SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A HORROR STORY?

I used to pass on reading these types of articles, but found that more often than not, I would find at least one helpful tip to use in my own writing. As a result, aspiring horror writers may want to read these that appeared in WRITING MAGAZINE (November 2025) in which the authors discuss using settings in your spooky stories.

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A (FOLK) HORROR STORY?

"Folk horror's a really tricky thing to try to define."

- Andrew Michael Hurley

Evading a succinct definition, the genre known as "folk horror" is best exemplified in the films THE WICKER MAN (1973), WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968), CRY OF THE BANSHEE (1970), and more recently, MIDSOMMAR (2019). In literature, the works of Arthur Machen are often cited, and other examples of folk horror run the gamut from Shirley Jackson's short shocker, "The Lottery", to actor turned writer Thomas Tryon's "Harvest Home".

The UK is the genius loci for folk horror and much of the tradition comes from there. Although it dates back decades, the genre is seen as a newly-emerging subject that of course, can be exploited by films and publishing.

Because of the rural settings, ancient traditions and secretive communal culture, folk horror lends itself to the more "literary" side of fiction and where the "horror" is sometimes less emphasized.

This can make writing folk horror a little daunting. Award-winning British author Andrew Michael Hurley is interviewed in the November, 2020 issue of WRITING magazine and explains a lot about his books and how they incorporate the tradition of folk horror, and where even the landscape can become a character.

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A HORROR STORY. . .

Are you an aspiring horror writer? Do you write horror stories? Author Alex Davis shares some basic tips on writing horror fiction in the November issue of WRITING MAGAZINE. He tells of the importance of the "build", atmosphere, the "reveal", and my favorite, don't be a hostage to the happy ending. Short on depth, but enough to give you the idea, these tips will help you jump start your story or make one you have written a little better.

And, don't forget to visit MMW later today, when I'll be posting the first installment of the first issue of Robert A. Lowndes' mini-magazine masterpieces, MAGAZINE OF HORROR, where you can read how the masters like Ambrose Bierce, Robert W. Chambers, Frank Belknap Long and H.G. Wells did it.