Welcome to Halloweentown

Good evening, writers! Halloween is less than a week away and I can't wait! I love it all: the candy, the parties, the costumes. One of my favorite things about Halloween is the horror stories.

Horror stories, Halloween shorts, filled with blood, gore, and guts galore! Don't you love horror stories? They're so much fun to write, especially when goosebumps start forming on your skin with every word. I think many people are intimidated by the thought of writing horror because they can't be too soft (then it's not horror), but if it's just blood and gore, that's not a very good read (and it's gross). You have to find a good balance between gore, a good plot line, and enough horror to make it interesting without being a disgusting turn-off. Still, you need the chill-down-the-spine spook factor that all of those scary movies have. You have to create tension and suspense in an attempt to actually frighten the reader.

Here are a few tips:

1) Study the classics. One of the best ways to learn, in my opinion, is by learning through example. Pick up a copy of Dracula (by Bram Stoker) and see how it's done. Then you can adapt your own style and ideas.

2) Research. Please, please, do your research. If you're writing a scary vampire story, read different myths and adaptations on the vampire before creating your own version. Try to make it as original as possible, yet pay attention to your audience.

3) Think about what scares YOU. Do creepy, crawly insects freak you out? Write about something that has to do with bugs. What would happen in your worst nightmares? Put it on paper. Surely if something scares you, it's bound to scare somebody else.

4) Rhythm and Intensity. These two elements are very important for creating tension and fright in your reader. Scary movies are scary when they have a character walking down the street in a slow rhythm, when suddenly--BAM!--a monster appears out of the bushes. Set the mood with intense description, the angry, thrusting tree branches can make for a spooky appeal in the nighttime horror of suburbia.

Here are some elements to make your horror's villain, horrifying: Make him a mystery and make him completely unexpected. We find fear in what we don't know. The darkness scares people because we have no idea what may be lurking there. Also, who would have thought he creeped through the shadows into your bedroom before you shut the door? Who would have seen him bust through the wall? It's all in the element of surprise that spooks us out. Make him creep up slowly.

That's all for now! Now start spooking! Feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Ever try writing a horror story? If so, how did it turn out? If not, why not?