Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION • Thomas F. Monteleone
PREFACE: ENTER FREELY AND OF YOUR OWN WILL
Part One: Why I Write Horror.
Part Two: Why Do I Want to Help You Write Horror?”
VOICES FROM THE SHADOWS
CHAPTER ONE: WHY HORROR MATTERS
Why Horror is a more important genre than most people think.
CHAPTER TWO: THINGS UNKNOWN
What’s that thing lurking in the shadows?
CHAPTER THREE: EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG
Horror comes from a violation of reality.
CHAPTER FOUR: HELLO DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND
Like ice cream, Horror comes in many different flavors.
CHAPTER FIVE: STRANGE NOTIONS
Where do you get your weird ideas?
CHAPTER SIX: DONE TO DEATH
How to avoid cliches and write original horror fiction.
CHAPTER SEVEN: WHERE NO MONSTER HAS GONE BEFORE
How to build a better monster.
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE HORROR WRITER’S PALETTE
Using Dread, Terror, Horror, Shock, and Disgust in your writing.
CHAPTER NINE: THE HORROR HERO’S JOURNEY
Horror fiction’s version of the Hero’s Journey and how to use it to generate ideas and plot stories.
CHAPTER TEN: DOWN TO THE BONE
Horror fiction is most effective when written with an immersive point of view.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: MORE THAN MEAT
How to make your characters strong and interesting—including characters who will become casualties during the course of your story.
CHAPTER TWELVE: HURTS SO GOOD
Characters in horror fiction should suffer more than just physical pain.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FEAR
How fear affects the mind and body, and how it affects your characters’ actions and decisions.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: TELL ME A SCARY STORY
Different narrative structures for writing horror fiction.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE DARK HEART OF HORROR
Horror is an emotion, so it’s vital to write with an emotional core.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: A MATTER OF STYLE
Stylistic techniques for writing effective horror fiction.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE ART OF SUSPENSE
Techniques for creating and maintaining suspense.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: LET THEM FIGHT!
Writing effective action scenes in horror fiction.
CHAPTER NINETEEN: THERE ARE NO LIMITS, BUT . . .
How to deal effectively with extreme and violent content.
CHAPTER TWENTY: THE EVIL SPREADS
Marketing your horror fiction to agents, editors, and readers.
END OF THE LINE
A few last words.
APPENDIX A: AUTOPSY
A critique of one of the first horror stories I ever wrote.
APPENDIX B: DIRE SITUATIONS
A list of story situations to help you plot your stories.
APPENDIX C: PSYCHOLOGICAL MAKEUP QUESTIONNAIRE
APPENDIX D: PAIN REACTION QUESTIONNAIRE
APPENDIX E: LET’S GET WEIRD! EXPERIMENTAL FICTION IDEAS
APPENDIX F: FURTHER RESOURCES
Books and websites to help you keep the horror going.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
