What is the best way to write a horror novel that can cause the reader to feel Goosebumps?

[Kamelingil]

I recently made a novel called "PHASMOPHOBIA" and I am thinking what should I do to make the reader feel Goosebumps while reading it.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

get high. Completely wasted. Cooked. Off to the wonderland.
Worked for S. King at least

 

[ParticleOfSand]

1. You can go into extremely gruesome details. Make it so detailed that the reader can picture all the ugliness.
2. Suspense: Don't reveal everything. Tell the story from how the character experiences it instead of an omniscient view. Bonus points if you incorporate an unreliable narrator for plot twists
3. Don't go into details. I know this contrasts point 1, but there's a right time for each. Do this when things are fast-paced and you want to make it seem like the reader is experiencing these things.
4. Make the setting as close to reality as possible. The idea is to make the reader consider if this could happen in real life. Like going into the bathroom with the lights off at 3am and saying "Bloody Mary" multiple times, knowing full well it's fake. Then after the character leaves, go into omniscient pov to show that it did work and the creature appeared behind the narrator, he just didn't notice.

Stuff like that. The unknown is your best friend so make it realistic or plain weird. The point is to put a unique spin on an old idea and go as unhinged as possible. Have fun.

P.S. Most of this stuff is the stuff of my childhood fears and nightmares that occasionally ruin my sleep.

 

[BlackKnightX]

Focus on suspense instead of surprise. The reason why Japanese horror movies are so scary is because it focuses more on building the eerie atmosphere. When you see the monster, you might be scared, but after a while, you'll get used to it. But instead, when you only get a glimpse of a monster every now and then, only see the shadow in the corner, only hear the sinister rumor about it, it will be a whole lot more scary. Humans are scared of the unknown after all.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Carefully

 

[EliseValkyria]

Not ironically speaking, you can play the game and try to describe what you feel in a match of the game.

I did the same in a small story arc in my story.

Moments like the suspense of hiding from something you don't know or understand.

 

[Succubiome]

If you wish to scare others, write your own fears.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Go for a walk.

At midnight.

Write what you know.

:)

 

[RepresentingThree]

With words.

 

[SalivaSpittingWorm]

Put on some spooky music and write. A lot of it is about capturing the atmosphere, describing sudden noises and mystery, not showing what's going on right away. I'm no expert, but I recently wrote a spooky chapter and the readers were happy so I guess I did it right and so I'm qualified to give advice

 

[Kamelingil]

music

You can't just put music in novels

 

[Cipiteca396]

You can't just put music in novels

You absolutely can, though I wouldn't advise it.

That said, you weren't supposed to put the music in the story, you were supposed to listen to it for inspiration.

---

I'll throw up some more advice though.

Don't aim for cheap tricks like jump scares. They don't work in novels. Scaring people is also different from disgusting them, so don't bother with gore unless it adds to the horror.

Play into the reader's paranoia and anxiety. Use clichés and tropes to try to make them think that something is going to happen, and then either don't make it happen, or make something else happen instead.

For example, have the character find blood, follow it to its source, and then realize someone got a minor cut while working. Have a moment where they talk together, then have the monster attack the person, attracted to the scent of their blood. (The monster should not just disappear there, though. You killed the tension when the blood turned out to be a red herring, and brought it back when the monster appeared. If it disappeared again, it would be anticlimactic. )

Tension is the main currency in a horror story. You need to manage it carefully. While what I just suggested works, it's kinda a cheap trick. Do it too much, and the reader will get bored of it. Most of a horror story is gradual build up of tension, followed by a sudden release. Any time you break that formula you'll stress the reader out, so it should only be done at particularly important moments; first monster sighting, last ally death, epilogue.

Use your imagination. This got longer than I expected.

 

[SalivaSpittingWorm]

You can't just put music in novels

I mean, like, play music while youre writing it.

 

[Kamelingil]

I mean, like, play music while youre writing it.

Oh, but I am listening to heavy metal songs while writing though....

 

[Lodur]

Go for a walk.

At midnight.

It worked until I was 5 or 6. Never after. If a night is too dark, and I can't see a sh*t, my only fear is to bump into something, or tripple and fall. Not at all some unknown threats. I guess, I have poor imagination.

 

[CamRoze]

I recently made a novel called "PHASMOPHOBIA" and I am thinking what should I do to make the reader feel Goosebumps while reading it.

The easiest things to remember to do when writing horror is that you need to build suspense by taking advantage of how you pace your sentences. For an example:
' I run down the hallway, the red walls making me feel as though i am being smothered to death.'

VS.
'I run down the hall. It's red walls make me feel small. I feel smothered, almost to death.'

The bottom one will cause more suspense because the pace of the sentences. Instead of having a lot of words in one sentence, you want short precise ones, with a strong present choice of verbs. Also, try to remember, Show not Tell.

Show not tell: This confused me for so long, but it is simple when you hear it re worded. Dialogue VS. Narration. You want a balance. If your characters ae talking for more than 35% or your whole book, sorry they are blabbering. If less, than 20% Dialogue, and you're info dumping too much. It takes a bit of practice to get the choice balance down for your own way of writing, but the above stands to be the most common ranges and tips i have for you, that still may be useful

 

[Raymann]

I recently made a novel called "PHASMOPHOBIA" and I am thinking what should I do to make the reader feel Goosebumps while reading it.

☠ W̴̯͇̘̉͌r̴̛͚͍̳̪͗͑͐í̵̪̦͙t̴̮̅̿̕ę̸̹́̾̓̈́̚ ̸͇̲̎͌t̸̥̐͒̅̿ḩ̷̮͆͊̾̓͝e̴̢̩̣̙͓͋̍̾ ̶̘̄̇̎n̶͇͎͛͑́̃̌ơ̴̧̻̲͈͛̇̀̓v̴̨͍̝͈̄̑̔͝ͅe̷̹̻̭̜͔͋̿̈́͐͝l̷̛̥̦͔̙̞̽̈́ ̷̬͔̝̝̣̎̏i̸̡̡͖͘n̵̞͝ͅ ̴̰͎́̚͝t̷̛͇́̈h̷̞̪̑́̈́̿͘i̴̖̣̠͌̒̆͜͝͝ͅs̶̛̳̻͔͐̈̈́ ̷͓̘̞̭̑̃̃͑l̶̰͔̱̟̿̓̓̓̕ą̸̂̒͊̔̍n̷̙̈̔̃g̷͍̦̜͐͋͒̅û̵͚̠̱͓͜ả̵̞͔͈͓͎̅͛ǧ̴̗̦͉͂ę̷̛ ⛧

 

[Kamelingil]

☠ W̴̯͇̘̉͌r̴̛͚͍̳̪͗͑͐í̵̪̦͙t̴̮̅̿̕ę̸̹́̾̓̈́̚ ̸͇̲̎͌t̸̥̐͒̅̿ḩ̷̮͆͊̾̓͝e̴̢̩̣̙͓͋̍̾ ̶̘̄̇̎n̶͇͎͛͑́̃̌ơ̴̧̻̲͈͛̇̀̓v̴̨͍̝͈̄̑̔͝ͅe̷̹̻̭̜͔͋̿̈́͐͝l̷̛̥̦͔̙̞̽̈́ ̷̬͔̝̝̣̎̏i̸̡̡͖͘n̵̞͝ͅ ̴̰͎́̚͝t̷̛͇́̈h̷̞̪̑́̈́̿͘i̴̖̣̠͌̒̆͜͝͝ͅs̶̛̳̻͔͐̈̈́ ̷͓̘̞̭̑̃̃͑l̶̰͔̱̟̿̓̓̓̕ą̸̂̒͊̔̍n̷̙̈̔̃g̷͍̦̜͐͋͒̅û̵͚̠̱͓͜ả̵̞͔͈͓͎̅͛ǧ̴̗̦͉͂ę̷̛ ⛧

Can't read anything lol

 

[Deleted member 68927]

I once read a story about a man who got kidnapped into the demon realm and had to eat corpses to become a demon, so he won't get eaten. I couldn't finish it because it was in parts body horror and in parts emotional horror. I think it was called Humans are Delicious. I had nightmares for weeks. And I used to listen to creepy pastas as a hobby before finding that book.
So, I think that cannibalism is a safe bet.