Tips for Creatively Writing Horror Stories with Scares and Fears

Horror begins with lots of blood and gore. It ends with lots of blood and gore. There is more to horror than that: It scares; it makes you close your eyes; it says "remember this?"; it reminds you of how we all hate pain; and it opens the door to the creative mind. Creating is an odd act. Creating horror is as close to hell as you will ever be. Creative writer: this guide builds itself upon a few horror stories.

Start with Scares:

Fear the dark-that is what you should make the reader or audience do. There is man under the stairs with an axe waiting for the nice house wife to ... you get the idea. This is the foremost obstacle for creative horror writers. It does take more than scares, but this is where you can have plenty of fun keeping your readers guesing. Start with the scares and you are in good territory.

Act out On Fears:

Your own fears allow you to think through how to scare others. Scares are prime, yes, but fears are different. A scare can be done by a cheap trick; a fear is something ingrained within the person. Act out on your own fears-fear of heights; fear of the dark; or even fear of your parents-and you will find someone, somewhere who has the same fear. It can be done with creative writing. Horror begins as a path to our own fears, and then discovering how they affect others. Oddly, many of us do have the same fears.

Build the Horrors:

The horror needs to be built as something. Creative writing, as a form of thought, comes in a box filled with plenty of its own scares. You can make your writing scary and bring out the fears of your readers by showing them too much or too little. For example, in the film "Jaws" there is a thin line between showing the monster shark-never too much, never too little.

Remember the Scared:

The scared people are the ones who will keep coming back to your story. The scared people know the story of the guy under the stairs, waiting, waiting for them to come down. The scared are more than your audience; they are your victims. If you can allow them to enter your creative writing world, they just might come back.

Remember the Epics:

The epic horrors are clichéd. Stephen King did this. Robert R. McCammon did that. Clive Barker made you fear ... but you just wanted to be scared. They are often clichés, sure, like aliens or horrors under the stairs. They are also something else. They are creative ways to say something new. Read the classics like "The Shining," "Swan Song," and watch "Hellraiser" for the basics, for they are true horror epics.