Horror Novels: What Makes Them So Damn Scary?

Hello everyone! I am back with a new post! Woo!

So this week, I want to focus on the horror novel. This is one of my favorite genres, when done right, but it is also one of the most difficult to pull off. I am going to be attempting to answer why that is. What makes a horror novel truly frightening? Is there a standard to which these novels must be held to to remain scary? Is there a reason reading some older novels are more frightening than the ones written today? Is this true for the opposite as well? What kinds of societal issues are drawn from for the authors? All of these questions are valid and quite complex, so I may not be able to get to each one as fully as I would like to, but I will definitely make an attempt. (I will also be looking at other media as well, namely film, television, and possibly video games, though I do not have as much exposure to that as the other media outlets.)

Okay, so why is this genre so difficult to pull off? I have attempted (and failed) on numerous occasions to write truly scary stories. But it is much more difficult than I originally thought it would be. There are many factors one must think about when writing that are not things the reader necessarily has to. Number one is tension. There has to be a tension (and a force behind that tension) for the ENTIRE novel. If that is not there, there will be no reason for the readers to be scared while they are reading, and without that, it’ll be a crap book. Tension drives your characters to do things (usually stupid) that they would not do were they in their right minds. The moments you yell at your television or book for the character to “NOT go down those stairs because there is something EXTREMELY DANGEROUS down there and that other person TOLD you it wasn’t safe” are the moments you have to build up to. There has to be a lot of subtle writing that keeps the readers on edge the entire time.

As you can see, there is already things authors have to think about in every sentence and word choice. Another big factor is drawing on the innate fears that most humans feel in their lives. I cannot tell you exactly what they are, but most do involve death of some sort, though it is much more complicated than that. There cannot be the gimmicks and cheesy parts throughout the piece. Yes, it can have a few of those moments, but too many will make it a hell of a lot less terrifying. Go back and read your favorite scenes in your favorite horror novel and note what makes them scary. Then make your friends do the same in the scene. I bet there will be different answers for each person. The reason for that is everyone has their own views on what scares them, and authors have to account for all of them.

See what I mean? It’s hard.

What does make a horror novel frightening? Well, to answer this shortly, it’s in the writing. The word choice can either kill or boost the scene. You can’t pander to all of the fears at once, though. It has to be something that is specific enough, and has so much detail, you feel like you are in that moment and are feeling the terror the characters feel. You have to be in that space, so drawn in, you forget you are reading a fiction novel. You will be drawn in so much you cannot discern fact from fiction, reality from the novel, so that even when you are finished with the book, it still haunts you at the back of your mind. Trust me, I still think about some well written horror novels and movies at least once a month because they stuck with me that much.

Standards, what standards? The only standard that has to be met is the audiences. I know, this is a cop out answer, but it is true. The standards for what is scary does change all the time. Part of this, especially in the visual mediums, are the graphics constantly being updated. Someone can see something that is so realistic that they think it’s right in the room with them and get terrified, but then watch something with less realism and can tell the difference. Some people it is the opposite. People are more prone to being scared by what they have been previously exposed to, so if they saw something like, say Gremlins when they were young and that scarred them for life, they are going to probably hold other scary stories and films up to that light.

Older media can seem cheesy to some. Movies like The Blob were terrifying to those when it came out, but nowadays is laughed at by movie goers. I think film is easier to date than novels are though. Novels like Frankenstein have been pretty scary throughout their existence. Older media looked ahead to see what science would do to civilization to corrupt it. Especially in times of drastic technological change. Much of this included alien civilizations wiping out the planet or scientists accidentally creating a giant blob that goes around suffocating and eating people.

Newer media also does a similar action, looking ahead, but instead of aliens, it tends to lean toward disease-like monsters, such as zombies. There is also the ever-present demons, ghosts, and spirits, which all seem to hail from the 1600s more than the future and science. Many of the narratives nowadays look at the past in these terms to give a reason why these horrors have come about. There was a curse by a witch, the spirit haunted a doll, this demon trapped itself in this painting and was waiting for someone to find it so it could make a body switch and be freed. These horror stories are also very bleak, rarely having any kind of happy ending. Is this because of the society we live in?

To me, as a personal note, the horror novels from the 1970s-80s are so much more terrifying than most things put out now. I am not 100% sure why, but it is what I believe, in any instance. Because of this, I tend to gravitate more toward Stephen King for my horror novel fix than anyone else. So if you have a really good recommendation, let me know in the comments below.

Society has always been a factor in fiction, as we all know. In yesteryear, it was the fear of nuclear holocaust (which can be applied to today, again). Today, it is the constant reminder of the fragility of the capitalist society we live in and how easily it can collapse. If you look hard enough, you will find this idea in most of the narratives, trust me. This applies to movies and novels both, but is more prevalent in movies, to be sure.

Film has always lent itself to horror. Many of the films during the Great Depression were actually of the horror genre, though much less graphic than what is seen today. I feel that movies from the early 2000s were better at scaring the hell out of me than the ones coming out now (partially because they are mostly sequels and remakes now). Today, there isn’t that undercurrent of fear of economic collapse that I saw a lot of in the horror films fifteen years ago that is not here today. Today focuses a lot on the gore and jump scares less than a story that will haunt you, if I am being at all honest.

Television, for horror, has been trying recently. It wants to scare us. Stories like American Horror Story (season 1 and 2) did an excellent job at putting you at the edge of your seat the whole time. (Now it’s a soap opera trying to be scary, in my opinion). Other horror shows have been doing well as well, such as The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, Hannibal, and Penny Dreadful. My all-time favorite horror series will forever be The Twilight Zone, though, because even watching today, I get massive anxiety watching a lot of it. It is truly a series that can stand the test of time.

Video games have been getting scarier from what I can tell. The fact that there is more of a virtual reality component now that fully immerses the player into the world is exactly what the horror genre is trying to do. It creates a full body experience that you forget you can get out of by taking off the gear. I think this is the most innovative and the best in ramping up the fear factor in it’s body of work.

Horror is a great genre that is near and dear to my heart. Getting scared is something that, when done right, is difficult to achieve, but such a joy to pull off. My only issue is that many of those working in the genre are not using what they can learn to its fullest potential. I will continue to read and watch and experience this medium, probably for the rest of my life, including the not scary stuff. But I will always strive to find that new piece of work that scares me so badly I can’t sleep that night.

So that just leaves you. I want to know your thoughts on this genre. Do you love it? Do you hate it? Why? Is there anything you can appreciate about it? What is the scariest thing you can think of? Do you have any favorites? What is the worst horror genre piece of work you have encountered and why was it so bad? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, you can find me at dsbookie on YouTube, twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram!

See you next week!

XOXO

Dana