A Witch’s Recipe on How to Brew Up A Scary Story

When it comes to writing scary stories, authors employ all different techniques to pump some fear into every page. This can be done by means of gory descriptions or horrific situations that’ll send chills down your spine. But there is much more than just thrills that go into creating a great scary story. This has many writers wondering: how do I make my story truly scary?

To help you along in your own journey to writing something truly horrific, we have gathered some tips that will inspire you as you write. Want to turn fears into a written reality? Follow along with our recipe for brewing up something terrifying.

1. Start with a spoonful of reality

One way to ground readers into a story is by adding in a sense of reality. If your scary story takes place in the real world, that means there are real limitations to what your characters can do. If they move into a haunted house, where is it located or what time period does it take place in? Or if your story is in a whole other dimension, set some basic rules there. 

In Rosemary’s Baby, normalcy is established for Rosemary Woodhouse and her husband. They move to a new apartment in New York, where Guy pursues his acting career and Rosemary is wanting to start a family. Their routine begins to dissipate when events unfold that are completely out of the ordinary. It’s when Rosemary becomes pregnant that supernatural events occur which make her worry for her own sake—and her child’s. 

2. Add a pinch of fear

What makes a scary story truly scary is fear. It can be anything from the fears your characters harbor to situations that are just plain scary in themselves. A great way to come up with some fears is by looking within yourself. Make a list of everything that scares you—it can range from minor phobias to major traumas. Playing on fears that real people suffer from will instantaneously scare your reader because they’ll recognize something that they themselves fear.

For example, in Stephen King’s It, each character fears something bigger than them. Eddie, a total momma’s boy and sheltered young man is a hypochondriac. This common fear is used against him in the book as a way to weaken him against the terrifying clown that is creating chaos in their town.

3. Throw in a dash of “what-if”

It’s normal for people to feel afraid when they’re not in control of a situation. Take the list of fears you created a step further by writing down all possible scenarios—both plausible and implausible. If your character is debating on going into the attic, come up with multiple outcomes. If they go in, what will they discover? If they lock the attic door instead, what will happen? This suspense will leave the readers wondering what is going to happen next.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman explores the terrifying ideas of what-if. There is something out there that people can’t see and if they do, it will drive them violently insane. They remain blindfolded across their journey to survive the unknown. But what if they take a peak? How much longer can they go blindfolded when the idea of looking is so tempting?

4. A quick sifting of tone

A major way to emphasize the fear in your story is through the atmosphere. The tone of your story depends on the themes and plot you have mapped out. If it’s a story being told by an unreliable narrator, the tone might focus more on psychological aspects. If it’s being told by someone who is presumed innocent until the very last page, you’ll need to use a tone that convinces readers of their innocence. Depending on how gory, creepy or mind-bending you want your story to be depends on your characters, setting and overall plot.

A great example of an unreliable narrator is in Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Told from the perspective of Merricat Blackwood, a young girl with a questionable personality, the readers experience a lethargic recollection of the murder of the Blackwood family. Events don’t seem to line up which turns this scary story into a psychological thriller.

5. Garnish with a little danger

Now that you have a list of fears and the possible what-ifs, it’s time to identify the danger and what your narrator is willing to do to survive. A clear problem will let the readers know the dire situation and why it’s important that the narrator tries plans A, B and C to solve it. Let’s say your character needs to find a way out of the house or else her soul will be trapped forever; the reader will know the consequences of not escaping in time. Characters will be invested in your story when they know their favorite character is in danger.

For example, in Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door Jules knows that if she doesn’t get out of the apartment building she’s living in, she could disappear like the rest of the apartment sitters before her. Why stay? How do you make the threat so important that Jules would risk her life to get to the bottom of the mystery?

This post was written by Megan Latin, Publishing Intern Fall 2019.