Would you be interested in horror?

kumikal

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I’m planning to prewrite a bunch of chapters for a horror/mystery novel. I’m new to SH and don’t know how well a horror/mystery focused novel would do. There is a slowburn romance, but it doesn’t come until much later in the book.

Here’s what I started writing for chapter 2. Would you be interested?


Rachel was not like the other kids her age.

While other children played on the playground, Rachel would sit on the swing and stare at the transparent figures in the distance.

Some figures would stand on the road as cars drove straight through them. Others would stand in front of passersby while screaming bloody murder.

Regardless of what they did, only Rachel could see.

Her grandfather would always tell her she was special; And she believed him.

He would tell her all about the scary stories he experienced throughout his life: The dog that ate his teacher, the mother who cooked her kids, the neighbor who buried his wife, among other things.

Rachel’s mother would always tell him to stop scaring the family, but that didn’t stop him from secretly talking to Rachel.

One day, in the garden, he showed Rachel his biggest secret.

Using the knife he brought from the kitchen, he plunged the knife into his chest.

Stab. Twist. Release.

Stab. Twist. Release.


Rachel watched as he took his life in front of her, his mangled guts staining the grass red, only to reassemble back together.

That was her first close encounter with a monster.

Rachel was six when she learned her grandfather was replaced by a monster.

As she grew older, she realized that no one but she could differentiate between a human and their doppelganger.
 
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EMatthews18

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Yes!!! Yes!!! I am writing a zombie/vampire story right now where my intelligent zombie character, she helps her friend, who just got turned into a vampire and I am going psychological horror with the villain’s behavior.
 

kumikal

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Yes!!! Yes!!! I am writing a zombie/vampire story right now where my intelligent zombie character, she helps her friend, who just got turned into a vampire and I am going psychological horror with the villain’s behavior.
Psychological horror is such a treat!! Maybe it’s because I like abstract concepts and exploring the mind, but psychological horror just scratches that side of my brain that says “something is wrong”. I love it!!
? I, for one, am quite hooked by this. It almost reads like an urban legend. I like it!
Thank you!! I’m planning to crank out chapters and start posting around mid-January. Feel free to check it out when it’s posted! I’ll edit my post to include the link when it’s out.
 

Eldoria

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When I was a child and a teenager, I would be afraid to watch TV alone at night about zombies, ghosts, or similar horror stories that stemmed from supernatural elements.

However, as an adult, I've lost my "fear" of mystical horror. Psychological and social horror are actually scarier.

Imagine riding a motorcycle on a deserted road at night. Then a motorcyclist passes you and stabs you in the stomach without warning. You fall... and the next day, people find your body cold.

That's a horror that's more realistic and frightening than any ghost story.
 

Macha

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When I was a child and a teenager, I would be afraid to watch TV alone at night about zombies, ghosts, or similar horror stories that stemmed from supernatural elements.

However, as an adult, I've lost my "fear" of mystical horror. Psychological and social horror are actually scarier.

Imagine riding a motorcycle on a deserted road at night. Then a motorcyclist passes you and stabs you in the stomach without warning. You fall... and the next day, people find your body cold.

That's a horror that's more realistic and frightening than any ghost story.
You forgot the part where you wake up in another world. Then a bandit passes you and stabs you in the stomach without warning. You fall... and the next day, people find your body cold. Only to wake up in another world.
 

kumikal

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When I was a child and a teenager, I would be afraid to watch TV alone at night about zombies, ghosts, or similar horror stories that stemmed from supernatural elements.

However, as an adult, I've lost my "fear" of mystical horror. Psychological and social horror are actually scarier.

Imagine riding a motorcycle on a deserted road at night. Then a motorcyclist passes you and stabs you in the stomach without warning. You fall... and the next day, people find your body cold.

That's a horror that's more realistic and frightening than any ghost story.
The character you see here is a side character. I wasn’t sure how to introduce her because i’s still the beginning of the story. The novel starts off with regular horror and slowly moves to psychological horror. That‘s why it looks so funky and rushed here.

Either way, I appreciate the feedback and will do my best to fix it!!
 

kumikal

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You forgot the part where you wake up in another world. Then a bandit passes you and stabs you in the stomach without warning. You fall... and the next day, people find your body cold. Only to wake up in another world.
I mean… you’re not wrong. The main premise of the novel is a sci-fi where people are able to experience movies through technology. The first movie is a monste-hunting movie. My horror skills are a bit lacking, but I’ll go over my work and fix it later.
No. I'm a wimp.
I can handle horror novels and comics, but movies and games are off the table for me! Too scary!!
 

kumikal

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I'm hooked on horror of all types; of course I'd be interested. :s_eek:
Dear horror lover, is the cover to your liking?

Untitled125_20251202190623.png
 

kumikal

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I'm going to be honest, not really. Make the image entirely of the purple face and door, and just lose that white above. I know you're trying to be artistic with it but...lose it. ?
Understood, I’ll change it. What about this? I slightly reduced the purple and lost the white stuff.

Untitled125_20251211101626.png
 
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kumikal

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Well, why do you want your author name to appear anyway? *^^* They'll know who you are. I don't think many others have their names on books.
I wanted to leave the white thing but I nothing to put there, so I left my name. Does it look better without it?
 
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