How do you write a horror novel? That’s the topic we’ll be covering in this article.
Read on to learn how you can write a chilling story!
1. Decide what kind of horror to write.
Why it helps
There are many different types of horror stories: dark comedy, psychological, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, gothic, Lovecraftian, classic killer, science-fiction, and supernatural. While all these horror subgenres have the same aim—to scare the reader—they also have their own host of tropes and antagonist archetypes.
A Lovecraftian horror, for example, generally has some otherworldly monster that exists in the unexplored depths of woodlands, mountains, or sea here on Earth. While a post-apocalyptic horror focuses more on the way the characters are navigating the end of the world while also protecting themselves against antagonists such as zombies or lawless raiders.
How to Include it
When you start planning your horror novel, look at who the antagonist is:
If the source of fear is an actual monster found in the depths of the primordial forests and waterways on Earth, then you’re writing a Lovecraftian horror. If the monster is found in space, then it’s a science-fiction horror.
If the antagonist is a murderer hunting down the protagonists, then you’re writing a classic killer horror. If that murderer exists because the world has ended, then it’s a post-apocalyptic horror.
Knowing the tropes of the horror subgenre you’re writing will help guide your writing so that the reader will know just enough of what to expect to stay interested.
This isn’t to say you can’t introduce a twist later and make the Lovecraftian horror actually science-fiction by revealing they were never on Earth, for example. But knowing the tropes of the subgenre you want will help the twist seem a lot more surprising to the reader if you’ve been dropping hints to them all along.
2. Open with a description that sets the atmosphere.
Why it helps
Horror relies on atmosphere. Good horror sets that atmosphere early on and establishes the kind of horror feeling the reader is meant to feel throughout the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” opens with the protagonist travelling through dark forests in the rain to heighten the sense of isolation and disorientation; Stephen King’s Misery opens with the protagonist waking up in pain immediately after his car accident and not knowing where he is or what’s happened to him, a state which he remains in throughout the novel.
By setting the mood early on, the reader is primed for the kinds of horror and emotions to expect as the story progresses.
How to Include it
Start with the same energy that you want your reader to feel as they read. Use those openings pages to describe the setting in a way that will enhance the character’s introduction to whatever horrors your story has waiting for them. Integrate lots of sensory details to really make the reader feel part of the scene so that those intense emotions can hit them hard as the story progresses.
When in doubt, make the setting a character in itself: describe the surroundings as if they too wish to bring danger to the protagonists and carry that feeling throughout the novel.
3. Ground the horror in the real.
Why it helps
Horror has the most impact when it taps into the collective fears of humanity: isolation, alienation, mental instability, death. Stephen King is well-known for making his horror stories more about the human response to horrific acts rather than the horrific acts themselves. Carrie is not just about a telepathic teenager but about how excessive bullying pushed her over the edge. “The Mist” is not just about preventing the unknown monsters outside from getting inside but also protecting one’s family against the enemy already inside, sheltering with you.
When the reader can relate to the realistic fears of the characters, regardless of how outrageous the antagonist might eventually be, then they have the potential to become just as scared as the characters do.
How to Include it
Think about what scares you. Use your own fears to help ground the novel’s human experience. Stephen King famously said that’s what he always started with: his own fears. If you think about what you’re really scared of—losing your family, your life, your sanity, your soul—then you can use those very real fears to guide your character through the novel in a realistic way.
4. Break up the tension with happy moments.
Why it helps
Stories that contain high emotion require periodic scenes of comedic or happy effect to provide the reader with a cathartic release. An intense thriller or horror novel might suddenly have a scene of miscommunication or physical comedy that is meant to be funny or witty. There might be two characters who slowly fall in love and culminate their relationship right before the climax of the novel.
Whatever those happy moments look like, they’re necessary for the reader to pause and purge some of the anxiety of the horror story so that they can continue with a renewed sense of excitement and intrigue.
How to Include it
When you are planning your story, ensure there are moments of cathartic release before some of the more intense moments of the novel. Where can you include a happy moment, no matter how small? Is there a character you could make particularly witty so that their one-liners create comedic moments when you need them? Is there an opportunity for two of your characters to fall in love during the experience so the reader can root for their love as much as their success against the antagonist?
5. Keep the antagonist unseen as long as possible.
Why it helps
The fear of the unknown makes everything scarier because it means there is no opportunity to prepare or fight back effectively. How can you fight something you cannot see or do not know?
That’s why leaving the antagonist unseen in a horror story makes it that much more horrific: the anxiety of not knowing what’s attacking is added to wondering whether the protagonists will live. Take the movie version of Jaws as an example: the fear was enhanced by not seeing how big and ferocious the shark was until the very end of the film, when it attacks the boat the shark hunters are on.
How to Include it
Focus more on describing the horrific events rather than the instigator of those events. Even if you introduce the antagonist early on, try to leave as much to the imagination as possible for as long as possible. The reader will naturally try to fill the gaps themselves and be just as surprised as the protagonists when you reveal them in the end.