How to Write a Great Horror Story

The Monster on the Page

It's time for us to defeat the monster on the page. This isn't about completion (we'll get to that later), it's about starting. It's about getting words down on the page so that you're on your way. Those first few steps can seem the most daunting, but once you start, and as long as you remain committed, you will soon find that you are running through the story with purpose instead of aimlessly fumbling around in the dark. 


Your Fragment

I'm favouring the Bradbury Technique here, but if you used another approach, that's fine too. Regardless, you need that story fragment. As I said in the previous chapter, when you did the word association you might only have a tiny piece of the puzzle. One image, like someone standing next to a grave. But that is more than enough to work with, because this fragment is like a shattered amulet from a fantasy story. It calls to the other pieces. It wants to be whole again. All you need to do is carry out the right ritual and you'll find the other pieces.

As you write, you'll find more and more of them along the way until the story is complete. You'll wonder how you ever managed it, but the important thing is that you did.

Narrative Perspective

Before you write your first line, give a little thought to what type of narrative perspective you're going to use. The narrator is the person telling the story. Ask yourself: "Who is telling the story?", "what is their perspective?", "what can they know and not know about the story?"

There are a few common types of narration in a story, and whichever you choose will drastically alter the way you write. Common forms are:


First Person

This is someone who is in the story somehow. They were present for some of the events, or heard some of them from another source. The narrator will use the pronoun "I" when speaking. Now, there are two types of first person narration. The most common is "subjective". This means that the narrator is conveying events they were actually involved in. An example would be: "I saw the creature shamble down the staircase towards me". This is a first person subjective narrative. The narrator saw that thing, experienced it, and is now conveying it to you, the reader. What's great about a subjective first person narrative is that it's unreliable. They don't hold all the information. You are receiving pieces of it, just in the same way a police officer or detective recieves eye witness accounts. Are they telling the truth? Are they delusional? Did they misinterpret something? It's this uncertainty which makes this form of narrative perfect for a horror story. Remember, horror is about uncertainty, that is where the fear lies.

If your narrator is relaying a story they were told, then the narration will change slightly:


"She sat there by the fire, the flames casting a red hue upon her face. Then, she began to tell her tale. She lived in New York at the time, working at a University laboratory. It was there that she first encountered it."


The narrator is telling you a second-hand story at this point and can only convey what they were told, unless they have established there is another source of information such as:


"I put the doctor's testimony together with the research notes and testimonies of other eye witnesses. This is the complete account of what happened that night."


You can then jump into a more objective account of what happened using "he/she", d (a temporary form of third person narrative which we'll define below) describing the actions of several different characters. But, the narrator isn't godlike. They aren't everywhere. They can only convey what they've been told. For example, let's say your narrator is investigating the death of someone they've never met. When relaying the story, they can't talk about what the person was feeling or thinking at the time of their death with any accuracy, now can they? They weren't there. Keep this in mind, because it's a common mistake, one I've committed myself. So keep an eye out of for it. Only describe what the narrator can know. This is often referred to as a "limited" narrator. They are limited in their descriptions of what they can know.



Third Person

In third person, the narrator is describing events from an objective viewpoint. They can still be part of the story as we mentioned above, in a limited capacity. But, more often they are "omniscient". This means "all knowing". The narrator sees all, even into the minds of your characters. This is essentially your viewpoint as a writer. You can say what a character is thinking. You're like a fly on the wall. For example: