What makes a story 'scary'?

[Mickie]

I'm having a devil of a time trying to write a Halloween story. I'm running out of time! Tell me, what is it that makes a story scary? The setting? The characters? The actual plot?

Mickie

 

[Sateema Lunasi]

All three.

I have been writing horror for years. I am much better at horror than I am at erotica but I can mix the two very well. Go for the strange and unusual. People are not afraid of the classic ghost stories and things that go bump in the night anymore.

Poppy Z Brite is fantastic at creating horror-erotica. Have you read anything by her?

 

[MissVictoria]

I tried to create a bit of spookiness with my halloween story. I'm not sure if the attempt was successful.

 

[christophe]

could it happen

what makes a story scary to me is if it could actually happen....sure vampires and mummies are great, but the ones that have a chance to be real ....like the exorsist ...now talk about creepy

 

[Couture]

Victoria, I guess everyone is different, but I didn't find the story to be scary or spooky. The scene with the male ghost was pleasurable for the protaganist and she didn't seem to be scared at all. Then the ghost of the grandmother makes an appearance and says,"Get out of my attic!" or to the effect.

But, was her heart pounding? Did she think she was going to die? Was she so scared, she was unable to scream? If the main character seems to be taking it all in stride, why shouldn't I?

That is not to say that I didn't enjoy the story. It was erotic, had a plot, and good character development. Probably, in the top 10% of what has been published here.

If you want to read about a mean scary ghost, try The Haunting of Heather, which can be found at the link below.

http://literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=46698

 

[Quiet_Cool]

No one thing will make it scary...it's like any other writing...the overall effect will be a product of the individual elements. No one element will decide the story's effectiveness as horror or "scary." THe best thing to do is read a lot of horror, decide on your own what makes it scary, and most importantly...write about what scares you...that'll make the emotion close to the surface for your characters because you can understand what they feel.
Also remember, that a good horror story isn't necessarily scary, just within the genre...a well-written story wiull be appreciated, especially here where the author's care about those things and understand them...