How to Write Scary Stories / part 2: playing off of common fears

I'm going to open this post with this question:

What do you fear?

Don't focus as much on emotions with this one, but instead think of things that unsettle you.

A common trait in stories is when they play off of fears.

Normal people are secretly scared of a couple of things, and we probably all could name at least three things that slightly creep us out.

When I was younger I was terrified of dolls, people would give me dolls as gifts and I would unwrap them and start screaming. Luckily, I have passed that fear, but a lot of people still are unsettled by old dolls, but probably not to that extent. But as a writer, it is your job to take that tiny little fear and blow it up to something terrifying in your story.

Common fears for people are:

1. Glossophobia (public speaking)
2. Acrophobia (heights)
3. Entomophobia (insects)
4. Trypanophobia (needles)
5. Claustrophobia (being enclosed or trapped in small spaces)
6. Nyctophobia (the dark)

A lot of these fears are rational or could be made rational.

When I think about books or movies that have disturbed me, I try to find a common ground between them. They all usually have one irrational fear and then one common theme to make the story have suspension of disbelief, which we talked about last time.

For example, in I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid the common themes are the fear of the unknown, confusion, and that lingering sense we sometimes get that something's not right. The story takes place in what should have been a pretty normal environment, i.e. a road trip to meet the parents of a significant other, but the unsettling feeling that something is off follows along.

 I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a psychological horror, so it relies more on feelings to scare the readers, which it pulls off well.

More horror books need to focus a bit more on the psychological aspect of their setting and plot, even if they don't fit exactly into that genre. There's just so much there.

In You by Caroline Kepnes (which, while a page-turner, is super crude, so I wouldn't recommend it. If I did, it would be with caution) the story is from the POV of the stalker, and while the stalker doesn't see it as disturbing, the readers will.

 The biggest scare of You is the realization that social media has made it so easy for a person to be stalked. I don't even have social, social media, but even on this blog I share a lot about my life even if I don't mean to, and it's really unsettling to realize that I've put a lot of me out there for someone to take advantage of *shivers*.

Another scare of You is the other realization of how easy it is for someone to justify and rationalize bad behavior.

Now, I've focused on the more psychological side of horror, but before this post ends, let's briefly think about the more bloody side of horror.

When I contemplate the best violence I have read in books, I find that the common trait is that it's used sparingly. The authors tend to rely more on the five senses more than anything.

Sight: What does your character see? The glint of a knife in a jacket? A looming shadow at their doorway? The terrified expression on a friend's face?

Smell: What does your character smell? Hair burning? Decay and fear?

Hearing: What does your character hear? The deranged laughter of a madman? The creak of old floorboards? The sound of their own breathing as they try to hide?

Taste: What does your character taste? Blood? The salty tears that are rolling down their face?

Touch: What does your character feel? Cold skin?  Damp leaves?

And that brings this small rambly series to an end!

What have you observed while reading horror?
What do you find terrifying?

Happy Writing,