It's pumpkin season, everyone!

I've been toying with the idea of giving genre-specific writing advice, so why not start with Halloween fiction?

Horror is one of my favorite genres, right up there with sci-fi and fantasy. Some of the very first stories I read on the Internet were in the horror genre. I don't have super much experience myself - I only got Nameless and it hasn't received much feedback yet -, so, understand this as the words of a horror fan rather than a horror expert. Alright, shall we get started?

What is horror even?

At its core, horror represents fiction that scares people. It doesn't have a clear-cut definition, as thrillers can also be scary, and what people find frightening varies from person to person.

Here are common subgenres:

Cosmic horror: A subgenre that emphasizes the insignificance of mankind in the universe as a whole. Often, the antagonist is a vast monster that could easily wipe out all of humanity just by sneezing. The only reason humans are still alive is that it hasn't noticed us (yet). The Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft practically invented this genre.

Gothic horror: A very old-school subgenre of horror that originated in the eighteenth century. It puts a heavy emphasis on the fear of the unknown and the fear of whatever society deems as immoral. Think of Dracula or Frankenstein and you know what I'm talking about.

Paranormal/supernatural horror: A subgenre that puts its emphasis on supernatural elements or monsters (ghosts, vampires, demons, werewolves, and the like). Sometimes, the monsters can also include anything that current science can't explain yet, like aliens or UFOs.

Survival horror: Here, monsters are overt rather than hidden in the dark. As the name says, the emphasis is on the protagonist's struggle for survival. Sometimes, the protagonist is just in a bad place and must get out. Other times, human civilization has been destroyed by zombies or a plague.

Sci-fi horror: A type of horror where new viruses, malevolent aliens, or malfunctioning AIs are the main cause of dread. Often overlaps with survival horror or cosmic horror.

Slasher horror: The horror genre movies like the most, usually because it's cheap to make. You know what this is about; serial killers chopping teenagers like vegetables.

Creepypasta: The newest one of these. Creepypasta refers to Internet short stories where a narrator recounts events to the audience like they really happened. Think of scary campfire stories, but on the Internet ("Y-you won't believe me what I saw last summer!"). Nameless fits in this genre. A very common cliché there are cursed video games, as these stories are targeted towards young people and young people like video games.

Enough with that! Just tell me how I can scare my audience!

Well, as you've seen above, there's a variety of ways! Everyone has their worst fears and each subgenre addresses one of them. There are a few recurring themes, however. By far the most obvious is a constant sense of physical threat. Much like in the thriller genre, the protagonist will be at the mercy of the antagonist.

Many horror antagonists resemble how our ancestors imagined predatory animals. Even when they are human, they often don't talk (think of Michael Myers from Halloween). They ambush people, overpower them, and kill simply out of bloodthirst.

So, there's your answer. If you want to scare your audience, you need a scary antagonist.

Naturally, an antagonist that just kills people will get boring quickly. A lot of horror monsters have a certain flavor.

Ghosts represent death.

Zombies represent plagues.

Vampires and werewolves represent serial killers (vampires also represent sexual predators and parasitic billionaires while werewolves represent a fear of losing control over ourselves).

Frankenstein's Monster represents the fear of science going too far.

Godzilla represents nukes or environmental disasters.

Cthulhu represents the unknown and vastness of the cosmos.

These are broad archetypes you can draw on. If you want to spice up your monster, you can use these themes for inspiration.

Not all horror antagonists are monsters though. Especially if you are doing a genre mix, giving your horror antagonist a human edge can greatly enhance your story. Giving us an insight into the mind of a psychopath is every bit as frightening as an inscrutable monster.

Many horror stories explore the fear of turning into an inhuman beast. There's a reason why common monsters (zombies, vampires, and werewolves are obvious examples) can gradually transform people. Such stories are an excellent opportunity to discuss the line between man and monster.

A little note of caution here though. I've read creepypastas where protagonists go through one traumatic event and then immediately become evil (think of Jeff the Killer, in case you know that story). That's not how it works guys. Such a downward arc must go slowly!

More on pacing below.

But first, we'll cover something important: The atmosphere.

Creating a creepy atmosphere

Your monster won't be present all the time. While it's off-page, you need a different strategy to scare your audience and that's called atmosphere.

For a creepy atmosphere, you have two tools.

First, the uncanny valley effect. The uncanny valley takes something familiar and makes it unfamiliar in an eerie way. A creepy nursery rhyme. A mirror in which you see a stranger rather than yourself. A hand where every finger looks identical. The list goes on. Many people are afraid of clowns, not because clowns kill people, but because they look human and inhuman at the same time.

The uncanniness should increase the more the story goes on. You can start subtly to establish the atmosphere in chapter one. You know, something like a landscape that is empty except for a single, derelict tower. Or a room that's quiet... too quiet (okay, that's cliché).

Your other tool is mystery. There's a reason horror is associated with darkness. If you can't see what's before you and you know you are in danger, your brain imagines the worst.

Mystery is especially effective if it's combined with implied threats. Fresh blood on the floor. Reports of a person who went missing in the woods. A character catching a glimpse of a monster in the flickering light of a broken street lamp. A corpse that's missing its throat.

All these pose questions. Put any of those in chapter one and you have your atmosphere.

If you use neutral, matter-of-fact words and very short descriptions ("Empty chair, wooden desk, open drawers"), that can increase the mystery as well. Horror novels are usually short.

Pacing

Pacing is always something I struggle with and it's especially hard in horror. You'll have to establish the day-to-day lives of your characters before you kill them off, otherwise, their deaths mean nothing. On the other hand, audiences won't get too attached to characters which they know are doomed, so, it's a really tough balancing act.

You'll need to make sure that your beginning doesn't feel slow. I recommend establishing a creepy atmosphere as early as you can, but don't make it too obvious. Otherwise, your protagonists will look stupid for going into that mysterious dangerous place over there. It can be made more believable though if they have a good reason to. Maybe that person that went missing in the woods was one they cared for.

After a few chapters, your protagonists will need to get isolated somehow (unless they're already isolated from the start, as is often the case in survival horror). Their cell phones stop working, they can't get outside the spooky house anymore, whatever.

Once that happens, you should introduce something that threatens their lives, preferably your antagonist. First, they only see the monster's shadow. Then, it kills one of them and they see more of it. It keeps coming closer and close and only at the end do they figure out its weak spot and survive...

...or not, depending on how dark you want your story to be.

Believe it or not, the most common issue I see in horror isn't too slow pacing (though that happens), it's too fast pacing. If your monster already appears in chapter one with no buildup, it won't be all that scary. That's why jump scares are so widely hated, as they're just cheap. It's a very common issue in creepypasta and cheap movies.

How many characters should you kill?

Well, that varies. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to kill off characters for it to be horror, there just needs to be the feeling that their lives are in danger.

That being said, most horror stories follow the rule of karma. If you're some jerk or a bully, the serial killer will pick you first. That makes their deaths less unpleasant and prevents the audience from being too depressed to continue. That being said, killing only the jerks can be too predictable. Try to find a balance here.

And please, resist the urge to make every death as graphic and bloody as you can. Unless you're good at describing stuff, that will feel cringeworthy quickly. Just look at all the various bad creepypastas out there.

And before you ask, yes, you absolutely can mix horror with other genres. Sci-fi horror, horror-comedy, and action-horror are all things. The dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance genres also heavily borrow from horror.

Hope that little guide helped and happy Halloween!