Nighthags Writing Corner: Horror writing prompts

Writing horror

what does is it mean to write horror? to many just the mere mention of the word horror brings up thoughts of the many slasher gore filled films that have populated popular culture since nightmare on elm street and hell raiser rose to cult status in the early 1980s. but horror has been around a lot longer than that, from the oral traditions of many ancient civilizations to the thrilling and sometimes fantastical fairy tales and myths that populate the many cultures across the world.

the dictionary defines horror as

an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear: to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror.

the same dictionary defines fear as

a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

So by gaining an understanding of the above, the only requirement for horror is fear
leaving a vast range of situations for the horror writer to use from the mundane, supernatural to the fantastical. all designed to evoke the feelings of fear and dismay in the reader, which of course is the true life blood of horror no matter how lightly or heavily you weave it in...

the following writing prompts are designed for the horror genre, story starters writing themes and of course my favorite the picture prompts are all here in the hopes that something may spark your inner muse

Horror writing prompts
Story starterswhen using a story starter you choose an opening that appeals to you the most at the time, think on it for ten or more minutes before sitting down to write, use the writing prompt as a form of free writing exercise and refrain from editing yourself as you go, just keep the words flowing onto the page, this can result in some self discovering as a writer as you allow your subconscious and muse to work together

Using the opening lines below write a short horror story of least 750 words

1. It was the third murder in as many days...

2. It was time, and nothing was going to stop him...

3. Screams and fire filled the night...

4. The dice rolled across the table...

5. The smell in the house was getting worse...

6. "please, I promise I won't tell any one"....

7. Everyone knew about the affair...

8. Waking with a scream, her hands chained above her head...

9. No one knew who lived in the house at the end of the road...

10. The dead filled every room, hanging bloodless corpses that had more than one seasoned cop outside loosing their breakfast....

11. Laying back on the bed she smiled...

12. The children's laughter filled the air, desperate to find them he called out again...

13. It only ever happened when I was alone....

14. Hunting humans got boring real fast...

15. Staring into the cold eyes she searched for any sign of the man she knew....

16. No body was left....

17. Demons filled the skies as the earth shook...

18. Blood the smell of it was intoxicating...

19. The whispering in the dark never stopped...

20. "I killed you!"...

Horror Themes
When using a horror theme as a writing prompt you have a lot more flexibility then the story starters provide. simply choose your theme, think on it for a while what the theme means to you and how you could work it into the genre of horror, as you write your short story try not edit yourself as this can dramatically slow down the creative processes and even if you don't love everything you write this way there are sure to be some true gems of writing that you can return to at a later date...

Write a short story of at least 750 inspired by one of the writing themes below

1. Diet

2. Possession

3. Failure

4. Betrayed

5. Tomb

6. Execution

7. Hunted

8. Woman's fury

9. Obsession

10. Dreams

11. Alone

12.Fire

13. Blood tears

14. Consumed

15. Secrets

16. Buried

17. Hidden

18. Broken light

19. Murderous heart

20. Poisoned

Picture prompts
The use of art is a wonderful way to spark our imaginations, which is one of the reasons that the use of picture prompts can be a great aid to the creative writer.
lending us visions of what could be which can so easily be turned into something more.

Write a short horror story of at least 750 words inspired by the picture prompt below