Halloween Haunts: Evoking Dread: A Balancing Act
Halloween Haunts: Evoking Dread: A Balancing Act
By Alexa Tanen
I’ve always loved horror stories; the scarier, the better. But there have been so many examples of an idea I adore that’s given a not-so-scary execution. As both a reader and an editor, there are a few key areas where writers can lose that all-important tension that’s integral to horror.
Unsettling Universes
Sometimes, the real horror lies in the implications. Writers must rely on their readers’ imaginations to bring their words to life, but you don’t need to spell everything out. It’s like seeing the monster in the movie. It’s always so much scarier when you’re jumping at shadows or vague suggestions. The second the camera gives you a real look at it, it’s never as spooky as you’d imagined, right?
H.P. Lovecraft was a master of avoiding the true evil in his stories. He relied heavily on the concept of something beyond human comprehension and described the places and creatures just enough to evoke dread without giving away too much. As he wrote in The Call of Cthulhu, “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”
Distressing Descriptions
On the other hand, you don’t want to leave your readers so confused that they miss an important plot point or finish your story too baffled to be frightened. Compelling horror descriptions engage all the senses.
Describing a setting with unsettling details, such as “the rancid stench of decay” or “the eerie, echoing silence,” can immerse readers in an environment that feels palpably threatening. Juxtaposing serene or mundane details with horror can intensify the effect. The same thing goes for your characters. Describing a character’s growing paranoia, distorted perceptions, or sense of impending doom can make the fear more personal and relatable.
The specific words chosen in horror writing are instrumental in building a sense of dread. Words carry connotations that can evoke fear. Terms like “creeping,” “lurking,” or “slithering” can suggest something sinister is near, while words like “blighted,” “dilapidated,” or “forsaken” can evoke a sense of decay and abandonment. Words like “sticky,” “clammy,” or “grating” can make scenes more visceral.
Petrifying Pacing
In horror fiction, effective pacing is about more than just moving the plot forward; it’s about manipulating time and suspense to evoke fear and unease. Writers use pacing strategically to control when and how readers experience moments of terror, surprise, and dread.
Spine-Tingling Suspense
One of the primary techniques in horror is slow pacing, which involves stretching things out to create an atmosphere of anticipation. Writers might focus on meticulous descriptions or the protagonist’s thoughts. By delaying the action, you develop a sense of unease. Maybe you linger on the description of a dark dilapidated house, intricately pointing out statues and eerie paintings along the hallway.
It’s not all about longer sentences and stalling the action, though. Withholding crucial information and keeping your readers guessing is another way to build suspense. Peppering in small but strange or unsettling events keeps the story moving without taking away from the impending climax.
Terrifying Tension
Conversely, fast pacing can be used to deliver sudden shocks and maintain a high level of excitement. Quick, intense sequences—such as a chase or a confrontation—can propel the story forward at a breakneck speed. The rapid pacing mirrors the characters’ heightened emotions and urgency, making readers’ hearts race.
Rapid pacing is often most effective when interspersed with moments of relative calm. This contrast can make the subsequent bursts of action or horror feel more jarring and intense. Or, you can stack multiple fast scenes to keep readers on high alert and amplify the narrative’s unpredictability. Even so, you need to decide when to escalate and when to draw back. It can’t all be one or the other.
A Chilling Conclusion
Writing horror can be described as a balancing act on multiple fronts. How much of the evil can you reveal before it loses that mystique? How much build-up can you insert before your readers get bored? It can be hard to judge by yourself; that’s where beta readers and editors come in. By skillfully adjusting the rhythm of the narrative, writers can control when and how readers experience fear, ensuring that every moment contributes to the overall atmosphere of dread.
Alexa founded Editmore, where she takes your scary story and helps you make it even more disturbing. Whether you’ve got zombies, monsters, terrors of the natural world, or manmade horrors, Editmore offers developmental, line, copyediting, and proofreading. Why not come knocking at her chamber door?
Hello Alexa, This is brilliant. I am sponsoring a Collaborative Horror Storytelling Workshop on October 26th. If I took your content and put it into slides with your citation on each page would that be ok? I would share them with you for review prior to doing so.