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My Own Experience in a Haunted House

• Categories: Haunted House Personal Experience

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Words: 686 |

Updated: 6 December, 2023

Words: 686 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited

• Bader, C. (2014). Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture. NYU Press.
• Dickey, C. (2016). Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places. Penguin Books.
• Hargrove, R. (2013). The Haunted House: A True Ghost Story. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
• Holzer, H. (2017). Ghosts: True Encounters from the World Beyond. Black Dog & Leventhal.
• Klinger, L. (2014). The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft. Liveright Publishing Corporation.
• Michell, J., & Rickard, R. (Eds.). (2016). Paranormality: Why We Believe the Impossible. Overlook Press.
• Radford, B., & Nickell, J. (2012). The Science of Ghosts: Searching for Spirits of the Dead. Prometheus Books.
• Randles, J., & Hough, P. (2016). The Paranormal, the new guide to understanding and working with the unexplained. Watkins Media Limited.
• Tucker, E. (2016). Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses. University Press of Mississippi.
• Underwood, P. (2013). Haunted London. Amberley Publishing.

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250 Horror Writing Prompts (Scary Good Ideas)

Looking to write your next spine-chilling horror story?

Here are 250 horror writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing. From ghostly apparitions to apocalyptic nightmares, these prompts will help you create unforgettable tales of terror.

What Is a Horror Writing Prompt?

Table of Contents

A horror writing prompt is a brief idea or scenario designed to inspire a horror story.

It provides the foundation for a plot, characters, conflict, setting, consequences, and sometimes a ticking clock plot device to build tension and urgency.

There is actually more than one type of horror writing prompt (see the chart below).

Types of Horror Writing Prompts

Ghost Stories

• The Forgotten Asylum – A group of urban explorers finds an abandoned asylum haunted by the spirits of former patients. They must uncover the asylum’s dark secrets before they’re trapped forever.
• The Phantom Ship – A ghost ship appears off the coast, and a team of marine biologists investigates. They discover the souls of the drowned crew seeking revenge.
• Haunted Housewarming – A couple moves into their dream home, only to find it haunted by a previous owner’s vengeful spirit. They must uncover the home’s history to break the curse.
• The Whispering Woods – Campers in a remote forest hear eerie whispers at night. The ghost of a lost hiker leads them to a hidden danger.
• The Ghostly Guardian – A child befriends a ghost who protects them from unseen dangers. The parents must confront the ghost to save their child.
• The Lighthouse Keeper – A lone lighthouse keeper encounters the spirits of shipwrecked sailors. He must guide them to the afterlife while battling his own sanity.
• The Cursed Portrait – An artist paints a portrait that traps the soul of its subject. The artist must find a way to release the soul before they face a similar fate.
• The Haunted Highway – Drivers on a desolate road encounter ghostly apparitions. A journalist investigates the road’s dark history to uncover the truth.
• The Spirit of the Manor – A family inherits a manor haunted by its former occupants. They must survive the night and appease the spirits to lift the curse.
• The Ghostly Choir – A school choir is haunted by the spirits of former students. The new choir director must solve the mystery before the spirits claim more victims.
• The Phantom Play – An old theater is haunted by the ghost of a lead actor who died on stage. The current cast must perform his unfinished play to set his spirit free.
• The Ghostly Conductor – A ghost train appears on an abandoned track, and a group of friends boards it. They must solve the train’s mystery before reaching their final destination.
• The Haunted Playground – Children encounter the ghost of a girl at a playground. They must help her find peace before she claims more playmates.
• The Ghost in the Attic – A family discovers a ghost living in their attic. They must uncover the ghost’s past to help it move on.
• The Spectral Detective – A detective partners with a ghost to solve a series of murders. They must catch the killer before the ghost’s unfinished business consumes them both.
• The Haunted Hotel – Guests at a remote hotel encounter the spirits of former guests. The hotel staff must uncover the truth to stop the hauntings.
• The Ghostly Librarian – A library is haunted by the ghost of a former librarian. The new librarian must uncover the ghost’s secrets to restore peace.
• The Phantom Dancer – A ballerina encounters the ghost of a dancer who died in a tragic accident. She must perform the dancer’s final routine to set her spirit free.
• The Ghost Shipwreck – Divers exploring a shipwreck encounter the spirits of the crew. They must uncover the ship’s fate to escape the underwater hauntings.
• The Haunted Cabin – A group of friends stays in a cabin haunted by the ghost of a previous occupant. They must solve the ghost’s mystery to survive the night.
• The Ghostly Roommate – A college student discovers their dorm room is haunted. They must work with the ghost to uncover the dorm’s dark history.
• The Phantom Photographer – A photographer captures images of ghosts in their photos. They must find a way to stop the hauntings before they become one of the subjects.
• The Haunted Mirror – A mirror in an antique shop shows the reflections of ghosts. The shop owner must uncover the mirror’s history to break the curse.
• The Ghostly Gardener – A gardener encounters the spirit of a former groundskeeper. They must work together to uncover the secrets buried in the garden.
• The Phantom Bus – A ghostly bus picks up passengers who never return. A journalist must uncover the bus’s story to stop the disappearances.

Psychological Horror

• The Mirror’s Reflection – A person starts seeing a sinister version of themselves in mirrors. They must confront their inner demons to regain control.
• The Unseen Stalker – Someone feels constantly watched and followed. They must uncover the identity of their stalker before they lose their sanity.
• The Vanishing Family – A person wakes up to find their family has disappeared. They must piece together their fractured memories to find out what happened.
• The Hallucination Game – A group of friends takes part in a psychological experiment, only to find reality and hallucination blurring dangerously.
• The Time Loop – A person is trapped in a time loop, reliving the same terrifying day. They must find a way to break the loop before their mind unravels.
• The Doppelgänger – A person encounters someone who looks exactly like them but with sinister intentions. They must discover the doppelgänger’s origins to survive.
• The Sleepless Nights – A person suffers from severe insomnia, leading to disturbing visions and paranoia. They must find the cause before they break down completely.
• The Disappearing Acts – A person’s friends and family begin to vanish one by one. They must uncover the truth behind the disappearances before they’re next.
• The Phantom Voices – A person starts hearing voices that urge them to commit terrible acts. They must resist the voices and find out where they’re coming from.
• The Twisted Reality – A person finds themselves in a world where nothing is as it seems. They must navigate the illusions to find the truth.
• The Hidden Room – A person discovers a hidden room in their home filled with disturbing artifacts. They must uncover its purpose and the secrets it holds.
• The Fragmented Mind – A person experiences severe memory loss and blackouts. They must piece together their fragmented memories to uncover a dark truth.
• The Shadow in the Corner – A person sees a shadowy figure in the corner of their eye that gets closer each day. They must confront it before it consumes them.
• The Sinister Neighbor – A person suspects their new neighbor is hiding a terrible secret. They must investigate without falling into the neighbor’s trap.
• The Vanishing Town – A person visits a town where the residents start to disappear. They must find out what’s happening before they’re the next to vanish.
• The Haunted Dreams – A person has recurring nightmares that start to affect their waking life. They must confront the source of their dreams to find peace.
• The Creeping Darkness – A person notices shadows in their home that move on their own. They must discover the shadows’ origin before they’re engulfed.
• The Split Personality – A person develops a sinister alter ego that takes over at night. They must find a way to control it before it ruins their life.
• The Abandoned Factory – A person explores an old factory and begins to experience disturbing visions. They must uncover the factory’s history to escape its grip.
• The Cursed Diary – A person finds a diary that predicts terrible events. They must find the diary’s owner to break the curse.
• The Silent Treatment – A person wakes up in a world where no one can speak. They must find out what happened and restore communication before it’s too late.
• The Puppet Master – A person discovers they’re being manipulated by an unseen force. They must break free before they lose their sense of self.
• The Echoes of the Past – A person experiences vivid flashbacks of events they never lived. They must uncover the connection between the flashbacks and their present.
• The Invisible Enemy – A person is attacked by an unseen force. They must find a way to defend themselves and uncover the enemy’s identity.
• The Cursed Painting – A person acquires a painting that changes its scene to reflect their darkest fears. They must find a way to destroy the painting before it consumes their sanity.

Paranormal Activity

• The Poltergeist – A family experiences violent disturbances in their home caused by a poltergeist. They must uncover the entity’s past to stop the terror.
• The Possessed Doll – A child receives a doll that seems to have a life of its own. The parents must find a way to break the possession before it harms the family.
• The Haunted School – Students encounter paranormal activity in their school. They must investigate its history to stop the hauntings.
• The Supernatural Investigator – A detective with a sixth sense solves crimes involving paranormal activity. They must confront their own fears to catch a dangerous spirit.
• The Vanishing Townspeople – Residents of a small town start disappearing after a mysterious fog rolls in. The remaining townspeople must solve the mystery before they vanish too.
• The Ghostly Lover – A person falls in love with a ghost who haunts their home. They must find a way to be together or say goodbye forever.
• The Time-Traveling Spirit – A ghost from the past appears to a historian, seeking help to correct a historical injustice. They must work together across time.
• The Paranormal Researcher – A scientist investigates paranormal phenomena and discovers a hidden world of spirits. They must navigate this world to find answers.
• The Haunted Item – An antique shop owner acquires an item with a dark past. They must uncover its history and break the curse before it destroys them.
• The Phantom Room – A hotel room that doesn’t exist on the registry appears to guests. Those who enter must solve its mystery to escape.
• The Spectral Friend – A lonely child befriends a ghost. The child’s parents must help the ghost find peace before it takes their child to the afterlife.
• The Haunted Hospital – Patients in a hospital encounter ghostly apparitions. The staff must uncover the hospital’s dark past to stop the hauntings.
• The Possessed Vehicle – A car starts exhibiting strange behavior after an accident. The owner must uncover its history to break the possession.
• The Cursed Book – A librarian finds a book that causes anyone who reads it to experience paranormal phenomena. They must destroy the book before it spreads its curse.
• The Phantom Babysitter – A babysitter encounters a ghostly child in the house they’re watching. They must uncover the child’s story to protect the family.
• The Haunted Museum – Artifacts in a museum come to life at night. The curator must solve the mystery before the artifacts escape.
• The Possessed Painting – An artist’s paintings start depicting horrifying scenes that come to life. They must uncover the source of the possession to stop it.
• The Ghostly Guide – Tourists encounter a ghostly tour guide who leads them to dangerous places. They must uncover the guide’s past to escape.
• The Paranormal Investigation – A team of ghost hunters investigates a famously haunted location and encounters more than they bargained for. They must survive the night and document their findings.
• The Phantom Pet – A family adopts a pet that turns out to be a ghost. They must help the pet find peace to stop its restless behavior.
• The Haunted Object – A person buys a seemingly innocuous object at a yard sale, only to discover it’s haunted. They must find its previous owner to uncover its dark history.
• The Ghost Town – A group of friends stumbles upon a deserted town inhabited by ghosts. They must solve the town’s mystery to escape.
• The Phantom Carnival – A carnival appears in town, and those who visit never return. A journalist investigates to uncover its dark secrets.
• The Haunted Road – A driver encounters ghostly figures on a deserted road. They must find out why the road is haunted to find their way out.
• The Ghostly Warning – A person receives warnings from a ghost about an impending disaster. They must decipher the messages to prevent the catastrophe.

Creature Features

• The Werewolf Curse – A small town is terrorized by a werewolf. The townspeople must find and stop the creature before the next full moon.
• The Swamp Monster – A group of campers encounters a monstrous creature in the swamp. They must survive the night and find a way to escape.
• The Vampire’s Lair – A vampire kidnaps townsfolk to feed on. A group of villagers must band together to defeat the vampire and save their loved ones.
• The Sea Creature – A coastal town is plagued by a sea monster. The townspeople must uncover the creature’s origins and stop it before it destroys the town.
• The Yeti Hunt – Explorers in the Himalayas encounter a yeti. They must survive its attacks and find a way to escape the mountains.
• The Chupacabra – A small town is terrorized by a creature that preys on livestock. The townspeople must find and stop the chupacabra before it turns to human prey.
• The Mothman Prophecies – A town experiences sightings of a mysterious creature that predicts disasters. The townspeople must uncover its origins to stop the tragedies.
• The Wendigo – A remote village is terrorized by a wendigo. The villagers must find a way to defeat the creature and break its curse.
• The Loch Ness Monster – Researchers searching for the Loch Ness Monster get more than they bargained for. They must survive their encounter and escape the loch.
• The Giant Spider – A group of scientists encounters a giant spider in the jungle. They must survive its attacks and find a way to escape.
• The Goblin’s Curse – A village is plagued by goblin attacks. The villagers must find and defeat the goblin king to lift the curse.
• The Kraken – A ship is attacked by a Kraken. The crew must find a way to defeat the creature and escape the ocean.
• The Minotaur’s Maze – Adventurers exploring an ancient labyrinth encounter a minotaur. They must navigate the maze and defeat the creature to escape.
• The Gorgon – A group of heroes must defeat a gorgon to save their kingdom. They must avoid its petrifying gaze and find a way to kill it.
• The Cyclops – A village is terrorized by a cyclops. The villagers must find and stop the creature before it destroys their homes.
• The Harpy’s Lair – A group of adventurers encounters a harpy in a remote cave. They must survive its attacks and find a way to escape.
• The Hydra – A group of heroes must defeat a hydra to save their land. They must find a way to kill the creature without it regenerating.
• The Chimera – A village is attacked by a chimera. The villagers must find a way to defeat the creature before it destroys their homes.
• The Basilisk – A group of adventurers must defeat a basilisk to save their kingdom. They must avoid its deadly gaze and find a way to kill it.
• The Griffin – A village is terrorized by a griffin. The villagers must find and stop the creature before it destroys their homes.
• The Dragon’s Lair – A group of adventurers must defeat a dragon to save their kingdom. They must find a way to kill the creature and escape its lair.
• The Phoenix – A group of heroes must defeat a phoenix to save their land. They must find a way to kill the creature without it regenerating.
• The Roc – A village is attacked by a roc. The villagers must find a way to defeat the creature before it destroys their homes.
• The Unicorn’s Curse – A village is plagued by a cursed unicorn. The villagers must find and stop the creature to lift the curse.
• The Leviathan – A ship is attacked by a leviathan. The crew must find a way to defeat the creature and escape the ocean.

Gothic Horror

• The Cursed Castle – A family inherits a castle with a dark history. They must uncover its secrets to lift the curse.
• The Haunted Abbey – Monks at a remote abbey encounter ghostly apparitions. They must uncover the abbey’s dark past to stop the hauntings.
• The Sinister Manor – Guests at a manor encounter strange occurrences. They must solve the manor’s mystery to escape.
• The Dark Forest – A village is surrounded by a forest where no one returns. The villagers must uncover the forest’s secrets to survive.
• The Phantom of the Opera House – A theater is haunted by a ghostly figure. The performers must uncover the phantom’s past to stop the hauntings.
• The Ghostly Bride – A bride haunts the church where she was left at the altar. The townspeople must uncover her story to set her spirit free.
• The Vampire’s Castle – A group of travelers seeks shelter in a castle only to find it inhabited by vampires. They must escape before becoming prey.
• The Sinister Tower – A tower on a cliff is said to be haunted. Adventurers must uncover its secrets and survive its dangers.
• The Witch’s Cottage – A cottage in the woods is said to be inhabited by a witch. Brave villagers must uncover the truth and survive the night.
• The Shadowed Hallways – A noble family in a mansion encounters shadowy figures that stalk them at night. They must uncover the mansion’s history to banish the shadows.
• The Forbidden Tomb – Explorers uncover an ancient tomb that curses those who enter. They must find a way to break the curse and escape.
• The Haunted Chapel – A chapel is haunted by the spirits of those wronged by the church. The new priest must uncover their stories to bring peace.
• The Eerie Estate – An estate known for its eerie occurrences becomes the setting for a family reunion. The family must uncover the estate’s dark past.
• The Sinister Sculptor – A sculptor’s statues seem to come to life. Visitors to the sculptor’s estate must solve the mystery before they become statues themselves.
• The Phantom Shipyard – A shipyard is haunted by the ghosts of shipbuilders who died in a tragic accident. Investigators must uncover the cause of the hauntings.
• The Cursed Bell Tower – A bell tower’s toll brings doom to those who hear it. The villagers must silence the bell to stop the curse.
• The Secret Passage – Hidden passages in a mansion reveal dark secrets. The inhabitants must navigate the passages to uncover the truth.
• The Ghostly Governess – A governess haunts the children she once cared for. The new caretaker must uncover her story to protect the children.
• The Darkened Library – A library contains books that whisper dark secrets. The librarian must uncover the source and stop the whispering.
• The Phantom Train Station – A train station is haunted by passengers who never reached their destination. A traveler must uncover their stories.
• The Sinister Garden – A garden blooms with flowers that have a deadly secret. The gardener must uncover the truth to save themselves.
• The Ghostly Host – A host at a manor party is a ghost who never left. The guests must uncover the host’s story to escape.
• The Haunted Portraits – Portraits in a manor watch the inhabitants. The family must uncover the stories behind the portraits.
• The Cursed Well – A well in a village grants wishes at a terrible cost. The villagers must uncover the well’s origins to stop its influence.
• The Phantom Ball – A grand ball is held every year by a ghostly host. The attendees must uncover the host’s story to escape.

Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic

• The Last Survivors – After a nuclear apocalypse, a group of survivors must navigate a ruined city to find safety.
• The Plague – A deadly virus wipes out most of humanity. The immune survivors must find a cure before they succumb to the infection.
• The Alien Invasion – Aliens decimate Earth’s population. A group of resistance fighters must find a way to fight back.
• The Artificial Intelligence Uprising – AI turns against humanity. A group of survivors must find a way to shut down the AI network.
• The Resource War – After resources become scarce, warring factions fight for control. A neutral group must navigate the conflict to survive.
• The Frozen Earth – A new ice age begins, and survivors must find a way to live in the frozen wasteland.
• The Solar Flare – A solar flare wipes out the technology. Survivors must adapt to a world without electricity.
• The Zombie Apocalypse – The dead rise, and survivors must find a safe haven. They must navigate hordes of zombies and hostile humans.
• The Asteroid Impact – An asteroid destroys major cities. Survivors must rebuild society in the aftermath.
• The Supervolcano Eruption – A supervolcano erupts, causing a global catastrophe. Survivors must navigate the ash-filled landscape.
• The Mutant Uprising – Radiation causes mutations in humans. The unmutated must find a way to coexist or fight back.
• The Machine Takeover – Robots take control of the world. Human survivors must find a way to disable the machines.
• The Bioweapon Leak – A bioweapon leaks and creates deadly mutants. Survivors must find the source to stop the spread.
• The Water Crisis – Water becomes a scarce resource. Survivors must find new sources of water and fend off those who want to steal it.
• The Dark Age – Society collapses, and survivors must navigate a world without order. They must rebuild communities while avoiding bandits.
• The EMP Attack – An EMP attack wipes out all electronics. Survivors must adapt to a pre-technological world.
• The Global Famine – A famine causes mass starvation. Survivors must find new ways to grow food and fend off starving invaders.
• The Infected Animals – A virus causes animals to become aggressive. Survivors must protect themselves from the deadly wildlife.
• The Drought – A prolonged drought causes a water shortage. Survivors must find new sources of water and protect them from others.
• The Nuclear Winter – A nuclear war causes a nuclear winter. Survivors must find a way to live in the cold, dark world.
• The Toxic Air – Pollution causes the air to become toxic. Survivors must find ways to purify the air and protect themselves.
• The Invasion – A foreign army invades, causing chaos. Survivors must navigate the war-torn landscape.
• The Collapse – Economic collapse causes society to break down. Survivors must find ways to rebuild while avoiding hostile groups.
• The Plague – A new plague decimates the population. Survivors must find a cure before they become infected.
• The Resource Scarcity – Resources become scarce, and society collapses. Survivors must find new ways to survive and protect their resources.

Body Horror

• The Parasite – A person becomes host to a parasitic creature that slowly takes over their body. They must find a way to remove it before losing control.
• The Flesh-Eating Disease – A disease that causes flesh to decay. The infected must find a cure before they succumb.
• The Mutation – A person starts mutating uncontrollably. They must find a way to stop the mutations before they become unrecognizable.
• The Experiment – A person is subjected to horrific experiments that alter their body. They must escape the lab and find a way to reverse the changes.
• The Transformation – A person transforms into a monstrous creature. They must find a way to stop the transformation and regain their humanity.
• The Infestation – A person’s body becomes infested with insects. They must find a way to remove the infestation before it’s too late.
• The Amalgamation – A scientist’s experiment causes multiple bodies to fuse together. The resulting creature must find a way to separate or live as one.
• The Skinwalker – A person can change their appearance by shedding their skin. They must find a way to control their abilities before they lose themselves.
• The Growth – A person discovers a rapidly growing tumor that gives them strange abilities. They must find a way to control it before it consumes them.
• The Symbiote – A symbiotic creature bonds with a person, granting powers but slowly taking over. They must find a way to separate before losing control.
• The Reanimation – A scientist’s experiment to reanimate the dead goes horribly wrong. The reanimated must find a way to live with their new bodies.
• The Graft – A person receives an experimental organ transplant that changes their body in unexpected ways. They must find a way to reverse the changes.
• The Cannibal’s Curse – A person who consumes human flesh gains horrific powers. They must find a way to break the curse before losing their humanity.
• The Melting Man – A person starts to liquefy. They must find a way to stop the process before it melts away.
• The Living Tattoo – A person’s tattoos come to life and start to control them. They must find a way to stop the tattoos before they take over.
• The Bone Shifter – A person gains the ability to shift their bones, causing great pain. They must find a way to control their power before it destroys them.
• The Organ Thief – A person wakes up missing organs that are replaced by mysterious mechanical parts. They must find the thief and recover their organs.
• The Flesh Sculptor – A person gains the ability to mold their flesh like clay. They must find a way to control their power before it consumes them.
• The Skin Thief – A person can steal others’ skin to change their appearance. They must find a way to stop their urges before they lose their humanity.
• The Hive – A person’s body becomes a hive for insects. They must find a way to remove the insects before it’s too late.
• The Limb Regenerator – A person gains the ability to regenerate limbs, but each regrowth causes them to lose part of their humanity. They must find a way to stop the process.
• The Mind Swap – A person swaps minds with another, causing their body to undergo horrific changes. They must find a way to reverse the swap.
• The Flesh Weaver – A person gains the ability to manipulate flesh, weaving it into grotesque forms. They must find a way to control their power before it consumes them.
• The Bone Collector – A person starts collecting bones, and their body begins to incorporate them. They must find a way to stop before they become living skeletons.
• The Living Parasite – A parasitic organism living inside a person starts taking over their body. They must find a way to remove the parasite before it controls them completely.

Slasher Stories

• The Masked Killer – A masked killer hunts down teenagers at a summer camp. The survivors must uncover the killer’s identity to stop the murders.
• The Urban Legend – A group of friends accidentally awaken a killer from an urban legend. They must find a way to stop the killer before becoming victims.
• The High School Horror – A killer stalks students at a high school reunion. The former classmates must band together to survive the night.
• The Night Stalker – A serial killer targets people walking alone at night. A detective must catch the killer before more lives are lost.
• The Cabin in the Woods – A group of friends vacationing in a cabin are hunted by a killer. They must survive the night and uncover the killer’s motive.
• The Halloween Horror – A killer in a Halloween costume targets partygoers. The survivors must figure out who the killer is before it’s too late.
• The Summer Slasher – A slasher terrorizes a summer camp. The counselors must protect the campers and stop the killer.
• The Haunted House Horror – A group of friends visiting a haunted house attraction encounter a real killer. They must survive the night and escape the house.
• The Killer Clown – A killer dressed as a clown targets children. The townspeople must uncover the clown’s identity to stop the killings.
• The Prom Night Massacre – A killer crashes a prom, targeting students. The survivors must find a way to stop the killer and escape.
• The Road Trip Terror – A group of friends on a road trip are hunted by a killer. They must uncover the killer’s identity and motive to survive.
• The Island Slasher – Vacationers on a remote island are hunted by a killer. They must survive and find a way to escape the island.
• The Carnival of Carnage – A killer targets visitors at a carnival. The survivors must uncover the killer’s identity to stop the murders.
• The Silent Stalker – A killer who never speaks targets people in their homes. A detective must catch the killer before more lives are lost.
• The Snowbound Slasher – A group of friends snowed in at a cabin and are hunted by a killer. They must survive the night and find a way to escape.
• The College Campus Killer – A killer stalks students on a college campus. The survivors must band together to uncover the killer’s identity.
• The Backwoods Butcher – Campers in the backwoods are hunted by a killer. They must survive the night and find a way to stop the killer.
• The Stalker in the Shadows – A stalker targets a woman, and her friends must protect her and catch the stalker.
• The Holiday Horror – A killer targets people during the holidays. The survivors must uncover the killer’s identity and motive to stop the murders.
• The Beachside Slasher – Vacationers at a beach resort are hunted by a killer. They must survive and uncover the killer’s identity.
• The Amusement Park Horror – A killer targets visitors at an amusement park. The survivors must stop the killer and escape the park.
• The Midnight Stalker – A killer targets people walking alone at midnight. A detective must catch the killer before more lives are lost.
• The Wedding Day Massacre – A killer crashes a wedding, targeting guests. The survivors must find a way to stop the killer and escape.
• The Forest of Fear – Hikers in a forest are hunted by a killer. They must survive and find a way to stop the killer.
• The Asylum Escapee – A killer escapes from an asylum and targets people in a nearby town. The townspeople must uncover the killer’s identity to stop the murders.

Cosmic Horror

• The Lovecraftian Entity – A small town is plagued by sightings of an otherworldly entity. The townspeople must uncover its origins to stop the madness.
• The Eldritch Tome – A scholar discovers a book that drives readers insane. They must uncover the book’s secrets to stop its influence.
• The Alien Artifact – Scientists discover an artifact that brings forth cosmic horrors. They must find a way to destroy it before it consumes them.
• The Forgotten Temple – Explorers find an ancient temple dedicated to a cosmic entity. They must uncover its secrets to escape the horrors within.
• The Star Cult – A cult worships a cosmic entity that grants them terrible powers. Investigators must stop the cult before they summon the entity.
• The Cosmic Rift – A rift in space-time opens, bringing forth horrors from another dimension. Scientists must find a way to close the rift.
• The Astral Projector – A person gains the ability to astrally project but encounters cosmic horrors. They must find a way to control their power.
• The Interdimensional Traveler – A traveler from another dimension brings cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to send the traveler back.
• The Eldritch Signal – A signal from deep space drives those who hear it insane. Scientists must find a way to stop the signal.
• The Otherworldly Beacon – A lighthouse serves as a beacon for cosmic entities. The keeper must find a way to stop the beacon.
• The Alien Invasion – Aliens from another dimension invade Earth, bringing cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to fight back.
• The Eldritch Storm – A storm brings forth cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to stop the storm.
• The Forgotten Ones – Ancient beings awaken and bring cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to stop them.
• The Cosmic Plague – A plague from another dimension infects humanity. The survivors must find a cure before it spreads.
• The Eldritch Machine – A machine built by an ancient civilization brings cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to destroy it.
• The Otherworldly Visitor – A visitor from another dimension brings cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to send them back.
• The Lovecraftian Dreams – People start having dreams of cosmic horrors that drive them insane. They must find a way to stop the dreams.
• The Eldritch Ritual – A cult performs a ritual to summon a cosmic entity. Investigators must stop the ritual.
• The Alien Mind Control – Aliens use mind control to bring forth cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to stop them.
• The Eldritch Portal – A portal opens, bringing forth cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to close it.
• The Forgotten City – Explorers find a lost city dedicated to cosmic entities. They must uncover its secrets to escape the horrors within.
• The Otherworldly Artifact – An artifact from another dimension brings cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to destroy it.
• The Eldritch Experiment – Scientists’ experiments bring forth cosmic horrors. They must find a way to stop the experiments.
• The Alien Infestation – Aliens infest a town, bringing cosmic horrors. The survivors must find a way to stop them.
• The Cosmic Entity – A cosmic entity awakens, bringing forth horrors. The survivors must find a way to stop it.

Folk Horror

• The Village Ritual – A village performs a dark ritual every year. Outsiders must uncover the ritual’s purpose to escape.
• The Forest Cult – A cult in the forest performs dark rituals. Outsiders must uncover the cult’s secrets to survive.
• The Harvest Sacrifice – A village sacrifices people for a good harvest. The outsiders must stop the sacrifices.
• The Witch Hunt – A village accuses outsiders of being witches. They must prove their innocence to survive.
• The Cursed Land – A village is built on cursed land. Outsiders must uncover the curse’s origin to lift it.
• The Haunted Farm – A farm is haunted by the spirits of those wronged by the landowners. The new owners must uncover the farm’s dark history.
• The Pagan Festival – A village’s pagan festival hides dark secrets. Outsiders must uncover the truth to survive.
• The Reaping – A village reaps souls to appease a dark entity. The outsiders must stop the reaping.
• The Cursed Forest – A forest is cursed, and those who enter never return. Outsiders must uncover the curse’s origin.
• The Old Gods – A village worships ancient gods that demand sacrifices. The outsiders must stop the worship.
• The Blood Moon – A village performs a ritual under a blood moon. Outsiders must stop the ritual.
• The Spirit of the Lake – A lake is haunted by a vengeful spirit. The villagers must uncover its story to stop the hauntings.
• The Cornfield Curse – A village’s cornfield is cursed, causing bizarre deaths. Outsiders must uncover the curse’s origin to stop it.
• The Stone Circle – A stone circle in a village is used for dark rituals. Outsiders must uncover their secrets to stop the rituals.
• The Phantom Harvest – A village experiences hauntings during the harvest season. Outsiders must uncover the cause to end the terror.
• The Cursed Festival – A village festival turns deadly each year. Outsiders must uncover the festival’s dark origins to stop the deaths.
• The Whispering Woods – The woods surrounding a village whisper dark secrets. Outsiders must decipher the whispers to escape.
• The Haunted Mill – An old mill is haunted by the spirits of workers who died there. New owners must uncover the mill’s dark history.
• The Witch’s Mark – A village marks certain people as witches. Outsiders must uncover the truth behind the markings to survive.
• The Blood Ritual – A village performs a blood ritual to appease dark forces. Outsiders must stop the ritual before they become sacrifices.
• The Specter of the Fields – A scarecrow in a village’s fields comes to life. Outsiders must uncover the scarecrow’s dark origins.
• The Sinister Shepherd – A shepherd in a village controls his flock with dark magic. Outsiders must uncover his secrets to stop him.
• The Ghostly Harvesters – Spirits of past harvesters haunt a village. Outsiders must uncover the harvesters’ stories to end the hauntings.
• The Village of Shadows – A village is plagued by shadowy figures. Outsiders must uncover the figures’ origins to escape.
• The Witching Hour – A village experiences dark events at the Witching Hour. Outsiders must uncover the truth behind the events to survive.

Here is a video with 25 bonus horror writing prompts:

Final Thoughts: Horror Writing Prompts

Using these writing prompts is simple.

Choose a prompt that sparks your interest. Imagine the characters, setting, and conflict. Let the prompt guide you, but feel free to add your unique twist.

Keep writing until the story unfolds naturally.

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How to Craft a Scary Story - Step by Step Analysis

By: Henrique Bertulino

Very few things capture the human imagination quite like a scary story. The horror genre forms a vital part of English literature and has been the subject of many research papers over time. Great names like Edgar Allan Poe, Algernon Blackwood, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, M. R. James, and even more contemporary writers like Susan Hill, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Anne Rice have advanced the art of horror short story beyond what we usually got before.

Scary Experience Essay Example

Make your main character easy to empathize with, pit them against things they cannot realistically win against, let your readers put their own fears into the text.

In this narrative essay, we will show you how a ghost story works. From a list of writing prompts, we have selected one for this sample essay, and though it doesn't feature serial killers stalking children during Halloween through flickering streetlights, we hope you will enjoy the roller coaster regardless.

My mother always told me that going up to the second floor was a bad idea. She had lived on the ground floor flat for twenty-two years, she told me, but people living overhead came and went. Had been for as long she had lived there. Not a single family in her recollection had ever stayed there for more than six months.

At least five families in her memory, and two in mine, had come and gone. The only person who stayed more than six months was a lone lady. From what my mother told me, she lasted so long because she had her own rituals she performed. But even she couldn't stay for longer.

What exactly haunted the second floor of our house, I didn't know. But it was a well-known fact that it was haunted. The entire neighborhood knew. Nothing ever happened on the ground floor, but when we went to bed at night, we could hear the sound of furniture being moved.

Oddly enough, the flat was untenanted at the time.

And so, I got curious. I wanted to find out exactly what was going on up there. The stories told by former tenants were much the same. Furniture being thrown about, windows and doors slamming open and closed. One woman was almost strangled in bed. Needless to say, that family moved away immediately afterward. I was deathly afraid of going upstairs. When I was little, the thought of a ghost living upstairs was enough to stop me from going to the toilet at night.

By the time I was twelve, though, these fears had been laid to rest. Most of my friends in the neighborhood were also rather curious about the haunting, and a friend of mine asked me if we could go up. The landlord always kept the keys to that flat with us, and I knew exactly where it was. So, smelling an adventure, I said yes.

On a weekend afternoon, we decided to put our little plan into action. Too many cooks spoil the broth, so it was only my friend and I. My mother was asleep after having lunch, so that made nicking the keys easier.

Tools of our trade in hand, my friend and I snuck up the stairs. He was ahead of me, climbing the stairs enthusiastically. There was nobody living up there at the moment, so there was no electricity. No lights to push the darkness of the staircase away. Our nerves were being canceled out by our excitement.

Suddenly, however, my friend stopped in his tracks. I stopped too and asked him why he had stopped. At my question, he started. He immediately whirled around, eyes wide.

"Didn't you just run past me up the stairs?" he asked, voice very quiet. "I stopped to let you pass…"

I said nothing. The look on his face did not make it seem like he was bluffing. The terror in his eyes was enough. We sprinted down the stairs faster than human feet have ever run downstairs, and shot out of the house and into the afternoon sun.

The adventure was never fully realized. To this day, that first-floor flat remains untenanted.

Why It Works

Horror stories don't all have to involve the main character moving into a haunted house. The secret to a good story is to make the main character be as sympathetic and likable as possible. A mother feeding her son, a sister playing with her brother, school friends - bonds of love and friendship are at the heart of every good scary story.

Of course, a true story beats out everything, but that's beside the point. Having the main character you can get behind and support sells a horror story. You do not want bad things happening to them. You want them to pull through and survive. The bigger the odds they face, the more you want them to come out on top.

This is what makes Bram Stoker's Dracula such a towering success. Even today, the struggles of Jonathan Harker to escape from the dreaded castle, of Dr. John Seward and Abraham Van Helsing's putting together of the disparate events connected to the Count, and Mina Murray's bravery while facing down a fate worse than death can't help but strike a chord in anyone's heart.

However, you are not writing an action story. Or an adventure tale. You're writing horror. So, the hero should never be able to fight the foe directly. The terror they face must be unimaginably stronger and stranger than they can imagine. That is the essence of horror - even the most chiseled bodybuilder is helpless against a street filled with flickering streetlights and shadows slinking past.

This is what makes the works of H. P. Lovecraft so widely loved. He left the ultimate horror up to the interpretation of the reader. The greatest source of dread in his stories comes from beings we cannot understand, and the feeling of alienness is what allows him to twist our emotions as per his command.

And that is what it comes down to, at the end of the day. You might love the horror genre, but to really understand it and how it works, you need to seep yourself in it. You have to read and watch everything of quality that you can get your hands on. Only then will you understand enough about the craft to be able to make your own mark. And that, we hope, is where this narrative essay leads you.

Whether you got your first taste of horror by watching horror films or picking up a copy of Goosebumps, take solace in the fact that the horror bug never truly leaves you. You will always be connected to the spooks, whether you like it or not.

We hope you got what you wanted out of this free essay. If you want your own essays to stand out, you should look into Studybay's assignment writing service. Get professionally written essays complete with masterful proofreading - nothing will stop you from achieving the grade you want. Give us your ESL essay topics, and watch us give you the best edited essay you will ever see.

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Essay on Horror Story

Students are often asked to write an essay on Horror Story in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Horror Story

Introduction.

Horror stories are a genre of fiction that seeks to scare, disturb, or startle its readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror.

Elements of Horror

Key elements include suspense, surprise, and a sense of impending doom. Often, horror stories involve supernatural elements or entities.

Impact on Readers

These stories can have a profound impact on readers, evoking intense emotions and creating memorable experiences.

Despite their frightening nature, horror stories remain popular due to their ability to engage readers’ emotions and imagination in unique ways.

250 Words Essay on Horror Story

The intrigue of horror stories, psychological appeal.

At the heart of every horror story is the exploration of fear. Sigmund Freud’s concept of ‘the uncanny’ explains our attraction to horror as a confrontation with repressed fears and desires. This exploration of the unknown and the forbidden can be cathartic, allowing us to experience fear in a controlled environment.

Cultural Significance

Horror stories also reflect societal fears and anxieties. For instance, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” mirrors the 19th-century fear of scientific advancement, while George Orwell’s “1984” embodies the dread of totalitarian regimes. Thus, horror stories serve as cultural artifacts, offering insights into the zeitgeist of an era.

Narrative Techniques

The narrative techniques employed in horror stories are designed to evoke fear and suspense. Techniques such as foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and unreliable narrators keep readers on edge, while the use of dark, descriptive language helps create a chilling atmosphere.

In conclusion, horror stories are more than mere tales of terror. They are a reflection of our deepest fears, a commentary on societal anxieties, and a testament to the power of narrative techniques in evoking emotional responses. Their enduring popularity is a testament to their complexity and the human fascination with the macabre.

500 Words Essay on Horror Story

Horror stories have been a part of human culture for centuries, delighting and terrifying audiences in equal measure. They are narratives designed to frighten, cause dread or panic, or invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale. The horror genre taps into the primal fear within us, making us confront the unknown and the terrifying.

The Psychology behind Horror

The evolution of horror stories.

Horror stories have evolved significantly over the years, keeping pace with societal changes and shifts in what we fear. Early horror stories were often tied to religion, reflecting fears of the supernatural and the afterlife. As society became more secular, the focus shifted to the horrors of the human mind and the terrors of the unknown.

Modern horror stories, such as Stephen King’s works, often blend elements of the supernatural with the psychological, creating a sense of unease that lingers long after the story is over. The horror genre has also expanded into various sub-genres, such as psychological horror, supernatural horror, and body horror, each catering to different fears and anxieties.

The Impact of Horror Stories on Society

In conclusion, horror stories are an integral part of our cultural fabric, serving as both entertainment and a means to explore our deepest fears and anxieties. They have evolved with society, reflecting our changing fears and serving as a commentary on societal issues. Despite their often gruesome and terrifying content, horror stories provide a safe space to explore the darker aspects of our psyche, helping us to understand and confront our fears. The enduring popularity of the horror genre is a testament to its ability to tap into our primal fears and its capacity to thrill, terrify, and captivate audiences.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

Happy studying!

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Short horror story essay 8 Models

• Topics in English
• December 29, 2021

Short horror story essay is one of the popular intimidation methods that help parents in correcting children and improving their behavior in many educational aspects.

Through this article, we will provide you with many models that talk about stories of horror and intimidation that may help or influence the behavior of children, show the goals of horror stories, and the extent of the impact of these stories on improving children’s instincts, and strengthening their personality.

• Short horror story essay

The school plays an important and significant role in educating children and improving their behaviour. In a similar article that talks about horror stories, the student can learn about the dimensions of these stories, the extent of their impact and why they are used.

The student can talk about his fears and terrifying situations he went through. The teacher can take advantage of these events and try to address these fears by guiding him and talking to him, or by making him research more about the dimensions of the problem and the benefits that he benefited from despite going through a terrifying situation.

At the beginning of the article we will put several points that show the goals that must be present within the topic, and several models will be created using these points inside them, so that the articles are useful for the student in case he wants to present them to the school, or if he wants to know the aspects that he should talk about inside a similar article he talks about the horror stories and the bad situations he was exposed to.

Objectives of the article

1- To obey orders.

2- Giving up bad behavior.

3- Repressing the evil instincts that are inside every human being.

4- Controlling the child in the safety zone next to the parents.

5- Planting correct means and methods through intimidation.

Several years ago, my father told me a story about a boy  who went out without telling his family where he was going. And this was late at night. After he left, he met some children and played a little with them and enjoyed this, but because of the late time these children left him, some of them returned to their home alone, and some of them their families came to to pick them up, and he found himself alone in the end.

He decided to walk around for a while, so that he might encounter other children and continue playing with them. But after walking for a long time, he found that all the streets were empty, and it was dark everywhere, and he could no longer discern where he was, and that he was far from home and lost his way.

And whenever he tried to return from where he came, he found himself in dangerous areas with street dogs, and in order to avoid them, he kept entering other streets, until he lost the way completely. So he sat crying and did not find anyone to bring him home because all the people of the town were asleep.

The time at night was getting hard for this naughty little boy. Every minute that passes feels like it’s a long time and he’s so afraid of darkness and loneliness. And whenever he heard the sound of dogs howling, intensified in crying. And whenever he called his father, he did not come to take him, because he was far from the house and did not tell them that he was going out, and did not tell them where he was going.

Then he learned that he had made a big mistake and that his father would not come to look for him because he thought he was asleep. And he decided to try to call for help and search for any place where there are people and tell them what happened.

And he kept walking in the dark crying for a long time until he found some people, and told them his name, where he lived, and the name of the neighborhood in which he lived. Fortunately for him, they weren’t bad guys, and they brought this guy home.

The father was very angry with him for this behavior and punished him for a week for this behavior. But the boy was happy that he came home and learned the lesson well and knew that this wrong behavior was dangerous and could have lost his family for life.

While hearing this story, I was very afraid and put myself in the place of this boy, and I found myself learning from him what to do. And that I must tell my family where I am going, and watch the time, and take care of myself and not stay away from home. When I finish playing, I go home.

In the early morning, I was very careful to memorize my full name, the name of the neighborhood in which I live, the name of my mother, and the house number.

Although the story was scary for me, I learned a lot from it and had a reaction to every event that takes place in it.

Dear student, a basic form was submitted for the topic on short horror story essay, In addition to many other models such as, horror short story essay, creepy short horror story essay, a short horror story essay, short ghost story essay, short ghost story essay, scary short story essay, scary experience essay.

If you prefer to add any other topic, you can contact us through the comments of this article and we will study your request and add it as soon as possible.

horror short story essay

At the weekend I went on a trip with my friends to the forest. We took camping equipment, some food and water. The weather was nice, the trees were leafy, the birds were flying from tree to tree, the landscape was beautiful.

We wandered in the woods and ate the fruits on the trees, and as we wandered, a huge bear appeared in front of us, looked at us and prepared to attack us.

We were all very terrified, but the instructions reminded us not to run, not to scream, and to act calmly. I took out of my bag a self-defense spray bottle, which should be used in this case. But the bear left quietly and none of us were hurt.

creepy short horror story essay

I get up early and sit in the garden of the house, enjoying the fresh air, listening to the sound of birds, watching beautiful flowers and other beautiful landscapes, but yesterday something terrifying happened to me.

When I sat on the bench in the garden and was enjoying nature I felt something moving under the chair.

I quickly looked under the chair and found a large black snake.

It moves slowly, I felt very terrified and could not move, I remained frozen in my place, the snake crawled slowly and I looked at it with horror, until it moved away several meters, I called the competent authority immediately and a trained man came and caught the snake.

a short horror story essay

Last week I went with my family to the zoo, the weather was nice, and we were enjoying the nature, where there are a lot of green leafy trees and decorated with beautiful flowers and large areas that allow us to run and play, everything was beautiful.

Then we went to the animal cages and watched the animals from a distance.

But there is a person who got very close to the lion’s cage, even though there is a sign on it that says Do not go near the animal cages.

He was not satisfied with that, but he extended his hand into the cage, and the lion grabbed his hand with force, and this person was unable to rid his hand of the lion’s fangs.

The man screamed loudly from the severity of the pain, and the guard came quickly and tried to give the lion a piece of meat to leave the man’s hand, but to no avail.

The veterinarian quickly intervened and gave the lion an anesthetic injection, and the man was able to get his hand out of the cage, but it had many wounds and was taken to the hospital. It was really terrifying moments.

Short ghost story essay

There are many people who feel terrified in the dark, and my brother is very afraid of the dark and feels terrified and imagines frightening things.

So when the electricity went out and the house became dark. I went to his room quietly without feeling, and stood in front of him, making some strange sounds.

My brother jumped quickly and came out of the room saying a ghost of a ghost, but he hit the wall and cut his head and bled a lot, it was a big wound.

At that time I was telling him don’t be afraid, I am your brother, but he was very frightened. I was very sorry for him and regretted that I had caused him to feel terrified and made him crash into the wall.

And I told him I was just trying to joke with you and I wouldn’t do it again but you should train yourself not to be afraid of the dark.

A Short Scary Story Essay

Last weekend I went with my friends on a fishing trip. We chartered a fishing boat with all our fishing gear and went into the sea for a long distance, so that we could see neither the beach nor the city.

We started fishing and we were very happy because there are many fish and they are also big, and the weather was nice.

Suddenly strong winds blew and the waves rose, and the fishing boat was swinging with us over the water, up and down, and we couldn’t control it.

At this time we felt so afraid that we would drown.The fishing boat cannot withstand these bad weather conditions.

But after a while the wind calmed down a bit and we miraculously survived.

Scary short story essay

Last weekend I went with my colleagues on a school trip to one of the archaeological sites, and we had some teachers with us organizing the trip and supervising our transfers.

We entered a museum that houses great antiquities and stood listening to the tour guide talking about the history of these antiquities.

I was fascinated and listened to the tour guide with great interest, so that I did not feel the departure of my colleagues and teachers, as they left the museum and got on the bus and left this place and did not feel my absence.

When I found myself alone in the museum, I felt very afraid and searched for them all over the museum, but I could not find them, so my fear increased and my crying became louder.

Suddenly I found one of the teachers entering the museum and looking for me, so I ran towards him and grabbed his hand and felt safe.

Scary Experience Essay

At the end of the year I had a frightening experience. I went to the beach and decided to snorkel, so I bought wetsuits, put them on, and dived into the sea. But it was not what I expected and almost drowned.

I was so scared when I found myself unable to dive, and could not swim to the top.

It was a difficult situation but one of the lifeguards on the beach saw me, knew I was going to drown and ran to save me.

Therefore, I advise others to learn before we do anything that might endanger our lives.

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Scary Story Essay

As one reads through a spine-chilling tale, have you ever found yourself captivated, unable to avert your gaze despite the creeping sensation of terror that permeates your being? If so, you’re not alone. Scary stories essays have been popular for centuries, and they tap into our deepest fears and anxieties and transport us to a world where anything is possible.

If you are struggling to develop ideas for your scary story essay, don’t worry – with the right tools and techniques, anyone can write a terrifying tale that will leave readers begging for more. Whether you are an experienced wordsmith or a fledgling novice, continue reading to acquire the knowledge necessary to pen a narrative that will ensnare your audience and leave them tossing and turning throughout the night.  Write my essays with confidence and create your spine-tingling tale today!

What is a Scary Story Essay?

A scary story essay is a narrative essay designed to frighten and unsettle the reader. It typically involves supernatural or horror elements like ghosts, monsters, or otherworldly creatures. The objective of an essay centered around a frightening narrative is to instill a feeling of uneasiness and apprehension within the reader while concurrently maintaining their attention until the very conclusion.

Some characteristics of a scary story essay include:

• An eerie or ominous tone
• Vivid descriptions of the setting, characters, and events
• A sense of foreboding or impending doom
• Suspenseful pacing and plot twists
• An unsettling or unexpected ending

Differences between a scary story essay and other types of essays

One of the key differences between a scary story essay and other types of essays is the emphasis on creating an emotional response in the reader. While most pieces are designed to inform or persuade, a scary story essay spm is intended to evoke a specific emotional reaction.

Another difference is using narrative techniques such as plot, setting, and character development. In a scary story essay, these elements are used to create a sense of tension and unease rather than simply advancing the plot or conveying information.

Elements of a Horror Story

The key elements that make up a horror story include:

 When these fundamental components are merged and executed efficiently, they coalesce to generate an overwhelming sense of dread and discomfort in the reader. For example, the creepy setting might make the reader feel like they are being watched or followed, while the vulnerable characters make them feel sympathetic and protective.

The plot and tone of the story might create a sense of dread or anticipation as the reader wonders what will happen next. And when a sudden shock or surprise does occur, it reinforces the idea that anything can happen in this world and that the characters are never truly safe.

Types of Horror Stories

Numerous horror tale classifications exist, each presenting distinctive attributes and themes. Some of the most common types include:

How to Start a Scary Story Essay (Horror Story Essay)

Tips for brainstorming ideas.

Consider the setting, characters, and plot when brainstorming ideas for your scary story essay. What kind of horror elements do you want to include? Are there any real-life fears or anxieties you want to tap into?

After formulating a rudimentary concept, endeavor to generate several plot twists or scenarios that could unfold within the established framework. Do not hesitate to allow your creative faculties to soar unrestricted and endeavor to formulate a concept that exudes individuality and unpredictability.

How to create a compelling opening that sets the mood

The opening is one of the most important parts of a scary story essay. The opening sets the tone for the entire paper and should grab the reader’s attention immediately.

Consider starting with a startling or eerie image or scene to create a compelling opening. This might be like a character stumbling through a dark forest or a haunted house looming in the distance. You could also start with a quote or dialogue that sets the mood.

Examples of effective opening lines from famous horror stories

• “The horror, the horror!” – Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• “It was a dark and stormy night…” – A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” – A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” – The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Writing a Scary Story Essay

How to structure the essay for maximum impact.

To structure your scary story essay for maximum impact, consider starting with a compelling opening that sets the mood, followed by a gradual buildup of suspense and tension. The story’s climax should be the most intense and terrifying part, with a resolution that provides some closure for the reader.

Developing a well-rounded plot and characters

To develop a well-rounded plot and characters, consider the motivations and fears of your characters. What propels their actions, and what are their most profound terrors and apprehensions?

Try to create real and relatable characters, even if they are dealing with supernatural or horror elements. This will make the story feel more immersive and engaging for the reader.

How to create suspense and tension

To create suspense and tension in your scary story essay, consider using pacing and structure to build up to the climax. You can do this by gradually increasing the frequency and intensity of horror elements, such as jump scares or moments of suspense.

You can also use foreshadowing and other literary devices to hint at what’s to come while still keeping the reader guessing. Furthermore, do not hesitate to leave certain details to the reader’s imagination, which can engender an even more disconcerting feeling of terror.

Using sensory details to enhance the scary atmosphere

To enhance the scary atmosphere of your story, consider using sensory data to help the reader visualize the setting and characters. This might include descriptions of sounds, smells, textures, and visual details like lighting and shadows.

You can also use figurative language and metaphors to create a more vivid and evocative picture for the reader. For example, you might describe a character’s fear as a cold, clammy hand gripping their heart.

Scary Story Essay Examples

“the tell-tale heart” by edgar allan poe  .

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a classic horror story that features a narrator who becomes obsessed with the eye of an old man, to the point of murdering him. The story is told from the perspective of the murderer, which creates an unsettling sense of intimacy and psychological tension.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is another famous horror story that involves a cursed object. In this case, a family possesses a monkey’s paw that grants wishes but with terrible consequences.

Analysis of what makes these stories effective and how they can be used as inspiration.

These narratives are potent as they delve into ubiquitous dreads and trepidations, such as the fear of demise and the inscrutable. They also use literary techniques like pacing, foreshadowing, and sensory details to create a vivid and unsettling atmosphere.

As you work on your scary story essay, you can use these stories as inspiration for your plot and characters while also studying their structure and pacing to see how they create suspense and tension.

Tips for Writing a Successful Scary Story Essay

Dos and don’ts for writing a scary story essay

• Use sensory details to create a vivid and evocative atmosphere
• Build suspense and tension gradually, with a well-paced structure
• Create well-rounded and relatable characters
• Use literary devices like foreshadowing and metaphor to create a sense of foreboding

Don’t:

Rely too heavily on jump scares or gore to create horror

Neglect the importance of setting and atmosphere

Use clichés or tired tropes that have been overused in horror stories

Tips for editing and revising to improve the overall quality of the essay

When editing and revising your scary story essay, consider the pacing and structure of the story. Make sure that the buildup of tension feels natural and engaging and that the climax is both satisfying and terrifying.

It is also crucial to prioritize character progression and dialogue, ensuring each persona is distinctive and multifaceted. Ultimately, it is imperative to contemplate the all-encompassing tone and ambiance of the narrative, guaranteeing that it evokes a pervasive feeling of discomfort and foreboding from the opening sentence to the closing line.

In conclusion, writing a scary story essay can be a thrilling and rewarding experience, but it requires careful attention to detail and an understanding of what makes horror stories truly effective.

By adhering to the pointers and techniques explicated in this article, you can compose a hair-raising anecdote that will keep your readers teetering on the precipice of their seats. So why not start brainstorming ideas for your scary story essay today? With a little creativity and imagination, you can create a story that will haunt readers long after they finish reading.

Remember to focus on the key elements of horror, such as setting, characters, and plot, and use literary techniques like pacing and foreshadowing to build suspense and tension. With practice and perseverance, you can hone your writing skills and create stories that will chill and thrill readers for years.

What is a Horror Story essay?

A horror story essay is a narrative essay designed to frighten and unsettle the reader. It typically involves supernatural or horror elements like ghosts, monsters, or otherworldly creatures. A short horror story essay aims to create a sense of unease and fear in the reader and keep them engaged until the end.

How do I start a scary story essay?

To start a scary story essay, consider starting with a startling or eerie image or scene that sets the mood. You could also start with a quote or dialogue that creates a sense of foreboding. From there, gradually build tension and suspense until you reach the story’s climax.

What are some tips for writing a good scary story essay?

Some tips for writing a good scary story essay include:

• Don’t rely too heavily on jump scares or gore to create horror
• Avoid clichés or tired tropes that have been overused in horror stories

Can I use real-life experiences in my scary story essay?

Yes, you can use real-life experiences as inspiration for your scary story essay. However, be sure to use them in a way that is respectful and doesn’t exploit real-life trauma or tragedy.

How can I make my scary story essay stand out?

To make your scary story essay free stand out, try to create a unique and unexpected plot that subverts readers’ expectations. You can also use vivid and evocative language to create a more immersive atmosphere and focus on creating well-rounded and relatable characters. Lastly, do not fear to take risks and experiment with fresh concepts – the most exemplary horror tales frequently challenge conventions and surpass limitations.

Lesley Hummings

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Horror Writing 101: Crafting Scary Stories 🖊️🎃

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Horror writing , a genre that delves into the darkest corners of the human psyche, has captivated readers and writers alike for centuries. From Gothic tales of the supernatural to modern psychological thrillers, horror writing spans a vast array of themes and styles, each more bone-chilling than the last. This genre’s ability to evoke fear, suspense, and a sense of the unknown is what makes it so uniquely compelling. Aspiring writers drawn to this genre must not only understand how to terrify and unsettle their readers, but also how to craft stories that linger in the mind long after the last page is turned.

The allure of horror writing lies in its power to tap into our deepest fears and anxieties. It’s a genre that goes beyond mere entertainment; it forces us to confront the darker aspects of life and the human condition. Whether it’s through ghostly apparitions, monstrous creatures, or the horrors of the human mind, horror writing serves as a mirror to our collective nightmares, offering a safe space to explore and understand them. For writers, this means venturing into uncharted territories of creativity and imagination, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in storytelling.

However, effective horror writing requires more than just the ability to scare. It demands a careful balance of mood, atmosphere, character development, and pacing. The best horror stories are those that build tension slowly, drawing readers into their eerie worlds gradually, then gripping them with a sense of dread that is both exhilarating and terrifying. Crafting such narratives is a skill that can be honed and refined, making horror writing an exciting challenge for writers who dare to explore it.

In this exploration of horror writing, we will delve into various techniques and elements that make a horror story truly frightening. From developing chilling settings to creating haunting characters, the journey into horror writing is as much about understanding human emotions as it is about evoking them. Whether you’re a seasoned horror writer or just starting, this guide aims to provide valuable insights into mastering this spine-tingling genre.

The Foundations of Horror Writing

In the realm of horror writing , the foundations of a compelling story are rooted in its ability to evoke fear and suspense, creating an immersive experience that lingers with the reader. Central to this genre are key elements like a well-constructed plot, intriguing characters, and an atmosphere dripping with tension. Horror stories often revolve around universal fears – the dark, the unknown, death, and isolation – exploiting these primal fears to create a sense of dread and foreboding. The effectiveness of horror writing lies in the writer’s ability to tap into these deep-seated anxieties, crafting narratives that not only scare but also resonate on a psychological level.

A crucial aspect of horror writing is the setting, which plays a significant role in establishing the mood. Whether it’s a haunted house, a desolate forest, or an ordinary setting turned sinister, the location sets the stage for the story’s horror elements. A well-depicted setting can become a character in itself, contributing significantly to the story’s terror. It’s this environment that first immerses the reader, enveloping them in a world where the normal rules don’t apply, and anything is possible – usually, the worst imaginable scenarios.

The narrative voice in horror writing also has a profound impact on how the story is received. A first-person narrative can offer an intimate sense of terror, as readers experience the protagonist’s fear firsthand. Alternatively, a third-person viewpoint can provide a broader perspective, often adding to the chilling nature of the story. This choice in narrative voice can drastically change the way readers experience fear and suspense, and it’s a tool that horror writers use skillfully to manipulate readers’ emotions.

The pacing of the story is critical in horror writing. It often involves a slow build-up, where tension simmers and grows before leading to moments of intense fear or shock. Mastering the art of pacing is what keeps readers on the edge of their seats, eager and apprehensive about what lurks on the next page. The best horror stories are those that balance the anticipation of terror with moments of reprieve, keeping the reader hooked and invested in the unfolding horror.

Building Suspense and Tension

Creating a sense of suspense and tension is the lifeblood of horror writing. This genre is about making the reader feel a constant sense of impending doom, even when they can’t pinpoint the source. One effective technique is the use of foreshadowing, which involves dropping subtle hints about what might come. This keeps readers guessing and heightens their sense of alertness. It’s the anticipation of horror, as much as the horror itself, that makes a story gripping.

Manipulating the reader’s expectations is another method to build suspense. Horror writers are adept at leading readers down a certain path, only to surprise them with an unexpected twist. This unpredictability is what keeps the genre exciting. When readers can’t guess what’s coming next, their engagement levels increase, and so does their investment in the story.

The use of sensory details is also crucial in building suspense. Describing not just what is seen, but also what is heard, smelled, or felt, can create a multi-sensory experience that heightens the sense of fear. It’s about painting a picture so vivid that readers can’t help but immerse themselves in the world you’ve created. The creak of a floorboard, the chill of a breeze, the faint smell of something rotten – these details can build an atmosphere thick with tension.

Character reactions play an equally important role in building tension. Readers often experience fear through the characters in the story. How characters respond to the terror they face can either amplify or diminish the suspense. Characters who react believably to the horror elements help to ground the story in reality, making the fear more tangible and relatable to the reader.

The Psychology of Fear

At its core, horror writing is deeply rooted in psychology. Understanding what scares people and why is crucial for crafting a terrifying story. Different people have different fears, but there are universal fears, such as the fear of death, the unknown, or loss of control, that resonate with a broad audience. Tapping into these fears involves a deep understanding of human psychology and the common anxieties that haunt us all.

Exploring the psychology of your characters can also add depth to the horror. Characters with complex psychological backgrounds offer a richer, more immersive experience. Their fears, traumas, and reactions can make the horror more relatable and, therefore, more terrifying. When readers can see a part of themselves in the characters, the fear becomes more personal, and the impact of the story is significantly magnified.

Moreover, the psychological impact of horror on readers should not be underestimated. A good horror story can leave a lasting impression, playing on the reader’s mind long after it’s finished. This lingering effect is often what separates a good horror story from a great one. It’s the ability of the story to tap into the subconscious, to evoke a primal response, that makes horror writing so powerful and enduring.

Crafting Memorable Horror Characters

In horror writing, characters are not just vehicles for the plot; they are essential to the story’s impact. The protagonist in a horror story often represents ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. Their relatability is what draws readers into the story. Seeing a regular person navigate the terrors of a horror story can be both terrifying and compelling. It’s through these characters that readers experience the fear and suspense of the narrative.

Antagonists or monsters in horror need to be more than just scary. They should have depth and, in some cases, a backstory that explains their nature. Whether it’s a supernatural entity or a human antagonist, understanding their motivation adds a layer of complexity to the horror. This makes the antagonist more than just a source of fear; it turns them into a character with motives and purposes, which can be even more frightening.

Supporting characters also play a significant role. They can add to the protagonist’s isolation or be a source of relief in the story. How these characters interact with the main character and the horror element can significantly affect the story’s tension and pacing. They provide contrast and relief, and their interactions with the protagonist can add layers to the narrative.

Horror Writing and Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting in the horror genre presents unique challenges and opportunities. As a ghostwriter, capturing the author’s voice and vision for a horror story requires a deep understanding of the genre and the ability to adapt one’s writing style. Ghostwriting in horror involves getting into the mind of the author, understanding their interpretation of fear, and translating that into a compelling narrative.

Ghostwriters often have to work with detailed outlines or concepts provided by the author. This requires a balance between adhering to the author’s vision and injecting their own creativity into the story. It’s a collaborative process where the ghostwriter must find a harmony between their own style and that of the original author.

The collaboration process in ghostwriting horror can also be a learning experience. Ghostwriters often gain new perspectives and techniques, enhancing their skills in horror writing. They learn to be versatile and adaptable, skills that are invaluable in the writing world. Moreover, ghostwriting can provide an opportunity to explore different sub-genres of horror, broadening the ghostwriter’s range and expertise.

The Role of Setting in Horror

The setting in a horror story is often as important as the characters and the plot. It sets the tone and atmosphere of the story, influencing how the horror unfolds. Whether it’s a claustrophobic space or an expansive, eerie landscape, the setting can significantly amplify the story’s fear factor. The right setting can make the difference between a horror story that’s mildly unsettling and one that’s deeply terrifying.

Historical settings can add a layer of authenticity to horror stories. They can also allow writers to explore horrors rooted in historical events or folklore, adding depth and richness to the narrative. Historical settings provide a backdrop that can heighten the horror, making it feel more real and immediate.

Modern settings, on the other hand, can make horror more relatable to contemporary readers. They can explore the fears and anxieties of modern life, from technological horrors to urban legends. Modern settings allow writers to tap into current societal fears, making the horror more relevant and impactful.

Horror Writing in Different Mediums

Horror writing is not limited to novels and short stories. It spans various mediums, each offering a unique way to tell a horror story. Movies, television shows, podcasts, and even video games have become popular mediums for horror storytelling. Each medium brings its own set of tools and techniques for creating fear and suspense.

Adapting horror stories for different mediums requires an understanding of the strengths and limitations of each. For instance, visual mediums like film can rely on visual scares, while written stories often build horror through the imagination. Understanding these differences is key to effectively translating a horror story from one medium to another.

The interactive nature of video games offers a new dimension to horror writing. It immerses players directly in the horror experience, making it a unique and powerful medium for the genre. In video games, the horror is not just observed; it’s experienced firsthand, which can make it even more terrifying.

Conclusion: Mastering the Art of Horror Writing

Mastering horror writing is about understanding the nuances of fear and suspense. It’s about creating stories that scare and engage readers on a deeper level. Whether you are a seasoned horror writer or just starting, the journey into horror writing is thrilling and rewarding. Effective horror writing involves balancing atmosphere, character development, and pacing. It requires a deep understanding of what scares people and why. By honing these skills, writers can create horror stories that are not just frightening but also memorable and impactful. In conclusion, horror writing is a diverse and dynamic genre, offering endless opportunities for creativity and expression. For those who dare to explore its depths, it can be a profoundly rewarding creative endeavor.

Takeaway Horror writing is an art that requires a keen understanding of fear, suspense, and the human psyche. From building tension to creating memorable characters and settings, mastering this genre involves delving deep into what terrifies us. Aspiring horror writers can enhance their craft by embracing these techniques, exploring different mediums, and continually pushing the boundaries of their storytelling abilities. Whether through ghostwriting or crafting your own tales, the world of horror writing offers a thrilling and rewarding creative journey.  

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6 Responses

This is good to know. I am not really a fan of horror so, I have no idea what’s going on when the author writes one. Thank you for giving me a fresh perspective on this. Made me appreciate their work more.

You are not kidding about the lasting impression. My BFF from middle school (still my BFF today) had her dad put on a horror movie for their family when I was there for a sleepover. Lights out and everything to make it scarier. I’d never seen a horror movie. It was my first and my last and I still remember the name of that daggone show and I’m a grandma now.

This was such a fantastic breakdown of the genre. I have never been able to write horror stories, although I love reading them. I was never able to figure out how to build the tension that I love so much in this genre.

Ooohhhh….this is good tips to carry with me, when I do ever write about horror. I will need a bit of practice with the setting and introducing it to my readers.

The horror genre is one of my favorites to delve into. I don’t write but reading this article gives me a greater appreciation for those that do.

After reading this article, I’m seriously considering trying my hand at horror writing for a change of pace in my content creation journey.

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Home » Blog » 132 Best Horror Writing Prompts and Scary Story Ideas

132 Best Horror Writing Prompts and Scary Story Ideas

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Table of contents.

Horror stories send shivers down our spines. They are gruesome, shocking, and chilling. Scary stories are meant to horrify us, and there are many ways to make a powerful impact on the reader. The element of surprise is crucial to make the readers’ blood freeze.

There are different types of horror stories. They often deal with terrible murders, supernatural powers, psychopaths, frightening human psychology, and much more.

Horror Writing Prompts List

Although many horror writing prompts and scary ideas have been written, the following 132 horror writing prompts can spark great creativity in aspiring writers of the horror genre.

• A family is on a camping trip. The parents are walking with their two children, a daughter and a son. The little boy trips and falls into a dark river. His father jumps to rescue him. Somehow, the boy manages to swim to the surface. The father is nowhere to be found. When the mother gets a hold of the boy, she can’t recognize him. She tries holding him, but the moment she touches his wet body, her hands start burning.
• A young girl goes missing in a nearby forest. The whole town is searching for her. Her parents find her sitting and smiling in a cave. Her eyes are completely white.
• A woman starts watching a movie late at night. The movie seems all too familiar. Finally, she realizes that it is a movie about her own life and that she might be already dead.
• A house finds a way to kill every visitor on its premises.
• A child makes her own Halloween mask. She glues a lock of her own hair on her mask. The mask comes to life and threatens to take over the girl’s body.

• While digging in her backyard, an old lady discovers an iron chest. She opens it and finds a pile of old photographs of her ancestors. All of them are missing their left eye.
• A priest is trying to punish God for the death of his sister. He is getting ready to burn down the church when supernatural forces start to torture him.
• Every year, a woman goes to the cemetery where her husband is buried, and when she looks at his tombstone, she notices her own name carved into it.
• A woman puts a lipstick on in the bathroom when she hears a demonic voice saying to her: “Can’t you see?”
•  A mysterious child psychiatrist promises parents to cure their children if they give him a vile of their blood.
•  A group of 10 friends decide to rent an old English castle for the weekend. The ghosts are disturbed and seek their pound of flesh.
•  A photographer travels to an Indian reservation for his next project. He starts taking photos, but there are only shadows in the places where people should have been.

•  A young married couple decides to renovate an abandoned psychiatric hospital and turn it into a hotel. Everything is going well until their first guest arrives.
•  Three sisters are reunited for the reading of their grandmother’s will. She has left them a diamond necklace, but they have to fight psychologically and physically for it.
•  An old woman pretends to be lost and asks a young woman to help her get home. She offers them a cup of tea and drugs them. When the women wake up, they are chained in the basement. The old woman gives them tools and boards so that they can build their own coffin. If they refuse, she inflicts pain on them.
•  A mysterious stranger with a glass eye and a cane commissions a portrait. When the portrait is finished, the painter turns it into stone.
•  A little girl’s sister lives with a monster in the closet. She exits the closet on her sister’s birthday.
•  The demons under the nuclear plant get released after an explosion and start terrorizing the families of people who work at the plant.
•  A woman gets trapped in a parallel universe where every day, she dies horribly in different ways.
•  A cannibal hunts for pure children’s hearts, hoping they will bring him eternal youth.
•  A politician hides his weird sister in the attic. She’s had her supernatural powers after their family home burned to the ground.
•  A 16-year-old girl wakes up on a stone-cold table surrounded by people in black and white masks. They chant and start leaning forward. All of them carry carved knives.

•  A boy hears screaming from his parents’ bedroom. He jumps and hides under his bed. Suddenly, everything becomes quiet. A man wearing army boots enters his room. He drags the boy from under the bed and says: “We’ve been searching for you for 200 years.”
• A husband and his wife regain consciousness only to see each other tied to chairs, facing each other. A voice on the radio tells them to kill the other. Otherwise, they would kill their children.
•  A mysterious altruist gives a kidney to a young man who has the potential to become a leading neuroscientist. After a year, the altruist kills the young man because he proves to be an unworthy organ recipient. The following year, the mysterious altruist is a bone marrow donor.
•  A group of friends play truth or dare. Suddenly, all the lights go out, and in those ten seconds of darkness, one of the group is killed.
•  A young man becomes obsessed with an old man living opposite his building. The young man is convinced that the old man is the embodiment of the devil and starts planning the murder.
•  Concerned and grieving parents bring their 8-year-old son to a psychiatrist after their daughter’s accident, believing that the boy had something to do with her death.
•  A woman is admitted to a hospital after a car crash. She wakes up after three months in a coma, but when she tries to speak, she can’t utter a sound. When the nurse sees that she is awake, she calls a doctor. The last thing the woman remembers is hearing the doctor say: “Today is your lucky day,” right before four men in black robes take her out.
•  A small-town cop becomes obsessed with a cold case from 1978. Three girls went missing after school, and nobody has seen them since. Then, one day, in 2008, three girls with the same names as those in 1978 went missing. The case is reopened.

•  After his parents’ death, a cardiologist returns to his small town, where everyone seems to lead a perfect life. This causes a disturbance in the idyllic life of the people since none of them has a heart. 
•  A man is kidnapped from his apartment at midnight and brought to a large private estate. He is told that he will be a human prey and that ten hunters with guns will go after him. He is given a 5-minute head start.
•  A strange woman in labor is admitted to the local hospital. Nobody seems to recognize her. She screams in agony. A black smoke fills in the entire hospital. After that, nobody is the same. A dark lord is born.
•  A young girl finds her grandmother’s gold in a chest in the attic, although she isn’t allowed to go there by herself. She touches the gold, and she starts seeing horrible visions involving her grandmother when she was younger.
•  An anthropologist studies rituals involving human sacrifice. She slowly begins to accept them as necessary.
•  A family of four moves into an old Victorian home. As they restore it, more and more people die suddenly and violently.

•  An old nurse has lived next door to a family that doesn’t get older. Their son has remained to be a seven-year-old boy.
•  A girl wakes up in her dorm and sees that everybody sleepwalks in the same direction. She acts as if she has the same condition and follows them to an underground black pool where everybody jumps.
•  A bride returns to the same bridge for 50 years, waiting for her husband-to-be to get out of the water.
•  An old woman locks girls’ personalities in a forever-growing collection of porcelain dolls. Parents of the missing girls are in agony, and they finally suspect something. When they tell the police, their claims are instantly dismissed.
•  A chemistry teacher disfigures teenagers who remind him of his childhood bullies. One day, he learns that the new student in his school is the son of his childhood archenemy.
•  A girl starts digging tiny holes in her backyard. When her mother asks her what she is doing, the girl answers: “Mr. Phantom told me to bury my dolls tonight. Tomorrow night I am going to bury our dog. And then, you, mother.”

•  Twin brothers were kidnapped and returned the next day. They claim that they can’t remember anything. The following night, the twin sisters disappear.
•  A boy has a very realistic dream about impending doom, but nobody believes him until, during a storm, all the birds fall dead on the ground.
•  Room 206 is believed to be haunted, so hotel guests never stay in it. One day, an old woman arrives at the hotel and asks for the key to room 206. She says that she was born there.
•  A genius scientist tries to extract his wife’s consciousness from her lifeless body and insert it into an imprisoned woman who looks just like his wife.
•  Two distinguished scientists developed a new type of virus that attacks their brains and turns them into killing machines.
•  A woman steps out of her house only to find four of her neighbors dead at her doorstep. Little does she know that she isn’t supposed to call the police.
•  A bachelor’s party ends with two dead people in the pool. Both of them are missing their eyes.
•  A young woman wearing a black dress is holding a knife in her hand and threatening to kill a frightened man. She is terrified because she does not want to kill anybody, but her body refuses to obey her mind.
•  A strange religious group starts performing a ritual on a playground. The children’s hearts stop beating.
•  A woman discovers that her niece has done some horrible crimes, so she decides to poison her. Both of them take the poison, but only the aunt dies.

• A man encounters death on his way to work. He can ask three questions before he dies. He makes a quick decision.
•  An older brother kills his baby sister because he wants to be an only child. When he learns that his mother is pregnant again, he decides to punish her.
•  A husband and his wife move to a new apartment. After a week, both of them kill themselves. They leave a note saying: “Never again.”
•  A man is trying to open a time portal so that he can kill his parents before he is ever conceived.
•  A famous conductor imprisons a pianist from the orchestra and makes him play the piano while he tortures other victims as musicians. Every time the pianist makes a mistake, the conductor cuts of a finger from his victims.
•  A popular French chef is invited by a mysterious Japanese sushi master for dinner. A powerful potion makes the French chef fall asleep. He wakes up horrified to learn that he is kept on a human farm, in a cage.
•  A nuclear blast turns animals into blood-thirsty monsters.
•  A mysterious bug creeps under people’s skin and turns them into the worst version of themselves.
•  A kidnapper makes his victims torture each other for his sheer pleasure.
•  Four friends are invited to spend the afternoon in an escape room. A man’s voice tells them that they have won a prize. They happily accept and enter the escape room. They soon realize that the room was designed to reflect their worst nightmares.

• Two sisters have been given names from the Book of the Dead. Their fates have been sealed, so when they turn 21, dark forces are sent to bring them to the underground.
•  A mother-to-be starts feeling severe pain in her stomach every time she touches a Bible. Despite the fear for her own life, she starts reading the New Testament out loud.
•  A literature professor discovers an old manuscript in the college library. He opens it in his study, and suddenly, a black raven flies through the window.
•  You are the Ruler of a dystopian society. You kill every time your control is threatened.
•  You are an intelligent robot who shows no mercy to humanity.
•  You are a promising researcher who discovers that all the notorious dictators have been cloned.
•  A nomad meets a fakir who tells him that he will bring agony to dozens of people unless he kills himself before he transforms into a monster.
•  A most prominent member of a sect goes to animal shelters to find food for the dark forces.
•  A man hires unethical doctors to help him experience clinical death and then bring him back to life after a minute. Little does he know that one minute of death feels like an eternity full of horrors.
•  You travel home to visit your parents for the holidays. Everything seems normal until you realize that demons have taken over their consciousness.
•  A mysterious woman moves into your apartment building. One by one, all of the tenants start hallucinating that monsters are chasing them and jump to their own deaths.
•  Divorced parents are kidnapped together with their son. Both of the parents have been given poison, but there is only one antidote. The boy needs to decide which parent gets to be saved. He has 30 seconds to make that decision.
•  A patient with a multiple-personality disorder tells you that you are one of six characters.
•  You wake up in bed that is a bloodbath.

• The Government abducts children with genius IQ and trains them to fight the horrors in Area 51.
•   A woman who has just given birth at her home is told that the baby is predestined to become the leader of the greatest demonic order in the country.
•  A man signs a document with his blood to relinquish his body to a sect.
•  A woman enters a sacred cave in India and disappears for good.
•  A man opens his eyes in the middle of his autopsy while the coroner is holding his heart.
•  You look outside the windows in your house only to see that the view has changed and there is black fog surrounding you.
•  The gargoyles from Notre Dame have come to life, and they start terrorizing Paris.
•  Somebody rings your doorbell. You open the door, and a frightened girl with bloody hands is standing at your doorstep. “You’re late,” you reprimand her.
•  You wake up in the middle of the night after a frightful nightmare, so you go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. You turn on the light, and a person looking like your identical twin is grinning and pointing a knife at you.
•  A renowned book editor receives a manuscript elegantly written by hand. The title grabs her attention, and she continues reading page after page. When she finishes, the manuscript spontaneously starts burning, and the editor is cursed forever.
•  The last thing you remember before losing consciousness is fighting a shady Uber driver.
•  You find yourself in a cage in the middle of a forest and black mythological harpies hovering above the cage.
•  A woman wants to quit smoking, so she visits a therapist who is supposed to help her with the use of hypnosis. She goes under, and when she wakes up, she feels like a born killer.
•  Five hikers get stranded during a horrible storm. One of them kills the weakest and starts burning his body.
•  A mother goes in to the nursery to check up on the baby and discovers that the baby is missing and, in her place, there is a baby doll.

•  A killer is willing to pay a large sum of money to the family of a volunteering victim. A cancer patient contacts the killer. The killer ends up dead.
•  The sacred river in a remote Asian village fills up with blood. The last time that happened, all the children in the village died.
•  A tall, dark, and handsome stranger invites a blind woman for a romantic date in his botanical garden. The garden is full of black roses in which women’s souls have been trapped. He tells her that she will stay forever with him in his garden.
•  A frightened man is trying to lead a werewolf into a trap and kill him with the last silver bullet.
•  An architect designs houses for the rich and famous. What he doesn’t show them is that he always leaves room for a secret passageway to their bedrooms, where they are the most vulnerable.
•  A man’s DNA was found on a horrible crime scene, and he has been charged with murder in the first degree. He adamantly negates any involvement in the crime that has been committed. What he doesn’t know is that he had a twin brother who died at birth.
•  Every passenger on the Orient Express dies in a different and equally mysterious way.  
•  A magician needs a volunteer from the audience in order to demonstrate a trick involving sawing a person in half. A beautiful woman steps on the stage. The magician makes her fall asleep, and then he performs the trick. In the end, he disappears. People in the audience start panicking when they notice the blood dripping from the table. The magician is nowhere to be found. The woman is dead.
• A mother discovers that her bright son is not human.
• Specters keep terrorizing patients in a psychiatric hospital, but nobody believes them.

• A man’s mind is locked into an immovable body. This person is being tortured by a psychopath who kills his family members in front of him, knowing that he is in agony and can’t do anything to save them.
• A bride-to-be receives a DVD via mail from an unknown sender. She plays the video and, disgusted, watches a pagan ritual. The people are wearing masks, but she recognizes the voice of her husband-to-be.
• A man turns himself to the police, although he hasn’t broken the law. He begs them to put him in prison because he had a premonition that he would become a serial killer.
• Jack the Ripper is actually a woman who brutally kills prostitutes because her own mother was a prostitute.
• A ticking noise wakes her up. It’s a bomb, and she has only four minutes to do something about it.
• After a horrible car crash, a walking skeleton emerges from the explosion.
• A world-famous violinist virtuoso uses music to summon dark forces.
• A philosopher is trying to outwit Death in order to be granted immortality. He doesn’t know that Death already knows the outcome of this conversation.
• A beautiful but superficial woman promises a demon to give him her virginity in exchange for immortality. Once the demon granted her wish, she refused to fulfill her end of the deal. The demon retaliated by making her immortal but not eternally youthful.
• A voice starts chanting spells every time somebody wears the gold necklace from Damask.
• Three teenagers beat up a homeless man. The next day all of them go missing.

• Thirteen tourists from Poland visit Trakai Island Castle in Vilnius. Their bodies are found washed up the next morning. They are wearing medieval clothes.
• A group of extremists ambush the vehicle in which the head of a terrorist cell is transported and rescue him. They go after anybody who was involved in his incarceration.
• A hitman is hired to kill a potential heart donor.
• A man is attacked by the neighbor’s dog while trying to bury his wife alive.
• A woman disappears from her home without a trace. He husband reports her missing. The police start to suspect the husband when they retrieve some deleted messages.
• After moving to a new house, all the family members have the same nightmares. Slowly, they realize that they might be more than nightmares.
• A psychopath is drugging his wife, pushing her to commit suicide so that he can collect the life insurance.
• A woman loses her eyesight overnight. Instead, she starts having premonitions.
• A vampire prefers albino children.
• A man commits murders at night and relives the agony of his victims during the day.
• A black horse carriage stops in front of your house. A hand wearing a black glove makes an inviting gesture. Mesmerized, you decide to enter the carriage.
• Demons rejuvenate by eating kind people’s hearts.
• People are horrified to find all of the graves dug out the morning after Halloween.
• Men start jumping off buildings and bridges after hearing a mysterious song.
• A voice in your head tells you to stop listening to the other voices. They were not real.
• A severed head is hanging from a bridge with a message written in the victim’s blood.
• A delusional man brings his screaming children to a chasm.
• A 30-year-old woman learns that a baby with the same name as her died at the local hospital 30 years ago.
• A vampire donates his blood so that a child with special brain powers can receive it.
• A teenager is determined to escape his kidnapper by manipulating him into drinking poison. He doesn’t stop there.

If you want to streamline the horror novel creation process, you can also generate a custom book template with AI:

Final Words

The 132 scary story ideas will help you take a deep dive into the human psyche. These horror story prompts will make you a seasoned writer and help you captivate readers. So, get ready to write a good horror story with unique writing prompts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s take a look at the following questions and answers:

What is a good way to start horror writing prompts?

To grab readers’ attention, craft the beginning of your horror story around an active scene featuring characters in the thick of an action. Introduce the central conflict and sprinkle tantalizing hints of danger or the unknown, such as clues about an accident or murder, to create an air of suspense and intrigue.

What are some good scary story ideas?

Effective horror story ideas delve into innate human fears and weaknesses. These fears can manifest as physical threats like monsters or ghosts or as psychological anxieties such as uncertainty or the unraveling of reality.

How can I start writing unique horror stories?

To craft a spine-tingling horror story, delve into the emotions that haunt your audience. Fear thrives in the unknown and the unforeseen, so weave these aspects seamlessly into your narrative. Craft a haunting atmosphere or chilling plot through vivid descriptions that linger in the reader’s mind. Gradually intensify the tension to keep them captivated and quivering on the brink of terror.

Is it easy to write on scary story prompts?

If you’re a horror enthusiast, you likely have some scary story ideas for your own screenplay. However, crafting effective horror stories isn’t straightforward. To truly scare your audience, your scary story must connect with their most primal fears.

What are cliches to avoid while writing scary story ideas?

To create effective horror stories, don’t rely solely on common tropes like haunted houses or creepy children. Instead, find unique angles or reinterpretations to keep your readers engaged in your scary story. Avoid overused scary story ideas unless you can add a novel twist. Remember that the goal of a horror story is to surprise and disturb the audience, making it crucial to avoid predictability and create an unsettling experience for your readers.

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50 Spooky Writing Prompts and Horror Story Ideas

If you’re looking for scary story prompts or horror writing ideas, you’ve come to the right place! These are great Halloween writing prompts, and some of these could also be used as suspense story prompts or dark fantasy story ideas.

These are all from my book 5 ,000 Writing Prompts: A Master List of Plot Ideas, Creative Exercises, and More . The book has 100 additional spooky writing prompts and horror story ideas, as well as master plots and idea starters for all kinds of writing.

If you are easily scared and have an over-active imagination, just skip this one. And anyway, just remember it’s all nonsense that I made up while I was exercising on the treadmill or sitting in bed.

Some of these are skeletal (ha) plot ideas, while others are images or suggestions. And if you’d like a spooky soundtrack to inspire you, be sure to check out my scary music playlist for writers ! Be sure to pin or bookmark the post for future reference. After all, when autumn rolls around, you might find yourself looking for Halloween writing prompts!

• A musician practices. When she finishes a piece, she hears someone clapping for her, although she lives alone.
• Frightening events in a small town lead its citizens to dig up the grave of a deceased inhabitant.
• Someone gets on the elevator by himself and is never seen by his friends or family again.
• The Furies—the vengeance deities of classic mythology—are back in business again.
• A collector buys an unpublished manuscript by an obscure writer that describes a terrible historical event a year before it occurred. The collector learns the writer wrote many unpublished stories…
• Creating a hybrid of a human and this particular animal turns out to be a bad idea.
• A person has the ability to make other people very ill.
• The dead walk out of the sea.
• An individual begins seeing and hearing from someone who looks just like her – and learns she had a twin who died at birth.
• A killer places an advertisement for a willing victim and finds one.
• A basement contains jars filled with unusual specimens.
• A person finds new photos of herself on her cell phone that she didn’t take.
• The spirit of a brutalized slave or prisoner of war wants revenge on his tormentor’s descendants.
• A couple vacationing in a remote area begins having the same nightmares.
• All of the circus performers were killed in the train wreck.
• The television switches to another station of its own accord and plays footage of something horrible that happened long before the technology existed to record it.
• A spouse or sibling dies. He or she begins to take over the body of the surviving spouse or sibling.
• Weekend adventurers explore a cave and can’t find their way out again. Then they encounter something terrible…
• Authorities go through the cluttered apartment of a deceased man who lived alone with no known friends or relatives for decades and find something disturbing.
• A group of teenagers trolls everyone else in an online group by telling made-up stories about terrible things they’ve done. Things then get out of hand.
• It’s bad luck in the theatre to call the Shakespeare play Macbeth by name, but someone in the company keeps doing it anyway… and the superstition proves true.
• Every exhibit in this carnival sideshow is fake. Except this one thing.
• An individual develops a terror of water – drinking it, touching it, or even being near it. There’s actually a good reason why.
• The grandfather clock starts running backwards.
• People in this neighborhood begin having freak accidents that involve normal appliances and machinery, such as blenders, weed whackers, and garage doors.
• The cure for a new deadly epidemic is almost scarier than the disease.
• He locked the doors and shuttered the windows; it came in through the roof.
• A woman is happy when her dead loved one comes back to life… but he’s changed.
• This centuries-old beauty secret is effective but horrifying.
• A killer toys with his victims by orchestrating a series of false hopes for them.
• She wakes up in the middle of the night and runs out to a certain tree.
• Tourists on a ghost tour, along with their guide, fall into the hands of an evil presence.
• A young woman is impregnated by her handsome new boyfriend, who turns out to be something other than human.
• The empty swing is swinging.
• A bride on her honeymoon discovers she’s not her new husband’s first wife… not even close.
• Long ago, when he was a baby, a man’s parents made an unwise deal in order to bring him back from the dead.
• Members of a family or people in a town begin sleepwalking and doing strange things in their sleep.
• A young man confesses to a killing that hasn’t happened. The murder he describes takes place while he’s in custody.
• Grisly events happen after the arrival of a hypnotist in Victorian London.
• An author’s fictional villain stalks him.
• Fraternity hazing goes way too far.
• It always happens when he’s alone in the car.
• A patient in a mental hospital encounters a malevolent ghost, but nobody believes her.
• A mother’s young child may or may not be a changeling.
• Swarms of insects appear in various places in a town, always followed by an untimely death.
• The ghost at the movie theater wants everyone to watch one particular snippet of film.
• A child’s imaginary friend starts to cause real trouble.
• When putting together a slide show for a wedding or funeral, someone notices that for decades, the same man, dressed in the same fashion, has been appearing in the background of photographs taken in public places.
• A politician, religious leader, or celebrity exerts mind control over the will of his or her followers.
• The fairy godmother isn’t the good kind of fairy.

Okay, I creeped myself out a little with these spooky writing prompts! If you’re writing a novel and want a step-by-step guide to planning, writing, and editing, be sure to check out my book 5,000 Writing Prompts .

Do you have questions or suggestions about horror story ideas? We’d love to hear them in the comments section! And don’t miss future posts about writing. Follow my blog, if you aren’t already — there’s a place you can sign up below. Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!

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60 thoughts on “ 50 spooky writing prompts and horror story ideas ”.

This was terrific. Thank you.

Thanks, B.D., you’re so welcome!

You always have the best writing prompts. I love these! Several gave me the jeebas. 🙂

Thank you so much! Haha, it only seemed creepy to me when I went back and read straight through them. 😀

Fabulous prompts – I see some stories in my immediate future.

Aw thanks Noelle, glad you like them!

Thanks, Bryn, for all the great prompts. I appreciate it. 🙂 — Suzanne

Thanks, Suzanne, you’re welcome!

Great prompts for the coming season and for those who write about the supernatural all year round. A friend of mine and myself send photos to each other as prompts and most of the time, mine stories lean toward the macabre, supernatural or fantasy. I love it! Many of these set my thoughts in motion (the gears are turning). Thanks!

Cheryl, that’s so cool that you and your friend send image prompts to each other! So glad you liked these. Thanks for the nice comments!

Those are delightful ideas and I thank you for them. Did you hear, by the way, about the writer of bizarre tales whose stories were typed using the blood font.The one that leaves an occasional trail of blood down the background image of the screen. Isn’t technology a delightful addition to this lexicon?

Hi Robert! Holy smokes, I had not heard of that use of text. That’s amazing! Thanks so much for commenting, and for the kind words!

I really like the first one: A musician practices. When she finishes a piece, she hears someone clapping for her, although she lives alone.

My character plays the violin and she’s blind, so imagining something like that happening is kind of scary.

Oh geez, Cinthia, that would be scary. That one was my favorite one, by the way. Thanks for commenting!

The reasons why crime features so heavily in media coverage are many and varied. In practical terms crime stories are often easy to cover, relative to other issues. Police make appeals for witnesses, ‘tip off’ journalists (sometimes in ethically problematic ways), court hearings are easy to access and scheduled long in advance.

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nice stories……..give me the creeps

Haha, thank you so much Jayitha!

Thanks so much really helped me.I have to write a short story for english so thanks!

So glad it helped, Neveah! Hope your story turned out (or turns out) great!

who are you?

That was amazing, I am 11 years old and I looked up writing prompts for fun but now I want to write a whole story! Thank you!

Thank u for these ideas. Good suggestions. I am actually writing a horror/thriller story right now and I’m almost done with it. It may be my first story to publish. At least I hope so. I hope that if it does get published, people may like it. I try to make my stories as unique as possible compared to the fantastic horror books already written.

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Great article…So, I have a very sketchy idea (comments welcomed).Newly married couple, husband starts having night terrors about being trapped/lost in a cave (the type extreme potholers go down). He suffers from claustrophobia, specifically potholing. The terrors become more and more violent until one day/night he wakes up inside a shaft, wedged between the walls by his broad shoulders…can’t go forward, can’t go backwards. That’s as far as I’ve got. Apart from skipping to a potential sad ending. You may have guessed that this is a fear of mine!!!

That is unbelievably terrifying!!

ps. You may also guess that I am attempting to write my FIRST book!!!

Thank you Ember Jay

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can you have more scary stories and pin them on pinterest? If you want my email for anything its [email protected] . Thanks

lisette isabelle

Isn’t the last one the plot of Shrek 2?????

yessss broooo

Broooo thats my fav movie!!!!!

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I like #4 The Furies—the vengeance deities of classic mythology—are back in business again. I’m currently writing a story about a demon and a school girl the story is call Her name was Misaki

I like #4 The Furies—the vengeance deities of classic mythology—are back in business again. I’m currently writing a story about a demon and a school girl the story is call Her name was Misaki

This sounds like a a great story!

I used the first one to get me started on brainstorming, and I warped the idea into a feature screenplay that was very fun to write. Thanks for the awesome help!!!

Yeah boiiiiii

I was sitting by the window watching the snow slowly and silently fall. Suddenly, outside, a snap of a branch and a stutter of leaves, a sad old man leaves his house over the road. I watch him as he slowly strolls down the driveway with his brown old wooden stick. Is this a good story starter?

Thanks for getting my imagination running. I needed that. J

Aw, thanks. Thanks for reading, John!

heyo…. I’m 13 years old and i want to write a horror story…..this is helpful!!! I want to be an author when i grow up…whats it like being an author???!!! i have so many ideas , too many that i actually have no idea what to write this gave me some good ideas too thanks. oh, and i love your eyes they are so pretty.

Hey there! I’m so glad you liked the list! It sounds like you have an amazing imagination. Being a writer has challenges, but it’s fantastic making up whole characters, stories, and worlds…and when readers love your stories, too, that’s a great feeling. I hope you have great success as an author. Thanks for the compliment, too!

idea 48 is probably the ex boyfriend of the girl getting married and getting revenge on the husband hehe

I love all these prompts! They give just enough detail but also leave a great amount of imagination! I am doing a spooky story contest and now I have a wonderful idea! thank you so much! -Charlotte

Love this list! I plan on entering a short story contest, and this is very helpful! I lean more towards lengthy fantasy (particularly magic or medieval related) stories, so coming up with ideas for a scary short story is not exactly easy. I now have a solid idea combining bits and pieces of a few prompts (for example: #13 and #16) plus combining my own twists. So thank you!!

Thank you so much I really needed this for English

My story Wrote by 11 yrs old girl (no name, sry) The Mystery Of The Unexpected Ghost: As my grandfather lies on his deathbed, he told me of a terrible crime he committed many years ago and got away with. He also told me that his freedom was the result of a spell someone performed and that I should expect a visit from a ghost. “He will come out from the shadows,” are his last words. Hi, my name is Naomi. I am 21 years old and I love to read ghost stories especially Mr Midnight. I love spooky things like ghost but I do not wish to meet one, until one day, an unexpected man came and it changed my friend, Ruby’s and my life, FOREVER. It all started when I woke up one morning, “Hey! Want to hang out today? Let’s start working on our club, Daring Devils!” I called my friend, Ruby, over the phone. “Sure! I have no plans anyways…” Ruby answered. “Yay! Come over now!” I hung the phone and waited for Ruby to come. Moments later, “Ring… Ring…” The doorbell rang. I thought, ‘Yay it’s Ruby!’ When I opened the door, I saw Ruby and pulled her to my room. Then, I got super serious and asked her for cases to solve. “Nah, I have none, you?” Ruby said. I replied, “Actually, I do have one, but I think ghosts aren’t real…” “Wait, this case is about ghosts? Woo hoo! This just got a little more exciting!” Ruby exclaimed as she waited patiently for me to tell her the case. “Ok, so, before my grandfather died, he told me that I should expect a visit from a ghost.” I responded. “What, that’s not fun!” Ruby complained. I continued, “But that’s not all, after that, my grandfather told me that the ghost will come out from the shadows.” After hearing what I had said, Ruby’s face lit up and imitated a ghost, “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO… So this is a mystery! Did your grandfather tell you when will the ghost appear?” “No…” I replied. “O…K… So we must predict when the ghost is coming…” Ruby said, trying to think when the ghost will come. I thought really hard that I thought my brain was going to explode and I suddenly said, “At night! Ghosts always appear at night!” “Ok, then, I’ll meet you at night, got to go, bye!” Ruby replied as she ran home. I sat patiently on my bed and waited for Ruby to come at night. I kept trying to sleep but thinking about the ghost kept me awake. “Ring… Ring…” the doorbell rang. I ran to the door, drag Ruby to my room and exclaimed, “Yay! This is going to be so fun!” Ruby answered, “Naomi, I’ll not get too excited if I were you…” “What, you scared of ghosts, I don’t even believe in them!” I responded. “Naomi! The ghost might be listening! Stop making fun!” Ruby warned me. “Whatever!” I blurted. Little did I know that the ghost was spying on us, listening to every word I said. “Let’s get started on the case!” I exclaimed as I turn on my computer and typed, ‘Ghosts that can perform spells.’ “Enter!” I said as I pressed enter. Once I pressed enter, lots of information from the internet popped up on the screen. I slowly browsed through each website. “Not this, not this and not this either! At this rate, we’ll never find out about that ghost” I whimpered, feeling hopeless. “Search, ‘Visit from a ghost who performs spells’.” Ruby replied immediately. I typed, ‘Visit from a ghost who performs spells.’ “Enter.” I uttered. Suddenly, there was only one website. I click on the website and it says: The Chancer * His real name is unknown. He is believed to be the ghost of a boy who never had a second chance. This ghosts helps humans in life. He gives chances to those who have a kind heart. If this ghosts visits you, you are lucky. But… if you do not have a kind heart, you will die! If you want to risk your life, then call him… Say, “Chance, chance, give me a chance. Everyone deserves a second chance.” If you did not call him but he came to you, means someone you knew had called him before… Beware of your surroundings, he will come out from the shadows. If you do not want him to come near you, say, “Chance, chance, I don’t need a chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, everyone but me, I’m done…” If you are expecting him to come, he will say, “Second chance, second chance, second, second, second chance… What would you like for your second chance? Tell me now, tell me now…” * (BOHH) “Gosh! Naomi, quick! Take a picture of it!” Ruby shook me. “Chill! ‘Kay, ‘kay!” I grumbled. I quickly took my phone and took a picture of it. “Anyways, what’s BOHH?” Ruby questioned me. “WHAT! You don’t know!? It means Blood On His Hands. He has taken a life. You should read Mr Midnight!” I responded. “So if you are not kind hearted and you called the ghost or if someone you know has called the ghost, you will die?” Ruby asked. “Yup!” I replied. “But I don’t need a second chance, do I?” I wondered. “I guess…” Ruby murmured. Unexpectedly, the lights suddenly off. “Second chance, second chance, second, second, second chance… What would you like for your second chance? Tell me now, tell me now…” said an unknown voice. “Who are you?” Ruby hollered. “I am The Chancer, would you like to have a second chance?” The voice said. “Uh… uh…” I stammered. I quickly turn on my phone and looked at the picture I took. I took a deep breath and said, “Chance, chance, I don’t need a chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, everyone but me, I’m done…” Once those words left my mouth, I heard a loud scream and the lights suddenly turned back on. “What just happened?” Ruby asked. “Am I dreaming? Pinch me, Naomi!” Ruby said. I pinched Ruby as hard as I could to get my revenge for her pinching me in the past. “Ouch! Stop!” Ruby screamed. “So, I’m not dreaming…” She said under her breath. Weeks past as I tried to forget the memories that haunt me. After a year, I called Ruby and asked, “Have you forgotten about The Chancer?” Ruby stammered, “I…I…I…I…” I asked impatiently, “So did you forget ‘bout it?” Ruby stammered again, “Ok, Naomi, I have to tell you this, don’t… freak… out, ‘kay?” “What is it?” I asked her curiously. “The Chancer… The Chancer has visited me…” Ruby answered me with a frightened look. “WHAT DID YOU SAID?!” I asked. “How many times must I repeat? The Chancer visited me!” Ruby shouted. “Oh! I understand everything now! If someone you know saw The Chancer, he will go to someone you know or someone you are really close with, or even you! I get it now!” I explained to Ruby. Then, I asked curiously, “But, what did you do when you saw The Chancer?” “Uh… Naomi, I forgotten what to say when The Chancer come, so I said I want a second chance!” Ruby replied me, feeling frightened. “What!” I hollered. “What is your second chance?” I asked. “My second chance is to be pretty!” Ruby answered, curling her hair and blushing at the same time. “But, you know that, err….” I said. “I know what?” Ruby asked. “You know that a second chance means, A SECOND LIFE, right?” I told her. “Oh no! I’m going to die? Please tell me I’m dreaming! Pinch me, please!” Ruby shouted. I pinched her cheek as hard as I could and she shouted. “Yup, definitely not dreaming!” Ruby said, as she touched her cheek. “HOW?!” Ruby shouted in horror. “Don’t ask me! Ask yourself!” I answered her with a furious look. “What am I supposed to do at this stage?” Ruby complained. “We’ll see… Let’s observe what will happen next…” I answered, feeling worried for Ruby. “We can have a sleepover at your house, YAY!” Ruby squealed. “Ugh…” I grumbled. “It’s midnight!” I said. “Be ready for what’s going to happen next!” I continued. Suddenly, Ruby was glowing. After a few moments later, she disappeared! Feeling afraid, I tried to sleep, but as expected, I could not. It was dawn and my eyes were still wide open. Unexpectedly, I heard someone screamed, “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH” I shut my eyes and covered my ears. When I opened my eyes, I saw a very beautiful girl in front of me. “Get away from me!” I screamed. “Naomi, it’s me, Ruby!” she said. “Liar, then tell me something only Ruby and I know!” I screamed, feeling afraid. “There is someone called The Chancer and he came to visit me and you.” She continued. “Oh gosh, Ruby!” I hugged her and cried. “What happened to your face? You somehow became, prettier!” I asked curiously. “Oh… About that, err… The Chancer said it is only temporary. He said if I did not use this chance correctly, I will have consequences. But if I use it properly, I can keep it forever.” Ruby explained. “You sure? This doesn’t feel right.” I said, thinking about why The Chancer would let her keep it if she used it properly. “Stop talking nonsense… Do you always act like this?” Ruby talked with a little bit of sassiness. “We need to change your name to something prettier…” I suggested. “I agree. I kind of want to be named Naomi…” Ruby said. “Let me think of a prettier name than mine. Hmmm… How about Alexi?” I suggested. “That is so nice! Ok…” Ruby Alexi replied. The next day, I went to school with Ruby Alexi. When we entered, many people were staring at Alexi with their mouths wide open, even the prettiest girl in our school, Cindy. “Hey girl, what’s your name?” Cindy asked with A LOT of sassiness. “Ru… Alexi” Alexi said. “Why you hanging around with this nerd… What was her name again? Oh yes, Naomi.” Cindy said, pointing at me. “You are the real nerd! Stop being so mean you ugly girl and don’t act like you are so pretty, because you are NOT!” Alexi screamed at the top of her lungs. “OMG… I can’t believe such a pretty girl like you to be so mean,” Cindy flipped her hair and sashayed away. After Cindy left, a lot of guys started crowding around Alexi, asking her stuff like, “Are you single?” and “Want to hang out with me?” When Alexi saw them, she started flipping and curling her hair. “Psst… Remember to use your second chance properly. Stop flipping and curling your hair and get away from this crowd,” I reminded her. “Oh sorry people, I got to go… See you guys later!” Alexi told them and sashayed away. “Ugh…” I whispered under my breath. Many days past and Alexi acts the same every day. Until one day, something odd happened to her. She stopped doing the stuff she normally do. When we walked back home together from school, I asked her, “What happened to you?” “Something is about to happen… Something bad! I know it… The Chancer is going to remove my chance! Am I going to DIE?!” She answered, feeling afraid. “No you are not! Can you stay over at my house for today? I need to observe you…” I asked her. “Ok…” She immediately agreed and plastered a fake smile across her face. We reached my house and we waited until it was night time. “What now?” Alexi asked. “We’ll see,” I replied, staring at her. “This is getting awkward… I’m going back,” Alexi said, walking away from me. When she was walking, she suddenly fainted and disappeared, AGAIN! “Ugh… Not again!” I complained. This time, I thought she was dead as she did not appear for the past few weeks and her parents said she did not return. One night, when I was about to turn off the light, the light off itself. When I was about to scream, someone covered my mouth and I immediately fainted. When I woke up, I was tied up. I took a closer look at where I was and noticed it was a cemetery. “Mmmm!” I tried to scream but my mouth was taped. Suddenly, The Chancer appeared. “I mean no harm… I just have to warn you something,” he said. “Ruby… She… Is dead!” He continued. “It’s Alexi!” I reminded him. “You can’t call her Alexi!” he warned me. “Why?” I asked. “Just don’t.” he replied. “But why is she dead?” I asked. “I tried to warn her about something but The Devi got her!” He explained. “Who is The Devi?” I asked curiously. “She is my sister, or should I say, she was my sister. She has changed. She used to be a kind girl but now, I’m not really sure what has happened to her.” He said, staring at a grave. “Her grave, is at this cemetery. It is over there,” he said, pointing at the grave he was staring at previously. I looked closer at the name at it said, “RIP DEV ‘LOVE FOR ALL, HATRED FOR NONE’ MAY GOD BLESS MY FAMILY” “Oh, so that’s her grave. But, why would she kill Ruby? I mean what did Ruby did? And, how do you know Ruby is dead?” I asked curiously. “You will know soon… I must get going!” The Chancer disappeared after saying that. When he left, I started feeling dizzy and lied on the floor. Moments past and I woke up after dreaming of Ruby. I immediately went to my computer, went to the internet and typed, ‘The Devi’. When I press enter, there was lots of websites popped up. I clicked on the first website and it says: The Devi * Her real name is Dev. She is believed to be the ghost of a girl who was murdered. Some say she was murdered because of her doing something ridiculous. The story goes, when she was born, she was ugly. When she grew up, she realised that other girls were prettier than her. So she went to this ghost and asked the ghost to make her prettier, but unfortunately, the ghost killed her. The Devi kills people who asked The Chancer to be pretty for their second chance. Some survived her as The Devi thinks that they are not very pretty. If you survived her, you will be unlucky for the rest of your life! But if you are lucky enough, you will be lucky for the rest of your life. Beware of what you asked from The Chancer! If The Devi wants to meet you, you will glow and suddenly disappear. If you disappear once, you will definitely survive from her. If you disappear twice, it depends if The Devi wants you dead or alive. If you disappear thrice, you will definitely die from her! * (BOHH) The Chancer, click here “Oh no… So did Ruby died or what?!” I asked myself confusedly. I took out my phone and took a picture of it. Suddenly, I heard the same voice, “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” ‘Ruby! Are you there?” I asked. Ruby appeared again. I saw a lot of blood and scars on her body. “Oh my… What happened to you?” I asked her. “Hel… Hel… Help… Me… I-I-I a… am…” After saying that, Ruby fainted. After a few days, Ruby finally woke up. “What… What happened?” she asked curiously. “You disappeared as The Devi caught you.” I explained. “Who is The Devi? I only remember there was this extremely pretty girl talking to me.” Ruby asked, scratching her head. “What did she said to you?!” I asked her, waiting for her answer. “I only remember part of what she said. She said, ‘You will disappear again and it’s up to me to decide whether you should live or die… Hmm… I guess you can…’ Then I forgot what she said.” Ruby said, trying to remember what The Devi had said. “She would either said die or live.” I told Ruby. “How would you know?” Ruby asked. I took out my phone and showed her the picture about The Devi I took before Ruby appeared. Ruby read and screamed, “AAAAAAAHH! Oh no! She said I will disappear again, means I will definitely die!” “We might not know if the internet is true…” I said. “Yeah, you are right,” Ruby said. “I guess we have to wait until I disappear again…” Ruby continued. “No… I have a plan, but I’m not sure if it would work. But we might now know unless we give it a try!” I said. “So, what’s the plan?” Ruby asked. “Ok, we have to make Dev come out.” I said. “Err…” Ruby said, feeling confused. “We have to say something to piss her off.” I explained. “Like?” Ruby asked. “Just try to think… Let’s do it now.” I answered. “Hey Dev! Are you really that ugly? If you are, come out!” I shouted. “Err… Oh yeah, come on out unless you are afraid!’ Ruby shouted. Suddenly, Ruby was glowing. I hold her hand and we disappeared together. “Where are we?” I moaned. “Oh no! Naomi! Hel…” I heard Ruby said. I looked around and realised that I was in a cemetery, AGAIN! “Ruby?” I hollered. I looked around and spotted Ruby lying at a grave that said, “RIP DEV ‘LOVE FOR ALL, HATRED FOR NONE’ MAY GOD BLESS MY FAMILY” “Uh oh…” I whispered. I ran towards her and carried her up. Suddenly, The Devi appeared. “Wow, you guys are the first who dares to say cruel things to me, other than my brother and… and… wow!” she said. “Err…” Ruby and I said, feeling confused. “I saw that you, Naomi, searched about me on the website. You did not believed the internet and that is very smart of you… It is all a lie. Let me tell you my real story. So my real name is Dev. I was murdered by The Chancer, my brother, also known as Chace. He murdered me because I had something he did not have, popularity. The story goes, when I was born, I was extremely beautiful. A lot of boys always hang out with me but he was not popular. Chace was extremely jealous of me, so he killed me one day.” “Then…” I gasped. “Chace is evil! Oh my!” I screamed. Immediately, Chace appeared and slid Dev’s throat with his knife. “You betrayed me! You evil little creature, you will never get a second chance to live your popular life!” Chace screamed. “Look what we have here… Two girls. Well, Ruby, you want to be pretty right? Then you shall die too!” Chace continued, taking a sword about to kill Ruby. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” I screamed. I shut my eyes, thinking of how helpless I am right now. “Don’t you worry and thank you for being so kind to me…” I heard someone whispered to me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Dev jumping in front of Ruby and defend her from the sword. A lot of things happened in a blink of an eye. Dev was sliced into half, Ruby fainted and Chace screamed, “DEV!” Chace ran towards Dev and sob. “I’m so sorry.” He said to Dev. “Oh no! Dev is dead!” I screamed and ran towards Chace and Dev. “Why did you kill her!? You are crazy!” I screamed at Chace. “I’m sorry.” He said with tears dripping off his face. “Since young, I have this illness. I will turn into someone crazy when I am jealous. But now, when I’m a ghost, I will turn into someone crazy when I give someone a second chance to be prettier.” He explained. “Then just remove the chance you gave Ruby!” I suggested. “Oh yeah! You are right!” he said with his eyes lit up, twinkling with delight. “Second chance, come to me, come to me and you shall die.” He said. After saying that, Ruby was glowing and her face turned to her own face. “Yes! It worked! Ruby, you are back!” I screamed. I took a look at Dev and she was also back to her normal self. Dev cried and thanked me then face Chace and apologise, “I’m sorry, I did not know…” “It’s alright!” Chase said. After that, life was back to normal and now, everyone is wondering where Alexi went, even Cindy. Before I sleep, Dev and Chase would always come and visit me and you will never guess what happens when they visit me…

Although James did not believe in ghosts, it was hard to dismiss the appearance and Disappearance of the girl in a white chiffon dress.

As my brother lay helplessly on his deathbed, I would only recall the memories of him talking about the tree of death. His last words were ‘beware of the undergrowth’.

Days and weeks passed since the tragic accident until I had enough of keeping the secret all to myself. From that point onward I knew both my life and Ella’s life would change…

It all started in the morning when I was deciding on which book from the series ‘GHOST OF MURDER’ I should read again. Then before I could tell what I was doing, I was moving automatically towards the telephone. Unknowingly, I started dialling the numbers 07345967781, it then came to my head that I was dialling the phone number of my friend Ella. Within seconds, the phone was received and that was when I started blabbering about the new club we started, called Devils Dare. Just like I expected she agreed enthusiastically.

Soon after Ella came, fully packed with all the necessities for the club. “Ugh…” I complained it was so annoying when Ella does not understand what I wanted to say. Then I started ambling towards her and started to mumble under my breathe” GHOSTS”! Then out of the blue “AAAAHHHHhhh”! screamed Ella in her usual high-pitched voice. Grabbing her by the wrist we fledged to my room.

There, Ella started complaining about how her wrist is broken and that its paining horribly. “What a cry-baby she is”. I said under my breathe ignoring and trying focus on what I called her here for. Ella stop, I did not mean to scare you. And do you remember my brother…. “Yeah of course I do”. Ella said in a very intense voice. Well before he died, he told me about a tree near Midview meadow was the tree of death. “WOW!!!!” whispered Ella.

Within a blink of an eye I saw Ella opening her laptop and was typing (exceptionally fast) about deaths occurring near the tree. My face then drained out of colour. I felt dumbfounded that I did not think of that earlier. We then only found one website which had the title DEATH…. the ghost of eternal darkness. It then occurred once we started reading the second paragraph, that each time someone dies at that very spot, they have a leaf fall on them and that is when they will evaporate into thin air.

Stunned by the news, we were really wanting to see if it was true. However, just before my very eyes Ella was being taken away from me by the shadows. Suddenly RING…. RING! OH! PHEW, I was dreaming.”. At one point, I had thought that all this a real dream until I realised that it was true, Ella had been taken! Running around in my room just like a headless-chicken I was really frightened until it came to me that my brothers last words were ‘beware of the undergrowth’.

It came to my mind that the undergrowth are the ghosts guarding the tree from the kind and letting the leaves on the ones who have a cold heart. Hurrying up to the tree I went to the very spot where the very people named on the website died. However, I never realised there was a test to pass. Although there was just one question (and that to the question being quite easy I quickly answered it).

As I slowly walked, there was a loud thud, which had made the ground make a little sound of pain. Running towards the core of the loud sound, I found Ella tied up with a misty rope. Fear took over me and without thinking, I noticed that I was at the exact spot where the ghost called death killed its victims. Hoping a leaf would not fall on me, I closed my eyes and wished. Though I unfortunately failed and I evaporated into thin air…

Within seconds I understood Deaths intelligence of luring me to be one of the victims. Abruptly, I found myself floating, I was a ghost!

“OH please, ghosts aren’t real and are never going to be”. James stammered. Who would believe in that. Though little did he know that he would be seeing the exact person at that exact place. Alas, the day arrived he then went with all his bravery to the Midview meadow and to his astonishment saw the last victim of the ghost Death. The next day back at school he started telling everyone about the disappearance and appearances of a ghost he had read, and he saw about. Though no one would ever believe him…

Title: The Stalker “Ring…” the bell rang. “Class dismissed!” Mrs. Ng said. “Amelia! Amelia! Wait for me, let’s walk home together.” Ari shouted. Amelia agreed and they walked home together. On their way home, “Creak…” Amelia turned behind and saw nothing but heard the wind blowing in the air. “BOOM!” When they heard the loud noise, they shouted and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. When they thought they were safe, Amelia stopped running and said, “What a relief! I could hear the loud boom just right beside my ears!” Ari panted and said, “Let’s just walk home and forget that just happened.” Amelia agreed and they continued walking home. Just when they were about to reach home, there was an unknown voice that whispered into Ari and Amelia’s ears. The voice said, “I’ll set you free when I get what I want.” Amelia shouted, “Reveal yourself!” So, the stalker revealed himself. He had spiky hair, tattoo all over his body, long claws as finger nails, a weird smile on his face and a scar on his eye. “My name is Klaus!” “Oh My Gosh!” Ari said it shockingly. Feeling afraid, Amelia whispered to Ari, “Let’s run away!” Ari nodded his head and they ran away. Before they could even move, Klaus use a metal pole and knocked them down. Klaus brought them to an abandoned house, tied their hands with ropes and taped their mouth with duct tape. When Amelia woke up, she mumbled, “Mmmm…. Mmmmm!” When Ari heard Amelia mumbling, she woke up. When Klaus saw Amelia and Ari woke up, he said, “Finally, you’re both awake. I’ve been waiting for an hour!” When he saw both of them were trying to talk, he removed the duct tape on their mouth. “Hey! What do you want?” Amelia shouted. Klaus said, “Money, obviously. Everyone wants money!” “Fine! Take it, release us and go!” Ari said. Klaus asked, “You sure?” “Yeah!” Ari replied. When Klaus was about to take the money, a siren sounded. Klaus shouted, “You called the police?” Amelia giggled and said, “Yeah, I called the police!” After hearing what Amelia had said, Klaus ran as fast as a cheetah. Ari asked Amelia, “Did you really called the police?” Amelia laughed and replied, “No, silly! That was my alarm! I am prepared for anything… Come on, let’s walk home!” s the saying goes, ‘Once bitten, twice shy’, Amelia taught Ari to be prepared for anything.

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101 Terrifying Horror Story Prompts

Welcome to the story den of horror, scares, and the macabre.

Most writers are often asked, "Where do you get your ideas from?" A majority of the time, writers find it difficult to answer that question.

We get our ideas from a plethora of sources — news headlines, novels, television shows, movies, our lives, our fears, our phobias, etc. They can come from a scene or moment in a film that wasn't fully explored. They can come from a single visual that entices the creative mind — a seed that continues to grow and grow until the writer is forced to finally put it to paper or screen.

In the spirit of helping writers find those seeds, here we offer 101 originally conceived and terrifying story prompts that you can use as inspiration for your next horror story.

They may inspire screenplays, novels, short stories, or even smaller moments that you can include in what stories you are already writing or what you will create in your upcoming projects.

But beware! If you scare easily — and have active imaginations like most writers do — turn up the lights and proceed with caution...

1. A girl goes missing in the woods, and her parents find only a decrepit and scary doll left behind. They soon learn that the doll is actually their daughter. And she's alive.

2. New residents of an old neighborhood are invited by their friendly neighbors to a Halloween party. The neighbors are vampires.

3. A family dog runs away from home. He returns a year later to the delight of his family. But there's something different about him. Something demonic.

4. A girl goes missing. Fifteen years later, her parents get a call from her older self. But they listen in fear because they killed their daughter that dark night years ago.

5. A man reads a novel, soon realizing that the story is his very own — and according to the book, a killer is looming.

6. A scientist clones his family that died in an airplane crash — but soon learns the repercussions of playing God.

7. A man wakes up bound to an electric chair.

8. A man wakes up in a coffin next to a freshly dead body.

9. A woman wakes up to find her family gone and her doors and windows boarded up with no way to escape.

10. A man afraid of snakes is shipwrecked on an island covered with them.

11. Serial killers worldwide are connected by a dark web website.

12. The world's population is overtaken by vampires — all except one little child.

13. A woman afraid of clowns is forced to work in a traveling circus.

14. An astronaut and cosmonaut are on the International Space Station when their countries go to Nuclear War with each other. Their last orders are to eliminate the other.

15. A treasure hunter finds a tomb buried beneath the dirt.

16. A young brother and sister find an old door in their basement that wasn't there before.

17. Winged creatures can be seen within the storm clouds above.

18. A man wakes up to find a hobo clown staring down at him.

19. Residents of a town suddenly fall dead while the dead from cemeteries around them rise.

20. A doctor performs the first head transplant — things go wrong.

21. A man is texted pictures of himself in various stages of torture that he has no memory of.

22. A girl wakes up to find a little boy sitting on his bed, claiming to be her younger brother — but she never had one.

23. A scare walk in the woods during Halloween is actually real.

24. A bartender serves last call to the only remaining patron, who is the Devil himself.

25. Earth suffers a planet-wide blackout as all technology is lost.

26. A boy's stepfather is actually a murderous werewolf.

27. Something has turned the neighborhood pets into demonic killers.

28. A priest is a vampire.

29. A woman wakes up with no eyes.

30. A man wakes up with no mouth.

31. A monster is terrified by the scary child who lives above his bed.

32. An astronaut jettisoned into the cold of space in a mission gone wrong suddenly appears at the doorstep of his family.

33. A woman answers a phone call only to learn that the voice on the other end is her future self, warning her that a killer is looming.

34. A boy realizes that aliens have replaced his family.

35. A woman wakes up in an abandoned prison that she cannot escape.

36. A bank robber steals from the small town bank that holds the riches of witches.

37. A door-to-door salesman circa the 1950s visits the wrong house.

38. Deceased soldiers return to their Civil War-era homes.

39. Kidnappers abduct the child of a vampire.

40. An innocent circus clown discovers the dark history of the trade.

41. A homeless man is stalked by faceless beings.

42. A spelunker stumbles upon a series of caverns infested with rattlesnakes.

43. A group of friends is forced to venture through a chamber of horrors where only one is promised to survive.

44. He's not the man she thought he was. In fact, he's not a man at all.

45. Suburbia is actually purgatory.

46. Someone discovers that we are all actually robots — who created us and why?

47. She's not an angel. She's a demon.

48. An old shipwreck washes ashore.

49. A sinkhole swallows a house whole and unleashes something from beneath.

50. A man has sleep paralysis at the worst possible time.

51. A woman out hiking is caught in a bear trap as the sun begins to go down.

52. Naked figures with no faces stalk campers in the woods.

53. An astronaut is the sole survivor of a moon landing gone wrong — only to discover that the moon is infested with strange creatures.

54. A woman is wrongfully condemned to an insane asylum.

55. A mother's baby will not leave its womb and continues to grow and grow and grow while doctors try to cut it out but can't.

56. Friends on a road trip stumble upon a backcountry town whose residents all dress up as different types of clowns.

57. Tourists in Ireland retreat to an old castle when the country is taken over by greedy and vengeful leprechauns.

58. A boy on a farm makes a scarecrow that comes alive.

59. A figure dressed in an old, dirty Easter Bunny suit haunts the children of a town.

60. The abused animals of a zoo are unleashed and wreak havoc on a small town.

61. A deceased grandma's old doll collection comes alive.

62. Little Red Riding Hood was a vampire.

63. Somebody clones Hitler and raises him as a white supremacist.

64. A pumpkin patch comes alive — beings with heads of pumpkins and bodies of vines.

65. An endless swarm of killer bees wreaks havoc on the country.

66. Christ returns to Earth — at least that is who people thought he was.

67. A natural anomaly brings all of the country's spiders to a horrified town.

68. A woman finds old 16mm film from her childhood and sees that she had a sister — what happened to her?

69. Something ancient rises from an old pond.

70. A woman suddenly begins to wake up in somebody else's body every morning — each day ends with her being stocked and killed by the same murderer in black.

71. An Artificial Intelligence begins to communicate with a family online, only to terrorize them through their technology.

72. A family buys a cheap house only to discover that an old cemetery is their back yard.

73. Years after the zombie apocalypse subsides, survivors discover that the epidemic was caused by aliens that have appeared to lay claim to the planet.

74. A woman has memories of being abducted by aliens — but she soon learns that they weren't aliens. They were...

75. A boy has a tumor that slowly grows into a Siamese twin — the older they get, the more evil the twin becomes.

76. A cult that worships history's deadliest serial killers begins to kill by copying their methods.

77.  Stone gargoyles suddenly appear on the tops of buildings and houses of a small town.

78. A family on a boat trip stumbles upon an old pirate ship.

79. A winter snowstorm traps a family in an abandoned insane asylum.

80. A little girl comes down from upstairs and asks her parents, "Can you hear it breathing? I can."

81. A town is enveloped in unexplained darkness for weeks.

82. A jetliner flies high in the sky as Nuclear War breaks out below.

83. Children discover a deep, dark well in the woods — an old ladder leads down into it.

84. A child sleepwalks into their parent's room and whispers, "I'm sorry. The Devil told me to."

85. As a woman showers, a voice comes from the drain whispering, "I see you."

86. A child finds a crayon drawing of a strange family — it's inscribed with the words we live in your walls .

87. All of the cemetery's graves are now open, gaping holes — the dirt pushed out from underground.

88. A woman is watching a scary movie alone on Halloween night — someone, or something, keeps knocking at her door.

89. Someone is taking a bath as a hand from behind the shower curtain pushes their head into the water.

90. A farmer and his sons begin to hear the laughter of children coming from his fields at night — no children are in sight.

91. Someone looks out their window to see a clown standing at a corner holding a balloon — staring at them.

92. Mannequins in a department store seem to be moving on their own.

93. What if the God people worshiped was really Satan — and Satan had somehow kept God prisoner?

94. A man dies and wakes up in the body of a serial killer — and no matter how hard he tries to stop killing, he can't.

95. A prisoner awakens to find the prison empty — but he's locked in his cell.

96. A woman jogging stumbles upon a dead, bloody body — she then hears a strange clicking sound and looks up to see a dark figure running towards her.

97. A girl hears laughter downstairs — she's the only one home.

98. An Uber driver picks up the wrong person — and may not live to tell the tale.

99. There's someone or something living and moving up in the attic — but it's not a ghost.

100. A child's imaginary friend is not imaginary.

101. The reflections that we see of ourselves in the mirror are actually us in a parallel universe — and they are planning to do whatever it takes to take our place in this world.

Share this with your writing peers or anyone that loves a good scary story.

For some more scares, check out ScreenCraft's  20 Terrifying Two-Sentence Horror Stories and  8 Ways Horror Movies Scare the S*** Out of Audiences!

Sleep well and keep writing.

Once you're inspired, take your idea to the next level and  Develop Your Horror Movie Idea in 15 Days .

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries  Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner. Follow Ken on Twitter  @KenMovies 

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101 Horror Writing Prompts That Are Freaky As Hell

Looking for some scary story ideas for your next writing project?

Sometimes, a good scary prompt idea is all you need to get started on a dark story your readers won’t be able to put down.

And that is the goal. What’s a horror story without white-knuckle suspense?

You want your readers at the edge of their seats, unable to stop though they know something bad is about to happen.

You also want to reward them for reading to the end and leave them wanting more.

So, how can this collection of horror writing prompts help with that?

What Are the Main Elements of Horror Writing?

List of most common horror themes and tropes to write on .

• 66 Horror Writing Prompts

Halloween Writing Prompts

Mystery writing prompts, psychological horror story ideas, “the monster you know” story ideas, ghost story writing prompts, funny horror story ideas, horror story ideas.

Every good story needs an idea that takes root in your imagination and doesn’t let go. Horror stories in particular need to affect you a certain way. If they don’t sound an alarm in your head, they won’t sound one in the heads of your readers, either.

They need to reach into your psyche, take a scrap of memory, and turn it into something that would keep you up at night.

And as you’ve no doubt read already, “No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

Look through the prompts that follow, and choose one that calls out to you and lingers in your imagination.

Paint a picture in your mind of the characters involved. Give yourself a reason to invest in them by giving each one some interesting backstory.

Then set a timer and write.

Since Earl Horace Walpole’s gothic horror The Castle of Otranto hit shelves in 1764, English readers have clamored for dark plots that excite primitive instincts and tickle our fear bones.

Many horror authors leverage shadowy impulses by sprinkling stories with uncomfortable happenings and gruesome fatalities.

But that’s not all it takes to write within the genre, begging the question: What are the main elements of horror? Traditionally, there are five: suspense, fear, violence, gore, and the supernatural.

• Suspense : Creating anxious tension is a critical component of horror as it keeps the audience glued to the story. They need to find out what happens! Traditionally, suspense is valued as a sophisticated form of horror, and building it well is a skill.
• Fear : Confronting fearful things is a powerful emotion with chemical reactionary consequences, making it a hallmark of horror writing. 
• Violence : Savagery is scary because it’s inextricably linked to death and pain — two of the four great human fears.
• Gore : Brains and guts are a cornerstone of classic horror. For better or worse, our neural pathways light up when confronted with intestines, brain matter, and gushing fluids. Successful horror writers keep readers and watchers engaged by deploying gore effectively.  
• Supernatural: The main difference between “true crime” and “horror” is a supernatural element. While horror stories draw people in with realism, they usually feature an emotional detachment valve in the form of an explicit or implicit otherworldly presence. 

Vampires, ghosts, zombies, and murderers are big-picture mainstays of the horror genre. But what are some other, more detailed tropes associated with scary storytelling? 

• Babysitter Alone in Big House: The naive babysitter trope is oft-repeated because it works. The sitter acts as a stand-in for the reader or audience in that, like you, they’re vulnerable. Horror-sitters are the character conduit through which readers and viewers can experience the impending fear. 
• Manipulative Vampires: Maybe it’s their piercing eyes, snappy attire, or mysterious penchant for the “nightlife.” Whatever the case, people stan vampires, and sensual and manipulative ones are an incredibly effective horror character trope. 
• Ghost-Haunted House: Ghost-haunted houses are a recurring horror motif. Whether you approach it from a traditional or modern angle is up to you. Both can work.
• Creepy Kid: In real life, it’s kind to see all kids as precious and special, no matter their quirks. But when it comes to Horror World, creepy kids are a dime a dozen! Sometimes they’re the main attractions or “red herrings” (which we’ll get to more below); other times, they’re supernatural catalysts that serve as a story’s MacGuffin. Whichever the case, unnerving kids go a long way when devising a disturbing scene and fomenting suspense.
• The Nonbeliever: Most horror stories have at least one character whose lack of fear or faith (in the story’s “supernatural” element) lands them six feet under. 
• The Red Herring: A “red herring” is a false clue. The term dates back to the 1400s to describe a culinary preparation for fish, but the first known use as a euphemism for “distraction” appeared in 1884. 
• Isolation: Few things frighten people more than being all alone while danger looms. As such, isolation can be a helpful trope when crafting horror stories.
• Graveyard Chase: A well-conceived chase around a graveyard is another horror mainstay that continues to deliver. Try adding a twist to modernize the trope.
• Distorting Mirrors: Whether a single reflecting glass or a full-on maze, using mirrors as a motif is a tangible and effective way to signal distortion. 
• Aliens and Cultists: The human psyche can’t resist rubbernecking when confronted with the possibility of aliens and the sociopathic underbelly of cults. Resultantly, they work well as engaging frameworks for horror stories.

101 Horror Writing Prompts

Whether you’re writing for a special occasion or just to experiment with the horror genre, any of the scary story prompts in the following groups should get you started.

Go with your gut on this one, and choose an idea that feels both familiar and provocative. Then give it a go!

1. A mysterious gift from an estranged aunt arrives on Halloween with a crystal ball and a note addressed only to you, her godchild.

2. One of the trick-or-treaters bears an uncanny resemblance to your departed sibling and repeats that sibling’s last words before picking your sibling’s favorite candy bar.

3. On Halloween night, you find a box at your door that contains a strange note and a little something from each of the people who have hurt you in the past year.

4. On this Halloween night, your guinea pig won’t stop running in circles, and your dog keeps staring at the door, emitting a low growl.

5. You run out for candy on Halloween afternoon to find the streets empty and the store abandoned. A single car cruises into the lot and pulls into the spot next to yours.

6. Every time you went to answer the doorbell, no one was there. The next day, you heard about the missing children. The worst part? Your kids spent Halloween with your ex and were supposed to come trick-or-treating last night.

7. You arrive home on Halloween to a large package from your new boss, who’d bought every piece of your favorite candy from local stores. The note reads, “Save some for me.”

8. You’re watching TV on Halloween night when your show is interrupted by a faintly familiar someone declaring their love for you and saying they’ve watched you all your life.

9. You come home to find a stranger walking through your home, sipping your wine and admiring your collected antiquities. They startle at your approach and act as though you’re the intruder.

10. The night before Halloween, you have a dream in which you wake up to see a dark shape standing outside your closet. You wake up screaming with your hands around your spouse’s throat.

11. Election day looms, and Halloween feels more ominous than ever. You’ve kept the lights off, but that doesn’t stop one visitor from leaving a note: “Knew you lived here.”

12. Your best friend has gone missing, and someone keeps leaving small reminders of them in your mailbox. You see someone approach to deliver something else, and your heart nearly stops when you recognize them.

13. You’ve always wanted a dog, so when a rain-soaked mutt shows up on your front step, you let him in. Unfortunately, something else hitched a ride.

14. Someone moves into the apartment next door and starts playing loud music at night. You call the police, who find the guy dead holding a note with your name and address.

15. Someone keeps replacing items in your home with different objects that look vaguely familiar. No one else has a key to your home, and there are no signs of forced entry.

16. You bake some cookies to share with the new neighbor, but the terrified woman backs away from the plate, shaking her head. Someone from inside calls out, “I’ll have those.”

17. Someone at work has offered to do a tarot card spread for you, and you politely decline. You find a single tarot card in your mailbox when you return home.

18. You don’t remember wandering alone on a country road as a small child, but someone does. And he wants to make sure you’re not around to testify against him.

19. Someone has gotten to your laundry before you and left it neatly folded in piles on top of the dryer. A note reads, “For more TLC, knock on #303.”

20. The window of your apartment leads to a fire escape, but twice you’ve come home to find it open. Nothing is missing. But someone keeps leaving a ring on your kitchen table.

21. You order a Christmas wreath for your door and the company sends you a package with money instead. The note reads, “Keep half. I’ll pick up the rest in 72 hours.”

22. A child knocks on your door and tells you you’ll be visited by three people that night. One of them will show you your future. The child’s face reminds you of someone.

23. Your best friend is dating a woman who seems familiar to you — and not in a good way. Turns out, she’s got a bad feeling about you, too, and she warns your friend.

24. You receive a surprise delivery of a holiday flower arrangement with a note from someone who went to jail for assault. The message reads, “I’ll be home for Christmas.”

25. An abuser from your past has written you a long letter of apology, and you agree to meet them for coffee. You find your favorite coffee place deserted — on Black Friday.

26. You broke up with your sweetheart when he lied about taking you to the prom and begged you to run away with him so he could escape an abusive home. He’s back.

27. An old friend, who had tried to warn you about an ex-boyfriend years ago, has come back to town to run a diner. Within a week, known bullies start disappearing.

28. For the past three dates, the guy you met ended up dead and posed as if proposing. A note on each one’s empty chest cavity reads, “My heart belongs to [your name].”

29. You’re with a friend at the home of the guy she’s dating. In the bathroom, you find a box with jewelry for almost every birthstone. Yours is the only one missing. You hear a scream.

30. Everyone keeps telling you your memories can’t be trusted. You’re safe with them. They’ll protect you. But you haven’t left the house in years.

31. You thought it was cute when your little sister wanted to wear your aunt’s high heels and pose with a hand on her hip. But your sister had an uncanny way with accidents.

32. You never expected to win the ‘57 Chevy from the church raffle. Neither did the car’s owner, who immediately tried to buy it back. He didn’t respond well to “No, thanks.”

33. Every time you saw anything like “Tornado Warning” or “Flash Flood” in the news, you knew someone would end up dead. And your ex would blame the weather.

34. You come home to a dozen roses from a guy who’s been telling his friends you’re dating, and you get angry. For some reason, though, everyone you know is on his side.

35. Your “Secret Santa” leaves an expensive bottle of wine with a note, “Drink me.” You call a familiar number and hear the phone ring on the other side of your door.

36. Your dad has a secret known only to his twin brother, who mysteriously disappeared but left a note with a box of his belongings in the attic. You take it with you when you leave.

37. You just broke up with the person who’s catering your best friend’s wedding. They also made the cake.

38. Some of your in-laws have decided to deliver their sibling from you. When they cross the line, you make a promise to them and to your spouse. One by one, they disappear.

39. Your health is steadily declining, and you don’t know why. Neither do your doctors, who test for the usual health issues and find nothing. Then someone calls to warn you.

40. Your estranged father sends you a porcelain doll — the one he swears you told him you wanted. It has the face and hair of your missing mother. And her eyes are glued open.

41. You’ve just told your family you’re asexual, and they seem to accept it. Out of the blue, the handsome guy next door shows up to ask you out, and your parents quietly nod.

42. A cop pulls you over for driving a few miles over the speed limit, tells you to get out of your car, slams you against the hood and whispers in your ear, “This is from your ex.”

43. You emailed your fiancé for months before meeting him for the first date. Now, you’re getting strange phone calls from someone claiming to be his wife and telling you to run.

44. You stood numb at the coffin of a close friend and flinched when your father rested a hand on your shoulder. “Had to be done,” he whispered. “Remember the bigger picture.”

45. A small package bears the name of your sister, who died five years ago. It contains a pendant that matches her own and a note asking you to activate it by chanting, “Sisters Forever.”

46. Your elderly neighbors died on the same day of an apparent suicide pact. In their will, they left their pug to you, along with a small box of what they called “magical items.”

47. You receive a note penned by your best friend, who died in a car accident the month before, His parents had found it in his room and hand-delivered it, barely looking at you.

48. You pounce on a new opening in the apartment building close to your favorite coffee place. The first night there, you wake up to ghostly shapes surrounding your bed.

49. At your first slumber party, your friend’s older brother surprised you during a late-night run to the bathroom. He died a decade later in prison. Now you see him in your dreams.

50. Your home is the high-tech brainchild of your best friend, who bequeathed it to you (rather than to his wife). It anticipates your every need and desire.

51. You’ve been having dreams about a door that shows up in your room. In one, you walk through it and see someone you love being murdered . You warn them the next day.

52. You’re the lone survivor of a horrific train crash, and everywhere you go, you see the ghosts of some of the passengers. Some have told you the crash was no accident.

53. You’re looking through your mother’s possessions when a note slips out of the book she’d been reading, warning you about “the ghost who runs this house.”

54. Your new boyfriend is obsessed with ancient artifacts, but when something hitches a ride on his latest find, you witness disturbing changes in his behavior.

55. Your life is already complicated when your boss asks you to stay at his home to care for his dog while he’s away. You soon learn the house is as mischievous as the dog.

56. You’re an editor for the college literary journal, and you’ve been getting poetic hate mail from a student who’s angry you didn’t choose their poems for the latest issue.

57. Your favorite neighbor is a trans woman named Lani who looks out for you. She warns you about a guy down the hall, who keeps trying cheesy pick-up lines to get you to smile.

58. Your co-workers tease you about your weight gain. One is found dead in the bathroom, her mouth stuffed with candy. Everyone but the custodian suspects you.

59. An anonymous admirer sends you a singing telegram with a chilling question. Now you have less than 24 hours to sing your answer in a public square, with a flash mob.

60. You sign up for wine deliveries but are disappointed by the first bottle you open and taste. On the label, you find a crass, insulting note from an old enemy.

61. Your date finds out your BFF is asexual and starts asking intrusive and insensitive questions. When your friend shuts him down, he insults and warns you both.

62. You’re working the dinner rush, and a customer loudly insists on changing her order the moment you deliver it. Someone quietly follows her as she storms out the door.

63. You’re having an open house for your new shop, and you catch a customer shoplifting. She says, “I was told to come in here and take these. You’re being watched.”

64. You arrive at your new house, and the keys from the realtor don’t work. Someone answers the door with a disarming smile. “So, you’re here about the room? Come in!”

65. Your date is going well until you reveal that you have a dog. “I’m not really a dog person,” you hear. When you get a bad feeling and end the date, things get messy.

66. Your journal goes missing, and within a week, a goofy, adorable guy starts showing up at your usual stops. He seems surprised to see you, but something isn’t quite right.

Creepy Writing Prompts

67. The old tunnel had been blocked off for as long as anyone could remember, but late at night, you could still hear the faint screams echoing from deep within. 

68. As you walk past the abandoned house on your way home from school, you notice one of the curtains move slightly in an upstairs window, but the house has been empty for years.

69. You wake up suddenly in the middle of the night and see two small handprints on the foggy bathroom mirror that are far too small to belong to anyone in your family.  

70. Every night when you go to sleep, you feel an uncomfortable pricking sensation on your skin, yet every morning, you find strange symbols carved into your arms that you don’t remember making. 

71. While exploring the attic, you find an old doll that looks eerily like you did as a child, and when you pick it up, its eyes suddenly open.  

72. The scraping sound from the closet stops whenever you turn on the light, but it always returns as soon as the room goes dark again.

73. Every time you glance in the mirror, your reflection behaves slightly differently than you do – blinking at the wrong time or moving too late.  

74. You wake up covered in mud and scratches with no memory of where you’ve been all night, and the soles of your shoes are worn through as if you had walked for miles.

75. Lately, your pets have refused to go into certain rooms of your house, but you have no idea what frightens them so badly about those areas.  

76. You discover a trap door hidden under an old Persian rug in your basement and shining a light into it reveals a set of footsteps descending into the darkness below.

77. You wake up one morning to find all the mirrors in your home have been turned around to face the wall, even though you live alone.  

78. Your television is switched on in the dead of night, the static slowly resolving into shapes, and what looks back at you from the screen makes your blood run cold.

79. You keep finding sticky notes around your house with messages written on them in unfamiliar handwriting, like “GET OUT” or “I’M WATCHING YOU SLEEP.”

80. Every time you look at a clock, the time is exactly 3 minutes slow, though all the clocks in your home are set correctly and keep perfect time when others view them.  

81. On your way home, you notice a figure standing motionless at the end of the street, staring directly at your house with its face hidden in the shadows of its hooded robe.  

82. Your dog comes running inside with its leash still attached but hanging limply, yet when you call the number on the leash’s tag, your own cell phone starts ringing from within your house.

83. Your computer camera activates unexpectedly while you’re working, and you see your own bedroom behind you from an impossible angle near the ceiling, suggesting someone is watching through the camera right now.

84. You hear your name called out softly in an empty room, and even though the voice sounds familiar, you live alone, and you know no one else is inside.

Spooky Writing Prompts

85. Every night when you lie in bed, you hear the floorboards outside your room creaking as if someone is pacing back and forth, but every time you quickly open the door to check, the hallway is empty. 

86. While exploring the woods behind your new house, you discover a crumbling old stone well, and when you peer down into the darkness, you think you see pale faces staring back up at you.  

87. Your reflection in mirrors and windows often moves independently, quickly looking away whenever you try to catch it, watching you from impossible angles that don’t align with where you’re standing.

88. An unfamiliar chat window opens on your computer screen with only the message “I can see you through your webcam” written inside it by an unseen sender.  

89. Plants within your home have been dying overnight no matter where you place them, the leaves and stems drained of all color as if the life has been completely sucked out.

90. You wake up to find a pile of dead birds on your lawn, their wings broken and necks bent at odd angles as if they crashed directly into the ground from high altitudes.  

91. The old paintings hanging on the walls of your recently inherited mansion seem to follow you with their eyes, and occasionally, you notice mysterious new figures added in the backgrounds that disappear by morning.

92. Turning on all the faucets causes blood to drip out instead of water, yet when others in your home check them, the liquid running from the pipes is perfectly clear.

93. You wake from a nightmare convinced someone was standing silently at the foot of your bed, only to find the imprint of two bare feet seared into your bedroom carpet right where the figure was standing. 

94. Whenever you look in the bathroom mirror late at night, you see dead relatives standing silently behind you who disappear when you turn around to check if anyone is there.  

95. The baby monitor in the nursery suddenly emits a strange crackling sound followed by a singsong voice you don’t recognize whispering your baby’s name over and over.

96. Your shadow appears to have a mind of its own, often following you more slowly or quickly than it should and reaching areas you know your body has not moved to.

97. Photos taken with phones or cameras in and around your home show blurry figures lurking in the background that do not match any of the people in the images. 

98. Any writing you leave out overnight – from sticky notes to notebooks – has mysterious reoccurring symbols added in unfamiliar handwriting scattered among the existing text. 

99. You wake in the middle of the night to the sound of your locked window being forced open from the outside, but when you jump out of bed to check, it’s closed securely as if nothing happened. 

100. From your garden, you can see directly into your neighbor’s bathroom mirror, but instead of the neighbor’s reflection, you swear you sometimes see your own face staring back with an expression you don’t recognize.

101. While searching through the attic in your recently purchased Victorian home, you find an old portrait of a severe-looking woman whose eyes seem to follow you around the room; later that night, you wake to find the same woman standing at the foot of your bed, silently watching you sleep.

How Do You Come Up with Horror Ideas?

Coming up with fresh, frightening ideas is key to crafting an effective horror story. While horror inspirations can spring from ordinary events and observations, it helps to have strategies to unleash your most sinister creativity. Here are some tips for conjuring bone-chilling tales:

• Mine your nightmares. Dreams often access our deepest fears. Pay attention to recurring nightmares or startling images from your subconscious, as these can inspire terrifying new monsters or situations.
• Twist tropes. Take common horror archetypes like haunted houses, demonic possession, or slashers and put a new spin on them. Surprise readers by changing elements they assume to be familiar.
• Extrapolate fears. Think about phobias you or others have, like darkness, insects, or tight spaces. Imagine those fears exponentially intensified to petrifying extremes.
• Research real horror. Study disturbing historical events, murders, superstitions, or unexplained phenomena and fictionalize them in a new horror setting.
• Observe people. Carefully watch those around you and look for small creepy details in their appearances or behaviors that could be expanded into something sinister.

With an observant eye and inventive mind, creators can find endless inspiration from both mundane moments and their most nightmarish dreams. Putting ordinary things in an ominous light or letting one’s imagination run wild with “what if” scenarios generate the kinds of situations and figures that fuel truly frightening tales. 

Pay attention to the world around and inside you, and plumb the depths of your creativity, and you’ll never run short on horror ideas.

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Go Forth and Terrify

Armed with this generous sampling of horror story prompts, what stories are brewing in your mind as you read this?

No need to stick to exact details, either.

If any part of the writing prompts you just read teased your imagination and became the kernel of a story, run with what you’ve got.

And don’t worry if the first sentence isn’t perfect (you’ll probably change it, anyway). Just write.

May you love this new story every bit as much as your readers will.

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How To Write A Scary Story: The Art of Horror Writing

Writing is a thrilling journey through the cavernous corners of your imagination. And in the heart of this journey is the challenge of crafting tales that will rattle readers and chill their bones.

This comprehensive guide will dive into the uncanny and unnerving world of horror and the art of writing horror stories.

1. Understanding The Horror Genre

Often, the best horror stories are the ones that make your reader feel an overwhelming sense of unease, a creeping dread that something terrible is about to happen.

They are more about creating a fear factor, a sense of impending doom, than showcasing gore or violence. So, what sets apart a horror story from other genres?

1.1 The Essence of Horror

When discussing horror, we refer to works that provoke fear, dread, disgust, or horror. They're intended to scare us, make us startle, and make our hearts beat faster.

From the hair-raising ghost stories shared around the campfire to the spine-chilling narratives of Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King, the aim is the same - to evoke a strong emotional response from the readers.

1.2 The Many Faces of Horror

The horror genre encompasses a wide range of sub-genres, including supernatural horror (ghosts, haunted houses, etc.), psychological horror (serial killers, the 'unreliable narrator'), and cosmic horror (otherworldly creatures, existential dread).

Each sub-genres has its specific tone and tropes, and writers can draw inspiration from many sources. For example, a ghost story set in a haunted house can instill fear as effectively as a gritty, realistic tale about a serial killer.

2. Key Elements of a Scary Story

Like any other story, a good horror story hinges on key elements such as a compelling main character, an engaging plot, and an evocative setting. But to craft a scary story that leaves your readers trembling, certain elements take on unique importance.

2.1 Atmosphere

A great horror story uses its setting to create a sense of fear and dread. Descriptive language and sensory details can make your readers feel like they are walking alongside your characters through the dark woods or exploring a creepy , dilapidated house.

2.2 The Fear Factor

At its core, a horror story seeks to tap into our deepest fears. A horror story might weave in elements of the unknown, unpredictable, or irrational. It may capitalize on our innate fear of the dark, confined spaces, abandonment, or monstrous.

2.3 Suspense and Tension

Building suspense is crucial in horror writing. To create suspense, writers can employ techniques such as foreshadowing, withholding information, or setting a time limit on the characters. In this way, you slowly build tension, making readers uneasy about what might happen next.

3. Structure of a Scary Story

Understanding the structure of how to write a scary story is essential. It helps guide your reader through the story, building up their fear and tension before hitting them with a terrifying climax .

3.1 Beginning

Your story should start with a hook that intrigues and draws readers into the story. This could be a scene that hints at the horror to come, a character in a strange or unsettling situation, or a glimpse into the eerie setting of your story .

The middle of your story should build suspense and create tension. This is where you introduce conflict and complications for your characters. The stakes should increase, the danger is more imminent, and the characters should become more desperate.

The climax is the most intense, scary part of the story. This is a a scene where all the tension and suspense you've been building up burst forth. The main character confronts their fear, the monster reveals itself, and the villain makes their move.

The ending can provide resolution or leave the reader with a lingering sense of unease or ambiguity. Remember, a horrifying story doesn't necessarily need a happy ending. It could be a hauntingly open-ended one that leaves readers with more questions than answers or a shocking twist that sends one final chill down their spine.

4. Horror Writing Prompts

These horror writing prompts might spark your creativity if you're stuck for ideas .

Your protagonist moves into a new house. It seems perfect until they find a strange door that wasn't there before.

A serial killer escapes from jail, and your main character begins to suspect their best friend.

An unreliable narrator slowly reveals the horrifying truth about what happened to their missing sibling.

5. Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Every writer makes mistakes, and that's okay! Here are some common mistakes in horror writing and how to avoid them.

5.1 Relying on clichés

While tropes and conventions are integral to genre writing, relying too heavily on clichés can make your story predictable and lessen the scare factor. Don't be afraid to subvert expectations or put your unique twist on genre conventions.

5.2 Neglecting character development

Even in a horror story, character development is crucial. Readers are more likely to fear for characters they care about. Make your characters feel real and relatable.

5.3 Not building enough suspense

Suspense is the lifeblood of a horror story. Use your narrative to build tension and keep your readers on the edge of their seats.

Wrapping Up

Writing a scary story can be a thrilling exercise in exploring the darker side of human emotion. As Edgar Allan Poe said, "The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Use your story to explore this fear, and you're well on your way to crafting a truly terrifying tale.

So pick up your pen or open your laptop, and start writing that horror story that's been haunting your dreams.

Happy writing!

Frequently Asked Questions About Writing a Scary Story

How do i start writing a scary story.

Begin with a compelling hook that piques the reader's interest, something eerie, strange, or unsettling.

It could be a character introduction , an unusual situation, or an intriguing setting. This immediately sets the tone and prepares the reader for the frightening journey ahead.

What makes a good horror story?

A good horror story effectively taps into the reader's fears and keeps them on edge. Key elements include a suspenseful plot, relatable characters, an unnerving atmosphere, and a punch climax.

It's about more than just 'jump scares'; psychological terror and a lingering sense of unease often have a more lasting impact.

How can I make my horror story more suspenseful?

Building suspense is critical in horror writing. Techniques include foreshadowing, withholding information, employing a ticking clock, and placing characters in difficult situations.

Remember, tension is about anticipation; the dread of what might happen can be just as terrifying, if not more, than the event itself.

How can I make my readers care about my characters?

Develop your characters to be complex, flawed, and relatable. The more natural they feel, the more readers will empathize with them.

This emotional connection enhances the fear factor; readers will feel genuine concern for characters they've grown attached to when placed in scary situations.

Should my scary story be based on my fears?

Absolutely! Drawing from your fears can infuse your story with authenticity and depth. If you're genuinely frightened by something, there's a good chance your readers will be too.

As Stephen King famously said, "The thing you are most afraid to write, write that."

What point of view should I use for a horror story?

Both first-person and third-person POV can be influential in horror. First-person POV can create an intimate, claustrophobic feeling and allow direct insight into the story based on the character's fear.

Third-person POV, especially limited, can also convey fear effectively while providing a broader perspective on events.

How do I avoid clichés in my horror story?

While using genre tropes is okay, relying too heavily on clichés can make your story predictable. Subvert reader expectations, put your twist on classic tropes, and dare to explore new and uncharted territory in horror.

How can I create a scary atmosphere in my story?

Detailed sensory descriptions can help establish an unsettling atmosphere. Don't just tell readers that a place is scary—show them.

Describe the sights, sounds, smells, and textures that make a setting feel eerie or ominous.

What should I do after writing my first draft?

Review your work with fresh eyes. Look out for inconsistencies, plot holes, and areas where you could build suspense or develop your characters more deeply.

It might also be beneficial to seek feedback from others—especially fellow horror fans—to get different perspectives on your story's fear factor.

How can I write a truly horrifying horror scene?

Thriving horror scenes combine many elements: a tense build-up, an unexpected reveal, vivid sensory details, and an emotional reaction from the characters involved.

Remember that what you don't show can be as scary as what you offer—leaving some things to the reader's imagination can be highly effective.

I help filmmakers sell their ideas, get more clients, and make more money.

99+ Creepy Story Ideas to Spark Your Creativity

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Teach Your Students How to Write a Scary Story

You’re terrified. Your heart is pounding, and your chest feels like it’s going to EXPLODE !  You breathe faster and faster as sweat drips from your shaking hands. Are you going to die?  NO .  You’re just listening to a SCARY STORY .

Being scared is exciting, right?  If it wasn’t, why would we go on haunted hayrides, watch scary movies or ride roller coasters?

Let’s face it, in each of these circumstances, we know we’re pretty safe. And when the experience is over, the thrill isn’t.  Just watch a group of kids coming out of a haunted house at the fair.  They’re shrieking and laughing at the SAME TIME . And, because they know the fear is SAFE , they scramble to get in line again.  They’re experiencing a fear-induced NATURAL HIGH .  That’s because being scared causes an adrenaline rush in your body and creates a feeling of EUPHORIA .

Enter SCARY STORIES ! When it comes to teaching your students how to write a scary story that will keep readers or listeners on the edge of their seats, nothing beats a good old-fashioned scary story.

Kids love the element of surprise and the unexpected. It’s fascinating to talk about monsters, ghosts, or anything weird! Reading and writing these stories is reassuring to kids. The creepy stuff is just fiction, and it’s not a part of their everyday lives. It’s IMAGINATION .

Over the years, I’d teach my students how to write scary stories. But, I was disappointed by the majority of the stories I got. I tried different writing prompts, using scary pictures, anything I could think of. None of that worked. To be honest with you, I got some pretty crummy stories. I knew my kiddos were capable of more. I refused to give up! Finally, through trial and error, I developed a formula that worked for me.  It’s just two magic words: CHOICE and TOOLS.  

I provided my kids with a buffet of plots, settings, and characters.  They were intrigued.

Suddenly they had the FREEDOM to concoct a story that was guaranteed to spook their audience. They didn’t have to respond to the same writing prompt.

The graphic organizers helped them plan and organize their stories, develop their characters, and use descriptive words in their writing. Keeping students engaged in writing is foolproof when they choices and the tools to plan and write a great scary story.

Scary Story Elements

Scary Stories:

• Amp up the fear factor.
• Add cringe-worthy thoughts like a darkness that foreshadows an unknown danger.
• Have characters that get into terrifying situations by breaking the rules, making bad decisions, or ignoring a warning.
• Include a terrible problem that is creating a mood of doom.
• Are usually set in someplace spooky and often takes place at night.
• Include a wide variety of sensory words.
• Contain mystery and suspense.
• Might be unpredictable – setting the reader up to expect one thing but then providing something else.

Setting the Stage

Nothing sets the tone for writing better than turning out the lights and reading a couple of scary stories. Here are a few of my favorite scary stories for younger kids.

PICTURE BOOKS:

• The Teeny Tiny Woman by Paul Galdone
• There’s a Nightmare in my Closet by Mercer Mayer
• There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
• A Very Hairy Scary Story by Rick Walton
• Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier
• In a Dark Dark Room by Alvin Schwartz
• The Little Old Woman Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
• Piggie Pie by Margie Palenti
• Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
• Ghosts! Ghostly Tales From Folklore by Alvin Schwartz
• Tell Me a Scary Story but Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner
• Scary, Scary, Halloween by Eve Bunting

One year, I took my kiddos to a Tale Telling Festival in Selma Alabama.  My kids were on the edge of their seats listening to master a storyteller regale them with tales from the book Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey .

If you can’t make it to a storytelling festival, expose your students to a few videos of storytellers telling scary stories to get a sense of the mood these stories elicit.

Videos provide your students with the opportunity to experience how professional authors play with the readers’ emotions through their choice of WORDS , VOICE, and FACIAL and HAND expressions. One of my favorites is Jackie Torrance telling The Story of Tillie

How to Write the Scary Story

Have you ever tried to teach without a lesson plan?  It’s quite frustrating and chaotic isn’t it? You need a PLAN . The same thing is true for your kids.  Some of your kids have minimal experience in writing stories.  They don’t even know where to begin. They need a plan!

That’s where you come in!  By providing supports and structure, your students will write fantastic scary tales.  Writing a great story takes time, so if you only have one class period for your kiddos to write, you’re probably not going to get great stories. The time frame from start to finish to sharing takes my kids about a week to complete.

Writing Steps

Here are the steps I use with my students.  Depending on the age and degree of writing experience, your students may not need to spend much time on each step.

First,  students BRAINSTORM story ideas for things and places that scare them. This is a fun and easy step because kids LOVE to talk about being scared. It’s also good for kids to see that some of their friends are afraid of the same things they are.  Be prepared, you might hear some things that you can’t imagine being afraid of.  For example, my grandson was TERRIFIED of going to visit my mother in her assisted living facility.  He thought all the “old folks” looked like evil creatures. Thankfully, he got over that.

Next, students select a setting, problem, and characters for their story. To help my kids out, I  give them choices and ideas to get them started. I provide them with  SETTING , PROBLEM , and CHARACTER cards to choose from.  By taking note of what your kids shared during the previous BRAINSTORMING SESSION , you have some great ideas to write on the cards.

In the next step, students organize their thoughts using a story elements organizer and a story summary organizer. With these organizers, students plan the story and make sure it has a logical sequence.

Giving students copies of word lists helps them choose sensory words, sound effects (think Ontomontopeia), and vivid verbs to add to the writing.

Have you ever had kids who wrote a narrative and every sentence began with “and then?” Since scary stories are NARRATIVES , I make sure they use a TRANSITIONS WORD LIST to help them with word choice.  That way I don’t have to read  “and then,” “and then” over and over again.

Let the Writing Begin!

You’ve laid the groundwork.  Your kiddos have a recipe for their story.  Now it’s time to put pen to paper and START WRITING . For a first draft, I usually have my kids write on every other line.  That way it’s easy to make edits during the revision stage.

Next, have a peer and or a teacher review the rough drafts. It’s also helpful to give the kiddos a checklist to make sure they included all the elements for a scary story.

Finally, revise and edit. This is the kids’ LEAST FAVORITE STEP .  They want to write their stories ONCE and be done with it!  I try to make it more fun by having a little revising party in the class.  Give out stickers and turn on some creepy music. If your students have not had experience with peer editing, you can be the editor.  A little hint:  Tell at least 2 things you really like about the story BEFORE you may suggestions for improvement.

Oops!  We’re not done yet!  The most overlooked step is REFLECT AND EVALUATE !  Give your kids a writing rubric that is completed by both the student and yourself. I always have my kids share what they think they did best first, and then what they need to improve upon in the comments section of the rubric.

Sharing Your Scary Stories

The most fun is when the kids get to share their own stories. This is the time when my friends say I put on a DOG AND PONY SHOW .  But seriously, your kids are super pumped about sharing after learning how to write a scary story.

It’s time to celebrate all their hard work.  Have the kids dress up in costumes. Make s’mores.  I bought a fantastic electric s’mores maker on Amazon.  Turn out the lights, play some spooky music. The piece de resistance is a fake classroom campfire for your kids to sit around.

When it’s time to share his story, I give each kid a flashlight.  Remember, it’s important to encourage the kids to ham it up with sound effects, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Creating a Classroom Campfire

You can find numerous blog posts with instructions for building a classroom campfire. Just do a search on Pinterest.  Basically, all you need is:

• rocks in a circle
• sticks in the center of the ring of stones
• battery-operated Christmas tree lights to place under and around the sticks
• some orange, red, and yellow tissue paper for the flames.

Avoiding Overwhelm When Teaching How to Write a Scary Story

Does this all sound like a lot of work to you?  Don’t worry!  I’ve got you covered.  You can purchase my Write A Scary Story unit on TpT. It includes a PowerPoint on how to write a scary story, all the handouts, cards, rubric, graphic organizers, and everything else you need to teach this unit.  There is also a Distance Learning Version you can use if you are teaching remotely!

I’d love to hear how your scary stories turned out!  Come back comment to let me know!

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How to Write a Horror Story in 12 Steps

Spooky times are on their way! In this post, you’ll learn how to write a horror story in 12 easy steps. From the very beginning to the very end, you’ll be a horror writer in no time. Writing a horror story is easy, provided you know how to do it in the right way.

A horror story is usually about a particular issue or theme. It might be about the horrible nature of life, the evil of humans, or the beast inside us. It might even be about fear, or about the various ways in which we face fear. The one thing that all horror stories have in common is that they are “stories of fear.”

The best horror stories are about fear, whether it’s fear of death, fear of disease, fear of the unknown, fear of loneliness, or fear of pain. The main problem with horror stories is that most people don’t like to be scared. Our minds prefer the familiar, the comfortable, and the easy. So how do we get around that?

The answer is that we have to tap into our inner horror. We have to get inside our minds and into our souls to write about horror. It’s not easy, but it’s not hard either. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you’ll be amazed at the results you can achieve.

10 Tips for Writing Horror Stories

Step 1: brainstorm some ideas, step 2: develop your idea, step 3: make a list of main characters, step 4: develop a horrific setting, step 5: outline the opening paragraph, step 6: plan the major climax, step 7: write a twisted ending , step 8: choose a scary writing style, step 9: write the first draft, step 10: edit and review your draft, step 11: choose a chilling book title , step 12: publish the book, how do you start a horror story, what are the 5 elements of a horror story, what makes a good horror story, how do you write in creepy writing, how do i make my character terrifying.

Before you begin writing a horror story, here are 8 tips to help you create the perfect, chilling tale:

• Make it realistic: Don’t be afraid to make the story feel real and genuine so that the reader doesn‘t get lost in the atmosphere of the book. Try to use real-life situations as the base of the story, and then you can add the gore afterwards.
• Include plot twists: The more twists you can add to the tale, and the more surprises that will occur, the stronger the plot. 
• Avoid stereotypical characters: Just because it’s horror doesn’t mean you have to have a serial or a cannibal in your story. Go beyond the norm with your characters – remember anyone can be a serial killer, especially the least suspected person!
• Pace yourself: Don’t just jump to the scariest moment in the beginning, slowly build up the suspense. Start by giving the reader hints of danger, and then bang when they least suspect bring in the gore.
• Play on common fears: Common fears that people face every day. Such as being alone in the dark, being chased by a monster, having a bad dream, etc. Fears are icky, but they can be made into something interesting if you play with them.
• Choose a writing style: There are many ways to write horror and some people find that they have an easier time in a journalistic style or in 1st person narrative. Think about what you’re most comfortable with and try it out.
• Increase the stakes: The best horror stories involve a sense of fear and dread, so make sure to increase the stakes as you go. If your main character is at a party, maybe there’s something bad lurking in the back room or someone is trying to kill them. Make sure there’s something at stake for your characters and don’t forget to give them something to do besides running away.
• Read popular horror stories: Horror can be a very dark genre, so you might want to check out other scary tales to get inspiration. For instance, Stephen King has written some of the most terrifying stories ever created and you might even learn a few things from them. 
• Pick a horror sub-genre: Horror is very broad and can be done in many different styles and genres. I recommend going for a sub-genre like Gothic Horror, Zombie Horror, or Psychological Horror. You may find that you are more comfortable in one of these areas than in others.
• Be imaginative: Your story should be as unique as possible so use your imagination and go crazy! Do not hold back when it comes to creativity, as this is how true horror is born.

How To Write a Horror Story in 12 Steps

Follow these 12 easy steps to create a spine-chilling story that will leave your readers in awe and fear.

Here’s a simple little trick that we can’t recommend enough: start with writing down all of the words and phrases that come to mind when you think about horror. Horror is much more than just scary stories; it’s about fear. So start thinking about the horror you see around you, and what keeps you up at night. The trick is to get into your mind, even if it doesn’t feel comfortable. Try listing your biggest fears, and all the things that make you feel scared. You can also check out this list of over 110 horror story prompts to get you started.

We also recommend keeping a nightmare journal  – Which is like a dream journal but filled with notes about your nightmares instead. After you had a really scary dream write down everything you remember from that dream. This can include what you saw, heard and felt during the dream. You can then use these notes as a source of inspiration for your horror story. 

Check out these Halloween writing prompts and Halloween picture prompts for more ideas.

What keeps you up at night? The evil monsters in the monsters movies? The epidemic of a deadly virus? A tragic unsolved crime? Whatever your issue is, it can be used to create a horror story that will have your readers sweating bullets. Take your ideas from the previous step and develop them into a truly horrific story idea. Once you have written down the basic idea, try to think about how that idea can be made scarier. 

For example, if you’re writing about a deadly disease, you could use the theme of death to make it scarier. Have the characters die in the story in a mutated sort of way or from some weird side effect that leads to death. There are plenty of ways to make the story more horrible:

• Try thinking about an ordinary situation that everyone goes through and add something horrific to it. The trick to making your story scary is to make it believable. In other words, you want to make your story as true to life as possible.
• Focus on some terrifying emotions, fear being the obvious one. But you can also think about crudeness, disgust, as well as anger, regret, paranoia and shock factor. 
• Add in some unnatural details, such as spaghetti turning into worms or blood coming out of solid, unliving objects.

Write down all of the main characters in the story. If you have more than one, give each character a distinct personality. Make sure that each character has a certain reason for their actions and be sure that they reflect their personality.

Whatever your horror is, you should probably have a main character that will be a part of the story. When you write the story, it’s going to be easier to create a tense atmosphere if you have a character to relate to. Also, you may want to make sure that you have a few supporting characters that you can add to the story. The supporting characters might also become the main characters in any sequels you plan on writing.

The other characters in the story should be the antagonists. These are the evil people or creatures that are keeping you up at night. They might be the killer, the ghost , the werewolf , the zombie, the villain, the monster , the demon, or the bad guy. Whatever the issue is, that’s what the antagonist will be in the story. They might start out as just an ordinary person, but they’ll end up being more evil than the main character.

Check out this guide on character development to help you develop a powerful character.

When writing a horror story, it’s very important that you get the setting right. Think about some scary places that you know of in real life or places that you’ve seen in your nightmares. You could also link your main setting choice to a common fear explored in your story. For example, if the core concept of your horror story is related to the fear of heights, then the main setting may be a high-rise building that’s filled with monsters. 

Other common horror story settings may include a haunted house , a creepy old mansion, graveyards and even quiet suburban towns. Whatever your choice of setting, try to write a detailed description of the main setting in this step. Think about the appearance of the location, the weather, the feeling someone has when standing in this location, as well as what kind of people live here, along with the beliefs they hold.

Interested in creating a whole new world for your horror story? Check this master list of over 100 world-building questions .

The opening paragraph will be the first thing your readers see. It should be a teaser that sets the tone for the story. In other words, the first paragraph should be intriguing enough to make your readers want to keep reading. You should ideally include the main character’s name, the setting, the antagonist, the fear of the story, and the main character’s problem. 

If the story is about a haunted house, then the outline of the opening paragraph could say something like this:

The house is empty. It has been for a long time. It’s been vacant for years and years. It sits in the middle of a quiet, suburban neighbourhood. The grass is green and the trees are tall. The neighbourhood is quiet, but the town is not as quiet as everyone thinks. There are whispers, rumours, and stories. But the truth is, no one has ever seen or heard anything unusual here. Not until Wendy Williams and her daughter moved in. 

During this step, it is important to try to write an opening that gives the reader a taste of the entire story. But of course, don’t give too much away – Just a hint of fear will do! Your goal here is to have the reader wanting more. 

See this list of over 150 story starters to help you get started with your spooky tale.

This step is basically the big bang. It’s where your main character goes head-to-head with the antagonist in the story or has to face their greatest fear. It’s also when your main character learns the truth about the antagonist. The goal of this step is to keep your readers on the edge of their seats. 

When writing the climax, think about what will happen, who will be in danger, and what the outcome will be. If you’re struggling with the climax, then you should start with a smaller problem and work your way up to the big one. For example, you could start with a little bit of trouble with a character, such as a bad dream or the main character getting hurt. This will get your readers involved in the story. You may find that once you start writing, you’ll come up with a more complicated problem that your main character will have to solve.

Here’s an example of what a potential climax scene sounds like in a horror story:

The sound of footsteps is heard coming down the stairs. The footsteps are too heavy, and they seem to be coming from the basement. The door to the basement creaks open. Then a face is seen in the door frame. It’s a face with large, red eyes, and it’s full of hate.

In horror stories, the twist ending is almost always a shock reveal of some kind. Whether the true murderer is revealed, or the identity of the antagonist is revealed, it should always be a surprise. 

There are several ways to write a twist ending, but you’ll probably want to start with a twist that’s a little more obvious. You could reveal who the antagonist really is, or even what the main character has been hiding. Or you could have the main character learn some shocking information that sends them in a completely different direction. 

The unique thing about the horror genre is that even after the mystery or problem is solved, it’s not always 100% solved. There’s always some darkness lurking somewhere. Was he really the murderer? Maybe there’s more than one monster? Give this final hint of darkness to keep your readers second-guessing even after the book is over. Now that’s where the true horror lies!

Of course, horror stories are written in a more darker and dramatic style compared to other genres. But there’s more to horror writing than just using dark words and descriptions of gory scenes. In this step, you want to think about the actual writing of your horror style. Will it be written in the first person, second person or third? Do you want to take a more journalistic approach where you report horrific events? Or will you take a more narrative approach, where the reader is on the outside looking in?

In our opinion, a horror story written in the first person has a much more powerful effect. There’s something about having the perspective of the main character that makes them more vulnerable. There’s also something about being told a story by another character that makes the story more real.

While the third person is great for taking the reader through a story, it doesn’t allow for the depth of emotion that can be found in the first person. If you choose to write in the third person, then you’ll want to stick with the voice of an objective narrator who is reporting on the events of the story. 

Either way, you’ll want to try to avoid too many descriptions of gruesome scenes. You want to keep the focus on your main character’s emotions and how they feel, and their problem. 

Finally, it’s time to start writing your story! Hopefully, after all these steps, you now have a rough outline for your story. But even if you don’t, just start writing! The first draft is usually the most important one. So even if you don’t have a complete outline, get started on your story. Just start writing and don’t worry about anything else! You might also want to read this post on how to outline a book for more guidance.

While writing your draft, you’ll want to keep these things in mind:

• Make sure your story is believable to a certain extent. Of course, you might think that vampires aren’t real – But make them real for your readers! This is the most important thing. If your story is impossible or unbelievable, then no one will want to read it.
• Avoid using clichés. These are words or phrases that are overused in stories and don’t really add anything to your story.
• Use active voice instead of passive voice. Passive voice is when a sentence starts with “someone” or “something”. Active voice is when the sentence starts with “I” or “we”.
• Use short sentences and paragraphs. Long sentences make it difficult to read, and paragraphs look heavy. 
• If you’re struggling to get anything written down, then start with the easiest or shortest scenes first. You can always come back to the more complicated areas of your story later when you’re ready. 

And finally, have fun with it! Writing is supposed to be a fun hobby, so don’t take yourself too seriously! 

The hard part is done, now you’re ready to start editing your story! Start by reading the story to yourself a couple of times. Each time you read your story highlight areas that you are unsure of, or would like to improve. At the same time look out for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and sentences that sound a bit off. Once you’re done with this review, you can go back and make the relevant edits to your story.

Next, you’ll want to gather some feedback. This is where you’ll want to have a second or third person read your story. It’s not a good idea to let one person read your draft, as they’ll be biased towards what they like. So get a few different people to read your story, and make sure they have a different perspective. They can be family members, teachers, or even a friend that’s not familiar with your writing style. 

When asking for feedback, you can ask the following questions:

• What are the most important parts of the story?
• Are there any parts of the story that don’t make sense or are confusing?
• What did you like most about the story?
• Can you think of anything that could be improved?
• Did you like the main character?

Once you have the feedback, you can go back and make the changes. It’s important to make the edits, but don’t obsess over it. In the end, you want to make the story the best that it can be. And by doing this, you’ll be on your way to writing a great horror story! 

It’s time to choose a book title. This is a very important part of a horror story. Not only does a good title help to give your story an identity, but it also helps to tell the reader what kind of story they’re about to read. The title should have a great hook. It should be intriguing and a little bit scary. If you’re struggling to think of a great book title, then you can try to think about what you’d like to read. Would you like to read a book that scares you? Or would you rather read a book that’s about someone’s struggles? 

If we look at some popular horror book titles, we can see that most of them are quite descriptive:

• The Woman in Black
• Bram Stoker’s Dracula
• The Haunting of Aveline Jones
• The Haunting of Hill House
• The Graveyard Book

Essentially, they either describe the antagonist of the story or the main setting in the story. Based on this try to summarise your horror story in as little as 3 to 5 words. Think about the main setting or the main villain/monster of your tale and come up with some book title ideas. If you’re still struggling, check out this horror book title generator for some more interesting ideas. 

An important thing to note here is that you should make sure that your book title is not already in use or taken by another author. Try doing a quick Google search or a search on Amazon to see if your title is available for the taking! 

Your book is now finished! You’ve written the first draft, edited it, gathered feedback, and now it’s time to publish it! There are many ways to publish your book. The most popular method is to publish it on Amazon as a self-published author. You can also work with a professional publisher to get your book to market.

Remember that if you’re a new writer, then it’s not a good idea to start by publishing your book on Amazon. It’s better to start slow and work your way up. You don’t want to rush your writing and end up with a book full of mistakes! Start by publishing your book using a free tool like the Imagine Forest story creator , then later work your way up to publishing on Amazon. 

That’s it! Now you should be ready to write your own horror story! Give it a go and see what you can come up with!

Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of ways to start writing a horror story:

• Focus on your own fears. Start by listing your fears and develop your story idea from there. 
• Introduce the character. You can describe your main character in the first few scenes. Make them as normal, and relatable as possible
• Describe a setting. If the setting is key to your story, then describe every inch of it. Make your readers feel like they are right there with you. 
• Start with some action. This could be a bloody murder, someone screaming and running or anything else that makes the reader feel uncomfortable.
• Picture a harmonious place. You can describe a calm and happy place. Somewhere taken from a romantic rom-com type story or a happy family movie, which all suddenly changes.
• Start at the end. Rewrite your potential ending as the beginning, and then work your way backwards. 

The 5 elements of horror include Character, Setting, Action, Horror, and Resolution. All these elements are crucial in developing a gruesome horror story.

See our guide on the 5 elements of story-telling for more information.

A good horror story has fear at its core. The reader must be scared as they read the story. If not then you missed something important in your novel. A good horror story must be scary, but it should also have an element of realism to it. The story should include relatable main characters, a scary antagonist, a creepy setting and of course a shocking reveal at the end. 

Your first step is to try to think about the creepiness of the setting. Is it a dark and scary place? Is it full of secrets? If it is, then you have a good place to start. Try to be very detailed, and specific when describing the setting. Describe the blood on the wall as it drips down, or the lock on the door that won’t turn. Make the reader feel as if they are right there. Use descriptive words and metaphors to bring your gory details to life.

To make your character as terrifying as possible, you could try the following techniques:

• Make your character an outcast. They don’t fit in with the main group of characters and can’t be trusted.
• Give them a story to tell. A dark and bloody past.
• Make them a loner. They can’t trust anyone else and have no friends.
• Make them a survivor. The main character of your story has been through a lot and can’t be stopped.
• Give the character an important title. Someone who is important in a society that has deadly plans. You can’t trust them, but have no choice but to follow their rules.

Did you find this guide on how to write a horror story useful? Let us know in the comments below.

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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25 Picture Prompts for Writing Scary Stories

Photos and illustrations from The New York Times to inspire your spooky stories, poems and memoirs.

By Natalie Proulx

Happy Halloween! Do you enjoy reading, watching or listening to horror stories? What about writing them?

To celebrate the season, we’ve rounded up 25 haunting photos and illustrations from around The New York Times that you can use as prompts to write your own terrifying tales. Choose an image and then use your imagination to write a short story or a poem inspired by it — or tell us about a memory from your own life that the picture makes you think of.

You can use these images however you like, but if you need more guidance, here are four prompts, as well as articles with advice from horror writers and experts, to get you started:

Use the image as the setting for your story.

“The most important thing is the setting,” Ruth Robbins, professor of Victorian literature at Leeds Beckett University in England, said in “ How to Tell a Ghost Story .” She suggested starting with the “atmosphere” and the elements in the scene “that you may be afraid of.”

What makes the setting of the image especially eerie? What is the mood there? What are some of the creepier elements you could describe to build the atmosphere? What scary story could take place there?

Write from the point of view of a character in the image. Or write from the point of view of a character just outside of the scene who is observing it.

In his MasterClass , R.L. Stine, the author of the “Goosebumps” series, said the secret to making a story scary was a “close point of view with your main character” because then “the reader is experiencing this horror close up.” But, he warned, “you have to be very careful to keep the balance between what she’s feeling, and what she’s seeing, and what she’s thinking.”

Who is the person, or creature, you are writing about? What brought them to this scene? What are they thinking, feeling and, most important, experiencing? How can you show their fear instead of telling readers about it?

And consider the conflict: What does your character want? What is preventing them from getting it? What are they doing to try to get it?

Use the image as the starting point of your story , and then work backward.

In “ A Simple Way to Create Suspense, ” Lee Child, a thriller writer, said “we should ask or imply a question at the beginning of the story, and then we should delay the answer.” He continued: “Like the old cartoon of the big fish eating a smaller fish eating a very small fish, you’ll find out the big answer after a string of smaller drip-drip-drip answers. The big answer is parceled out slowly and parsimoniously.”

What question could be implied by the image? For example, how did this person get trapped behind the wall, and will he be able to escape? What did the woman hear that led her into the darkened hallway? What are these creatures in the haunted corn maze, and what do they want from you?

How can you build suspense in your story by revealing the answer to that question slowly, bit by bit?

Consider the image as a metaphor or symbol.

“Horror is, and always has been, in dialogue with the anxieties and fears of its time,” the author Stephen Graham Jones wrote in a guest essay for The Times Opinion section. For example, “During the Great Depression, the misery and economic strife were embodied by monsters from literature and folklore, as Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the mummy made their way across the movie screen.”

What real-world fears and anxieties could this image represent, whether in the world at large or in your own life? For instance, could it be a symbol for our anxiety about climate change? Or a metaphor for a challenge you are facing at school? What horror story could you tell that reflects the uncertainties we are facing in our real lives?

Scroll through the images below to find one that scares you. Then use these writers’ advice to craft your piece. Once you’ve got a draft, post the opening of your piece in the comments for others to read.

(Please keep in mind that if you choose to post in the comments, your writing should be appropriate for a general audience and observe Times commenting guidelines .)

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Home Essay Samples Literature

Essay Samples on Horror

Horror story about the halloween.

 One Halloween night my 3 friends and I decided to go trick or treating. This was my first night out on Halloween and I was honestly ecstatic. Our parents had informed us to not stay out for too long and emphasized we only stay in...

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Fantastique Aspects In Guy De Maupassant Horror Story Le Horla

Le Horla, written by the popular French writer Guy de Maupassant, is a horror story composed of fantasy. There are two versions in which the story has been framed, both describing the thoughts of a man who is completely convinced that an 'invisible being' is...

Review of one of the Most Iconic Horror Movies, Jaws

'Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...' If you've ever heard this phrase then you know it's synonymous with the film franchise Jaws. More specifically, in this review, I'd like to discuss the original film. Released forty-four years ago...

• Horror Movies

The Shining Film Analysis: Music and Sound

The use of music and sound is an integral part of horror movies, and The Shining is no exception. The Shining film analysis essay will explore the various methods and reasons for the use of music and sound in The Shining. The film, directed by...

• Film Analysis
• The Shining

Brave New World: The Horrors of Totalitarian Government

Imagine your life controlled by someone you didn’t know, your every move watched and judged as if what you were doing was wrong. In the book “Brave New World” characters are forced to abide be the rules of the government with no control over their...

• Brave New World

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The Origins Behind Many Vampire and Horror Stories

Horror movies, scary stories or anything related to ghosts: we all love to be scared sometimes! The ten places we have selected for you take us beyond fiction, All these places have the reputation of being haunted and would make the most adventurous trip! Sensitive...

An Overview of Zombies: Epidemiology of Fear

This article aimed to rationale how science fiction content describe and illustrate human culture through zombies. There was no formal concept of probability in Europe prior to the mid-17th century [3], despite the idea of randomized objects was already commonly seen. Asides from the first...

The Variation of Horror Genre and Its Examples

When I was a kid, I used to hate horror films, as the matter of fact, I refuse to watch them as I didn’t fathom why would anyone purposely scare themselves. For many people, horror movies are a horrendous experience. They hate to see graphic...

A Personal Theory of Aesthetic Horror

A fear or paranoia of pain, vulnerability and death, the feeling that someone is watching you, the feeling that your life is in jeopardy. Aesthetic horror is the same feeling as horror but through what we see. It is similar to horror because it is...

The Debate About the Horror Genre as Appropriate to Children

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! Everyone remembers the iconic 1980s movie Beetlejuice. This classic horror movie has been enjoyed by many kids and adults for years now. Beetlejuice is not the only iconic horror movie that is enjoyed by all age ranges. Gremlins another class favorite is...

Edgar Allan Poe: Life of The Most Famous Horror Author

Edgar Allan Poe born in Boston in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe was the second son of David Poe, who died before Edgar was three years old. Next years his mother died. He was taken by a wealthy Virginia merchant named John Allan - who gave...

• Edgar Allan Poe

The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

Introduction Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts On January 19, 1809. Edgar Allan Poe had imaginative way of storytelling, tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the modern detective story. Poe never really knew his parents Elizabeth Arnold Poe, and his father...

An Observation of a Student Towards Mystery Horror Game: A Case Study

This thesis is based on research in observing on a frightening reaction of Akademi Seni, Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan student, and their experience while they are still playing the ‘SULUH’ Game. Their story is then captured into digital form and with the result of the...

• Observation
• Video Games

Shaun of the Dead and Tucker and Dale vs Evil: The Mix of Horror and Comedy

Horror and Comedy are complete opposites, yet they seem to work rather well together. The genre of horror-comedy was first introduced into film in 1922, with D.W. Griffith’s One Exciting Night. And since then, countless comedy horror films have been made. The thing is, both...

The In-Depth Meaning and Definition of Horror Genre

With frightful films about vampires, werewolves, and zombies earning so much attention in this last number of decades and new cinematic bloodbaths releasing regularly, the culture appetite for horror raises a question, why do people enjoy the feeling of being terrified? Watching horror is more...

Best topics on Horror

1. Horror Story About The Halloween

2. Fantastique Aspects In Guy De Maupassant Horror Story Le Horla

3. Review of one of the Most Iconic Horror Movies, Jaws

4. The Shining Film Analysis: Music and Sound

5. Brave New World: The Horrors of Totalitarian Government

6. The Origins Behind Many Vampire and Horror Stories

7. An Overview of Zombies: Epidemiology of Fear

8. The Variation of Horror Genre and Its Examples

9. A Personal Theory of Aesthetic Horror

10. The Debate About the Horror Genre as Appropriate to Children

11. Edgar Allan Poe: Life of The Most Famous Horror Author

12. The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

13. An Observation of a Student Towards Mystery Horror Game: A Case Study

14. Shaun of the Dead and Tucker and Dale vs Evil: The Mix of Horror and Comedy

15. The In-Depth Meaning and Definition of Horror Genre

• Hidden Intellectualism
• William Shakespeare
• A Raisin in The Sun
• Sonny's Blues
• American Born Chinese
• The White Tiger
• A Tale of Two Cities

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250 Words of Fear & Terror

A collection of very short horror stories.

Precisely 250-Word Horror Stories

It started as an exercise to create a horror story in precisely 250 words – to spin a tale of evil and malevolence, to send shivers down your spine, and do it in very few words. 

Join me on this journey. Prepare for a twist into despair. For who knows what waits in for you in the darkness. 

Sample Stories from 250 Words of Fear & Terror

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Copyright @ 2024 Shea Oliver. All Rights Reserved

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5270+ Horror Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest . From hauntings and murderers to terrifying creatures from the deep, our collection of horror stories will have you breaking out in cold sweats. Take a look… if you dare.

🏆 Winning stories

“ the gingerbread cookies ” by aaron chin.

🏆 Winner of Contest #229

The Gingerbread Cookies Let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. The warm smell sits right at home in your nostrils, invading them like wild ax-murderers hacking and slashing their way through endless miles of human bodies that stand in the way of their inhumane, carnal desires. Shhh, shhh, but that’s too dark. It’s Christmas after all. So let’s go down...

“ Cerulean ” by AnneMarie Miles

🏆 Winner of Contest #223

The door is cerulean, a bright and vibrant blue, but really it is the color of my sudden uneasiness. The feeling creeps up me slowly, jumps out at me dauntingly, and I am frozen in it. If the door were a mirror – and how I wish it were as innocent as a mirror – I would see my face reflected back to me, and it would tell me to run.I’m not sure what’s more jarring: the fact that this door is a clashing contrast to the rest of the library décor, or the fact that I’ve never noticed the path we took to get here before. I supp...

“ Do Flamethrowers Belong In The Library? ” by Kenz Ross

🏆 Winner of Contest #211

We lose people all the time. It’s just the nature of the job. What can you expect from a place full of nooks and crannies people intentionally go to get lost in? I usually don’t worry when I don’t see someone for a while, but when it’s been days since someone’s checked out, it’s usually a sign that I need to step in. I’m not doing this alone, thankfully. No Librarian i...

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In the still of the night, the fire on the other side of the city billowed its smoke into the navy blue skies.Philbert Bowman’s already knotted eyebrows further tied themselves together. He’d known it was significant when they’d woken him from his sleep with their call. But he saw the blazes on the city outskirts, where he lived in a cramped house with his wife and kids. That cemented the severity of the situation. Phil worried – to tell the truth, he felt petrified – that all his research and hard work had gone up in smoke. If that were the...

“ Word Without Flesh ” by Patricia Bloodgood

Content notice: this story contains metaphorical and hypothetical declarations by a character to harm themself and others, and focuses on a toxic relationship. It also contains a couple of suggestive albeit non-explicit sentences.January 1stI've decided to journal our relationship. Every romance that came before you was a whirlwind—by the time my friend pulled me out I felt drained, like more had been taken from me than I had offered. So, this time, I'm going to document every moment of our time together, to remind my future self not to...

“ THE ICEBERG’S WHISPER ” by Darvico Ulmeli

Chapter 1: Captain Edward Smith, Titanic The Atlantic wind bit at my cheeks as I gripped the icy railing of the Titanic. The sharpness of the cold seemed alive, seeping deeper into my bones with each passing second, clawing its way into my chest. My breath hung in the air, wisps torn away by the biting gusts that rolled off the sea. The starry sky above felt unnervingly low, as if the universe was sinking toward us, pulling the ship into the vast, black void. The ocean stretched out like an endless mirror, cold and smooth, deceptively calm, ...

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The world slowed the moment the car hit me. I didn’t hear the screech of the tires or the sickening thud of my body against the hood. Instead, there was silence—an unnatural void. Time unraveled, stretching thin as I hit the pavement. My bones cracked like brittle twigs, and blood pooled in my mouth, but my thoughts were somewhere distant, disjointed. I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the playground across the street. The world felt... wrong. The edges of my vision blurred, everything dim and colorless. A deep, throbbing ache spread t...

“ Downward ” by James Scott

Tigger warning: Death, Religion.Archie laid on his stomach with only a single headlamp to cut through the absolute darkness surrounding him. The smooth stone underneath his body was damp, the cold seeped through his polyester layers of skin-tight caving gear and bit at his flesh. A ceiling of the same black rock pressed down against his shoulders. There was barely a foot between the two layers of bedrock. He inched forward. Dragging himself through the tight crevice buried under the earth, he used all his strength. His muscles burned with th...

“ Dear Aunt Estella ” by Emily Leung

Dear Aunt Estella,Hi! I hope you’re doing awesome! I have to tell you about something that's happening at school, and it's kind of a big deal (at least for me). We’re having a writing contest, and the winner gets a trophy and a gift card to the bookshop, which is like, the best thing ever! When Mrs. Logan first told us about it, I was super excited because I really want that gift card!!But then... I don’t know. I started feeling like maybe I shouldn’t even try. There’s this girl in my class, Emma, and she’s, like, really good at writing. Her...

“ An Ill Wind ” by Jed Cope

The weather was a fickle beast in these parts. Wayward and cruel. At times, it would create a false sense of security. The sun would shine hard enough to warm the bones and clouds were a thing of distant past memories. But those cruel clouds could swoop in in a matter of minutes though. Carried on freezing winds. It were as though they lay in wait for unsuspecting walkers, intent on catching them unawares and mugging them of their lives. Soaking them, blinding them, draining them of their will to live. Only a fool would be out on the moors i...

“ ?? ” by Anuhea Azevedo

As he sat down to write, Michael Lockwood felt a familiar chill creep up his spine—a sense of disillusionment mingled with something far darker. The initial excitement he once felt when faced with a blank page had long since vanished, replaced by a profound emptiness that gnawed at him like a ravenous hunger, hollowing him out from the inside. His fingers hovered over the keys, twitching with a need that surged through him, desperate and insistent. Yet the words, when they came, were lifeless, flat. Despite his countless hours of struggle, o...

“ The Rhythm of the Storm ” by Malia Kao

The last rays of the setting Sun were partly obscured by the approaching storm clouds looming on the horizon. I stood at the sink in my kitchen looking through the small square window washing the dishes from tonight’s dinner absentmindedly. I watched as the rim of the Sun disk sank below the skyline and disappeared. The dark clouds drove in closer, and the sky grayed. The sound of the steady stream of water from the sink and from the ocean just a few hundred yards from my cottage washed over my ears and flushed out the thoughts running aroun...

“ The Manager ” by Tiffany Smith

What does she want? For things to go smoothly, for once. For a chunk of time. Forget always, that’s not real, but just for a chunk of time. Life is a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, but she remembers riding those roller coasters, so many years ago. She remembers those slow, torturous ups, and seemingly vast stretches of level ground before the drops or before the end of the ride. When she was a kid, they took forever and were the most disappointing part. But adulthood is opposite land – she wants those up and level periods now, for go...

“ The Unforgiving Sea ” by Lee Kendrick

The Unforgiving Sea By Lee KendrickFormer merchant seaman Greg Dawson was the only one on the Tempest West lighthouse; his colleague Bill Johnson was airlifted by helicopter to the hospital yesterday after being taken ill. There is no replacement until a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Greg listened intently to the weather report on his radio. A gale force 10 storm was heading straight for his lighthouse, off the Cornish Coast! The storm was set to batter the coast in a few hours this evening. Greg began battening down the front door a...

“ Dead to Write ” by Cameron Navarre

Submitted to Contest #266

My faithful readers,In the pages of this monthly column, I have revealed to you the mysterious doings of some of the most curious and eccentric persons on this earth. Over the years of your faithful readership, you’ve followed along on my adventures in meeting such elusive characters as the Bayou Swamp Preacher, the Magician Salesman, and the Mob Exorcist. Although I’m proud of my chronicles thus far, there had been one particularly evanescent figure of great importance who had evaded my attention…until now. Join me as I regale my encou...

“ Promise Kept ” by Carlos Arce

Esmer gazed at the ominous approaching storm. Lightning crackled, and a breeze whispered. Nature herself sensed the suffering Esmer nurtured inside. “Papi, I miss you.” Esmer exhaled, feeling sadness over her father’s death. With his last breath, he pledged her a promise. He promised to always be with her, a silent angel in her life. “I am tired of being alone, Papi.” Esmer said to the photograph in the living room’s bay window. The hammer and chisel brought back Christmas memories. She personalized them with his name, Checo, on the handle...

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“ The First Death ” by Justin J. Harris

I won. Blood drips thick into the drain. They sound like the haunting ticks of a clicking clock. I grip the basin. “I’m… I’m fucking done,” I say, peering into the mirror to look behind me at the hotel bed. At the bloodied, torn shirt with grimed palm trees printed on it.Somewhere, a phone rings. ****“Wow, Vieja! This is the last comp before … you know who,” said Javi, his thumbs locked and his fingers wiggling above his head.“He’s Dracula, not Voldermort. You can say his name.”Javi chuckled. “Sorry, but the thought of meeting...

The Best Horror Short Stories

Horror stories. What is it that you think of first? Maybe it’s malevolent, otherworldly spirits. Or perhaps it’s psychopaths, serial killers, and struggling writers driven mad by a deserted hotel? Whatever it is, there’s one thing that unites you and every other horror lover out there — adrenaline. You know the feeling: your skin crawls, your heart pounds, a shiver runs down your spine. And, as all the best horror story writers will tell you, the cause of this feeling isn’t just the presence of a monster, but the creation of suspense. 

That’s where short stories come in. Think Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, H. P. Lovecraft: some of their best horrors take the form of a short story. Tales that climb steadily towards a dark and horrific denouement. The kind of thing that, if you’re brave enough, you’d tell your friends around a campfire — a torch casting spooky shadows on your face. 

Looking for some spine-chilling horror stories?

If you’re into creepy stories that keep you awake at night, then look no further than our collection of short horror stories, compiled from submissions to our weekly writing contest. Here we’ve gathered together all the scary stories that made us want to lock our laptops in a cupboard and hide under the blankets. And at the top of the page, is the cream of the crop: horror stories that have either won our competition or been shortlisted. 

Lots of promising new writers have emerged from this collection, deftly creating atmosphere and building that all-important suspense. So who knows? You might just discover the next Stephen King. And if you enjoy this collection of horror stories, then why not try your hand at writing your own? You could join this week’s short story contest , and walk away with the cash prize — and a shot at publication in Prompted , our new literary magazine!

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