needs to seek revenge to overcome it.
Secrets: A deadly secret that could shake the lives of anyone involved.
Psychopaths: People who just kill or hurt others for the fun of it.

Did you find this list of over 110 horror writing prompts useful? Let us know in the comments below.

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Essay on Horror Story

Students are often asked to write an essay on Horror Story in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Horror Story

Introduction.

Horror stories are a genre of fiction that seeks to scare, disturb, or startle its readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror.

Elements of Horror

Key elements include suspense, surprise, and a sense of impending doom. Often, horror stories involve supernatural elements or entities.

Impact on Readers

These stories can have a profound impact on readers, evoking intense emotions and creating memorable experiences.

Despite their frightening nature, horror stories remain popular due to their ability to engage readers’ emotions and imagination in unique ways.

250 Words Essay on Horror Story

The intrigue of horror stories.

Horror stories have always captivated the human imagination. They are a mirror of our primal fears and anxieties, often personified in the form of ghosts, monsters, or uncanny events. The fascination for horror stories is not merely a pursuit of thrill, but a complex interplay of psychology, culture, and narrative techniques.

Psychological Appeal

At the heart of every horror story is the exploration of fear. Sigmund Freud’s concept of ‘the uncanny’ explains our attraction to horror as a confrontation with repressed fears and desires. This exploration of the unknown and the forbidden can be cathartic, allowing us to experience fear in a controlled environment.

Cultural Significance

Horror stories also reflect societal fears and anxieties. For instance, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” mirrors the 19th-century fear of scientific advancement, while George Orwell’s “1984” embodies the dread of totalitarian regimes. Thus, horror stories serve as cultural artifacts, offering insights into the zeitgeist of an era.

Narrative Techniques

The narrative techniques employed in horror stories are designed to evoke fear and suspense. Techniques such as foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and unreliable narrators keep readers on edge, while the use of dark, descriptive language helps create a chilling atmosphere.

In conclusion, horror stories are more than mere tales of terror. They are a reflection of our deepest fears, a commentary on societal anxieties, and a testament to the power of narrative techniques in evoking emotional responses. Their enduring popularity is a testament to their complexity and the human fascination with the macabre.

500 Words Essay on Horror Story

Horror stories have been a part of human culture for centuries, delighting and terrifying audiences in equal measure. They are narratives designed to frighten, cause dread or panic, or invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale. The horror genre taps into the primal fear within us, making us confront the unknown and the terrifying.

The Psychology behind Horror

Horror stories, in their essence, serve as a mirror to our psyche, reflecting our deepest fears and anxieties. They provoke a sense of fear and excitement, a thrilling cocktail of emotions that keep audiences coming back for more. The science of fear explains the allure of horror stories. The adrenaline rush, the heightened senses, and the relief after the threat has passed, all contribute to the addictive nature of horror.

The Evolution of Horror Stories

Horror stories have evolved significantly over the years, keeping pace with societal changes and shifts in what we fear. Early horror stories were often tied to religion, reflecting fears of the supernatural and the afterlife. As society became more secular, the focus shifted to the horrors of the human mind and the terrors of the unknown.

Modern horror stories, such as Stephen King’s works, often blend elements of the supernatural with the psychological, creating a sense of unease that lingers long after the story is over. The horror genre has also expanded into various sub-genres, such as psychological horror, supernatural horror, and body horror, each catering to different fears and anxieties.

The Impact of Horror Stories on Society

Horror stories have a profound impact on society, shaping and reflecting our collective fears. They often serve as social commentaries, highlighting societal issues under the guise of the supernatural or the macabre. The horror genre allows us to confront and discuss topics that might otherwise be considered taboo, such as death, violence, and the darker aspects of human nature.

In conclusion, horror stories are an integral part of our cultural fabric, serving as both entertainment and a means to explore our deepest fears and anxieties. They have evolved with society, reflecting our changing fears and serving as a commentary on societal issues. Despite their often gruesome and terrifying content, horror stories provide a safe space to explore the darker aspects of our psyche, helping us to understand and confront our fears. The enduring popularity of the horror genre is a testament to its ability to tap into our primal fears and its capacity to thrill, terrify, and captivate audiences.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Essay on Visit to an Old Age Home
Essay on There Is No Place Like Home
Essay on My Home

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

How to Write a Scary Story

Last Updated: December 22, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 345,076 times.

Do you like nightmarish tales that give you goosebumps? Do you get freaked out by stories of suspense? Scary stories, like any story, will follow a basic format that includes developing the premise, setting and characters. But scary stories also rely on tension that builds throughout the story to a frightening or horrific climax. Find inspiration in real life, drawing on your own fears, and write a story that scares you silly.

Sample Scary Stories

Developing the Premise

Step 1 Make a list of your greatest fears.

The fear of the unknown is one of the most powerful devices for a good scary story. People fear what they don’t know.

Step 2 Add a “what if” element to your greatest fear.

For example, if you fear being trapped in an elevator, ask yourself, “What if I was stuck in an elevator with a dead person?” Or, “What if the elevator mirror was a door into an evil world?”

Step 3 Work your fear into the setting of a story.

Make sure to keep the climax of your story in mind as you develop the setting.

Step 4 Try taking an ordinary situation and adding something horrifying.

Or, add a twist to a familiar horror trope, like a vampire who enjoys cake instead of blood, or a man trapped in a dumpster rather than a coffin.

Another way to generate story ideas is to use writing prompts. These could be as simple as writing a suspenseful story about staying at a haunted hotel. You might use a prompt about an important party gone wrong or an envious friend who begins to act strangely towards you. Use the prompts to generate a story idea you connect with.

Developing Characters

Other supporting characters (family member, best friend, love interest, etc.)
Minor characters (postal worker, gas station attendant, etc.)

Step 2 Make up specific details for each character.

Name, age, physical description (include height, weight, eye color, hair color, etc.)
Personality traits
Likes and dislikes
Family history
Best friend and worst enemy
Five things the character would never leave home without

Step 3 Make the stakes for the character clear and extreme.

Be clear about what will happen if the character does not get what they want. The stakes of the story, or the consequences if the character does not achieve their desires, is what drives the story forward. The stakes also build tension and suspense for your reader.

Step 4 Make your villain not quite right.

Try giving your villain a distinguishing gesture that they use often, such as clenching their fists or twitching their nose.
Give your villain a deep booming voice, a soft raspy voice, a creaky nasally voice, or a very mad voice.

Step 5 Make life difficult for your characters.

The tension between what the reader wants for the character and what could happen or go wrong for the character will fuel the story. It will also propel your readers through the story.

Step 6 Allow your characters to make mistakes or bad decisions.

However, don’t go overboard with these mistakes or bad decisions. They should be believable and not merely stupid or inane. For example, don’t have your character, a young babysitter, respond to a masked killer by running outside into the deep, dark woods.

Writing the Story

Exposition: Set the scene and introduce the characters.
Inciting incident: Have something happen in the story to start the action.
Rising action: Continue the story, building excitement and suspense.
Climax: Include a moment that holds the most tension in the story.
Falling action: These are events that occur after the climax.
Resolution: Here, the character solves the main problem.
Denouement: This is the ending in which the characters resolve any remaining questions.

”I was too scared to open my eyes, even though I heard footsteps coming closer.”
“I wrapped the blankets tighter around me and let out a sick whimper. My chest was tight, my stomach rotten. I would not look. No matter how close those shuffling footsteps came, I would not look. I would not, I would…not…”
The second example gives the reader more of an insight into the character’s physical feelings.

Step 3 Build tension as the story progresses.

Hint at the story’s direction and possible climax by providing small clues or details. You might briefly mention a label on a bottle that will later come in handy for the main character. There might be a sound or voice in a room that will later become a sign of an unnatural presence.
Another effective way to build tension is to alternate from tense or bizarre moments to quiet moments. Allow your character to take a breath, calm down, and feel safe again. Then, amp up the tension by re-engaging the character in the conflict. This time, make the conflict feel even more serious or threatening.

Keep in mind that foreshadowing is most effective when the reader and characters are unaware of the significance of the clues until the end of the story.

Step 5 Avoid certain words that are too obvious.

Scared, scary
Terrified, terrifying
Horrified, horror

Writing a Good Ending

In Poe’s short story, the climax of the story occurs at the very end. Poe applies more and more pressure to the narrator by having the police visit him. He uses the narrator’s internal struggle to keep his cool and achieve his desire of getting away with murder to create a climax. But by the end of the story, the narrator’s guilt pushes him over the edge and he reveals the body under the floorboards.

While you want to create a satisfying ending for the reader, you also do not want to make it too closed and settled. The reader should walk away from the story with a lingering feeling of uncertainty.
Consider if the ending feels like a surprise or an obvious answer. The key to suspense if not to answer the dramatic question too soon. Poe’s short story ends on a high note because the outcome of the narrator’s dilemma is revealed in the last line of the story. The suspense in the story is sustained until the very end.

Finalizing Your Story

Sometimes, readers may be aware of the answer or ending to the dramatic question upfront. But they may be willing to read the story until the end because the lead up to the ending is engaging and suspenseful. They care enough about the characters and the story to read about the events that lead to the climactic event.

Print out your story and comb through it carefully.

Characters: Are the characters believable? Do they engage in action that is realistic?
Continuity: Does the story make sense? Does it follow a logical order?
Grammar and mechanics: Is the language readable? Are there run-on sentences, misused words, etc.?
Dialogue: Are conversations between characters realistic? Was there enough (or too much) dialogue?
Pacing: Does the story move along at a good pace? Do you get bored in certain areas? Do you think too much happens too quickly in other areas?
Plot: Does the plot make sense? Does the character’s objective make sense?

Step 4 Make changes that you think are appropriate.

You might find it helpful to take some time away from your story before you try to revise it. Put it aside for a few days or more and then come back to it with fresh eyes.

Expert Q&A

“The Monkey’s Paw,” an 18th century tale by William Wymark Jacobs. This story is about three terrible wishes granted by a mystical monkey’s paw.
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” master horror writer Edgar Allen Poe’s psychologically disturbing story of suspense and murder. [17] X Research source
Any horror story by Stephen King. King has written over 200 short stories and uses many different techniques to scare his readers. Read “The Moving Finger” or “The Children of the Corn” to get a sense of King’s style.
Contemporary writer Joyce Carol Oates’ horror story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” It uses psychological terror to great effect. [18] X Research source
Add a mysterious ending. It's cliched, but it'll get readers every time. Something like "And the young boy and his dog were never seen again. And, as legend has it, every fall equinox, the ghost wolf still returns". Get creative, but be sure to leave them hanging, especially if the story is short. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

If you are conducting research for your scary story in order to make it more realistic, make sure you are careful and sensible. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/the-premise-of-your-story
↑ https://thewritepractice.com/get-freaky/
↑ https://thewritepractice.com/get-story-ideas-headlines/
↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/nine-tricks-to-writing-suspense-fiction
↑ https://allwritealright.com/how-to-write-a-creepy-character-realistically/
↑ https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/10/11/25-things-you-should-know-about-writing-horror/
↑ https://www.eapoe.org/works/essays/philcomp.htm
↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/6-secrets-to-creating-and-sustaining-suspense
↑ udleditions.cast.org/craft_elm_foreshadowing.htm
↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/the-horror-genre-on-writing-horror-and-avoiding-cliches
↑ https://thewritepractice.com/7-steps-to-creating-suspense/
↑ https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/plot-reveals/
↑ https://literarydevices.net/climax/
↑ https://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/POE/telltale.html
↑ https://celestialtimepiece.com/2015/01/21/where-are-you-going-where-have-you-been/

About This Article

To write a scary story, start with an exciting event that launches the action. For example, you could have the main character find a severed ear while they're out for a walk. As the story progresses, build suspense by making the reader feel empathy towards the characters and creating an immanent danger, like being trapped in a lift. Then, build the climax by adding to the problems your characters confront. Finally, present the climax, which could include a threat to the character's physical or mental wellbeing. For tips on how to develop a theme and characters for your story, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Jun 20, 2022

How to Write a Horror Story: 7 Tips for Writing Horror

In our era of highly commercialized crime and thriller novels, it may seem like zeitgeist-defining horror books are a thing of the past. Indeed, Stephen King was once the perennial bestselling author in the world, and children in the 90s devoured Goosebumps books like The Blob devoured, well, everything.

But let’s not forget there’s a huge base of horror fans today, desperate for their next fix . So if you’re hoping to become the next Crown Prince of Dread, your dream can still come true! Here are seven steps to writing truly chilling horror:

1. Start with a fear factor

2. pick a horror story subgenre, 3. let readers experience the stakes, 4. create suspense through point of view, 5. consider plot twists to surprise your audience, 6. put your characters in compelling danger, 7. use your imagination.

The most important part of any horror story is naturally going to be its fear factor . People don’t read horror for easy entertainment; they read it to be titillated and terrorized. That said, here are a few elements you can use to seriously scare the pants off your reader.

Instinctive fears

Fears that have some sort of logical or biological foundation are often the most potent in horror. Darkness, heights, snakes, and spiders — all these are extremely common phobias rooted in instinct. As a result, they tend to be very effective at frightening readers.

This is especially true when terror befalls innocent characters apropos of nothing: a killer traps them in their house for no apparent reason, or they’re suddenly mugged by a stranger with a revolver. As horror writer Karen Woodward says, “The beating undead heart of horror is the knowledge that bad things happen to good people.”

Monsters and supernatural entities

These stretch beyond the realm of logic and into the realm of the “uncanny,” as Freud called it. We all know that vampires , werewolves, and ghosts aren’t real, but that doesn’t mean they can’t shake us to our core. In fact, it’s the very uncertainty they arouse that makes them so sinister: what if monsters are really out there, we’ve just never seen them? This fear is one of the most prevalent in horror, but if you decide to write in this vein, your story has to be pretty convincing.

Societal tensions

Another great means of scaring people is to tap into societal tensions and concerns — a tactic especially prevalent in horror movies. Just in recent memory, Get Out tackles the idea of underlying racism in modern America, The Babadook examines mental health, and It Follows is about the stigma of casual sex. However, societal tensions can also easily be embodied in the pages of a horror story, as in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery .

The right atmosphere for your story depends on what kind of horror you want to write. To use cinematic examples again, are you going for more Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Silence of the Lambs? The tone and atmosphere of your story will hang upon its subgenre.

Thriller-horror employs psychological fear, often occurring near the beginning of horror stories before very much has happened
Gross-out horror involves vivid descriptions of spurting blood, hacked-up flesh, and gouged-out organs in order to shock the reader; think gore movies of the 70s
Classic horror harks back to the Gothic (or Southern Gothic ) genre, with spooky settings and bone-chilling characters like those of Dracula and Frankenstein
Terror provokes a feeling of all-pervasive dread, which can either serve as the climax of your story or be sustained throughout

It’s also possible to combine subgenres, especially as your story progress. You might begin with a sense of thrilling psychological horror, then move into gothic undertones, which culminates in utter terror.

But no matter what type of horror you’re working with, it should be deeply potent for your reader — and yourself! “If you manage to creep yourself out with your own writing, it's usually a pretty good sign that you're onto something,” editor Harrison Demchick says.

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In order for readers to truly thrill at your horror story, you need to make them aware of the stakes. Clearly establish the main problem or motivation for your character(s) , and what they have to lose if they don’t figure it out. These stakes and motivations might involve:

Survival. The most basic objective of characters in any horror story is to survive. However, there are nuances that accompany that goal. Perhaps their objective isn't just to stay alive, but to defeat their murderous nemesis while doing it — whether that’s another person, an evil spirit, or even themselves, if it’s a Jekyll and Hyde-type scenario.

Protecting loved ones. The more people the protagonist has to keep safe, the higher the stakes. Many horrific tales peak with a threat of death not to the main character, but to one or several of their loved ones (as in Phantom of the Opera or Red Dragon ).

Cracking unsolved mysteries. Because some horror stories aren’t about escaping peril in the present, but rather about uncovering the terrors of the past. This especially true in subgenres like cosmic horror , which have to do with the great mysteries of the universe, often involving ancient history.

Again, as with atmosphere, you can always merge different kinds of stakes. For instance, you might have a character trying to solve some mysterious murders that happened years ago, only to find out that they’re the next target!

The main thing to remember when it comes to horror — especially horror stories — is that straightforward stakes tend to have the greatest impact. Says author Chuck Wendig, of his perfect recipe for horror: “Plain stakes, stabbed hard through the breastbone.”

Bonus tip! Need help conjuring stakes and suspense? Try reading some masterfully crafted true crime — which can be even scarier than bone fide horror, since it actually happened.

Your reader should feel a kinship with your main character, such that when the stakes are high, they feel their own heart start to beat faster. This can be achieved through either first person or third person limited point of view. (When writing horror, you’ll want to avoid third person omniscient, which can distance your reader and lessen their investment in the story.)

We'll get into only the major POV's to consider in this post, but if you want a full point of view masterclass, check out our free course below.

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Understanding Point of View

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First person POV

Speaking of beating hearts, for a great example of first person narration in horror, look no further than The Tell-Tale Heart . Many of Poe’s stories involve deranged first-person narrators ( The Black Cat , The Cask of Amontillado ) but none are more notorious than this one, in which the main character is driven to murder his elderly housemate. Notice Poe’s chilling use of first person POV from the very first lines of the story:

It’s true! Yes, I have been ill, very ill. But why do you say that I have lost control of my mind, why do you say that I am mad? Can you not see that I have full control of my mind? Indeed, the illness only made my mind, my feelings, my senses stronger… I could hear sounds I had never heard before. I heard sounds from heaven; and I heard sounds from hell!

First person POV is excellent for hooking your reader at the beginning, and keeping them in suspense throughout your story. However, it might be too intense for longer, more intricate pieces, and may be difficult to execute if you’re trying to conceal something from your readers.

It’s also worth thinking about the implications of first person, past tense POV in a horror story — it suggests they’ve lived to tell the tale, which might ruin your dramatic ending. Therefore if you do decide to use first person narration, you should probably keep it in present tense.

Third person POV

If you find yourself struggling to make first person POV work, consider a third person limited perspective instead. This kind of narration is often used in longer-form horror, popularized by the likes of Stephen King and Dean Koontz . Look how it’s used here in King’s 1974 novel Carrie , in the description of its eponymous character:

Carrie stood among [the other girls] stolidly, a frog among swans. She was a chunky girl with pimples on her neck and back and buttocks, her wet hair completely without color… She looked the part of the sacrificial goat, the constant butt, believer in left-handed monkey wrenches, perpetual foul-up, and she was.

This narration paints an intimate picture of the character, while still allowing the freedom for commentary in a way that first person narration doesn’t as much. Third person limited narration also works well for building to a certain atmosphere, rather than jumping right into it, as Poe’s narrator does — which is part of why third person is better for lengthier pieces. (See more of King's masterful use of POV to wrack up tension in our Guide to King! )

Unreliable narrators

Alternately, if you’re committed to having a first person narrator but you don’t want to reveal everything to your readers, an unreliable narrator could be your perfect solution! Many mystery and thriller novels employ unreliable narration in order to work up to a big twist without giving away too much. So whether or not you’ll want an unreliable narrator probably depends on how you end your story: straight down the line or with a twist.

Plot twists are exciting, memorable, and help bring previous uncertainty into focus, releasing tension by revealing the truth. However, they’re also notoriously difficult to come up with , and extremely tricky to pull off — you have to carefully hint at a twist, while making sure it’s not too predictable or clichéd.

So: to twist or not to twist? That is the question.

Big plot twists in horror writing tend to follow the beaten path: the victim turns out to be the killer, the person who we thought was dead isn’t really, or — worst of all — it was all in their head the whole time! But keep in mind that small, subtle plot twists can be just as (if not more) effective.

Take William Faulkner’s short story A Rose for Emily . After Emily dies, the villagers discover the corpse of a long-vanished traveler in one of her spare beds — along with a strand of silver hair. While the discovery of the body might be gruesome, it’s the presence of Emily’s hair (suggesting she enjoyed cuddling with a cadaver) that really haunts you.

Not to twist

The ending of your story doesn't have to come out of left field to shock and horrify readers. The classic horror approach leaves the reader in suspense as to precisely what will happen, then concludes with a violent showdown (think slasher films).

In this approach, while the showdown itself might not be a surprise, the scenes leading up to it build tension and anticipation for the climax. That way, when the big moment does arrive, it still packs a dramatic punch.

“A horror novel, like any story, is about a character or characters trying to achieve a goal based upon their individual wants and needs,” says Demchick. “If you let concept overwhelm character, you'll lose much of what makes horror as engaging as it can be.”

To scare your characters, you need to have a solid understanding of their psyche. Filling out a character profile template is a great start to fleshing out believable characters, so give ours a try.

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

As you write, you need to stay conscious of basic storytelling techniques and not get carried away with the drama of horror. It might help, before you begin, to answer these questions about your characters and plot:

What fear or struggle must your protagonist overcome?
What decision do they make to put them in this situation?
How will they defeat or escape their adversary, if at all?
What are the ultimate consequences of their actions?

This will help you create a basic outline for your horror story, which you can embellish to create atmosphere and suspense. In plot-driven genre stories, a thorough outline and emotionally resonant elements are vital for keeping your reader invested.

A great horror story balances drama with realism and suspense with relief, even with the occasional stroke of humor. Gillian Flynn is the master of this technique — as seen in this excerpt from her horror story The Grownup , wherein the narrator is scheming how to capitalize on her “spiritual cleansing” services:

I could go into business for myself, and when people asked me, “What do you do?” I’d say, I’m an entrepreneur in that haughty way entrepreneurs had. Maybe Susan and I would become friends. Maybe she’d invite me to a book club. I’d sit by a fire and nibble on Brie and say, I’m a small business owner, an entrepreneur, if you will.

In order to stand out from the crowd, you need to think about overused trends in horror and make sure your story’s not “been there, done that.” For instance, the “vampire romance” plot is a dead horse with no one left to beat it after all the Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and True Blood hype.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use certain elements of popular trends in your writing. You just have to put a spin on it and make it your own!

For example, zombie horror was already a well-worn genre when Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies came out in 2009. But by setting it in the regency era and featuring Jane Austen’s well-loved characters, he created a brilliant original work and carved out a brand new audience for zombie fiction. You can also pay homage to well-known horror tropes, like the Duffer brothers of Stranger Things did for Stephen King and Steven Spielberg — and which savvy audiences are sure to appreciate.

It certainly feels sometimes like all the good horror stories have already been written, making your own ideas seem trite. But don’t forget that new horror comes out all the time, and it only takes one great idea to be a hit! So try not to stress out about it, and remember: just by having read through this guide, you’re already that much closer to becoming a literary graveyard smash .

11 responses

Sawan says:

04/11/2018 – 19:34

Thank you so much for writing this article. I am currently writing a short horror story. Sometimes when I write a horror scene, I get really terrified, but after some days it all feels shitty.

↪️ dilinger john replied:

08/05/2019 – 12:28

it happens with everyone don't stress over it and pass your work to someone who will review it. you are a writer and can not be a critic at the same time.

↪️ Shane C replied:

28/09/2019 – 21:15

Sawan -- been writing for 22 years... NEVER judge your own work. You write it -- finish it off -- then have some friends that enjoy horror and reading read your work and give you honest critique. Record their critique or take accurate notes. Repeat this with several friends (but only those you can trust not to try to steal your work, Creative Commons and/or Registered Mail can be your best friend BEFORE this stage). Pick the best one you like, that makes the most sense -- but if several people say "blah blah blah should have happened," or a really close variation throughout reader opinions... Go with it! I know most people hate that, feels like butchering your art (I know I hate it), but use it anyway. It'll likely be more widely received... Just a few pointers.

Annabelle says:

21/05/2019 – 01:51

This is awesome I love this! I’m writing my own horror novel too.🙂

↪️ Andrew replied:

31/10/2019 – 20:23

what is it?

NAVEEN says:

29/07/2019 – 15:22

i am at the age of sixteen and i decided to write a horror story. thanks a lot!!

Bobette Bryan says:

27/08/2019 – 19:09

Ghosts are real. I've seen many in my lifetime and have had some very terrifying experiences with some.

↪️ smr replied:

03/01/2020 – 13:25

what the hell ??

↪️ John Brown replied:

16/01/2020 – 02:28

Me too! And I think it actually helps with writing horror stories, because you have more experience than most.

John Brown says:

16/01/2020 – 02:27

I’m 14 and I love writing horror novels, but I usually freak my self out too much to keep writing... 😕

Comments are currently closed.

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How to Write a Scary Story

How to write a scary story in 5 Easy Steps

Most of us love a good scare!

From our first game of peek-a-boo as a child through those ghost stories around a campfire as a teen, surprises and a little fright never lose their appeal. It’s why horror movies remain big business at the box office and on streaming websites.

Even those who profess not to read much will likely have read a Stephen King book or two.
Gamers aren’t immune either, as the popularity of games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hills will attest.
Horror is one of the best-selling fiction genres in any medium.

In this article, we’ll look at spine-chilling tips to help students write spooky stories that will rattle readers to their core. If scary is not your thing, then check out our complete guide to writing a narrative here.

So, pull the curtains, dim the lights and let’s learn how to write a horror story for school.

THE STORY TELLERS BUNDLE OF TEACHING RESOURCES

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A MASSIVE COLLECTION of resources for narratives and story writing in the classroom covering all elements of crafting amazing stories. MONTHS WORTH OF WRITING LESSONS AND RESOURCES, including:

1. Write about what scares you.

BRAM STOKER’s vampire tale dracula is regularly remade for audiences of all eras and ages

The old writer’s mantra states, ‘write about what you know. While it’s most unlikely that your students know any killer clowns or lunatic killers who haunt campsites frequented by teenage couples, they can still write about the things that scare them.

This is the best place to start. A student has little hope of frightening the reader unless they choose to write about something they find disturbing.

The more specific the subject, the more personal the writing can become. Horror is filled with tropes and cliches. The world doesn’t need another axe murder chasing teens through the woods or another foolhardy ouija board misadventure – unless there’s a new spin put on things.

Avoiding tired clichés like those mentioned above will help maintain the element of surprise in the writing, which, as we shall see more of later, is essential to keep readers engaged.

Teaching Activity: Ask students to write down a list of the top 3 things that scare them. They needn’t be things that other people are scared of; the more personal and idiosyncratic they are, the more original the story is likely to be. These could be anything from a fear of heights or open spaces to a fear of the doorbell ringing at night.

Now, ask the students to choose one of these fears and list why they are scared of it. They should also write about how their fear makes them feel. The more detailed they can write about this, the better.

Encourage the students to use their full five senses to describe the feelings and emotions they would experience. The more convincingly they can convey the experience, the more successful they’ll be in striking fear into the hearts of their readers later on.

2. Use Setting to Your Advantage when writing a Horror story

how to write a scary story | jaws horror story | How to Write a Scary Story | literacyideas.com

The setting is a crucial element to any story and when used skillfully, it can be an essential tool in raising the scare factor of any tale.

When asked to write a scary story, younger kids will inevitably gravitate towards the more apparent settings such as haunted houses, cemeteries, and dark woods. Again, these well-worn settings would best be avoided unless the student intends to subvert a reader’s expectations.

In fact, given that surprise is one of the key elements to any good scare, subverting the setting is one great tool for terror available to our students.

For example, the comfort of a sleepover at their grandmother’s can take a turn for the worse if it’s discovered she holds a Black Mass. Imagine a coven of devil-worshippers in the dead of night in that dated living room where she serves milk and cookies to her grandkids during the day. Enough to make you spill your glass of milk over the embroidered cushions!

The physical environment can also be used to create tension and fear. For example, imagine two siblings hiding in a cupboard witnessing Grandmother’s midnight Satanic shenanigans. It’s hot and cramped. Imagine the claustrophobic feeling coupled with the terror of discovery. It’s enough to make you want to skip that Sunday visit to Grandma’s entirely [shudder].

If you are going to teach students how to write a scary story about a haunted house ensure you show them examples of figurative language that gives the house character.

Teaching Activity: Ask your students to take the fear they identified in the first activity and devise a setting for a story based on that fear.

One novel approach for deciding on a setting is to choose the place that seems least likely for a horror story. This unlikely element is one of the reasons why clowns are extraordinarily creepy or why the child’s doll in the Chucky movies is so unnervingly terrifying.

Not only will this build strength in the student’s creative writing muscles, but it will also help ensure a crucial element of originality in the finished story. The setting should be painted as vividly as possible to create a picture in the reader’s mind. The clearer that picture, the more intense the fear created.

Remember, too, the setting consists of both time and place , so students shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with historical and future settings for their stories too.

Exotic characters are common place in horror writing

3. Choose your character and point of view wisely when writing a horror story

One of the most common areas horror stories fall down in is that of characterization. Poor characterization is the number one reason many scary stories and movies fall as flat as the characters they utilize.

If your student wants to take their reader on a real knuckle-whitening ride of terror, they have to make the effort to bring their characters to life. An effective strategy to help students bring characters to life on the page is to have them base them on real people.

These real people could be people they know personally, people they’ve heard about in their community or beyond, or even pre-existing fictional characters they are already familiar with. Students should, of course, make the necessary modifications to make sure they are not committing either defamation or plagiarism.

At a more advanced level, students may also consider creating a composite character that brings together various aspects of different characters (real or fictional) that they already know.

Once students have gathered together their cast of characters, they’ll need to decide on a point of view from which to tell the story. Generally, this will be a first or third-person POV, and though the advantages and disadvantages of each type are too complex to go into here, you can find out more about different POVs in other articles on this site.

That said, some general points to consider when choosing a POV for a horror story are that while the first-person POV is great for grabbing the reader’s attention from the outset and for building suspense when the story is in the past tense, it may ruin any suspense regarding whether the narrator survives or not.

Third-person narratives allow for a slower build to a story while maintaining the suspense concerning the outcome for the story’s protagonist. They also allow for the more detailed narration and description demanded by longer stories.

One more point for students to consider is whether the narrator is reliable or not, If they opt for an unreliable narrator, this can open up great opportunities for a final twist in the tale. The 90’s movie The Usual Suspects is a great example of the unreliable narrator at work where the climactic twist at the end reveals the real Keyser Söze.

Teaching Activity: For this activity, students should select a scene to rewrite from a fiction book they are already familiar with. A book a few levels below their current reading level will be perfect.

Students rewrite the scene from first and third-person limited and omniscient perspectives, as well as from the points of view of different characters in the story. More advanced students can even play with using a reliable and unreliable narrator if they’ve already grasped these concepts.

When students have written the different versions of the scene, they should take time to compare the effects of these different points of view. Ask them to identify which of the perspectives and points of view worked best for this particular scene and story. What were the specific advantages and disadvantages of each version?

Year Long Inference Based Writing Activities

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Tap into the power of imagery in your classroom to get your students to master INFERENCE as AUTHORS and CRITICAL THINKERS .

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4. Lay It all on the line when writing a scary story

Although written centuries apart these two horror tales are almost identical

Like the card game poker, it is when the stakes are highest that horror stories are at their most exhilarating.

In the world of stories, these stakes are directly related to the central problem and character motivation. The broad appeal of horror stories lies in the universality of these motivations.

Ensure students understand this and reflect this knowledge in their writing. There are several different types of ‘stake’ they can use to amp up the reader’s interest. Let’s take a look at 2 of the most common motivations in this genre:

The Survival Motivation: This is the most primitive of the 3. Not wanting to die is something we can all relate to and needs no explanation. However, this motivation can be further enhanced by adding another layer for the character. For example, if the protagonist needs to survive to defeat the monster etc, then the need to survive is emphasized beyond just the preservation of life.

The Protection Motivation: Here, the protagonist’s prime motivation is the need to protect others from a threat, usually in the form of loved ones such as family or a lover. Again, this is a primitive desire that we can all relate to and needs little in the way of explanation for the reader. There are two main ways to increase the stakes for this motivation – increase the number of people’s lives on the line or reveal a deep relationship between the protector and the protected.

Teaching Activity: Organize students into small groups. Have them look at a list of horror movies, such as those on an online database like IMDb, and then sort the movies into two categories: Survival Motivation or Protection Motivation .

There may be some crossover as many movies will employ both motivations to enhance the drama. In such cases, students should focus on the prime motivation of the movie’s protagonist. Where there’s disagreement, a discussion can be had as a whole class at the end.

When they have completed this activity, students should then look at their notes from the previous activities described above. What motivation is best suited to their embryonic story? Students should write a few lines to explain.

umm… it’s a horror movie… I wonder what will happen???

5. Avoid Clichés in horror writing

There are arguably more familiar tropes and clichés associated with this genre of story-telling than any other. For our student writers, these should be avoided. Clichés and overused tropes result in dull and predictable storylines. These are the opposite of the elements such as surprise and shock, which good horror so often relies on.

The one exception is when the writer takes well-worn plotlines and characters and subverts them to come up with something new, which leads us directly to our next activity.

Teaching Activity: Organize the students into small groups again and challenge them to make a list of clichés and tropes from horror books and movies. The IMDb movie database will again serve well if they need some inspiration. Even if they don’t know the movies, they can read the synopses and identify some of the clichés and tropes used.

Once students have their list, they should attempt to make something fresh from them. The simplest way to do this is often to change the setting or characters. This will lead to unusual ideas, such as vampires in space or piranhas in the city sewage system.

The ideas generated need not be plausible or even ‘good’. This activity aims to flex the students’ creativity muscles in pursuit of something original.

The Final Bell Tolls

So there we have it. Five tips to help students hone their horror-writing skills and five activities to put that newly-gained knowledge into practice.

Writing spooky stories is a great way to get reluctant students to write at Halloween and any time of the year.

Though writing spooky stories is fun , students still gain opportunities to internalize literature’s essential elements and develop their understanding of how language, structure, and story work.

Not bad for a night’s work…

Now go and write one, and be sure to read our complete guide to writing narratives if you need any further guidance on story writing.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING STORY ELEMENTS

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☀️This HUGE resource provides you with all the TOOLS, RESOURCES , and CONTENT to teach students about characters and story elements.

⭐ 75+ PAGES of INTERACTIVE READING, WRITING and COMPREHENSION content and NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

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Teach Your Students How to Write a Scary Story

You’re terrified. Your heart is pounding, and your chest feels like it’s going to EXPLODE ! You breathe faster and faster as sweat drips from your shaking hands. Are you going to die? NO . You’re just listening to a SCARY STORY .

Being scared is exciting, right? If it wasn’t, why would we go on haunted hayrides, watch scary movies or ride roller coasters?

Let’s face it, in each of these circumstances, we know we’re pretty safe. And when the experience is over, the thrill isn’t. Just watch a group of kids coming out of a haunted house at the fair. They’re shrieking and laughing at the SAME TIME . And, because they know the fear is SAFE , they scramble to get in line again. They’re experiencing a fear-induced NATURAL HIGH . That’s because being scared causes an adrenaline rush in your body and creates a feeling of EUPHORIA .

Enter SCARY STORIES ! When it comes to teaching your students how to write a scary story that will keep readers or listeners on the edge of their seats, nothing beats a good old-fashioned scary story.

Kids love the element of surprise and the unexpected. It’s fascinating to talk about monsters, ghosts, or anything weird! Reading and writing these stories is reassuring to kids. The creepy stuff is just fiction, and it’s not a part of their everyday lives. It’s IMAGINATION .

Over the years, I’d teach my students how to write scary stories. But, I was disappointed by the majority of the stories I got. I tried different writing prompts, using scary pictures, anything I could think of. None of that worked. To be honest with you, I got some pretty crummy stories. I knew my kiddos were capable of more. I refused to give up! Finally, through trial and error, I developed a formula that worked for me. It’s just two magic words: CHOICE and TOOLS.

I provided my kids with a buffet of plots, settings, and characters. They were intrigued.

Suddenly they had the FREEDOM to concoct a story that was guaranteed to spook their audience. They didn’t have to respond to the same writing prompt.

The graphic organizers helped them plan and organize their stories, develop their characters, and use descriptive words in their writing. Keeping students engaged in writing is foolproof when they choices and the tools to plan and write a great scary story.

Scary Story Elements

Scary Stories:

Amp up the fear factor.
Add cringe-worthy thoughts like a darkness that foreshadows an unknown danger.
Have characters that get into terrifying situations by breaking the rules, making bad decisions, or ignoring a warning.
Include a terrible problem that is creating a mood of doom.
Are usually set in someplace spooky and often takes place at night.
Include a wide variety of sensory words.
Contain mystery and suspense.
Might be unpredictable – setting the reader up to expect one thing but then providing something else.

Setting the Stage

Nothing sets the tone for writing better than turning out the lights and reading a couple of scary stories. Here are a few of my favorite scary stories for younger kids.

PICTURE BOOKS:

The Teeny Tiny Woman by Paul Galdone
There’s a Nightmare in my Closet by Mercer Mayer
There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
A Very Hairy Scary Story by Rick Walton
Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier
In a Dark Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz
The Little Old Woman Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Piggie Pie by Margie Palenti
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Ghosts! Ghostly Tales From Folklore by Alvin Schwartz
Tell Me a Scary Story but Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner
Scary, Scary, Halloween by Eve Bunting

One year, I took my kiddos to a Tale Telling Festival in Selma Alabama. My kids were on the edge of their seats listening to master a storyteller regale them with tales from the book Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey .

If you can’t make it to a storytelling festival, expose your students to a few videos of storytellers telling scary stories to get a sense of the mood these stories elicit.

Videos provide your students with the opportunity to experience how professional authors play with the readers’ emotions through their choice of WORDS , VOICE, and FACIAL and HAND expressions. One of my favorites is Jackie Torrance telling The Story of Tillie

How to Write the Scary Story

Have you ever tried to teach without a lesson plan? It’s quite frustrating and chaotic isn’t it? You need a PLAN . The same thing is true for your kids. Some of your kids have minimal experience in writing stories. They don’t even know where to begin. They need a plan!

That’s where you come in! By providing supports and structure, your students will write fantastic scary tales. Writing a great story takes time, so if you only have one class period for your kiddos to write, you’re probably not going to get great stories. The time frame from start to finish to sharing takes my kids about a week to complete.

Writing Steps

Here are the steps I use with my students. Depending on the age and degree of writing experience, your students may not need to spend much time on each step.

First, students BRAINSTORM story ideas for things and places that scare them. This is a fun and easy step because kids LOVE to talk about being scared. It’s also good for kids to see that some of their friends are afraid of the same things they are. Be prepared, you might hear some things that you can’t imagine being afraid of. For example, my grandson was TERRIFIED of going to visit my mother in her assisted living facility. He thought all the “old folks” looked like evil creatures. Thankfully, he got over that.

Next, students select a setting, problem, and characters for their story. To help my kids out, I give them choices and ideas to get them started. I provide them with SETTING , PROBLEM , and CHARACTER cards to choose from. By taking note of what your kids shared during the previous BRAINSTORMING SESSION , you have some great ideas to write on the cards.

In the next step, students organize their thoughts using a story elements organizer and a story summary organizer. With these organizers, students plan the story and make sure it has a logical sequence.

Giving students copies of word lists helps them choose sensory words, sound effects (think Ontomontopeia), and vivid verbs to add to the writing.

Have you ever had kids who wrote a narrative and every sentence began with “and then?” Since scary stories are NARRATIVES , I make sure they use a TRANSITIONS WORD LIST to help them with word choice. That way I don’t have to read “and then,” “and then” over and over again.

Let the Writing Begin!

You’ve laid the groundwork. Your kiddos have a recipe for their story. Now it’s time to put pen to paper and START WRITING . For a first draft, I usually have my kids write on every other line. That way it’s easy to make edits during the revision stage.

Next, have a peer and or a teacher review the rough drafts. It’s also helpful to give the kiddos a checklist to make sure they included all the elements for a scary story.

Finally, revise and edit. This is the kids’ LEAST FAVORITE STEP . They want to write their stories ONCE and be done with it! I try to make it more fun by having a little revising party in the class. Give out stickers and turn on some creepy music. If your students have not had experience with peer editing, you can be the editor. A little hint: Tell at least 2 things you really like about the story BEFORE you may suggestions for improvement.

Oops! We’re not done yet! The most overlooked step is REFLECT AND EVALUATE ! Give your kids a writing rubric that is completed by both the student and yourself. I always have my kids share what they think they did best first, and then what they need to improve upon in the comments section of the rubric.

Sharing Your Scary Stories

The most fun is when the kids get to share their own stories. This is the time when my friends say I put on a DOG AND PONY SHOW . But seriously, your kids are super pumped about sharing after learning how to write a scary story.

It’s time to celebrate all their hard work. Have the kids dress up in costumes. Make s’mores. I bought a fantastic electric s’mores maker on Amazon. Turn out the lights, play some spooky music. The piece de resistance is a fake classroom campfire for your kids to sit around.

When it’s time to share his story, I give each kid a flashlight. Remember, it’s important to encourage the kids to ham it up with sound effects, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Creating a Classroom Campfire

You can find numerous blog posts with instructions for building a classroom campfire. Just do a search on Pinterest. Basically, all you need is:

rocks in a circle
sticks in the center of the ring of stones
battery-operated Christmas tree lights to place under and around the sticks
some orange, red, and yellow tissue paper for the flames.

Avoiding Overwhelm When Teaching How to Write a Scary Story

Does this all sound like a lot of work to you? Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered. You can purchase my Write A Scary Story unit on TpT. It includes a PowerPoint on how to write a scary story, all the handouts, cards, rubric, graphic organizers, and everything else you need to teach this unit. There is also a Distance Learning Version you can use if you are teaching remotely!

I’d love to hear how your scary stories turned out! Come back comment to let me know!

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The Night (1908) by Léon Spilliaert. Courtesy Vincent Everarts/Collection of the Belgian State, in deposit at Musée d’Ixelles, Brussels

Terrifying vistas of reality

H p lovecraft, the master of cosmic horror stories, was a philosopher who believed in the total insignificance of humanity.

by Sam Woodward + BIO

In July 1917, Howard Phillips Lovecraft of Providence, Rhode Island wrote a short story called ‘Dagon’. ‘If you don’t care for this,’ he wrote to one editor, ‘you won’t care for anything of mine.’ In the tale, a sailor lost at sea in a wooden rowboat finds himself abruptly stranded on a vast stretch of seabed that had risen to the surface, pushed up by volcanic activity. As the territory of marine muck hardens in the sun, the sailor begins to walk across it, heading westward towards a distant hummock. But after days of walking, he realises the knoll is in fact a high hill. Camping in its shadow, he awakes one night in a cold sweat and endeavours to climb it. But at the summit, he looks over the side ‘into an immeasurable pit or canyon, whose black recesses the moon had not yet soared high enough to illumine.’

As the moon rises higher, he sees an enormous carved monolith on the far side of the water-filled canyon, an object ‘whose massive bulk had known the workmanship and perhaps the worship of living and thinking creatures.’ As he watches, the moonlight catches ripples moving across the water:

Then suddenly I saw it. With only a slight churning to mark its rise to the surface, the thing slid into view above the dark waters. Vast, Polyphemus-like, and loathsome, it darted like a stupendous monster of nightmares to the monolith, about which it flung its gigantic scaly arms, the while it bowed its hideous head and gave vent to certain measured sounds. I think I went mad then.

‘Dagon’ has all the elements of a classic Lovecraft tale. Here, as in many of his later works – including ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ (written in 1926), The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1927), and At the Mountains of Madness (1931) – optimistic endeavours for knowledge, even the simple act of seeing what’s on the other side of a hill, are thwarted by incomprehensible terrors and a horrifyingly arbitrary cosmic order. These revelations shatter the minds of Lovecraft’s truth-seeking characters, including doctors, archaeologists, lost sailors, metaphysicians and scientists of all kinds.

Lovecraft honed these elements through his short stories (along with two novellas and a single novel), developing a unique version of the weird fiction pioneered by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe , Arthur Machen and M R James. However, Lovecraft did not enjoy mainstream success during his lifetime. He barely survived on a measly wage brought in by his short stories (which did not sell well) and freelance editing services before he died of intestinal cancer in 1937, aged 46. Some continued to appreciate his strange stories after his death, but others found them distasteful and ineffective. In 1945, the literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote that the only real horror of Lovecraft’s fiction ‘is the horror of bad taste and bad art’. None of his contemporaries, nor perhaps even Lovecraft himself, could likely have imagined the influence he would come to exert over literature and thought as the 20th century progressed. Today, Lovecraft has become the father of cosmic horror and weird fiction – Stephen King considers him ‘the 20th century’s greatest practitioner of the horror tale’. But his influence is not limited only to literature. His more enduring influence may be as a philosopher .

This might come as a surprise since Lovecraft was, first and foremost, a writer of the weird tale, and he would have said as much himself. But underneath those weird tales was a distinctive philosophical project, one that can reveal as much about our anxieties today as about those of a man living in Providence in the early 20th century.

L ovecraft captures the spirit of his philosophy in the opening paragraph of ‘The Call of Cthulhu’, a story about an expedition to the sunken dwelling of a tentacled Old God worshipped by an ancient cult who pray for their deity to awaken from its slumber and resume its control over mortal-kind. How would Lovecraft start such a fantastic tale? Like this:

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.

Most of his stories, however, are less philosophically explicit. Lovecraft’s thought is often obscured in his tales, and must be pieced together from various sources, including his poetry, essays and, most importantly, his letters. Lovecraft wrote an estimated 100,000 during his life, of which around 10,000 have survived. Within this substantial non-fictional output, the volume of which dwarfs his fictional writing, Lovecraft expounded the philosophical concerns – whether metaphysical, ethical, political or aesthetic – which he claimed underpinned his weird fiction. These tales, he wrote, were based on one fundamental cosmic premise: ‘that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large’.

In H P Lovecraft: The Decline of the West (1990), the scholar S T Joshi analysed many of those letters and essays to create an image of ‘Lovecraft the philosopher’. Joshi claimed that Lovecraft’s identity as a philosopher is a direct outcome of the genre he mastered: weird fiction. This genre, Joshi writes, is inherently philosophical because ‘it forces the reader to confront directly such issues as the nature of the universe and mankind’s place in it.’ Not everyone has agreed that Lovecraft’s thought should be so elevated. The Austrian literary critic Franz Rottensteiner, in a review of Joshi’s book, attacked the idea of Lovecraft as a philosopher: ‘The point is, of course, that Lovecraft as a thinker just wasn’t of any importance,’ he wrote ‘whether as a materialist, an aestheticist, or a moral philosopher.’

However, in the 21st century, Lovecraft has been resurrected as a philosopher again and again. This resurrection has been performed by, among others, the French author Michel Houellebecq, the pessimist philosopher Eugene Thacker, and the speculative realists Ray Brassier, Iain Hamilton Grant, Quentin Meillassoux and Graham Harman. The latter states that ‘although the four original Speculative Realists do not share a single philosophical hero in common, all of us turned out independently to have been admirers of Lovecraft. Though the reasons for this are different in each case, my own interest stems from my view that his weird fiction sets the stage for an entire philosophical genre.’

‘We are all meaningless atoms adrift in the void,’ he wrote in a letter

But what did Lovecraft the philosopher think, in his own words? In his letters, he referred to his philosophy as ‘cosmic indifferentism’, which he also called ‘cosmicism’. He derived the three main tenets of this doctrine – materialism, determinism, atheism – from the work of philosophers and scientists writing between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, George Santayana and T H Huxley were all on the reading list; so too were Ernst Haeckel’s The Riddle of the Universe (1899) and Hugh Elliot’s Modern Science and Materialism (1919). Lovecraft also embraced the ancient atomists (Democritus and Leucippus) and Epicureans (Epicurus and his Roman disciple Lucretius). And he read The Color Line: A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn (1905) by William Benjamin Smith, which would have reinforced the stubborn xenophobia and racism inculcated by his upbringing. Although Lovecraft’s views on race were antiquated even while he was alive, and seemed to denote a lack of attention to philosophical currents of his day, his philosophy is otherwise surprisingly holistic and unified, combining metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics.

As an absolute determinist, Lovecraft’s metaphysics describes an infinite universe in eternal predetermined motion: ‘each human act,’ he wrote, ‘can be no less than the inevitable result of every antecedent and circumambient condition in an eternal cosmos.’ This left no room for teleology, the notion that the universe is moving towards some pre-ordained goal, or that humans and other species are evolving for some purpose. His determinism was accompanied by a strict materialism that, in line with the views of many of his contemporaries, made the immaterial – the soul and spirit – inconceivable. These views shaped the nightmarish figures in his tales, which are not apparitions or spectres, the ‘supernatural’ beings of conventional horror writing, but materially real horrors that only appear supernatural because of humanity’s inability to comprehend their true nature.

However, though Lovecraft may have aligned with some of the philosophical currents of his age, he developed a pointedly pessimistic worldview shared by few of his contemporaries. It was an outlook that he claimed, in his essay ‘A Confession of Unfaith’ (1922), to have first considered when he was 13 years old. Throughout his life, he maintained in his ethics the total insignificance of humanity in the face of a vast and inherently unknowable universe. ‘We are all meaningless atoms adrift in the void,’ he wrote in a letter to his friend, the publisher and writer August Derleth. Though he was pessimistic about humanity’s cosmic position, Lovecraft did not fall victim to the fatalist fallacy in his tales; the actions of his characters still have moral value and meaning on the individual level for the purposes of bettering the self and society. In the same letter, he adopted a relativist stance towards moral values. Elsewhere, he attributed this ethical system to his reading of Epicurus and Lucretius. Lovecraftian ethics and metaphysics therefore owes a great deal to the ancient and modern thinkers to whom Lovecraft subscribed during his lifetime. This may seem to suggest that he was merely a bricoleur of philosophical scraps. But something distinct, even anti-philosophical, emerges from his letters and essays: a general ambivalence towards epistemology, in which ‘the joy in pursuing truth’ is offset by its ‘depressing revelations’.

Anathema to many philosophical systems, or perhaps philosophy itself, Lovecraft’s philosophical project fundamentally holds that contemplations of higher reality or the nature of things can never be fully realised. Ultimately, the search for knowledge does not constitute some telos , some purpose, for humankind, but rather leads to the violent dissolution of the self. Higher reality is that which the limited human psyche can never fully comprehend.

‘The Music of Erich Zann’ (1922) is a good early example. In this short story, a student of metaphysics finds himself in a strange, nebulous town while searching for the Rue d’Auseil. When the student happens upon the street, he becomes lost and confounded by epistemological darkness; the contingency and illusory nature of the world is conveyed by the shadows cast by the houses and the smoke from the factories that obfuscate his path. At the top of the street, a high wall, signifying a barrier to higher philosophical understanding, confronts the student. He believes that, if he could just find a vantage point above the wall, he could behold the ‘wide and dizzying panorama of moonlit roofs and city lights beyond the hill-top’. To discover what’s out there – to know the nature of reality – the student rents a room in a house high up the Rue d’Auseil. Above him is an attic rented by the mute viol player Erich Zann. Here, at the highest point on the street, Zann can look through his window and see what is beyond the wall. But when the student finally enters the attic and looks out, all he sees is ‘the blackness of space illimitable’. All that is beyond is an incomprehensible void.

In this and other stories, Lovecraft suggests that higher philosophical knowledge should not be sought, since finding it entails learning of our cosmic insignificance and purposelessness. Zann seems to know this truth. He tries to drag the student away from the window and also attempts to keep the looming nothingness at bay by playing his viol frantically, but the void leaves him catatonic. The philosophy student manages to escape, and descends back down the Rue d’Auseil and into the familiar shadowy streets of epistemological dullness. This return to metaphysical ignorance is a balm against the total ruination of the mind: Lovecraft transforms the student’s quest for knowledge into a realisation of soul-annihilating cosmicism.

This ‘negative revelation’, as it might be called, is a crucial aspect of Lovecraft’s philosophy and his desire for epistemological quietism. It is what makes his philosophical project distinct. In the sensationalist dreamscapes of his stories, the father of cosmic horror learned to take refuge from the true reality of a soulless and mechanistic universe.

F or Lovecraft, art and literature are the ideal means for individuals to find beauty and meaning, despite humanity’s profound lack of cosmic purpose. If the universe is infinite and indifferent, one can ward off nihilism by seeking solace in artistic self-expression. This idea appears in many of Lovecraft’s stories, but the best example is the author himself. Throughout his life, the act of writing weird fiction became a modus vivendi for finding meaning. Though his letters might describe his philosophy most clearly, Lovecraft’s stories – all written in a single genre – are the primary mode through which he creatively expressed those ideas.

In his essay ‘Supernatural Horror in Literature’ (1927), Lovecraft characterised weird fiction as a genre unsuited to quotidian human events and emotions. Instead, he writes that it requires a fervent imagination and sensitivity to ineffable, unknown forces outside of human experience. Lovecraft believed the weird fiction genre itself was innately philosophical because to write something truly weird required engaging with thought itself:

The true weird tale has something more than secret murder, bloody bones, or a sheeted form clanking chains according to rule. A certain atmosphere of breathless and unexplainable dread of outer, unknown forces must be present; and there must be a hint … of that most terrible conception of the human brain – a malign and particular suspension or defeat of those fixed laws of Nature which are our only safeguard against the assaults of chaos and the daemons of unplumbed space.

Crucial to the weird tale is its cosmic, beyond-human orientation. Lovecraft’s injunction that weird fiction authors suspend or defeat the ‘fixed laws of Nature’ is particularly elucidating. As any strict materialist and determinist knows, violating natural law is impossible in practice. But Lovecraft’s stories are dotted with attempts to describe the impossible within the limitations of human expression and experience. Cthulhu, his ancient cosmic god, is described as constituting ‘eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order’ and its dwelling comprises ‘non-Euclidean’ geometry with angles of masonry seemingly acute but that ‘behaved as if [they] were obtuse’. Through a belief in the impossible, Lovecraft thought we might ‘acquire a certain flush of triumphant emancipation comparable in its comforting power to the opiate dreams of religion’. But that would happen only if we had, he believed, ‘the illusory sensation that some law of the ruthless cosmos has been – or could be – invalidated or defeated’. In that sense, the illusory depictions of nature contravened in weird fiction tales provide some respite, even if only aesthetic, from the rigid and unerring clockwork of the mechanistic and predetermined universe.

These gods are uninterested in human affairs, reflecting the indifference of the universe and our insignificance

For Lovecraft, horror is found in what we think could be out there in the universe, given our glaringly deficient knowledge about reality. ‘The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,’ he writes in his 1927 essay, ‘and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown’. It is ironic, then, that Lovecraft couldn’t see past his own racist prejudices (which he might have seen as utterly trivial on a cosmic scale). Fear of the ‘unknown’ informed many of his worldviews, including this ugly blemish upon his legacy. In Lovecraft’s fiction, the ‘unknown’ often manifests through ‘Old Gods’. In the surreal odyssey The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath , Azathoth is the instantiation of primordial chaos, who lives beyond ‘the bright clusters of dimensioned space’. In ‘Through the Gates of the Silver Key’ (1932-33), Yog-Sothoth is the infinity of all that is, an entity resembling ‘congeries of iridescent globes’ that encompasses the past, present and future. In addition, these and other gods are all amoral and utterly uninterested in human affairs, thus reflecting the indifference of the universe and the insignificance of humankind more broadly.

One might think it strange that Lovecraft, an atheist, created a pseudo-pantheon of primordial gods, but they perform a distinct function within his fiction. Such metaphorical, ‘supernatural’ terrors appear only through humanity’s ignorance of the universe: these horrors represent the ‘cosmic spaces which would otherwise be an ambiguous and tantalising void’.

L earning of these gods and their kin leads only to ‘negative revelations’ that shatter epistemological optimism. For Lovecraft’s characters, such revelations often enkindle a desire for quietism, causing them to take refuge within their own self-constructed dreamscapes to avoid the revelations of cosmicism. Across his fiction, Lovecraft portrayed these stunned characters, who urge others to avoid seeking knowledge of true reality. This theme is nascent even in his earliest short stories. In ‘Celephaïs’ (1920), we follow as Randolph Carter visits a man calling himself Kuranes, who seeks the titular city in his dreams to shut out the ennui of daily existence. For him, everyday human concerns are inherently meaningless; life is a cosmically trivial existence. So, Kuranes searches for Celephaïs, his own internal source of self-constructed aesthetic beauty derived from fancy and illusion. To aid his search, he prolongs and intensifies his dreams with drugs, but in the process happens upon a deep recess of boundless and unknown space ‘outside what he had called infinity’, which causes him profound anxiety. Eventually, an entourage of knights from Celephaïs leads a nervous Kuranes into the abyss, where he reigns as regent within his own dream-space. As ruler over Celephaïs, he also controls his existential cosmic anxieties by revelling in his own illusory aesthetic delight. This mirrors at a metatextual level the enjoyment and relief from cosmic anxieties that Lovecraft likely derived from weird fiction itself.

Negative revelation is fully fleshed out in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Randolph Carter, Lovecraft’s recurrent protagonist, hopes to journey in his dreams to the city of Kadath to obtain esoteric knowledge from the Great Ones. Before commencing his dream-journey, he is warned by two priests of the dangers that lie ahead. Most hazardous is the possibility of happening upon the ‘boundless daemon-sultan Azathoth’, the deific cosmic centre of chaos and infinity accompanied by the Other Gods who dance along to the insanity-inducing music it makes. Carter, naturally, ignores the priests’ warnings.

For him, knowledge of the boundless and unknown is a profound source of anxiety

Upon arrival at Kadath, he finds the city empty. A pharaoh approaches him, explaining that the gods have abandoned it. He sends Carter to return the gods to their rightful seat. But the pharaoh, who is really Nyarlathotep, the intermediary between humans and Old Gods in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos (and who relishes in meddling in mortal affairs), deceives him. The disguised Nyarlathotep addresses the dreamer in an extended monologue. He tells Carter that the city he ought to seek is not Kadath wherein lie the secrets of the Great Ones, but Providence, Rhode Island, which contains the beautiful and delightful memories of Carter’s youth. The mind-shattering void that is Azathoth (a revelation of cosmicism) should be avoided in favour of self-constructed internal beauty derived from memories relived in dreams. Nyarlathotep’s advice is sound, but he has no intention of allowing Carter to leave. Carter is sent plummeting towards Azathoth, past the ‘vague blackness and loneliness beyond the cosmos’. He attempts to escape, falling ceaselessly through void and infinity, and wakes in his Boston home.

For Lovecraft and his protagonists, knowledge of the boundless and unknown is a profound source of anxiety eased only by taking refuge in illusory dream-space.

T he aesthetic liberation of the weird tale comes from its depiction of the impossible. But, as the history of science shows, not all unimaginable and unexplainable realities elude us – consider the discovery of quantum mechanics or black holes in the mid- 20th century. Lovecraft understood this relationship with the impossible: he suggests that if science, hypothetically, were to explain at some point in the future any phenomena depicted in the weird tale, then the story would cease to represent the suspension of natural law. It would cease to be ‘weird’. This might go some way to explain why a lot of Lovecraft’s later fiction made efforts to reconcile the weird tale with modern science, not by providing what he terms ‘contradictions’ of natural law, but rather ‘supplements’ to it. The conventional supernatural elements of horror – werewolves, vampires and other supernatural phenomena (variations of which appear in Lovecraft’s earlier tales) – are aesthetically inadequate in the face of our understanding of modern science and the universe. The Old Gods even seem to take a back seat.

‘The Colour Out of Space’ (1927) exemplifies this development. This story follows the Gardner family, who see a strange, glowing rock-like entity, the ‘colour’, fall from the sky into a field near their property. This ‘colour’ begins to spread throughout the Gardners’ property, infecting the flora (rendering it grey and crumbly), the farm animals (who turn feral), the water supply, and the family themselves. Mr Gardner’s oldest son goes insane, and his other son goes missing while fetching water from the well. He and his wife become hideously physically deformed and lose all sense of themselves. When the farm is eventually inspected, all living things within it have perished and nothing remains but blighted land. The ‘colour’ had siphoned life from the landscape.

Eventually, the ‘colour’ launches itself from the ground and flies upwards from wherever it came. Upon scientific examination, the residue it leaves behind defies all known chemical and physical laws. It tests negative for any known metals, does not exhibit any sensitivity to changes in temperature, and no chemicals react with it. This rock-like substance emits only an iridescent glow, the shade of which is not identifiable on our colour spectrum. In fact, it is not a ‘colour’ at all; it is only referred to as a ‘colour’ because this is the category that most accurately describes it.

There is no telling what we might find in the deepest recesses of the universe

In this tale, contradictory apophatic descriptions, reminiscent of the properties of Lovecraft’s Old Gods, are now firmly focused through a scientific lens, marking an integration of the weird with scientific reason. But for the weird tale to remain truly ‘weird’, it must be cosmic in the science fiction sense, involving only the boundless and unknown phenomena for which science has not (yet) accounted. In this sense, the negative revelation of cosmicism is rendered more acute in this story because Lovecraft reveals his ideas through the cold and logical rationalism of science, without any of the quasi-religious embellishments of the dreamscape, which might otherwise provide relief from the harsh realities of the universe.

Though Lovecraft embraced scientific rationalism wholeheartedly during his life, his fiction still comes with a pessimistic warning to those who engage in unbridled scientific endeavour: there is no telling what we might find in the deepest recesses of the universe as our understanding of reality grows. Real knowledge, Lovecraft suggests, is impossible; humans have a limited capacity to think in truly rational ways. This perspective might explain why Lovecraft was not an evangelical atheist and accepted the usefulness of religion for the vast majority of the population, for whom a godless existence would be intolerable: ‘It helps their orderly conduct as nothing else could,’ he wrote, ‘and gives them an emotional satisfaction they could not get elsewhere.’ And besides, if we ever discovered that the universe really was as cosmically purposeless as Lovecraft imagined, then delusions of Cthulhu-esque gods might seem reasonable — or even desirable.

So where does this leave us today? Lovecraft’s legacy at present is truly astonishing, especially when we consider the state of obscurity in which he died. Crucially, his philosophy has endured, outlined through bewildered protagonists who watch their sense of self dissolve as they gain a (limited) appreciation of how things truly are. At the end of ‘Dagon’, his story of one man’s ill-fated journey to see what is on the other side of a strange hill, we see this philosophy in action. For Lovecraft, ‘man’ is not the measure of all things. Humans are not a superior species. Our customs, trivial. Our time, fleeting.

‘I cannot think of the deep sea,’ Lovecraft writes at the end of ‘Dagon’, ‘without shuddering at the nameless things that may at this very moment be crawling and floundering on its slimy bed, worshipping their ancient stone idols and carving their own detestable likenesses on submarine obelisks of water-soaked granite. I dream of a day when they may rise above the billows to drag down in their reeking talons the remnants of puny, war-exhausted mankind – of a day when the land shall sink, and the dark ocean floor shall ascend amidst universal pandemonium.’

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Five Horror Movies to Stream Now

A fanatical faith leader, aggressive home invaders and disfigured attention hogs are among the subjects of this month’s horror picks.

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Two men in jackets stand outside, both looking down at something out of frame, blue sky behind them. One man is on his phone.

By Erik Piepenburg

‘Sheeps Clothing’

Rent or buy on major platforms.

Kyle McConaghy’s knockout neo-noir thriller is a sinister yet humane parable about blind faith and religious manipulation. It’s one of my favorite movies of the year so far.

After suffering a traumatic brain injury in a brutal attack, Mansa (Aaron Phifer) takes a job editing videos for a struggling church led by the young and charismatic Pastor (Nick Heyman). Mansa, who is Black, disregards a neighbor’s warning that the white Pastor is a bootleg preacher who suckers Black people out of money. When Pastor, enraged, kills a parishioner, he convinces the trusting Mensa that God uses sinners for his will and wants Mensa to help Pastor get rid of the body in the California desert.

This film, with a screenplay by McConaghy and Phifer, is about two people but contains many contradictions; its twists take you down paths that are unnerving but tender, specific yet universal, bleak but not without hope. Race underscores it all: In a filmmaker’s statement, Phifer said he was inspired by the “convenient allyship” of white people he never heard from again after they reached out during the George Floyd protests, and by “the lack of substantive action in the white church” of his youth. This film may look lean and humble, but it speaks a mighty word.

‘You’ll Never Find Me’

Stream it on Shudder.

Guilt looks like a ghost in this creepy two-hander from the Australian filmmakers Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell.

It’s late one dark and stormy night when Patrick (Brendan Rock) hears someone frantically knocking on the door of his isolated trailer home. It’s a barefoot and wet young woman (Jordan Cowan) asking for a ride back to town. Patrick invites her in, makes her soup and lets her take a shower , but cautions her that getting back home will be a challenge. “This thunderstorm is strange,” he tells her.

As the sounds of torrential rain and creaking floorboards set an increasingly macabre mood, Patrick slinks toward pure paranoia as he wonders who his mysterious yet familiar-looking visitor might be, and what she’s after. Bell’s script becomes more abstract and supernatural as the uncertainties mount, but she and Allen are assured enough directors that the scary stuff stays grounded, and hence more menacing than silly. Maxx Corkindale’s cinematography bathes Patrick’s cramped trailer in a stylish eeriness, the right mood for a claustrophobic house of horrors.

‘Followers’

Stream it on Screambox.

In 2022, the director James Rich made “Follower,” which at first looks like a run-of-the-mill slasher: Three young women — Sam (Gigi James), a social media influencer, and her friends Heather (Revell Carpenter) and Riley (Molly Leach) — survive an attack during a camping trip at the hands of a masked madman who livestreams his violent acts to fellow incels who call themselves the Wolves.

Like that film, this crackling sequel — written by Rich and Zac Hersh — is a calculated exercise in depravity. (You don’t need to have seen “Follower,” which is streaming on Tubi , to be freaked out by this film.) Here, the action mostly takes place inside a mansion where the women and their partners gather for dinner after a documentary about their ordeal airs.

As the Wolves crash the party, Rich uses understated visual cues — off-kilter framing, oddly-paced scenes — that renders the violence uncannily and chillingly real. What could have been a mess of tired horror tropes is instead a refreshing and nasty take on a home invasion movie, a low-budget cousin to “You’re Next.”

‘Sick of Myself’

Stream it on Paramount+.

Spending time with an energy-sucking monster is a nightmare. But when a narcissistic gorgon is also viciously funny, what you get is Kristoffer Borgli’s smart dark satire about the seemingly unquenchable thirst for center stage.

Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) has a bad case of main character syndrome , and her symptoms are rage and jealousy toward her boyfriend, Thomas (Eirik Saether), a conceptual artist who’s making a splash in Oslo’s gallery scene. As Signe’s desperate need for attention turns pathological, she starts taking a bootleg drug she got off the internet that’s known to cause severe deformities. Her twisted Munchausen maneuver pays off: When the pills turn her face bloated and bloody , she claims to have a one-of-a-kind disease, a lie that gets her a newspaper cover story and a modeling gig for a clothing brand appropriately named Regardless, not to mention abundant sympathy from friends. But at what cost?

Thorp beautifully underplays her character’s toxic absurdities, landing somewhere between Carol, the tragic heroine of Todd Haynes’s “Safe,” and Penelope , Kristen Wiig’s mousy “Saturday Night Live” character who is so much better than you.

‘Older Gods’

Stream it on Fandango at Home.

Chris (Rory Wilson, heartbreaking) leaves his pregnant wife in America to travel to a remote cottage in Wales, searching for clues in the mysterious death of his good friend Billy (Ieuan Coombs). Billy left behind video messages for Chris documenting the research he was doing on a cult that worshiped the Origin, a bloodthirsty deity. Chris soon starts seeing black-cloaked figures outside his cabin, and has nightmares in which the ancient Origin speaks in a growl, telling him: “All that you love will bleed.” From there, the film’s creeping dread turns into a sprint.

David A. Roberts’s feature film debut is a tense yet tender meditation on death and the regrets it can leave behind. It’s a gem of Lovecraftian folk horror: supernatural in action yet deeply human in spirit. The script explains too much and shows too little, but Shaun Bishop’s haunting, storytelling cinematography makes up for the uneven momentum. Bonus: Fandango at Home is streaming the film for free.

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‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Review: This One Has a ‘Story,’ but Beneath the Slasher Violence Its Only Horror Is What It Does to IP

There are three storybook beast creatures this time, but Rhys Frake-Waterfield remains more packager than director.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Review: This One Has a ‘Story,’ but Beneath the Slasher Violence Its Only Horror Is What It Does to IP 4 days ago

Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2 Tigger

For more than 40 years now, moviegoers have lined up to see the spectacle of people being slaughtered by a psycho with a chainsaw, a psycho in a Halloween mask, a psycho in a goalie mask, a psycho with burnt skin and a striped shirt and fedora, or a psycho with S&M nails in his face. So why not a psycho Winnie the Pooh?

And yet, in its very existence, “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” announced a brave new world of where horror could go. The rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh characters had been owned by the Walt Disney Company since 1966 (at that point, Disney was eating up children’s classics as greedily as Pooh licking out the insides of his honey jar). But the first of the Pooh books, published in 1926, entered the public domain in the U.S. on January 1, 2022, and Rhys Frake-Waterfield started shooting his horror-hack curio just three months later.

His big idea mirrored the sort of thing you used to see in porn videos — when they’re riffs on real movies and have titles like “Pulp Friction” and “Legally Boned.” “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” wasn’t porn, but it was a kind of blood-soaked exploitation cosplay. Its only real horror was to demonstrate how blithely you could reduce cherished IP to trash.

There may be a lot more going on “Blood and Honey 2,” but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s mostly a shambles. One year after the 100 Acre Massacre, everyone in the town of Ashdown blames Christopher Robin for it; they think he committed it. Why anyone would pin this crime on such a nice fellow is beyond me, and the film doesn’t really follow through on that anyway, except to make the point that Chris is now a walking trauma case. In the first film, he was played by Nikolai Leon, who was actually right for the part. Now he’s played by Scott Chambers, who comes on like he’s auditioning to star in “The Ed Sheeran Story.”

There are more creatures this time, and a lot more mayhem — more dismemberings and decapitations and face gougings, especially during the climactic rave sequence, which lays waste to everyone on the dance floor. Pooh (Ryan Oliva), who has been redesigned, still wears his signature overalls and red flannel shirt, but his face looks even gnarlier; he now resembles a homicidal version of Jim Carrey’s Grinch. Owl (Marcus Massey) looks like someone in a royal crow costume out of “Eyes Wide Shut” (and speaks in a voice of aristocratic evil), and Tigger (Lewis Santer), who doesn’t show up until that rave sequence, has a face that (for no good reason) is nearly identical to Pooh’s. But he’s got claws that slash like knives, and his Tiggerish energy may be the closest thing here to a quality linked to the character of legend.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield is, I suppose, a filmmaker, but really he’s a British schlock maven who, in 2021, left his job at an energy company to package low-budget horror films. Within two years, he’d produced 36 features with titles like “The Loch Ness Horror,” “Snake Hotel,” “Alien Invasion,” and “Medusa’s Venom.” Somewhere up in drive-in-theater heaven, Herschell Gordon Lewis and Ed Wood are smiling, even if Frake-Waterfield makes them look like Scorsese and Spielberg. Yet there’s no denying that he’s a canny and ambitious packager. He has announced grand plans to launch the Poohniverse, which will include such movies as “Pinocchio Unstrung,” “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Poohniverse: Monsters Assembled.” I doubt audiences will be very unsettled by any of this. But you can bet the IP is trembling.

Reviewed at Regal Union Square, March 26, 2024. MPA rating: Not rated. Running time: 100 MIN.

Production: A Fathom Events, ITN Distribution release of a Jagged Edge Productions production. Producers: Scott Jeffrey, Rhys Frake-Waterfield. Executive producers: Stuart Alson, Nicole Holland.
Crew: Director: Rhys Frake-Waterfield. Screenplay: Matt Leslie. Camera: Vince Knight. Editor: Matt Villa. Music: David Hirschfelder.
With: Scott Chambers, Ryan Oliva, Eddy MacKenzie, Tallulah Evans, Lewis Santer, Marcus Massey, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Simon Callow.

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The Best Horror Movies on Max Right Now

Line up some scary movies to watch this weekend.

The weekend is almost here, and can you think of anything as calming and rejuvenating as a horror movie binge? Whether you'd prefer to check out classics or marathon-watch some newer scary flicks, you'll find both kinds on Max .

From blood-soaked entries like Carrie to dread-inducing stories like Midsommar, you can't go wrong with any of the nine creepy films below. All these films received generally favorable reviews or better, according to Metacritic. If you're wondering what Max is all about, here's more on the streaming service , which unites the HBO Max and Discovery Plus libraries.

Hereditary (2018)

This is one you shouldn't watch alone. The feature-length directorial debut from Ari Aster (Midsommar) is about what a family uncovers after the death of its matriarch, and it may be the scariest entry on this list. If you're up for a disturbing flick with great performances, venture cautiously into Hereditary.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

George Romero's first horror film is an easy recommendation. A group of survivors take refuge in a house while members of the undead swarm outside. The influential flick is often regarded as the first modern zombie movie , and while it may not offer Freddy Krueger-level frights, you'll be drawn in by the characters at the center of its story. You're going to want to leave the door open for this one (but in the case of an actual apocalypse, keep it very, very shut).

The Menu (2022)

Anya Taylor-Joy shines in this horror satire about an elaborate dinner with a dark twist. It presents an assortment of guests gathering at Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant on an island. Renowned chef Julian Slowik, played by a magnetic Ralph Fiennes, has planned every detail of the evening except for the inclusion of Taylor-Joy's Margot. Dishing out thrills and social commentary, The Menu will have you pleading for seconds.

Carrie (1976)

It's more Stephen King, and you have to watch Sissy Spacek's Oscar-nominated portrayal of the prom queen at least once in your life. Why not now?

It Comes at Night (2017)

This grim horror film is about a family living in a secluded home in the aftermath of an unnamed cataclysm and what happens when a desperate couple with a young child enters the picture. The terrors aren't supernatural, but this harrowing flick will haunt you.

Midsommar (2019)

Horrors take place in broad daylight in this haunting film from Ari Aster. Set at a midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village, Midsommar has plenty of disturbing surprises in store for its guests. Prepare for some shocking scenes and a gripping performance from Florence Pugh.

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

A family accidentally unearths some unimaginable evils in this gory supernatural horror story. It's the fifth entry in the film franchise after The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II ('87), Army of Darkness ('92) and Evil Dead (2013).

The Witch (2015)

This historical horror movie pretty much guarantees nightmares. The disturbing flick centers on a family in 1630s New England and marks Anya Taylor-Joy's film debut. Over the 90-minute flick, strange and shocking things happen to a farmer and family who've relocated to a remote area on the edge of a forest.

Eraserhead (1977)

David Lynch's first feature-length film will make you feel like you're in a bizarre nightmare. The 90-minute black-and-white horror flick is packed with odd sounds and imagery, and the result is incredibly eerie. Don't even get me started on the main character's freakish, otherworldly looking "baby" (that's oddly still kind of cute?). There are messages about men and parenthood here, but even setting aside the bigger picture, Eraserhead's surreal world is absolutely worth a visit.

The horror of the Key Bridge disappearing overnight

The bridge symbolized technological prowess and human connection. its collapse triggers darker emotions..

The video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse now exists as a global icon, giving several billion people a seemingly intimate and shocking memory of a bridge they may never have seen or heard of until social media and journalism made it ubiquitous.

The video is fascinating, terrifying, mesmerizing, and it may confirm superstitions we often feel about things beyond our individual comprehension. How is it that airplanes stay up in the air, and tunnels don’t collapse under the weight of water and earth? Even the most agnostic brains will make quiet and reflexive supplication for protection before crossing a bridge as dramatic as the one that collapsed this week.

The loss of the bridge is first a human tragedy, for those injured or killed by its collapse. And then it is an economic shock, with a radiating toll that won’t be fully understood for years , and perhaps decades. But it’s also a powerful symbolic shock, given the metaphorical power of bridges as a form of connection, a symbol of our technical prowess, a point of civic pride and persistent desire to master and reshape the landscape.

On the day the Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in March 1977, the Baltimore Sun celebrated the views from the top of its giant steel-truss crossing: “In every direction from the harbor span lie dramatic vistas of the Port of Baltimore.” That included a marine terminal, the giant Bethlehem Steel plant and the Penn Central Canton rail yards. After delays and cost overruns, the new bridge was welcomed as yet more proof of the city’s ambition, its engineering prowess and its economic might.

The city hasn’t fared well in recent decades, and the newspaper’s breathless boosterism for new infrastructure sounds strangely dated. So, too, the name the bridge bears. We remember Francis Scott Key not only as the author of our national anthem’s lyrics, but also as an enslaver and staunch opponent of abolitionism. There is little enthusiasm for creating new memorials to him.

The Style section

But the Key Bridge was a marvel, and it remained a high point of any drive around the city of Baltimore until its collapse, early Tuesday morning, after being struck by a giant container ship. Since the middle of the last century, American infrastructure has been laid heavily and bluntly on the social and natural landscape. Interstate highways were plowed recklessly and cruelly through urban areas, too often dividing and polluting neighborhoods of the poor and people of color. Outside of cities, the standardized width, grades and slopes of the interstate highways seem designed to deny any connection to topography.

The Key Bridge, however, was a rare moment when your car seemed to soar, giving you a not-quite-bird’s-eye view of the peculiar geography and history of the East Coast. Any trip by train or highway along the heavily populated Mid-Atlantic seaboard involves myriad long bridges and tunnels to cross the bays, estuaries and wide rivers that stretch deep into the coastal plains. Baltimore is situated where it is because it provides safe harbor for ships. And many seemingly landlocked cities, like Richmond and Fredericksburg, lie near the last navigable point of major rivers that stretch fingers of trade and commerce into the country’s interior. Unlike the tunnels that carry Interstate 95 and I-895 across the harbor and Patapsco River, the Key Bridge offered an exhilarating experience of the landscape, and its connection to the early economy of colonial America.

A symbolic shock like Tuesday’s tends to lead the public toward darker emotions — horror, of course — but also fear, suspicion and even cynicism.

Like the photographs that emerge from wars or disaster, bombings, floods and earthquakes, the video of the bridge collapse doesn’t explain the things that feel most inexplicable. The more you watch it, the less it yields, until finally the mind flirts with some kind of metaphor or parable to make sense of it. Perhaps there is a fable of American decline or corruption or incompetence. It’s best not to amplify or extend the toxic theories that circulated in the immediate aftermath. But they are symptoms of the same phenomenon, a sudden, overwhelming craving for meaning, into which unscrupulous people will project their ugliest fancy.

In the video, the bridge faltered first on the left side of the frame, then in the center, and then its long truss snapped and the right span fell, all in a matter of a few seconds. The speed of its failure offers the first of the fables, that something must be desperately wrong with the design for it to collapse so quickly. But its rapid failure is directly related to the properties of a long, steel-truss bridge. Put simply: Each part of this bridge’s main span is helping the other parts do their work. Its elements are integrated into a whole, which allows less steel to bear more weight.

The engineering is fundamental to the bridge’s beauty. The main span of the Key Bridge, the one that flew high above the river allowing passage to ships beneath, sat on its four piers like a bird. Seen from a distance, it looked spidery and delicate. For centuries, advances in bridge technology have created a tension between efficiency — the ability to span greater distances with less structure — and an intuitive belief that bridges should be solid, heavy, formidable in their construction. When 18th-century London debated the design of a new Blackfriars bridge, Samuel Johnson argued vehemently for a heavier structure of semicircular arches, rather than what was built, a series of slightly more graceful semielliptical arches.

“The first excellence of a bridge built for commerce, over a large river, is strength,” he wrote in a 1759 public letter. He lost the argument, but his appeal to what seemed common sense — the old, round Roman arch was stronger and thus always preferable — still haunts our thinking about infrastructure, if we think of each project individually and unrelated to larger needs and systems.

But infrastructure isn’t just a collection of individual projects, but a larger collection of problems and responses. And to meet those demands efficiently, you build not the strongest bridge possible in every case, but the strongest necessary to meet a reasonable set of expectations and risks.

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The giant steel bridges the world began building in the 19th century embody the man-made sublime, delighting the eye and terrifying the mind with their ambition. Walt Whitman used to visit the great Eads Bridge in St. Louis to feast on the poetry of its design: “I have haunted the river every night lately, where I could look at the bridge by moonlight.” It was, he said, “a structure of perfection and beauty unsurpassable,” a sentiment more common when this technology was still new, and dazzling, and wasn’t routinely value-engineered out of the final design.

But when Benjamin Baker and John Fowler designed the equally beautiful Forth Bridge in Scotland, they had to demonstrate the engineering in a way that made its forces of tension and cantilevers intelligible to ordinary people. So, they had a picture taken of three men using chairs, broomsticks, weights and their arms to reproduce the logic of his design. In the middle, miraculously suspended in midair, sat Kaichi Watanabe, a Japanese engineer who was studying in the United Kingdom.

The image not only explained the bridge, but also made it human, extending its metaphorical power as a collective human project with collective benefits. It enacted in an almost comical way the basic trust we place in engineering that defies our individual comprehension.

There will be investigations and essential lessons learned from the tragedy earlier this week. People trying to bypass Baltimore will be inconvenienced, and people who live there will be unnecessarily burdened , but there will also be workarounds and adaptation. And slowly, the images, fables and analogies that govern our thinking about bridges will revert to where they have been for centuries: They are a means of connection, essential, often beautiful, sometimes terrifying, and never more so than when they are miraculous in their efficiency of design.

Baltimore bridge collapse

How it happened: Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship . The container ship lost power shortly before hitting the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said. Video shows the bridge collapse in under 40 seconds.

Victims: Divers have recovered the bodies of two construction workers , officials said. They were fathers, husbands and hard workers . A mayday call from the ship prompted first responders to shut down traffic on the four-lane bridge, saving lives.

Economic impact: The collapse of the bridge severed ocean links to the Port of Baltimore, which provides about 20,000 jobs to the area . See how the collapse will disrupt the supply of cars, coal and other goods .

Rebuilding: The bridge, built in the 1970s , will probably take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild , experts said.

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Part 3

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Short Horror Story Essay 8 Models
1- To obey orders. 2- Giving up bad behavior. 3- Repressing the evil instincts that are inside every human being. 4- Controlling the child in the safety zone next to the parents. 5- Planting correct means and methods through intimidation. Several years ago, my father told me a story about a boy who went out without telling his family where he ...
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Although many horror writing prompts and scary ideas have been written, the following 132 horror writing prompts can spark great creativity in aspiring writers of the horror genre. A family is on a camping trip. The parents are walking with their two children, a daughter and a son. The little boy trips and falls into a dark river.
Scary Story Essay example
Scary Story Essay example. Scary Story I looked up at the black sky. I hadn't intended to be out this late. The sun had set, and the empty road ahead had no streetlights. I knew I was in for a dark journey home. I had decided that by traveling through the forest would be the quickest way home. Minutes passed, yet it seemed like hours and days.
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Submitted to Contest #243. In a small town in America, there lived a teenager named Alex. He was an ordinary teenager who loved playing video games and hanging out with his friends. One day, his mother, who worked for a big tech company, had to go on a business trip to Inverness, Scotland.
25 Horror Writing Prompts: How to Write Scary Stories
25 Horror Writing Prompts. 1. A scary doll comes to life. 2. A scene from a nightmare comes true the next day. 3. Days go by, and your parents don't come home. 4. You feel yourself slowly becoming a monster.
101 Horror Writing Prompts (Scream-worthy prompts for horror stories)
4. On this Halloween night, your guinea pig won't stop running in circles, and your dog keeps staring at the door, emitting a low growl. 5. You run out for candy on Halloween afternoon to find the streets empty and the store abandoned. A single car cruises into the lot and pulls into the spot next to yours. 6.
Crafting the Perfect Scary Story Essay: Tips, Ideas & Structure
Some tips for writing a good scary story essay include: Use sensory details to create a vivid and evocative atmosphere. Build suspense and tension gradually, with a well-paced structure. Create well-rounded and relatable characters. Use literary devices like foreshadowing and metaphor to create a sense of foreboding.
Horror Essays
Monkey's Paw Symbolism. 1 page / 484 words. The short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs is a classic example of a horror story that uses symbolism to convey its themes. The story revolves around a magical monkey's paw that grants its owner three wishes, but with disastrous consequences.
Primer on the Construction of a Scary Story Essay
Looking to write a scary story essay? Our comprehensive guide provides you with expert tips and step-by-step instructions to construct a captivating and spine-chilling narrative. Explore the elements of suspense, fear, and tension to create a masterful piece of writing. Discover the art of storytelling and learn how to engage your readers with thrilling experiences. Let The Knowledge Nest ...
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Stuck on your essay? Browse essays about Horror Stories and find inspiration. Learn by example and become a better writer with Kibin's suite of essay help services.
Primer on the Construction of a Scary Story Essay
A mother feeding her son, a sister playing with her brother, school friends - bonds of love and friendship are at the heart of every good scary story. Of course, a true story beats out everything, but that's beside the point. Having the main character you can get behind and support sells a horror story.
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September 30, 2022. Give yourself the chills with this list of over 110 horror writing prompts. From scary ghost stories to creepy stories about animals and monsters. Now is the time to write your own horror story, just like Goosebumps or The Haunting of Aveline Jones. From the gory to the scary, from the monstrous to the supernatural, from the ...
Essay on Horror Story
500 Words Essay on Horror Story Introduction. Horror stories have been a part of human culture for centuries, delighting and terrifying audiences in equal measure. They are narratives designed to frighten, cause dread or panic, or invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale. The horror genre taps into the primal fear ...
How to Write a Scary Story (with Pictures)
3. Work your fear into the setting of a story. Use the setting to limit or trap your characters in the story. Restrict your character's movements so he is forced to confront his fear and then try to find a way out. Think about what kind of confined spaces scare you, such as a cellar, a coffin, or an abandoned town.
How to Write a Horror Story: 7 Tips for Writing Horror
6. Put your characters in compelling danger. 7. Use your imagination. 7 key tips to writing a blood-chilling horror story 😱. Click to tweet! 1. Start with a fear factor. The most important part of any horror story is naturally going to be its fear factor.
How to Write a Scary Story in 5 Easy Steps
1. Write about what scares you. 2. Use Setting to Your Advantage when writing a Horror story. 3. Choose your character and point of view wisely when writing a horror story. 4. Lay It all on the line when writing a scary story. 5.
10 Steps For How to Write Horror: Conjuring Nightmares with a Pen
10. Read & Revise. This might be the most crucial tip for writing horror. Once you start writing, you must also start reading. Read your drafts, read works by notable horror authors, and constantly refine them. Remember, every great story started as a draft that was revised multiple times.
Top 101 Bone-Chilling Horror Writing Prompts
Horror writing prompts. 1) You are accused of beating a man but you have no memory of the incident. You start hearing voices in your head and realize that evil spirits have entered your body. 2) A psychologist suggests a new therapy to a patient after which the patient starts getting scary nightmares.
A Reflection on Reading Scary Stories: [Essay Example], 1871 words
A Reflection on Reading Scary Stories. Categories: Book Review Fiction. Words: 1871 | Pages: 4 | 10 min read. Published: Feb 8, 2022. A great scary and suspense story that engages you. The best ones build to that engagement and constantly, throughout the script, build that suspense. The main elements that people are looking for in a scary story ...
Teach Your Students How to Write a Scary Story
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1. Use the environment. Scary movies and television shows can use jump-scares as an easy way to frighten an audience, but writing scary literature requires its own method of manifesting fear. Setup your environment in a vivid way to fully immerse your readers into your setting. Vividly describing an enclosed space can elicit feelings of ...
30 Scary Story Starters for Middle School » JournalBuddies.com
In these new scary story writing prompts for kids, your class will make great use of their imaginations and creative spirits. Ok, let's get to that list of scary story starters for middle school (and high school) students now. Enjoy! 30 Scary Story Starters for Middle School. (and High School Writers, too!) It was a dark and cold night in ...
The terror of reality was the true horror for H P Lovecraft
H P Lovecraft, the master of cosmic horror stories, was a philosopher who believed in the total insignificance of humanity. The Night (1908) by Léon Spilliaert. Courtesy Vincent Everarts/Collection of the Belgian State, in deposit at Musée d'Ixelles, Brussels. Sam Woodward. has a BA and an MPhil in Classics from the University of Cambridge, UK.
Scary Story Titles: Crafting Unforgettable, Bone-Chilling Masterpieces
Scary story titles are an essential aspect of horror literature, as they create the initial sense of intrigue and fear that draws in readers. A well-crafted . ... Effective titles for scary essays might include "The Anatomy of Fear," "Behind the Curtain of Terror," or "Unraveling the Psychology of Nightmares." When creating a title ...
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Directed by Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes. Horror. R. 1h 33m. Find Tickets. When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission ...
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Evil Dead Rise (2023) A family accidentally unearths some unimaginable evils in this gory supernatural horror story. It's the fifth entry in the film franchise after The Evil Dead (1981), Evil ...
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7 min. The video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge's collapse now exists as a global icon, giving several billion people a seemingly intimate and shocking memory of a bridge they may never have ...