A Horror Novel May Lurk
Right Up Your Dark Alley

I won't read a horror novel because I manage to come up with plenty of nightmares on my own - and I don't want help.

However, I do create characters who would fit just fine into a horror book (or dark fantasy, if that's how you prefer to think of it), so I guess it's not entirely out of my realm of expertise.

And because I write fantasy, and it can be filled with monsters (of various forms), I do have several reference books on writing horror.

So, without further ado, here are some horror writing tips to creep out your readers.


Where To Dig Up Things That Go Bump...

Where do you get ideas for a horror novel?

Nightmares. Fears from childhood. Fears from adulthood. Your next door neighbor's face. (Oh... sorry.)

Coming up with horrifying ideas is easy enough, if you open your mind to the dark side of things. Jot notes when you see something that gives you a jolt (remember, you're supposed to keep a notebook with you everywhere - well, not in the bath). Or when you hear something that creates a monstrous vision in your head.

Remember what scared you when you were a kid. Why were you afraid of the dark? Was it the things you couldn't see? The things you heard that were out of sight? Let that ferment in your fetid mind, and you'll have plenty of ideas.

How about now? What scares you now? (No, the phone bill doesn't count. But maybe it could...)

Use those memories, those glimpses of things you don't really see or understand, the newspaper stories that dredge up a feeling of dread, and let loose with it. We'll run screaming, I promise.


The Monster Next Door

How to choose your monsters... hmmm.

For starters, you need to decide if your monsters are creatures or if they wear human faces and just pretend they aren't monsters. (Think Silence of the Lambs for one of the second variety.)

If human, the news should give you plenty of fodder for coming up with a believable monster. (Or plenty of reason to go to a shrink to see why you can't get these ideas out of your head.)

If you choose to do mummies, vampires and other creatures that haunt a horror novel, be sure you spin your tale with a new twist, or no one's going to get to the end alive. (Can you die of boredom?) Combine an old monster with a new technology: the dryer that turns bed sheets into zombies of the last person to sleep in them... look out, you could be next!


Don't Go In There!

If you're going to write a horror novel, you have to learn to use suspense to its utmost. Your hero has to have a compelling reason for opening that door when your reader darn well knows he shouldn't.

Use subtlety. The details, if done masterfully, will have your readers begging for the shock, just to get it over with. Remember the glass of water on the dashboard of the car in Jurassic Park? Bet you jumped out of your seat when that Tyrannosaurus leaped out, didn't you?

Use the same technique in words to lure your reader in, create shivers that turn to shrieks of fear as the monster leaps out to devour the heroine.


Hanging Out In Cemeteries

Setting can make or break a horror novel. Sure, cemeteries have been used a million times, but if you remember to make it different, it'll still be effective. Maybe broad daylight in the cemetery?

Use stereotypical settings carefully. Haunted houses, foggy swamps, deserted roads can all raise goose bumps, but they've been done enough, you need to stretch for something different. (Your mother-in-law's basement?)

Think everyday and make it horrifying by creating details that make your readers' breath catch, their eyes to dart over their shoulders. That odd dark stain on the wall near the ceiling, the trail of weird white dust that shows up overnight down the freshly cleaned hallway. A house that's so clean, it's scary.

Use your imagination. I'm sure you can spook your readers if you try.


In Gory Detail

Just how graphic should you get in your horror novel?

Well, that depends. Are you aiming to scare the pants off kids, or grown-ups? The younger the audience (yeah, plenty of kids go for being scared silly), the more cautious you need to be on how explicit your horror book gets.

With the adults, these days, nearly anything goes. But don't write graphic details just to gross people out. That's not writing horror. That's writing horribly.


Hauntingly Ever After

How do you tie up your horror novel? (Or is that your hero you're tying up?)

Well, it doesn't have to be a happy ending - at least not for your hero or heroine. Sometimes, the monster wins. But it better be believable.

However you choose to finish the deed, be sure you satisfy your readers with a properly terrifying climax. Don't let them down, knock them down. Go out with a bang - or a bite. Leave them panting (and drooling) for more.

Then you'll have them in your grip - forever. Heh, heh, heh heh... (in a deep base voice)

Happy haunting!