Horror comes in many forms. From monsters and demons to everyday horrors. There are as many different kinds of terror as there are people to scare.
One of the scariest plotlines, other than zombies, is the everyday horror. Give your reader a story where the average guy or gal finds themselves trapped inside a terror show and you’ve got your reader glued to their seat. The more ordinary it is, the more you will have their attention.
Writing an ordinary horror story is not difficult, but it does take a certain finesse to get it right. You have to remember that reality is pretty straight forward. The more reality you bring to the tale, the more likely it is to be frightening.
For example. You have an average Joe who lives in a regular neighborhood with his wife and two kids. Fifty miles from him a wildfire breaks out. Now, I know what you are thinking, fifty miles is pretty far away and you would be right. But add to that a pretty strong, hot wind and now that fifty miles is not so far away now, is it? Then throw in the fact that the wind is blowing toward your hero, not away. Yep, that fifty miles is even closer now.
Add to all that the fact that between that fire and his quiet neighborhood is a whole lot of dry brush. It has been a pretty rain-free summer/fall where your hero lives. The brush around his home is thick and brittle, perfect fire fuel. Well, you get the point. It makes for some pretty scary times for him and his family as they prepare to evacuate their home for safety.
Now, imagine your hero finds out the fire was started by a new species of fire-breathing creature that was awakened by a group of construction workers digging a tunnel through the hillside, and this creature eats human flesh to survive. And since this creature has been asleep for a long time, it is hungry and headed to the hero’s quiet neighborhood for a quick bite to eat. Add a little more suspense by making the hero the first one who sees the creature.
See how easy that is? Start off with something mildly frightening, add more fuel to it, and then slam something extraordinary into the mix. It is a wonderful way to write horror because it plays on every person’s worst fears — something they cannot plan for or control.
So get your pencils and paper out, and write up a nice surreal horror story. You and your readers will be glad you did.