How to Write a Horror Novel that Satisfies Readers
Even if you don’t write horror specifically, understanding this genre will make you a better storyteller.
Horror is a genre that transcends, crosses literary lines, and many of the novels we love today blend in elements of this incredibly versatile storytelling machine. Think Colleen Hoover’s Verity, Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth, Erin E. Adams’ The Jackal, Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid, Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lambs, and Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park.
Not only does horror transcend, but it exists on a spectrum: from the cozy, quiet creep to full-on, in-your-face slasher/splatter gore.
Growing up I loved the Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt, read every Stephen King book, and watched all the Nightmare On Elm Street films. I even saw Killer Clowns from Outer Space. Once. Only once.
Yes. 80s kid. Rock on me hearties.
The thrill of feeling scared, yet knowing I was safe, was like kiddie crack for me. Today—though older with a way earlier bedtime—I still love that feeling. I’m still drawn to shows like The Mist, The Fall of The House of Usher, From, Castle Rock, and Wednesday.
Horror has gotten a bad wrap, mainly because it can be unimaginative, cliche, and at times (looking at you, past six decades or more), it’s been socially and culturally irresponsible and harmful: the Black character dies first, the LGBTQ+ character is the psychopathic killer, the woman always runs up the stupid stairs or falls while running, which is why I’m so happy our world is changing for the better.
The following is part of The Horror Writer’s Tool Kit - click here to download!
Horror Genre Considerations
The Plot, the Monster, and the Characters
The plot is not about the monster and I'm using the term "monster" here universally, not specifically, for our monsters have many forms.
Horror is not about the monster. Not really.
It's about the FEAR and the MIRROR.
The FEAR is what the protagonist fears (deeply, often subconsciously), and the monster is the MIRROR that shows the protagonist their worst fears realized.
The plot is about how the character reacts to the monster—their physical response, yes, but more importantly, internally and psychologically.
Take The Shining, by Stephen King, for example. Jack Torrance's worst fear—his deepest resentment— is that he can't be redeemed for hurting his son, and, *spoiler alert*, the monster makes him try to do precisely that. In effect, Jack becomes the monster he feared he was. In reverse, his son Danny's worst fear is that Daddy will do a bad thing and hurt him and his mommy, which is what happens.
Good horror is character-driven.
This might feel untrue because, at first glance, it seems like horror is just about a monster's relentless pursuit of the victim. Still, the character's psychological unraveling is driven by their response to the fear the monster triggers.
Modern horror, gifted to us by the great Edgar Allen Poe, is about psychological fear. Poe's writing shifted the horror genre into the stories we know and love today. It took things out of the impossible (the gothic and supernatural: curses, castles, and vampires) and grounded them in the possible (the scary reality of our world and our minds: madness, phobia, hatred, prejudice). Like a murderer trying to convince us he's sane because of the lengths he went to hide the body, guilt drives him into psychosis (The Tell-Tale Heart). An alcoholic who accidentally kills his family pet, only to be haunted by a look-a-like, leading to more murder, eventually to that of his wife (The Black Cat). A person so afraid of being mistaken for dead and buried alive because of his "condition" that he nearly buries himself alive (The Premature Burial).
The primary emotion horror is meant to evoke is fear.
The modern horror story shows that the thing we fear most isn't the monster out there—the one waiting in the shadows that we can't see. No, it's the monster inside us—the monster we can become, how far we will go. The reality makes it even more terrifying. The Shining is a perfect example of a psychological horror story, as is Carrie—both written by Stephen King.
There are still plenty of stories out there focused on external monsters. Peter Benchley's Jaws and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park come to mind, but still, the monsters in Jurassic Park were triggered by man's desire to play god. Again, how far will we go in service to our egos? The answer—horrifying.
Writing the Bones of Horror: Key Elements and Must Have Moments + an Example from the 1980’s classic film The Shining
The purpose of horror is to entertain by evoking fear and, I’d argue, make us look at our moral failings. As a writer, the best thing you can do is understand what you fear, deeply and truly. Then write about it. Ask yourself what type of fear you want to evoke in your reader. How do you want to make them feel? If it scares you, you’ve hit something universal and true.
What the character must do equates to your theme, action, and stakes in the story: To survive or die trying, the character must find the courage to face their fear and act despite being scared out of their mind. To have courage is to acknowledge our weaknesses and failings. Do what our egos don’t want us to.
Horror tears away the ego by making us desperate, cunning, and imaginative. So, the vibe of the modern horror protagonist is one of clever, desperate acts done to survive.
Your character may need to investigate, ask people for help where they normally never would, reflect on their past mistakes, eat some humble pie, get painfully honest, and make horrible choices and sacrifices, all to survive. The key to making the audience feel invested in the character's journey is to know what your character values above all else and why. Then, put that in jeopardy. Make it bad, then make it worse on as many levels as possible (physically, morally, psychologically). In doing so, you find your stakes.
The plot can be summed up in a repeating pattern of ominous foreshadowing, attack, escape, and expansion (in our understanding of the monster and the protagonist) until the climax. However, artful expansion is required to keep the plot from feeling redundant, and readers expect to see specific elements and moments from this genre (true of any genre). Miss those elements and moments, and they will be dissatisfied.
The conventions (themes and elements such as roles, setting, values) and must-have moments that readers expect from a horror story include:
*Note: these are not in order of appearance and can happen more than once in any story.
A fight for survival
Dying isn't the worst thing that can happen
Multiple victims
A powerful and unreasonable monster (known or unknown)
A weaker or less powerful protagonist–often an ordinary person who eventually runs scared
An uncomfortable, isolated, and often claustrophobic setting
A ticking clock
A past wrongdoing by a character, family, or society that must be atoned for (often, many characters will have sins)
One of the characters is a shapeshifter: seems helpful to the protagonist at first but is serving the monster
The protagonist fails to heed a warning of danger
The monster attacks relentlessly and repeatedly but reveals its true power, nature, and ultimate intention late in the story.
A moment where the monster is seen or spoken of as unbeatable
The protagonist becomes the monster's victim, leading to a final face-off in which the protagonist seems to be at the monster's mercy
A climax involving a double-ending
A parting shot of the possibility evil still lurks
Let's see an example of these elements and moments that drive this home.
We'll use my favorite modern horror story: The Shining (movie 1980), based on the novel by Stephen King (1977). The story follows the Torrance family: Jack (husband and father), Wendy (wife and mother), and Danny (their five-year-old son) through a harrowing month snowbound at an isolated hotel in the Colorado mountains.
We will review each element and must-have moment as the plot unfolds, so HUGE SPOILER ALERT. I'm focusing on the movie here because it's easy to digest, and most folks have probably seen it if they are fans of this genre. However, I encourage you to keep your eyes open for these elements and moments as you read.
The Shining (movie): Guide For the Elements and Must-Have Moments of A Horror Story
Act I - Setup: We meet our weaker protagonists: Jack, an out-of-work teacher/writer and ex-drinker, and Danny, his five-year-old son.
The protagonist fails to heed a warning of danger, exhibits his flaws (hubris and excessive pride) + an isolated, uncomfortable setting, + sins of the past.
Jack is warned of the Overlook Hotel's sordid history and possible consequences of prolonged isolation: a previous caretaker named Grady murdered his wife and twin girls there.
Meanwhile, Danny and Wendy are back in Denver, awaiting news of Jack's new job. Tony, Danny's "imaginary friend," shows him a horrific vision of the hotel, which is the monster's first attack on the family. He passes out. Wendy has him evaluated by a doctor, and we learn about Danny's "accident": while drunk, his father dislocated Danny’s shoulder–Jack's specific sin and his greatest fear. Wendy's sin is that she didn't leave Jack then. The character's fears are revealed. Wendy is afraid Jack will hurt Danny again, and Danny is scared of going to the hotel, of Daddy being bad (honestly, this is more in the book than the movie), and of sharing what Tony shows him.
ACT II - Enter the New World: The Torrance family arrives at the Overlook to stay for the winter as caretakers. All other guests and employees leave.
While the parents are on a tour of the hotel, Danny sees a vision of the two twin girls. (The Monster attacks again.)
Another sin of the past is revealed: Wendy learns the hotel was built on a Native American burial ground. Danny meets the head chef, Dick Hallorann. Dick questions him about Tony and explains Danny's visions as the ability to see past and future events and telepathic abilities as the "THE SHINE." He warns Danny not to go into room 237. The Hedge Maze (where the major climax will occur) is foreshadowed.
As the weeks pass, Jack grows increasingly restless, unable to write or sleep, and becomes short with Wendy and Danny, which hints at Jack's mental instability.
A huge snowstorm begins. Phone lines go down. Radio is the only means of communication. (Further isolation) Jack is getting worse mentally.
Danny sees room 237 open and enters it while Jack has a nightmare that he killed his family. Wendy finds him and comforts him. Danny shows up with bruises on his neck. Danny is unable to speak. Wendy thinks Jack did it, but it was the hotel/monster. (Monster attacks again; its power has increased).
Meanwhile, in Miami, Hallorann has a vision through THE SHINING of Danny in trouble at the Overlook. Makes an unsuccessful attempt to phone the hotel.
Jack, pissed at Wendy's accusation, wanders into the hotel bar. Has a conversation with the bartender, which is an illusion/projection of the monster whose power is increasing. Jack complains about Wendy and that she'll never let him forget that he hurt Danny years ago.
Wendy finds Jack in the bar (alone) and says Danny told her a naked woman in room 237 tried to strangle him. Jack investigates the room. Finds a gorgeous naked woman in the bath, makes out with her, then realizes she's a grotesque corpse. (Monster attacks again.)
Midpoint shift: Jack's character begins to shapeshift.
Jack returns to Wendy and Danny. Jack lies about what he saw. Wendy wants to take Danny away. Danny, who is supposed to be asleep, has another vision of blood in the Overlook. (Monster Attacks again.) Jack explodes at the idea of them leaving, gaslights Wendy, verbally abuses her and storms out.
Hallorann calls the forest service to hail the Torrances on the radio. Attempt fails.
The monster/hotel shows Jack a grand party in a ballroom (an illusion) where Jack meets a server he knows to be Grady (the previous caretaker who murdered his family). Grady tells him that Jack "has always been the caretaker here." Grady alerts Jack to Danny's attempt to bring in someone from the outside to help them (meaning Hollerann) with his rare talent (THE SHINE) and that Jack needs to take care of the problem (Wendy and Danny). The ticking clock starts for Jack—he must stop Danny from bringing in help. The Overlook now possesses Jack–shapeshift complete. The monster wants one thing—everyone dead except Jack because he has become the monster. (Monster's power/intent revealed.)
Jack then disables the radio.
Meanwhile, Hallorann is flying back to Colorado from Miami and making arrangements for a snowcat to get to the hotel.
Wendy approaches Jack to reason with him to take Danny to a doctor and sees what Jack has been writing all this time. A full manuscript worth of the same sentence. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Wendy then realizes her husband has gone insane. (The monster is unbeatable and unreasonable)
The monster as Jack attacks. Wendy defends. The fight for survival begins. She knocks him out with a baseball bat and locks him in the hotel's walk-in pantry with a plan to flee with Danny, but discovers that Jack has sabotaged the snowcat. There's no way out. If she dies, so will Danny. (Fate worse than death.) All feels lost.
ACT III - Grady visits Jack and challenges him to finish the job of killing his wife and son. Jack promises to do so. Grady lets him out of the pantry.
Climax Begins
Jack attacks Wendy and Danny in their apartment. He breaks down the door with a hatchet (rogue mallet in the book). Danny escapes outside through a bathroom window, but Wendy can't fit. Climax one: Jack breaks through the bathroom door. Wendy slices his hand with a knife. Then, they both hear a snowcat. Hallorann has arrived.
Jack leaves Wendy and kills Hallorann. Wendy tries to find Danny, who is hiding in the hotel. The hotel shows Wendy its past multiple victims.
Jack finds Danny, who has fled into the hedge maze. Jack pursues. (Protagonist at the mercy of the villain)
Climax 2: Danny leads Jack through the snow-covered maze and outsmarts him, leaving Jack lost in the freezing maze while Danny retraces his tracks to the entrance. Wendy and Danny escape in Hallorann's snowcat. Jack wanders the maze and dies of exposure.
A parting shot of the possibility that evil still lurks—a black-and-white photo inside the Overlook taken in the 1920s. Jack is in the photo, suggesting that this can and will happen again.
Putting it All Together
So, when we look at the story as a whole, we see a man who became a monster–the thing he and his family always feared. The FEAR: hurting his family and THE MIRROR: The unexplained evil inside Overlook Hotel.
The possession (if you will) of Jack Torrance could be seen as either a falling character arc, a corruption arc, or a mix of both.
A man who believes he is being held back from his potential, is trying to do the right thing—not drink and support his family while he reaches for his writing dream—falls for the lie that no one considers him and that he is actually the victim (hubris/pride). Leaning into that lie corrupts his soul, making him vulnerable to the monster to the point that he becomes it.
To me, the movie demonstrates more of a falling arc, and the book is more in line with corruption. Either way, it doesn’t end well for our protagonist turned villain.
A Note on the Importance of Foreshadowing
One thing I didn’t really touch on in the story breakdown was the foreshadowing, but it’s done incredibly well. Every single place something horrific occurs is foreshadowed, other than the men’s restroom where Jack talks with Grady.
We saw each important location while Jack and Wendy toured the hotel: The Caretaker’s Apartment, Jack’s Writing Hall, The Golden Ballroom and Bar, The Pantry, and The Hedge Maze. Between that foreshadowing and Danny’s visions, we’re left with clues about what happened in the past and what might happen in the future. It gives it that iconic horror feeling that bad things can happen anywhere—even in the nicest places.
Don’t worry about foreshadowing too much in your first drafts, as you will do the bulk of it in revision. Here’s a helpful article on foreshadowing.
Quick Takeaways for Writing Horror:
Know what you fear and write about it. That’s how you make it real for your reader.
Choose your setting to evoke the tone and emotion you desire.
Know what your character values and why. Put that in jeopardy.
Study the genre and practice identifying the key elements and moments discussed in this article in the novels you read.
Make the antagonist powerful, but keep the full extent of their power a secret for as long as possible.
Show the full power of the monster at the climax.
Don’t let the battle be easy, and remember the double climax and double ending.
Do your due diligence to ensure you are writing in a socially and culturally responsible way, keeping an eye out for bias. Use sensitivity readers.
Don’t worry about what others think of you for writing the scary. What they think is none of your business anyway.
Recommended Resources on Writing Horror Fiction:
The Anatomy of Genres by John Truby
Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner
