5 Elements of A

5 ELEMENTS OF A
GOOD HORROR STORY
Some people think they know what makes a great horror story, but they really
don't. If you're anything like me, you've been hyped up by a horror movie or
book trailer only to feel like you should've waited for the DVD or 99-cent
eBook download.
With such let-downs in mind, I've decided to construct what I think makes a
strong horror story. I've mentioned why fear works,how horror has changed
andwhy we love horror, but I've never broken it down into categories before.
Without further ado, I believe a good horror story is broken down into fear,
surprise, suspense, mystery, and spoiler. This is how:
1. FEAR
At the risk of pointing out the elephant in the room, fear is by far the most
important factor of a great horror story. The real trick to constructing a story
based on fear is making sure you can scare people with fears they may not
have.
Think about it: Not everyone is afraid of spiders. In fact, I sometimes I spare
their lives upon discovery and relocate them to a home next to ants. Why do
you ask? Because I f'ing hate ants way more than spiders, and spiders love to
kill ants. However, if written or depicted correctly, I could join the group of
people who spontaneously combust at the sight of a spider.
The story/TV miniseries It by Stephen King exemplifies what I mean. The

antagonist reflects the protagonists' fears, and by the end of the tale some
characters are even frightened by each others' fears. For instance, the most
famous part of this tale is probably the depiction of Pennywise by Tim Curry.
Not everyone fears clowns, but Pennywise could still scare the daylights out of
a lot of readers/viewers.
Another good example is the story Endless Night by Richard Laymon. The

story starts off with a teenage sleepover (probably the only enjoyable use of
this horror cliché ) that's interrupted by a group of killers. One friend is "spitted
on a spear", while the main character escapes with the speared character's
brother. The chase is ensues.
What's beautiful about the beginning to Endless Night isn't so much the fear of
intruders, but it's the fear of failing someone. The protagonist has to protect
her friend's brother and is more afraid of letting him die than the gang of
killers. Even more intriguing is the way Laymon uses conflicting voices. In
2012, people don't appreciate a second voice as much as they used to, but I
love them and here's why: With this example, the second voice is one of the
killers, and although he's the creepiest man we've ever met, he fears a lot too.
Along with establishing fears and connecting them with audiences, it's
important to keep an element of surprise.
2. SURPRISE
Getting someone to fear what you've created isn't the hardest part; making the
fear surprising is. I used the example of spiders earlier and I'd like to come
back to it again. Once you can make someone fear spiders, you have to keep
the surprises going.
How many ways can a spider story go? If you try to jot them down, you might
end up with a page of ideas or so. Right off the bat, I scribbled down about 49
ways.
This is where an imaginitative mind is useful. The cool thing about horror
novels versus movies is that you can toy with someone's imagination a lot
further. You paint a picture in such a way that the reader's mind can become
lost in thought the same way we might think there's a ghost in the house
during the thirteenth hour.
Likewise, suspense is mostly created through the reader's imagination. It's a

well that must be tapped to work. In Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box , a collector
of all things macabre buys a ghost. Oh no, not a ghost story! But it works. I
won't spoil too much here, but what's clever about this story is it's element of
surprise. At worst, a ghost means a bunch of strange sounds, cabinets
opening, and light-bulbs blowing out. But not here. Hill starts his readers off
with the usual ghost trappings, but then stabs them with a twist on the usual
haunting.
Expanding on a fear often contributes to surprise. Establish fears from the

usual tropes, then soil the audience's pants with an expansion that will echo
throughout their nightterrors. Of course, surprise after surprise can grow
tiresome. Sometimes you must make the reader want more scares, and this is
the beauty of suspense in horror stories.
3. SUSPENSE
Some of the greatest stories are also the most
suspenseful. Psycho, American Psycho, The Sixth Sense, Drag Me to
Hell, Pet Semetary, Odd Thomas, Harry Potter, The Devil's Labyrinth, etc.
Some surprises come at the end of a long suspense. The best scenario
consists of someone waiting for something to happen, and when it does it's
completely unexpected. An expansion on the same scenario includes fear.
We might even know what will happen to character based on their fears, but
there's still the anxiety of waiting.
If things are constantly popping out in order to scare or surprise, we'll

eventually grow wise to the act and find it less appealing. While King is
credited as the Master of Horror, both the book and mini-series Bag of
Bones let me down. Both the written story and TV movie series relied on
POP-OUTS too heavily and too often in the form of a dream. We've all had
terrifying nightmares before, so to live someone else's is a bit passé.
A better horror story is one that builds up the suspense. We don't just want
minor chords and POP-OUT scary faces, emotional connection with the
characters and we want to live out their stress rather than face obstacles akin
to a garden snake popping out from behind some vegetables.
Of course, a nice touch to suspense is a good mystery.

4. MYSTERY
Unless it's in the form of who dunnit, many readers have strayed away from
mystery within different genres of literature. Rather than let it go, I embrace a
strong element of mystery in an eerie tale. Actually, my personal taste is to
process as many unknowns in a story as possible. I enjoy understanding a
story during one moment and realizing I know nothing the next. A good
example of this can be found in Invisible Monsters.
However, more simplex mysteries seem to be the breaking point. Whether

small or large, we like not knowing a few things about a character. In general,
horror stories featuring a group of innocents will wait until the mid-point or
even the end to tell you what the main character - the leader in this case -
fears. It will surprise you by the way they encounter their fears. And it will keep
the suspense until the very end, at which point to mystery is solved.
Now preferred over mystery, spoilers have always been an important part to
every horror element.
5. SPOILERS
Foreshadowing is your friend.
The main character freaks out at the sight of a spider, so you know they're
gonna face one at some point. This can be positive anticipation with surprise
and suspense.
You might realize there's a false sense of identity in a novel. Therefore, you
suspect the narrator might be a little unreliable. This adds to every element,
especially mystery.
But spoilers are the little nothings authors give away at the very start of the
tale. Batman is Bruce Wayne. Freddy Krueger can kill you in your dreams.
Fears, anxieties, dislikes, etc.
This study reveals people like spoilers more than anything else in a good
story. When a reader or viewer knows something about the story from the
beginning - a something that would traditionally be in the climax of the story -
they are unable to look deeper into the story itself. Their eyes will be open to
detail. This is like rereading a novel, only without rereading it.
I like stories that force us to pay attention to every word written or said. When
you notice a focus item, you might expect what's to come, but there can still
be elements of fear, surprise, mystery, and suspense.
My ideal story spoils how it's constructed, still holds several mysteries, keeps
my suspense based on fears, and surprises me by going beyond tradition to
create new views on horror and the way it can scare someone.

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5 ELEMENTS OF A

GOOD HORROR STORY

The story/TV miniseries It by Stephen King exemplifies what I mean. The

Another good example is the story Endless Night by Richard Laymon. The

Likewise, suspense is mostly created through the reader's imagination. It's a

Expanding on a fear often contributes to surprise. Establish fears from the

If things are constantly popping out in order to scare or surprise, we'll

Of course, a nice touch to suspense is a good mystery.

However, more simplex mysteries seem to be the breaking point. Whether

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