Horror in General

Like a lot of people, I enjoy dark stories. There's a great mystery surrounding death, and that is the allure that captivates the minds of readers and audiences alike. The best stories have the highest stakes, and death is the consequence that no one can recover from.

However, horror has always been exceptionally challenging for me. It's hard to write twists in horror, because you and everyone else already know there must be bloodshed. In that way, the story itself has already become a trope before a single word has landed on the page. There is a structure to follow. We must also create likeable characters in a very short timeframe. If we don't, there's no tension, just slapstick violence.

I don't exactly know the point I was trying to make here. I guess I'm just disappointed in the quality of horror I see on the tv. Gore for the sake of gore, cheap jump scares, and predictabiliy. Low-budget slashers always have me going "he's behind the door." Last night, we watched Halloween Ends. Nothing kills the fear like an aging maniac battling arthritis in a sewer. Talk about going out with a fizzle. And honestly- who stays in the town that harbored so much trauma over the span of 50 years? I'm asking you, Laurie Strode. I like a good thriller. I need something that makes me think.