Advice/Help Learning to write horror. Tips and tricks you can share?

[Paper Darling]

Hello everyone! As someone who loves watching horror movies, I have never done a horror-themed roleplay before.

Any useful tips and tricks you can share with me? Some do's and don'ts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lucyfer]

Okay, so I do write horror, but not RPs, so take this with a grain of salt:

1. A lot of good horror is in not understanding it. Even if it's a mundane slasher you're going for, the lack of understanding is what causes a lot of the terror. If you're DMing it, obviously you'll need to know all about the horror, but do your best to keep a lot from the players. In a 1-on-1, you'll probably want to share everything with your partner, but create clever ways together to keep it from the characters themselves.

2. Pick a type of horror you want to focus on. You CAN mix and match, but if you're going for Body Horror or Eldritch Horror primarily, stick to those themes and don't mix and match too much. Know your genre!

3. Twist innocence. Anything that is "pure good" should not be. Anything that is "pure evil" should not be. You should ABSOLUTELY put it in the light that it is good and/or evil! Use people's perceptions of helpfulness and beauty against them. Make the dirty hobo the one who could REALLY help them, but make them suspicious AF. Make the out of her element damsel retail worker truly heinous. Horror is made to flip tropes, so find your favorite tropes, and flip them.

4. Actually yeah, just that. Figure out the tropes you like in non-horror media, and flip it. Odds are it'll throw people off.

 

[Paper Darling]

Okay, so I do write horror, but not RPs, so take this with a grain of salt:

1. A lot of good horror is in not understanding it. Even if it's a mundane slasher you're going for, the lack of understanding is what causes a lot of the terror. If you're DMing it, obviously you'll need to know all about the horror, but do your best to keep a lot from the players. In a 1-on-1, you'll probably want to share everything with your partner, but create clever ways together to keep it from the characters themselves.

2. Pick a type of horror you want to focus on. You CAN mix and match, but if you're going for Body Horror or Eldritch Horror primarily, stick to those themes and don't mix and match too much. Know your genre!

3. Twist innocence. Anything that is "pure good" should not be. Anything that is "pure evil" should not be. You should ABSOLUTELY put it in the light that it is good and/or evil! Use people's perceptions of helpfulness and beauty against them. Make the dirty hobo the one who could REALLY help them, but make them suspicious AF. Make the out of her element damsel retail worker truly heinous. Horror is made to flip tropes, so find your favorite tropes, and flip them.

4. Actually yeah, just that. Figure out the tropes you like in non-horror media, and flip it. Odds are it'll throw people off.

Thank you! ^^ I suppose it is also a bit of a trial-and-error process.

 

[MxKit]

Besides Lucyfer's advice, which is really good... Also figure out the things you like (and dislike) in horror media!

Not just tropes, but take some time and check out various horror things and watch/read/play them with a discerning eye this time around. How does the horror interact with the characters? How does the horror fit the characters; does it prey on anything specific about the characters, how do both the characters and the horror play with or around the themes? What's the pacing like? How little do the characters know at various points, how little does the audience know at various points, when is more information or explanation revealed (if ever), what's the first time the characters see The Real Horror? What is the monster design, and does that actually matter so much, is that an element of the horror, or is it secondary to what the monster(s) represent(s)? How empowered are the characters at any given point, and how empowered do they think they are? And, yes, what tropes are being used?

And more than all of the above, how do each of those things make you feel? If something works for you, that's great; you can file away that you really like how this desiccated lone figure that tries to isolate each of the 18-year-old characters before preying on them plays with the themes of aging, leaving home and one's friends, and loneliness as one first heads into adulthood after high school, or that even when the heroes think they've figured something out and can fight back it turns out they were wrong (and when you look back there were hints all along that it wasn't true), or that you really really like faceless monsters or ones that look Mostly Human But Wrong.

But if something doesn't work for you, that's also very much worth making note of! Does the monster being revealed or the explanation coming at the very end make all the fear and tension disappear for you? Is that because in this specific case the monster design was underwhelming or the explanation feels stupid to you, or is it merely that it was scarier to imagine the monster/that explaining anything too thoroughly makes it feel ordinary to you? When the monster is spidery or looks like a clown, do you immediately think "that's too overplayed"? When the third act involves uncovering A Scary Asylum The Heroes Must Go To, does it make you sigh and roll your eyes? If the characters aren't in physical danger for long stretches of time, do you tune out? Does the latest iteration of "it turns out the main character is really the monster/is a secret murderer and just repressed it" feel more and more like a boring ripoff of the few times that was much better done?

How you use all of this does depend on whether you're running a group RP or doing a 1-on-1 (or more private, smaller group where none of you is really "in charge"). If you're running the thing, you're definitely going to be keeping the players in the dark about a lot -- though I'd advise at least letting prospective players know that if they want to privately ask you if the game will include a particular horror element, they be allowed to. (Religious horror, themes of bigotry, medical or asylum horror, dead babies or horrific pregnancies, etc.) If none of you are in charge, all of you are in charge and will probably be building things together and tossing what you like about and want out of horror back and forth, but you might also have some specific ideas you're advertising for, and again when building your horror you'll probably both/all be clear about what things you won't want to touch.

And when it comes to actually writing the horror in posts... I'd definitely advise reading horror fiction (and maybe listening to audio horror) and, again, figuring out what sorts of descriptions and phrasings really speak to you. Do you like it when the writing is very atmospheric, when ordinary things are described in unpleasant or unsavory ways, when the horrifying moments (a murder scene, the monster itself) are described in much, more more depth than anything else? It could also be fun to practice looking at monster designs in visual media and writing out descriptions of them, maybe approaching the same monster in different ways. How would you describe Pyramid Head? What would you linger or focus on in that description to get across what's most horrifying about him to you? (It could even be fun to read the novelization of a horror game or the original book that a movie was based on, and compare the written descriptions to the other media; does the writing bring certain things to life or describe them in ways that really work for you, or does something fall more flat for you in the text than on the screen? It can be useful to pinpoint that sort of thing. ...And I bring this up because the first Silent Hill game does have a novelization, and it fascinated me when I read that little bit of it that someone had translated.)

Different types of horror also have different genre conventions, and that can be fun to pick apart and figure out what you want to do with them -- consuming a bunch of, say, cult-focused horror or haunted house stories. Do you hate it when the cult is revealed to have been right about anything, even if they're still horrifying in their actions surrounding the thing? Do you love it when it's revealed that not all of the ghosts in the haunted house are malevolent?

I guess the last little bit of advise I have is more... a few recommendations. The Tale Foundry is a fun YouTube channel that dissects writing, and they have all their horror videos collected here. Jacob Geller covers a ton of things, especially but not only video games, and his videos on various horror games have been super inspiring to me personally, even if of course games are a very different format; I especially recommend Gaming's Harshest Architecture: NaissanceE and Alienation, Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House, An Uncanny Reality, Four Short Games About Pain, and What's the Point of Taking Apart a Body? But his video on Universal Paperclips and Space Engine, his video on Returnal, After a City is Buried, Head Transplants and the Non-Existence of the Soul, Gross Games about Flesh and Stuff, and basically all the ones with "Fear" in the title (the Depths, Cold, and Big Things Underwater) also contain things that you might be able to use... Maybe his Cities Without People video, too, though that one's nowhere near as much horror-focused. And as standalone videos I really like from channels I haven't otherwise explored much, Concepts of Horror in Fiction ( Writing Tips ) by Danyal Fryer, How to Write Effective Horror by (ShaelinWrites with) Reedsy, 10 Best Tips for Writing Horror Books by Write with Claire Fraise, and How To Create Monsters That Are Actually Scary (Fiction Writing Advice) by Writer Brandon McNulty are all specifically about writing horror fiction, not horror RP, but all of them are imo quite useful for the latter as well! (I especially like the Reedsy one, personally, but they're all good.)

Anyway! This post is very long, but I hope it's of some help! Enjoy your horror RPs

 

[GojiBean]

There's some great information being shared here. And I'd like to add to it just a lil' bit.

There are three major keys to writing good horror which you'll need to understand if you want to capitalize on the genre and create a good RP experience within it.

1) Creating tension
2) Fear of the unknown
3) Stretch the tension, and use red herrings (aka false leads and misdirection)

- - - - - - -

The first key element of creating good horror is attaining a strong grasp of the process of creating tension.

Tension is the life blood of all good horror stories and experiences. Think of a haunted house. The best haunted houses create a mood with the physical appearance of the house itself. It's often old, run down, and looking like it could collapse at any moment. This creates tension before you even walk in the door because the physical appearance screams "danger!" But danger of what, exactly? That unknown "what" is another element which enhances the tension even further before you take so much as a single step inside.

The second key piggy backs off that "what" element from the previous point. Fear of the unknown, and being able to utilize it as a storytelling tool.

People naturally are afraid of things they can't identify. It's the fight or flight response part of our brains screaming "I don't know what this is, so I should stay away from it!"

The moment the "big threat" or the "source of danger" in your story becomes a known quantity is the moment you enter into a race against time to find a resolution before the novelty of this known quantity comes crashing down around you, and everyone loses interest and fear of it. The longer the known quantity is known and visible, the weaker it becomes.

Think of the film Jaws, based on the novel by Peter Benchley. The shark becomes a known quantity the moment Quint, Hooper, and Chief Brody lay eyes on it together for the first time and Hooper says "That's a 20 footer." Quint corrects him saying "25... Three tons on him." This full reveal of the shark comes at the 1 hour and 21 minute mark. And the film ends roughly 35 minutes later.

But how did they last 1 hour and 21 minutes without a "full reveal" of the shark without losing the audience along the way?

The key is the third point. Stretch the tension and use red herrings to prolong the reveal. Stretching tension can be as simple as the opening to the film. We see the shark's POV along with the famous music from John Williams. Then, we're taken to a night time beach party where some young folks are drinking and getting flirty. Chrissy runs off with what's his face to go "SWIMMING!"... And we can guess what's about to happen. Why? We just saw the shark's POV with the music, and then that music comes back as we observe Chrissy from underwater.

This immediately solidifies in our minds the music represents the shark. So, the next time we hear the music is when? During the beach scene where Alex Kitner is killed. The music starts quiet and grows rapidly in volume and speed as the camera approaches his little floater and kicking arms and legs, and then the roll over and blood fountain finishes everything in a neat little bow. The next time we hear the music is after Mrs. Kitner offers a $3K bounty for the shark, and some shmucks go to a small pier and try sending out a turkey on a hook to catch it. And the most terrifying moment comes when the broken pier turns around and comes back to shore on the tide, washing harmlessly onto the beach. The music was used as a red herring in this case after the pier broke to fake us out and make us think the guy who was dragged into the water when it all broke was in danger of getting munched. And, finally, we have another red herring. A fake fin swims through the water of the beaches and scares everyone out of it. But where's the music? It's absent. That was our clue it was a red herring. Sure enough it's a cardboard fin dragged through the water by some kids as a prank. But then, the actual shark appears elsewhere going into "The Pond" and is accompanied by the music. So, we know it's legit.

The attacks and moments where the music is driving the scene while the shark is not visible are methods of visually stretching tension in film, as are the use of those small red herrings. But the same thought process can be applied to roleplaying and online writing. What you can do is take something which happens the first time your unknown quantity appears and use that as a fake out. It's a known element of the first attack or scene, so people are expecting it to be a problem or an indication of danger.

For example, let's say you're doing a slasher RP where your intro post describes a vicious attack against some NPC's shortly before the RP's story actually begins. Details from a police investigation, which are now public knowledge, indicate the attack took place at approximately 1am in the morning and that the killer was using some kind of wide bladed weapon. Possibly a butcher's cleaver. Surveillance footage from nearby security cameras captured what appears to be a man wearing a thick, long coat heading in the direction of the attack site approximately 14 minutes before the attack took place. No cameras were in a position to observe the attack site, so this figure is at best a suspect. Not confirmed to be the killer.

Later in your RP, shortly before the first actual attack the RP participants will endure, a man in a thick, long cloak is skulking around the area where they are. Who is this person?... A homeless man. But, because of the cloak he's believed, if only briefly, to be suspect number one and potentially the killer by the RP participants. So, for however long you allow this homeless man to be visible before being confronted is time spent believing the RP participants are onto the killer and might get the jump on him (because, obviously, you're not revealing this guy is just a homeless guy until they actually confront him).

Little things like this can build tension and give rise to false relief, which is arguably the perfect time to execute the first real attack for maximum effect. And, something else to keep in mind, is keeping the identity and as many details of the killer as hidden as possible. Keep them in darkness. Keep reveals to partial reveals, like only seeing their hand holding a knife from the shadows before stabbing/slashing their victim and cutting away to something else immediately so we don't get any other details. Etc.


Anyway, hopefully this was somewhat helpful!

Horror can be one of the harder genres to write for because there's so much going on within it. But so long as you stick true to these three central keys to creating and stretching tension, using fear of the unknown as an effective tool, and finally using misdirection to give false tension and just as false a sense of relief before something bad actually happens, you should be golden!

Cheers!

- GojiBean

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Good luck, horror genre is quite hard to do. Other than writing good horror it's also important to make it interactive for the players so my tips is to encourage player to get hurt, maimed, or killed. There's no tension if the dead people are all NPC. Honestly, i think this boils down to finding good players, but you can set up a system that make it easier for players to make new character, contributing from beyond the grave or make sacrifice a worthwhile thing to do.

 

[iceice]

Hello everyone! As someone who loves watching horror movies, I have never done a horror-themed roleplay before.

Any useful tips and tricks you can share with me? Some do's and don'ts?

Thanks in advance!

Use every human sense to describe the environment, n gorey body, anything you find important