(Is it session seven? I lost track.)
Anyways! I got the idea for today's session after watching a few awesome Spanish language horror movies, The Orphanage and The Devil's Backbone. And while I was thinking about how few good thrillers there are, I got to thinking about what makes things properly scary. So today's workshop is going to be tips on how to write truly scary horror stories.
This may be more for screenwriters than novel-writers, because horror translates a lot more easily to visual media. But good horror novels do exist, and these techniques can be used in them.
(And a disclaimer beforehand: there are always exceptions to these! Some of the best horror stories break all the established rules of the genre and are really damn terrifying anyway. The Devil's Backbone, for instance.)
1. Don't feel the need to have something happen every second. Has anyone here ever seen the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters? Great film! Extremely creepy indeed. But when you think about it, there were really a grand total of three terrifying moments in the movie. The rest of the movie moves along at a very measured pace, which builds the tension as the audience waits for something else to happen. Constant shocks just wear the audience down, and not only does it make the story monotonous, but the scares start to be expected.
2. Be careful of being too specific. Everyone is scared by something different, and you'll find that all the best horror stories leave their ghosts and monsters out of sight for the majority of the story. This is always a smart move on the writer's part, because the audience will fill in the blank with their worst fear. The "Bloodstained Labyrinth" story arc of the anime Ghost Hunt takes place in a gigantic, atmospherically dim Winchester Mansion-style house in which people keep disappearing. Until the last episode of the arc, the only glimpses you get of the thing responsible are of it dragging itself through the dim hallways while the camera focuses on its feet. All the while, you hear breathing and shuffling footsteps. The ghost didn't even have to be revealed; I was already freaked out. Of course, that reveal was done really well anyway, but most times, the reveal takes all the mystery out of it. Speaking of which...
3. Leave a few loose ends. This is why America sucks at good horror movies in general. Your average C-list ghost movie probably has a few scary moments in it... until the protagonist realizes what the ghost is after, helps them fulfill their earthly desires, and the spirit ascends to a higher plane. And then not one person in that audience has nightmares. If there's a bit of uncertainty in the ending of your story, it'll stick in the audience's mind past the end. If everything is tied up very neatly, chances are, people won't think too much about it.
And I had more, but I'm going to cut it short tonight, because I'm unexpectedly swamped. If you have your own suggestions, feel free to contribute!
