5 Tips for Writing Great Short Horror Stories
Horror is a genre that aims to evoke fear, suspense, and dread in the reader. Horror stories often involve supernatural elements, such as ghosts, vampires, zombies, or demons, but they can also be based on realistic scenarios, such as serial killers, cults, or pandemics.
Short horror stories, anything less than 10,000 words, are challenging to write because they have to create a strong impact in a limited space.
Here are some personal, common sense, tips on how to write short horror stories guaranteed to terrify and entertain your readers.
- Choose a scary premise. The premise is the basic idea or concept of your story. It should be something that intrigues and frightens the reader. For example, you could write about a haunted house, a cursed object, a mysterious stranger, or a twisted experiment. Think of what scares you personally and use that as inspiration.
- Develop your characters. Even though your story is short, you still need to have believable and relatable characters that the reader can care about. Give them some personality traits, motivations, and goals. Make them face some conflict or dilemma that relates to the horror theme. For example, you could write about a character who is trapped in a basement with a monster, or a character who is tempted by a demonic deal.
- Build tension and suspense. Tension and suspense are essential elements of horror. They keep the reader engaged and on edge. To create tension and suspense, you can use techniques such as foreshadowing, cliff-hangers, red herrings, unreliable narrators, or twists. For example, you could hint at something ominous that will happen later in the story, end a scene with a shocking revelation or a question, mislead the reader with false clues or information, make the narrator lie or hide something from the reader, or surprise the reader with an unexpected outcome or revelation.
- Use sensory details and imagery. Sensory details and imagery are descriptions that appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. They help the reader to imagine the scene and feel immersed in the story. They also help to create atmosphere and mood. To write effective sensory details and imagery, you should use specific and vivid words that evoke emotions and sensations. For example, you could write about the smell of blood, the sound of screams, the taste of fear, or the touch of cold fingers.
- End with a bang. The ending of your short horror story is crucial because it is the last impression you leave on the reader. It should be satisfying and memorable. It should also tie up any loose ends and resolve any conflicts or questions. There are different types of endings you can choose from depending on your preference and style. For example, you could write a happy ending where the protagonist survives and defeats the evil force; a sad ending where the protagonist dies or fails; a twist ending where something unexpected happens that changes everything; or an ambiguous ending where the outcome is unclear or open to interpretation.
Remember to use my tips each time you write and your results will be sure to improve. You’ll be proudly producing some great short horror fiction before you know it.
© Colin Lawson Books