For many, October is often known as “spooky month”, despite the fact that really, it only has one day associated with all things spooky: October 31st.
But Halloween month or not, this list of prompts is for any writers who are looking to pen a spooky story this fall.
SPOOKY SETTINGS
A figure in the window of an abandoned insane asylum is only visible on Halloween.
Thick fog blankets a lake and surrounding forest where a group of men have set up camp.
Your reflection in an old antique mirror moves on its own.
Voices whisper inside the vents of a couple’s newly built home.
Two teens get locked inside the mall on Halloween, where a clown costume comes to life and tries to kill them.
OBJECTS
When visiting her grandmother, a girl steals a ring from the jewelry box. Once she puts it on, she can’t get it off her finger, and the ring starts making her do awful things.
A woman finds an old black & white photo album in the attic of her new home, but as she looks inside, the people in the photos start speaking to her.
When a teenager buys a black candle from a vendor, once she lights it, strange people start appearing.
A man who watches too much television suddenly finds himself pulled into a horror movie.
While a seamstress is working on a Halloween costume, she finds an old pair of scissors that force her to go on a killing spree.
SCENARIOS
Plates and other items in the kitchen keep crashing onto the floor, followed by a scream.
Even with your cellphone turned off, threatening texts from your future self continue to appear.
Every night at 4 a.m. your second-story bedroom window flies open and tempts you to jump.
On a road trip, a couple’s car breaks down in what appears to be an abandoned town, except for the yellow eyes staring at them from every window.
A hypnotist with a possessed stopwatch sends his clients to an evil place with no way to return.
WAYS TO CREATE A SPOOKY STORY
Decide on a character. Make them vulnerable to something. Perhaps they have a phobia. Give them character flaws that can contribute to their fears.
Example:
A widow who is afraid of living alone and afraid of the dark. She has terrible eyesight and requires very strong glasses. One night after bathing, her glasses aren’t on the bathroom vanity where she left them. As she struggles to feel her way around her house, she hears strange noises.
Decide on a setting. Although many might think the setting has to be scary, like a haunted house or a dark forest, try using a place that doesn’t naturally evoke horror and find a way to make it scary.
Example:
Folks love to congregate at the small town’s diner for the home cooking until one night, when the cook becomes ill, a fellow townsperson steps up to fill the orders. Soon, chaos ensues as some patrons become ill and die, while others use their utensils to attack each other.
Map out the plot. Introduce us to the vulnerable protagonist. Create an inciting incident that will change their world forever and challenge them with obstacles and conflict. Keep things unpredictable. Build suspense to lead up to the climax.
Examples from horror books and movies:
Possession – The Exorcist
Mental breakdown – The Shining
Scary Creature – Jaws/Dracula
Haunted or cursed objects – The Ring (video)
Slasher villains – Halloween/A Nightmare on Elm Street
Survival (end of the world) – 28 Days Later (zombie apocalypse)
Folk Horror – The Wicker Man
Tropes.
These are the things readers expect in a horror story. (But don’t use them all in one story)
Examples of tropes:
Abandoned places – don’t go in there
Summoning evil
A nightmare that might be real
Old footage/old photos
No internet/no phone signals
Splitting up
Inclement weather
A cursed object
A mysterious neighbor
Unsettling noises
Fear of being watched
Ignoring a warning
Haunted house
Possession
Think of the books you’ve read and the movies you’ve watched. What tropes bring you back for more? What tropes do you automatically expect?
For me, the most common ones are always:
Don’t go down the basement.
Don’t split up.
Don’t investigate weird noises, especially by yourself.
But of course, the characters always do, which elicits the jump scares horror fans have come to love.
If you’d like to share a creepy prompt, please drop it in the comments.
Happy Halloween.