How to Write Truly Frightening Horror Fiction

Anatomy and Psychology of a Horror Movie
Halloween is the ripe for horror movies, but what exactly constitutes a horror movie? Does it need a plot twist? Suspense? Mystery? Zombies? Blood and gore? Satanic influence? A presence of evil? Here is a psychological analysis of horror movies that can be used to write horror fiction as well.

Horror movies and literature must scare viewers and readers: That's a pretty basic requirement of the horror genre.  But what does it take to scare people? Sensations of fear differ from person to person. Phobias (irrational fear) differ from realistic fear. Each person has a different level of credibility also; in other words different people are willing to believe as possible different things. Supernatural, aliens, monsters, zombies, vampires, demon possession, even evil and hell are concepts open to interpretation. And in order for someone to be genuinely frightened, he must believe that something is possible or exists. The viewer must also feel a sense of impending danger or personal threat.

Sensations of fear vs. sensations of being startled: Some movies rely on the element of suspense and surprise rather than attempting to produce sensations of fear. Loud noises, startling or graphic images, even blood and gore often produce a sense of being shocked or startled in viewers, rather than fear. Try watching a horror movie. If you find yourself jumping and your heart pounding, but feel no sensation of threat or danger, you are probably feeling startled, not frightened.

Sensations of disgust vs. sensations of fear: Gruesome movies are extremely bloody and graphic, but not necessarily frightening. There is nothing inherently fearful about seeing a human skeleton, flesh, blood, muscles or organs. Doctors see these things every day. Seeing a zombie dining on human flesh and feeling revulsion or disgust is not the same thing as fear. Again, a sense of threat must be present.

In summary, in order for a movie or book to produce sensations of genuine fear, it must communicate to the viewer a sense of personal danger or threat of danger. A real 'scary' movie must in fact scare the viewer, cause him discomfort, dread or a sense of impending doom. In order to produce that feeling, he must accept that the images shown in the movie are possible and believable.

Using these definitions, the most truly frightening movies are those which show the level of inhumanity and degradation that mankind is capable of wreaking on his fellow man. These horrors are the only the only kind that we can actually prove exist. Personally, I think some of the most frightening movies and books are the true stories of actual events. Helter Skelter, for example, scared me witless reading it at age 12. Because I remember hearing of Charles Manson and the very real atrocities he committed. 

How to Write Mystery and Detective Fiction

How to Write Crime Stories and Detective Fiction that Mystery Readers Will Love
Tired of cracker-bland stories that readers only nibble?  What defines a story that readers gulp down whole, beg for more before the first even digests?  Characters, plot, climax and something else. Learn to write the gulp down whole stories!
Read More

An All Souls Day Essay on Honesty

All Souls Day Stories: An Honest Little Boy
It's All Souls Day, and I'm feeling reminiscent. After homeschooling for years, it seems a little odd not to be wrapped up in holy day and holiday preparations. Here's a little story to warm you for the holy day. It's true.
Read More

Doppelganger's Requiem

"You Know How Strong They Get when They're Crazy..."
Who is crazier--the asylum inmates or those who torture the mentally ill? In this story, the Genius Loci of an abandoned insane asylum looks with favor on the doppelganger granddaughter of a crazy woman and helps her settle some old debts.
Read More

Mystery Writing Prompts, Horror Story Starters for Halloween

Hello my friends and readers. I've begun to create some story starters and writing prompts to supplement my own creative writing. I love reading and writing mystery and suspense stories. I enjoy trying to solve the puzzles and stretching my imagination. And if I'm honest, the eerie atmosphere of a good mystery/suspense story is a place I love to dwell! Here's a list of mystery story starters and horror fiction writing prompts you can use to get started with your own creative writing hobby. I've linked to the full article on my blog Free Printable Lesson Plans. 

Mystery story starters and suspense and horror fiction writing prompts 

Autumn Flora and Fauna: Squirrels and Pumpkin Seeds

St. Spermophilus and the Pumpkin Seeds
Squirrels. Garden Militia. The backyard telegraph. Plant paparazzi. Weighing in at 1.5 pounds, one squirrel in pursuit of nest material is a whirling dervish. A regiment makes yard look like the epicenter of a hurricane.
Read on...

Gothic Horror Mystery: Day of Reckoning

Here's my dip into horror fiction writing. 

October 29, 1992 She still couldn't shake the previous night's dream. It followed Talia like an acid reflux aftertaste, through the morning routine, kids fed, lunches packed, and in the car to school and work. During the quiet times, with student heads bent over writing, the dream would kick her in the stomach and for a moment she felt sick. No clear visuals just a horrifying sense that somehow, somewhere, she had seen or done something atrocious and unspeakable. It felt like loathing and horror, bordering on mania.

Talia went through her paces, but the relentless dream dogged her like a voracious demon, hovering over her, waiting to devour her. It was all so nebulous. Pure feeling with no cognition. She could call up no clear memory from the dream. What could I have done or seen if only in my dream to make me feel so repulsive?  Or revulsed. 

And it was weird because Talia was the sort of woman to whom no odor of wrong-doing or malice could stick. Happily married, mother of three, fifth grade teacher, volunteer, friend. Came from an old established family, the Riordan's, well thought of and liked, in their little Massachusetts community. And this was all part of the dream, although in negative so to speak. Like something was twisting every good thing about her, back to bite her.  

At lunch, the teacher's lounge was full of chatter. But for Talia, a full-on blinding headache had taken over the right hemisphere of her brain. Barb, the school psychologist leaned over toward Talia.

"Good Lord, woman. You look terrible! What's wrong? You'd better go rest your head before the bell rings." 

That does it, thought Talia, it's a stupid dream and it's making me crazy! Maybe if I close my eyes tight, I can remember what happened and then let go of it. Talia leaned back in her chair. Vague recollections began to take shake. Disturbing images jabbed at the edge of her memory. Just out of sight. Then suddenly, the dream came back, in a rush, like vomit. And Talia passed out cold.

"Mrs. Sternburg, are you okay? Taylor, I think Mrs. Sternburg is sick. Let's go tell Miss B." Hearing student voices, seeing nothing. 

'Talia, it's Kate. Can you hear me? We're taking you to Valley View ER. We think that you might have suffered a slight stroke. We're calling Rob. I don't think she's conscious at all." Warm down one side and kind of prickly. Lights. Ringing noise. People running. Utterly immobile.  

"Tally, honey, wake up, my God, what's going on?" For a moment seeing Rob's sweet face,  tears running like taps, the girls sobbing, arms wrapped around dad. Moving away. Fading out like the lights at the end of a play.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sternburg. She's gone." 

Bad things happen to good people. But when bad things happen to bad people, beware. 300 years and prior to Talia Riordan Sternburg's death to the day, an event took place. October 29, 1692 A small village outside Salem, MA. Goodman Morten sits hunched over a table, a look of pure cancerous malignancy on his fat, greasy face. A rich man, vicious and sadistic. His small eyes, buried like pin pricks in folds of fat,  have a disturbing glow-worm light in them. Like an All Hallows moon. 

"Damn that Riordan wench; damn her spying eyes" the words come with spit, 'How dare she decry me to the elders? She could not have seen what we were doing in the woods that night! That lying whore!'

Then he begins to mutter and tremble, his craven nature taking over. He gags out, 

"My God. She's a midwife! She was coming home that night through the woods, from Goody Bridewell's birthing. She saw..." 

Heavy boot-steps stomping through the brush, in the gun-metal river-mist morning. The clank of manacles can be heard approaching the cabin. The deputy's men coming to arrest him. Morten, the coward and the beast, spits out a final curse.

"Here me now, Widow Riordan, I will reckon with thee. A life for a life." 

Composition, Essay, Short Story and Narrative

How to Write an Essay or Composition
The word 'composition' can denote different several types of writing for different circumstances. A composition is a personal narrative, a short work of fiction or prose, an essay, a dramatic work or a poem. Each of these writing genres has its own rubric. Read on for writer guidelines on several types of composition: narrative, short story, and my dear friend, the essay.Click here...