What scares you?

[W_L]

How do you make a story scary or spooky?

 

I am trying to figure out the nature of horror and suspense in a story. I know that a lot of modern Science fiction takes notes from horror, which I also enjoy as well, especially H.P Lovecraft's movies and stories. However, I also want to know what "modern" horror readers want to read and what makes you guys scared? (I doubt loss of sanity, beings beyond your comprehension, or strange ritual will scare you guys as much anymore with the advent of so many horror movies.)

 

Also, the traditional creatures of horror like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and demons no longer have their staying power with readers, who want to be frightened.

 

Basically, What scares you?

 

I will endeavor to incorporate those things into my stories.

[Tipdin]

I gave up on horror years ago. I'm jaded and old I guess. Since I began working in the field of psychology, I think what frightens me is reality. There are some people out there, living among us, who are truly scary.

 

While reading, I think I would have the jitters if the story was not just plausible, but possible. Subtle, twisted thinking that leads to actions that others may not see. Slipping an antique hatpin in between the ribs of a stranger who just happens to be walking down the same dark sidewalk. The teen who seems completely normal at school, but goes home to rearrange his collection of dead animals before going down to dinner. And dinner is Dad's rump roast slathered with BBQ sauce. Not a rump roast that Dad purchased - but actually Dad's own rump - roasted.

 

Gross, bizarre, sick beyond redemption, but actions committed by people that lived among us, interacted with us, who passed for one of us.

 

Those examples...? Not totally made up...

 

Real life now frightens the hell out of me.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Tipdin

[W_L]

Tipdin: Sounds like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (old version)

 

I still love the genre for its psychological horrors as well, but not much scares me anymore. I suspect half the people that act normal around me are secretly psychotic cannibal murderers and I am an accountant.

 

I fear most of all is the unknown, the thing that could be there or not, a twist of vision or a real object beyond our sights, and probably the most haunting is silence.

[Bumblebee]

Basically, What scares you?

 

 

Lugh

[Hamen Cheese]

Inserting anything frightening in things that are too familiar when by yourself.

 

An elevator. Bathroom scenes. Reflections. Driving in the car. being alone in your room with a bottle of... uhh... being alone in your room.

 

By making the story "familiar" to your reader you can make the chills crawl beyond the pages of your book.

[Nephylim]

I agree about the reality thing BUT... I think that anything can be scary, from vampires to teenage psychopaths if you build the tension right. It's the language not the thing described that really makes the scariness.

[Skyline]

Fleeting glimpses.

unexplained occurances, lack of closure.

UNCERTAINTY.

I put like super emphasis on uncertainty because I feel it is ESSENTIAL to any kind of horror anything. The scary factor drops a bazillion points as soon as you know what you're up against. The greatest weapon for scaring people is their own mind. Give tidbits, hints and clues, and let their imagination fill in the rest. More often than not, it's scarier than anything you could come up with yourself, as it is "custom tailored" to what gives that individual person (the reader) chills.

 

Edit: Just realized I basically confirmed what you were already talking about So A+ and +1 with what you were originally thinking.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Skyline

[intune]

I always like stories where your left not really knowing the truth, more psychological than scary. Think Shutter Island the movie. Also, I always find being alone sort of scary. Not literally, but just the thought that everyone is alone and you can never really know someone else, I think that always works well in a horror story.

[JamesSavik]

The most frightening thing I can think of:

 

We're from the government and we're here to help.

 

 

That one gives me chills every time.

[Kev de Cauchery]

I basically agree with what Tipdin described and what Hamen Cheese mentioned, especially what Tipdin wrote, scares the crap outta me.

[Tipdin]

Fleeting glimpses.

unexplained occurances, lack of closure.

UNCERTAINTY.

 

I put like super emphasis on uncertainty because I feel it is ESSENTIAL to any kind of horror anything. The scary factor drops a bazillion points as soon as you know what you're up against. The greatest weapon for scaring people is their own mind. Give tidbits, hints and clues, and let their imagination fill in the rest. More often than not, it's scarier than anything you could come up with yourself, as it is "custom tailored" to what gives that individual person (the reader) chills.

Edit: Just realized I basically confirmed what you were already talking about So A+ and +1 with what you were originally thinking.

 

I agree. I might add, or adjust this idea a bit, by saying the flip side of uncertainty might be anticipation. Not really knowing when, where, or how something will happen, but KNOWING it soon will...!

[MarkSen]

Blood for me. Lots and lots of it. Actually, it's not the sight of it, it's more of the concentrated stench of blood.

 

Oops, do phobias count?

 

When it comes to stories, I think I agree with the posters above: it's definitely the uncertainty, tension and anticipation ...