Conventions of Horror Writing

By Carla Trueheart

Like many genres of fiction—including romance and mystery—horror writing has its own unique set of writing conventions and story structures. The best approach is to study how your favorite horror writer sets up his or her tales and mimic that with your writing, using your own plots and characters. Readers of the horror genre will expect certain elements, and by studying the top-selling horror novelists, you’ll gain a greater understanding of the way these stories are laced together. 

Outside of that, we can offer a few tips when it comes to horror writing. The following lists break down story structures, literary elements, and conventions of horror writing. We hope you’ll find them useful in your writing. 

Fear

Fear is the main emotion in horror novels, and horror writers are eager for their readers to experience it. However, while many writers structure a plot with the intention of frightening their readers with blood, guts, and gore, it is also important to include psychological fears, tension, suspense, and perhaps even a sense of mystery. You don’t want to rely on the graphic nature of a horror novel alone, so make sure elements of suspense are included and revise with pacing in mind. 

Characterization

The characters that inhabit the dark worlds of horror should be real, relatable, and multi-dimensional. For the reader to be afraid, they must have a personal link and connection to the protagonist and the side characters of a novel. They must be able to feel what they are feeling, and they can only do this if the characters are not cut-outs or one-dimensional. Consider what personal fears the character may have, and weave those fears into the plot. Basically, you’ll want to spend just as much time developing characters in a horror novel as you spend developing the plot. Make it a good balance between plot and characterization, and you’ll have a winning story. 

Mood and Tone

The mood and tone of a horror short story or novel should reflect the plot. A great way to set the mood is through setting. Play upon the fears of readers here, perhaps through isolation: an island, a snowed-in hotel, a maze, a prison, a broken elevator, or a medical event that traps the character(s) in their own house or town. Another terrific way to set mood is through weather, so while “it was a dark and stormy night” is a little cliche, it still works to set up a scene in horror writing. 

Types of Horror

There is no distinct type of horror novel, but there are certainly common plots. First, the traditional haunted house or ghost story is always a good read and fun to write. There are many different ways to go about these types of stories, and because no one is really sure what happens in the afterlife, every ghost story is different. Make yours as unique as you can, and remember to include a lot of suspense and an air of mystery. 

Going along with the ghost theme, another common story type in horror is paranormal/supernatural. This would include supernatural beings such as witches, vampires, werewolves, and creatures or humans you would not normally see walking down the street on a sunny afternoon. Again, be original with these stories, as they are pretty abundant nowadays. Mix and match, introduce new themes, and try playing with settings. A witch in space? A vampire in Italy? A strange creature of the sea in New York City?

Another story type common in horror is special abilities, like in Stephen King’s Carrie or Firestarter. A normal, everyday character has dark, powerful, or psychic abilities which in turn usually end up destroying lives and leaving the reader breathless in fear. Make the characters multi-dimensional: give them both dark and light sides, or perhaps explore them hating the ability they possess. 

Finally, we can also include the classic good vs. evil or slasher type of horror novel. Normal people are thrown into a wild dash for their lives when the bad guy, serial killer, or other-worldly slasher comes calling. Again, make sure you include more than just knife stabs and blood spilling. Avoid cliches here, such as the pretty girl getting murdered, a teenaged babysitter alone in a house, or a stumble-fall kill. 

Story Structure

As with a thriller or mystery novel, grab the reader early on in horror writing. Then, weave in backstory so it doesn’t slow the pace, and introduce the main conflict in the first chapter if you can. The inciting incident should come fairly soon as well. Remember to keep the stakes high, the conflict present, and the character motivation and fears clear. While most horror novels are fast-moving, you’ll want to take a breather here and there, similar to a thriller. In other words, give the reader a pause in the action before upping the suspense again.

The ending should include a high-energy, tense climax, while finishing with your character in whatever state they are in now, after experiencing a life-changing, horrific event. Remember you have plenty of room to explore different types of endings. Study the master writers in the genre, as mentioned in the opening of the article, and find out what works best for you based on your own writing and your favorite writers’ story structures.

Final Note: Do your research. Nothing is worse for a reader than spotting factual errors, even in fiction. If you’re writing historical horror fiction, research is even more important. 

Have fun with your writing and let us know how you make out!