As of late, one of my favorite avenues for horror media has to be the deep fictional lore connected to the SCP foundation. For those who do not know what the SCP foundation is, this fictional organization is basically the love child of Area 51 conspiracy theories. It is a secret foundation based all around the globe that specializes in containing, securing, and protecting supernatural phenomenon. While most of these supernatural entities are harmful, others are extremely helpful in preserving the legacy of the human race. Each supernatural entity is designated by a special number from 1 to 10,000, with subclasses of the same entity being named from A to Z. The official class of the entity, Safe, Euclid, or Keter, all depends on how unpredictable the entity is with their actions related to containment.

What makes the lore of the SCP foundation so fascinating in my opinion is the ability of the multiple writers to express a universal fear of the unknown. Though the basics of each entity are expressed, their motivations and functionality are kept in the dark. By doing this, entities of the SCP lore seem more mysterious or terrifying to the audience. Thus, the content is a lot more fascinating to read about.

A strong example of this aspect expressed through SCP stories is the story behind the entity The Possessive Mask.  Designated as SCP-035, this Keter class entity is terrifying due to the lack of explanation behind its cruelty.  The mask in question when worn will completely take over the body of anyone who wears it.  Once the mask is worn, the subject dies and their minds are completely wiped out. Then, the body slowly decays until the mask has to be transferred to another host or a nonorganic form. The mask in question oozes a corrosive acid from its eyes when not worn, and compels anyone too close to wear it despite logic.

What makes the mask so scary to most people is the lack of reasoning behind its innate cruelty to humans. The mask in question can communicate with others just fine on other nonorganic substances such as a wooden humanoid sculpture. It additionally is not in danger of being destroyed by the SCP foundation who wish to further study it. Yet the mask still tries to take humans hosts by force and cause pain to as many people as possible. The mystery behind the mask's cruelty is why so many people universally find The Possessive Mask so scary, and one of the most memorable entities the SCP lore has to offer.

By leaving details up to interpretation by the viewer, entities in the SCP lore are a lot more scary. The same can be said of the most mysterious figures in the horror genre. True tension created in the horror genre is crafted by the fear of the unknown. It is not determined by the number of jump scares you insert or how hopeless the tone of the story may be. Showing the basics of the horror narrative and purposefully leaving certain details out for interpretation's sake creates the scariest material possible. It is the basic storytelling philosophy of show, don't tell.

By reading a few mere articles related to the fictional SCP foundation, the basic philosophy of limiting certain details of the story for a larger scare factor ring true.  SCP-682, aka The Hard to Kill Lizard, is terrifying for how it is adaptable to any type of execution method put upon it.  SCP-173, The Sculpture, is terrifying in how it mercilessly kills people who take even the smallest type of eye contact off of it.  SCP-049, aka The Plague Doctor, is terrifying in how it experiments on people and animals to "cure them" of an unknown affliction.  Every single entry here demonstrates the show don't tell logic.  We know how each entity operates, but do not know why they kill or how they function. 

  This open for interpretation approach leaves the hidden details up to the audience's warped imaginations to decided what the missing details in the narrative are.  As a result, simply scary material such as a mask possessing people is made a lot more scary than if explained throughly.  That is the strength many of the best horror stories possess to engage a larger audience.

  Why many writers decide instead to make the appearance of their horror monsters more horrifying or more cruel is a question beyond my understanding.  The simple solution of show, don't tell makes the final product a lot more memorable and engaging for audiences.  Plus, it is a lot more simplistic to express.  Sometimes going for simplicity is better than going for the deep complexity most authors chase after.