Short Story: Horror Edition

Horror is a genre not many write in. If you're here, you probably know how to write a short story already.

1. Whatever you wish to write on
2. Whatever you wish to write with
3. An enjoyment of horror

For a story, you will need exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. For short stories, you need to introduce characters quickly and effectively. Why should we care about this person/these people? What is the conflict? How is it resolved? Are there loose ends that need to be tied up? How does the story end?

Short stories can differ in length but most are usually between 3,000 and 5,000 words.

Setting up a horror story can be difficult. Do you want to start in the middle of the story or before the story even starts and build slowly? Having a good monster (whether that be a human monster or a monster monster) is also important. Why should we be afraid of the monster?

The next step is deciding what genre you want your story. Slasher, monster, psychological, etc.

You can create any horror genre in a story, and possibly do it better than what you see on screen. Even in a short story, even though everything has to be concise.

Is your monster human? Something from your imagination? A retelling of a myth that already exists? All of these are valid. Borrowing from other things you've read/watched is ok.

A good monster will be something that scares you. Is it the boogeyman? A werewolf? Something from your own imagination?

Now that you've created your monster, you need to create your protagonist. Will they be someone who defeats the monster or gets defeated by the monster?

You need your readers to want to root for them, or maybe you don't. But you need to set up their personalities and tell the reader why we should or shouldn't root for them. Or do you want a twist and maybe the protagonist is the monster.

Whatever you do to create your horror short story, stay true to yourself. If you like slashers, make a slasher. If you like supernatural, make a supernatural horror.

Create something you want to read.

The biggest key to creating a good short horror story is keep the tension high. Add detail that you need, don't over add detail. Don't be afraid to have people read it for you (over editing is a thing!)