Horror Fiction

Unlike other genres that try to elicit a positive response at the end of the novel, horror fiction wants to leave you trembling beneath your bed waiting for the worst to happen.  The novel will create fear, horror and anxiety in the reader by introducing horrible fantastic creatures or non-supernatural crazies. The strange roommate will move in and we discover she’s possessed. A son decides to get married and suddenly his mother has all her claws out - literally.

Most writers will choose to set up their novel in a dark and brooding place; a haunted house, a plane crash into nowhere forest, the funeral parlor, the underground dungeons. You however can get a bit creative and leave the usual suspects alone. Innocent places make for eerie settings for instance using a children’s playground, a wedding ceremony or a beach where no one is expecting any terror. When you introduce the gruesome scenes your story’s shock value will skyrocket.

The villain in horror fiction has to be a main character. He/she cannot be a ‘run of the mill’ villain, there has to be some real evil lacking in there. No point in having a jealous ex-girlfriend if she’s not going to have serious stalker tendencies or axe-wielding skills. The villain cannot be a coward and is willing to go for gold i.e. kill your hero. However as with other main characters, the villain must be rounded out and their psychosis explainable.

The hero on the other hand can be as cowardly as you want them to be. Having a Hercules in a horror novel is setting yourself up for an epic failure. The reader will settle to comfortably back in his chair win the battle and soon you’ll be having a romantic festival. We need someone who feels fear, who is terrified by the aliens, creepy kids, ghosts, monsters or demons.

As you introduce your gory scenes it is important that your madness be tainted by a large dose of reason. Why is the maniac stalking Luther? The reader needs to know why the world is turning upside down…and it shouldn’t be because God (read as the writer) said so. The knockout fight with the villain cannot end easily – after all the bugger has caused a whole lot of trouble, he deserves a standing ovation. Please note: in the end the evil wins or at least does not completely disappear. And none of that ‘everybody died but the hamster’ crap.  Be creative. Leave us with a little victory then just a little hint that you’re coming back…