What are some effective writing tips for the horror genre?

MichaelRegal

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So I'm a horror virgin. I want to try it out because, apparently, horror sells, but as far as I know, the only tool that I know is going to be useful is the use of a limited POV in the narration. Is there anything else I should be aware of? I'm also currently reading a horror novel with a similar plot to my own.
 

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If it's not a genre you know and love, I'd be cautious about writing in it.

Either way, I'd suggest reading a lot of Horror first.

I'm going to move this thread to the Horror forum, which will likely have many more responses.
 

cbenoi1

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If you've picked apart the best horror movies out there (Ex: Jaws, Alien, Carrie, Jurassic Park) and boiled them down to their essence this is roughly what you would get:

http://johntrubysscreenwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/secrets-of-genre.html

Horror is about humans in decline, reduced to animals or machines by an attack of the inhuman. It’s the narrowest of all the genres, so you may be surprised to know that it has more unique story beats –15 – than any other form. Horror scripts are often very predictable, with a reactive hero and a monster who is just a killing machine. So one of the best ways to set your Horror story apart from the crowd is to make your hero active and force him or her to go up against the most intelligent monster possible.

Some additional tricks:


  • Give the Opponent special abilities. Ex: Carrie - telekinesis. Alien - acid spit & blood. Jurassic Park - unknown attack patterns & speed. Jaws - a larger-than-normal animal, big enough to have humans on its menu.
  • Reduce the arena to the strict minimum and cut off the escape. Jaws - a frail fishing boat. Alien - a spacecraft. Jurassic Park - an island.
  • Make the Opponent attack from three-dimensional directions or from the shadows. Jaws - below from the deep (which is based on facts, btw - link ). Jurassic Park - trio attacks from three sides out of the foliage. Alien - can pass through bored holes, hides in nooks & crannies.
  • Add a time or shrinking space constraint. Jaws - school recess, upcoming summer economy. Alien - self-destruct timer. Jurassic Park - incoming hurricane, saving the kids.
  • Add a secret ally to the Opponent. Jaws - Alamity's mayor. Alien - Ash the android. Jurassic Park - Nedry, and Hammond for some aspects.


Hope this helps.

-cb
 

MichaelRegal

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That was a very helpful list. So, my novel is going to be based on a platoon of American soldiers sent to an island and stranded there by a storm, and then hunted by a creature from my home country's mythology. This was in 1899, when the United States was at war with my people, so I guess it could be considered "historical fantasy."

  • Give the Opponent special abilities. Check, villain can fly and is bulletproof.
  • Reduce the arena to the strict minimum and cut off the escape. Check, Novel is restricted to an island that's five miles wide.
  • Make the Opponent attack from three-dimensional directions or from the shadows. Check, villain attacks only at night and from the air or from the trees.
  • Add a time or shrinking space constraint. Need to work on this one.
  • Add a secret ally to the Opponent. Check, the villagers of the island.
 

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So I'm a horror virgin. I want to try it out because, apparently, horror sells, but as far as I know, the only tool that I know is going to be useful is the use of a limited POV in the narration. Is there anything else I should be aware of? I'm also currently reading a horror novel with a similar plot to my own.

King and McCammon and Harris mainly do omniscient.
Also, horror is the least selling:)
https://www.therichest.com/rich-list/which-5-book-genres-make-the-most-money/
Romance, erotica, thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi and fantasy all sell more.
 

MichaelRegal

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The Jungle as a Setting for Horror

What, besides the claustrophobia-inducing narrowness of pathways, the constant humidity, and the constant threat of snakes and small insects, would make a jungle a good setting for a horror story?
 

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Darkness / lack of sun (under deep jungle canopies), unfamiliar sounds from unseen sources, the fact that you can't see what's around the corner (or maybe even right in front of you, if it's camouflaged or in the brush), the "Big Unknown" (if it's a place well off the maps), the fear of large predators (tigers for example), the risks of getting lost and never getting out again, exotic diseases, exotic parasites, the clothes rotting off your body in high humidity, trying to sleep with all of the previous in mind.

And that's the bright side. :evil
 

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The sounds - everywhere, shrieks and howls and chitters, screams of prey, noises one can't even identify.

The smells - a constant assault on the senses.

Poisons. Lots of seemingly innocuous things loaded with deadly poison - either on their own, or used by locals or experts.

Knowing that you could take three steps away from your companions and never see them again.

Knowing that, even if you can't see or hear or smell predators, they can see, hear, and smell you.

Traps (if dealing with human predators) - very tough to spot, very easy to stumble into.

Everything is either trying to kill you or thinks you're trying to kill them.

Diseases.

Injuries - even small injuries, in a bacterial infection's paradise, can take you down.

Hearing the search copters, but being unable to make yourself seen.
 

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Mod note: OP, this is essentially a continuation of your first thread, "What are some effective writing tips for horror". I"m going to merge them.

Everyone fasten your seat belts and move your trays to the upright and locked positions. Any slowpokes will be absorbed into the eternal fluting chaos of Nyarlathotep.


ETA: Threads merged. Nyarlathotep objects to y'all's alacrity.
 
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frimble3

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Also, if none of your American soldiers are from Florida, Lousiana, etc. the whole 'jungle' thing is outside their experience. Even if they come from a forested area, the environment is so different.
The northern West Coast forests are called 'Temperate Rain Forests', and while wild and overgrown, it is, I imagine, quite a different thing. I imagine nice boys from Kansas or Arizona would be freaking right out.
If they are at the edges of the island, will any of them know about tides, and their rise and fall?

Also, time pressure: running out of supplies, not knowing what to forage for food. Especially if one guy is constantly questioning if things are poisonous, or what bits should we eat?
Did they get a message out? Do they have to hang on 'til a rescue ship arrives, or get to a designated point for pickup? Do they even have a map of the island? (With this goes the fear that if they aren't at the pick-up point, the rescuers may assume that they're all dead and just sail on. There's a war on, after all.
Maybe there's another big storm a-coming and the rescue ship can't wait for them?
Good luck.
 

MichaelRegal

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Also, if none of your American soldiers are from Florida, Lousiana, etc. the whole 'jungle' thing is outside their experience. Even if they come from a forested area, the environment is so different.
The northern West Coast forests are called 'Temperate Rain Forests', and while wild and overgrown, it is, I imagine, quite a different thing. I imagine nice boys from Kansas or Arizona would be freaking right out.
If they are at the edges of the island, will any of them know about tides, and their rise and fall?

Also, time pressure: running out of supplies, not knowing what to forage for food. Especially if one guy is constantly questioning if things are poisonous, or what bits should we eat?
Did they get a message out? Do they have to hang on 'til a rescue ship arrives, or get to a designated point for pickup? Do they even have a map of the island? (With this goes the fear that if they aren't at the pick-up point, the rescuers may assume that they're all dead and just sail on. There's a war on, after all.
Maybe there's another big storm a-coming and the rescue ship can't wait for them?
Good luck.

So the guys involved are from Tennessee, Cali, and Iowa (what's Iowa like? Anyone from around there?) Their wireless telegraph got damaged during a storm and they're now essentially playing a waiting game for the next supply boat to arrive, which could be months. The island is unmapped, but they know from what they've been told that there's a big volcano in the center of the island that gives it its eye shape.

None of them know anything about the tides, and I'm not sure if being an outlaw from the Tennessee wilderness qualifies you to be a good forager.
 

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So the guys involved are from Tennessee, Cali, and Iowa (what's Iowa like? Anyone from around there?) Their wireless telegraph got damaged during a storm and they're now essentially playing a waiting game for the next supply boat to arrive, which could be months. The island is unmapped, but they know from what they've been told that there's a big volcano in the center of the island that gives it its eye shape.

None of them know anything about the tides, and I'm not sure if being an outlaw from the Tennessee wilderness qualifies you to be a good forager.

[bolding mine]

Research is your friend. Don't just ask us. Go to Google Maps. Go to the Chamber of Commerce websites for major cities. Find out the historical weather data. Go to Zillow or Trulia for housing data. IMO you've only done enough research when you run out of battery on your computer and the cats have learned how to use the can opener without you. My new book (out this summer) takes place in Rome and Chicago. I've never been to Rome and I've only been to Chicago twice. Yes, my cats learned how to use the can opener before I was done researching.
 

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(what's Iowa like? Anyone from around there?)

I went to high school and college there.

Geographically, depends on what part of the state you're asking about. Western half of the state tends to be flat -- think Kansas. The very eastern fringe can be hillier -- the Mississippi river is often lined with bluffs on the Iowa side.

Weather-wise, too hot & humid in the summer, miserably cold & windy in the winter. (I know our friends from central Canada would chuckle over the latter, but I don't think anyone would honestly characterize northern Iowa as pleasant in the winter.)

Culturally, it's a state of a very few medium-to-large-sized cities, surrounded by miles & miles of small farm towns. Most of the latter are struggling; the farm economy tends towards boom & bust, and non-farm jobs tend to be low paying.

I don't miss it.
 

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I'm not sure if being an outlaw from the Tennessee wilderness qualifies you to be a good forager.
Not if you don't recognize what to forage for. Okay, Tennessee probably has rattlesnakes so he's aware of the dangers snakes might pose, and, if they have guns they might try for a wild boar, or monkey, depending on what's available, but does he know poisonous plants from non-poisonous? Or just stinging or irritatating. How to treat them for edibility? Especially if he, or one of the other guys, is constantly doubting his choices.
If a guy starts to swell up, turn red or scratch his skin off, is it food intolerance, or is he changing?
If they go into the water, to cool off, or to forage for food, do they know to avoid jellyfish and other stinging stuff, or deadly fish? (Oh, let this be one of those islands where the coconut crabs migrate all over everything in swarms.) Giant heaps of disturbed sand? Is it a heap of tasty sea-turtle eggs, or the track of some giant creature?
All you need is one overly-imaginative soldier to bring out the weird. Either a jumpy, Barney Fife guy, or some guy who thinks he's 'funny'.
 

R.A. Lundberg

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The jungle is so debilitating. As previously described, it's hot and wet. You're always wet. Everything mildews, rusts, rots. The smallest scratch gets infected almost instantly, and ulcerates. An affliction known as "crotch rot", a fungal infection related to athlete's foot, sets in at the armpits and crotch, and your characters will be scratching themselves raw (more ulcerated, infected wounds). Ammo corrodes and turns green and refuses to feed in weapons, which are themselves rusting into unusability. Boots rot off your feet. It's impossible to sleep on the jungle floor, as it becomes alive with insects at night (sleep deprivation could give your characters a surreal view of things). Lets not forget the ants...there are some nasty ants that live in the jungle.
US Soldiers in 1899 wore a lot of wool. Wool does not last long in the jungle. They're going to be in rags before too long.
ALL of the water they are going to be drinking is contaminated with microscopic organisms. They ARE going to have dysentery in no time. Which gets into the crotch rot. Another infection.
True, tropical jungle is thick. You can't see 10 feet in any direction. Everything's making noise, insects, birds, animals rustling in the plants beyond your view. You usually can't see the sun, just filtered light, kind of dim even at midday. At night, you literally cannot see your hand in front of your face. And the jungle really comes alive at night. Constant activity, bugs and bats and animals big and small skitter and crash around all night (more sleep deprivation).
Oh, and it rains. A lot. While it's raining, you are cold and miserable. Then it stops, and in 30 minutes it's 95 and 110% humidity. Respiratory illnesses are a real possibility.
In the jungle everything wants you dead. You have no advantages. The people who actually live there know how to deal with it and survive in it. People like your characters are not going to last long without help.

In your story, you could very well make the jungle another antagonist. It's bad enough without a flying, bulletproof villain. There's your time constraint; make it out before either the villain or the jungle itself kills them all. You could keep them restricted to the jungle to hide from the villain. It's a race against time...which will kill them first, the villain or the jungle itself?
 
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To me, horror is a fairly fertile field that can grow quite a variety of crops, but the techniques you'll use for one will be vastly different from the other. As far as I'm concerned, the one thing that marks a story as "horror" as opposed to thriller or dark fantasy or science fiction or anything else is that it should have the induction of fear as one of its goals. But there are different kinds of fear.

The Shining, for instance, is (I think) about the fear of losing control of one's mind. On the other hand, most episodes of Black Mirror are about the fear of how we interact with our technology. Both are perfectly valid horror stories, but the techniques they use to accomplish their goals are pretty different.

One thing that often serves horror well is to withhold knowledge (from your characters and from your readers) as long as possible. There's a though in many religious and folk magic traditions that knowing something's name gives you power over it. This is also true in horror fiction. When you know what the enemy is, you can begin to attack the problem logically. When you don't know what the enemy is--when all you know is that *something* is wrong--you have no way to rationalize the problem, and that creates an atmosphere of fear.

In addition to writing, I work as a magician. When I do spook shows (something like a seance themed production, say), one of the things I'm always thinking about is keeping the events identifiably magical but not identifiable in their particulars. So if I did a dark-room seance with luminous apparitions, I wouldn't have a skeleton float across the room. As soon as the audience could identify it as "skeleton," they'd no longer be afraid. Instead, I'd have a misshapen or ill-formed apparition with a vaguely humanoid shape float across the room. In my experience, that's much scarier.

So try to do the same in your fiction. Give them enough information to see that something monstrous is happening, but withhold the nature of the monstrosity as long as possible. They'll fill in whatever is scary to *them* with much greater effect than if you tried to spell it out for them.
 

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Take this one dream I had... it was the middle of the night, a light fog rolling around. From the darkness, a small fawn, run over by a car, picked itself off the ground as I watched in disbelief. Bones jutting through its skin, neck turned at an impossible angle, and eyes that stared empty into the void of the afterlife. With slight, jerky movements, it ambled toward me. It was incredibly slow, and I could have easily out-walked it, but I was rooted to the spot, staring at this impossible zombie. A perversion of what should have been cute and the depiction of youth and spring, was the embodiment of all our fears of death and the greater mysteries of the morbid.

I'll never forget the way it moved, so lifelike and determined, as though the lingering spark of life was pushing it forward on a mission to walk the fields once more... but it was already gone.

It was such a creepy dream that I had to get out of it. I didn't want to see how it ended.

What you write has to be something that instills fear and the desire to run in the people that read it. That's what horror is. I'm not a horror writer, despite the number of truly terrifying nightmares I've had, which could easily be restored as book subjects.
 

katfireblade

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Where in Tennessee is your character from? If he's a city boy, then his wilderness survival skills might be low. But if he's a country boy, that's a whole other ballgame.

For all that people love to mock country folk and rednecks, they are extremely capable and imaginative, often overcoming problems caused by extreme poverty with grit, know-how, and very little to work with but whole lot of ingenuity. From experience living in small town deep South, these folks know how to track, hunt and set traps, to fix everything from cars to power tools to houses, they're handy with guns and knives and sometimes even bows, and they might ask their neighbor for a hand but they rarely if ever ask for true help from anybody. They're usually into camping, fishing, and almost any other outdoor sport you can think of, and they aren't sportsmen (though they do indulge); often they're bringing home food for the family because the grocery money won't stretch far enough.

While your Tennessee character may not know jungle survival, s/he may have a lot of skills that carry over, like setting hunting traps, skinning a kill, tracking a path, locating water, setting up lean-tos, dealing with snakes, etc. They may be able to make educated guesses on safe plants to eat and use some of their terrain knowledge to assist in finding shelter. It won't be exact, but while, for example, evading tigers may not be the exact same as evading mountain lions, big cats will still hunt in largely the same manner.

Now if s/he is a country kid, there will be equally common drawbacks--looking down on the highly educated or intelligent (especially if big words are used), prejudices about specific areas (people from the big city are snobs, California is full of hippies, Yankees are still a hated thing, etc), some insanely conservative opinions, deeply religious (which could not matter or actively hurt the group, depending), and a sort of xenophobia that leads to extreme pride of home and suspicion and even hatred of outsiders, including racism.

Also, possibly not a lot of education about sex which may effect your character's background. Teen pregnancy and early marriage (or at least a semi-permanent engagement until grown) occur more often than you'd think. One of the small towns I was in, looking at anyone over 13 could get you trouble, because all of them were married or engaged to be so, and many of the girls were mothers. It was considered normal, which was why they chased even the whisper of sex-ed out of town. And lets not forget the rare, hyper-religious kook who'll force their child to marry their rapist (I think one was an eight year old girl with her 30+ teacher) which is still prominent enough one Southern state recently struck down a law against child marriage because it took away parental rights.

Male or female, your character may well be a parent, or have a miscarriage or a short lived (or ongoing, because divorce is wrong) teen marriage in their past.

Unless they're city slickers, in which case they'll be much like other city slickers, except for some conservative opinions (though nowhere near as bad as the country), a love of country music, and a respect for education but still a lingering suspicion of the highly educated (doctors, scientists, etc.). Oh, and they might also have a thing about Yankees.
 

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It's really not an easy question to answer and I don't know if there even is a proper answer. As people above said, there are some things you can do to create a certain situation of horror, but then again give your character a shotgun and it won't matter that there is a rat chasing him, but give him a stick and it might, if you see my point... There is a great deal of combining things together to create a fearful situation.

I think 'Salem's Lot is a great example (at least in its beginning) of naturally "normal" situations being actually really scary, but the reason is you were fed with all these theories, past events and discussions, so your brain is working on overload mixing all those things in one, potentially disturbing scenario. At least that's how I see a part of it, some of it can be explained, but largest part of it comes down to pure personal experience and what kind of horror you prefer. It really is a genre you need to like in order to write in my opinion.
 

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What, besides the claustrophobia-inducing narrowness of pathways, the constant humidity, and the constant threat of snakes and small insects, would make a jungle a good setting for a horror story?

The threat of the Unknown. The Unknown is always going to be the scariest thing, both for your fictional characters and for the reader. You can't see much or far in a jungle, and that makes for a fine setting in which the Unknown can be lurking anywhere,

caw
 

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So I'm a horror virgin. I want to try it out because, apparently, horror sells, but as far as I know, the only tool that I know is going to be useful is the use of a limited POV in the narration. Is there anything else I should be aware of? I'm also currently reading a horror novel with a similar plot to my own.

All of life is blend of comedy and horror. Tap into your own experiences, then exagerate. The first horror short story I wrote was inspired by a horrible landlord of mine in college. The apartment is furnished with a strange leather couch, sewn from many tiny soft pieces of pink leather. The reveal comes later: that these pieces are the tongues of the landlord's former tenants.

I wrote a much longer horror story inspired by my experiences working in a one-man kitchen at a hard liquor bar.

Bad memories from childhood might be a good starting point for horror.

Stephen King has an awesome early horror short about a smoking cessation clinic.
 
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So much of classic horror is about obsession, a sort of monomania where we as the reader get to watch a descent into madness unfold. There is also a heavy mystery element in a lot of gothic/classic horror.