Books To Help Students To Write Horror Essays

Introduction to Horror Essays

There is a fine line between writing horror and writing comedy, says the author of the famous “Goosebumps” series of books, R.L Stine. Horror is a genre of writing with the main focus on instilling a sense of fear in the mind of the reader. A good horror story or horror essay is a fine balance between suspense, thrill, anticipation, and mystery mixed with supernatural elements such as ghosts, ghouls, clowns, vampires, demons, etc. For a creative writer, writing horror can be an extremely enjoyable activity, but students who get assigned to write such an essay are often confused about what to do. Today we will discuss which books a student can read to write horror essays with ease.

Tips To Make A Horror Essay More Engaging

Many students majoring in creative writing may be forced to take up supplementary subjects and turn in assignments and papers for the course. Such stress from assignments can inhibit students’ creative thinking. However, there is a solution. GrabMyEssay is a research paper writing service that can alleviate students’ worries by writing their assignments for them. Students can then focus on writing engaging horror essays and don’t think about the tedious assignments that stifle their creativity. 

Some things that students can do in order to make their horror essays more interesting for the reader are listed below: 

  • Students must focus on things that they personally find scary. This can be anything from a fear of heights to maybe a fear of living alone. They must focus on describing their fear using the senses of sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste. The more personal their fear is, the more unique their story will be. 
  • Use cliffhangers to create suspense, and give the characters in a horror story high stakes and something to fight for. This will create a fear of failure and eagerness to succeed. 
  • Instilling fear in the reader through characterization and plot setting must be done carefully. Often the scariest characters are the ones who are perceived to be normal, with a few minor traits to set them apart. The same also applies to the setting. For example, a playground right next to a graveyard, or a bookkeeper who can hear things at night evoke a sense of fear and uneasiness in the reader. Using real-life scenarios will also help the readers connect to the characters more. Keeping this in mind while developing the plot can help make the horror essay more engaging.    

Must-Read Books For Horror Essay Writers

There is no single correct way that all students must follow to write good horror essays. However, the list of books that horror writers must study mentioned below will definitely help students understand the genre better. 

  1. “Supernatural Horror in Literature” by H.P Lovecraft. Lovecraft is a known master of horror, so his works will teach a reader how to build n atmosphere of dread and suspense.
  2. Classic Horror Literature from authors like William Hope Hodgson, Shirley Jackson, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, and Daphne du Maurier. Such books are classics for a reason – they withstood the test of time and still entice readers to this day, so a beginner horror writer has a lot to learn from them.
  3. Modern classics from authors like Stephen King and Anne Rice. Stephen King is also known as the master of modern horror fiction. A lot of his horror works are extremely famous and served as a framework for countless movies.
  4. Books and anatomy and forensics are a must-read for all students who wish to write about crime and horror if they wish to fill their books with realistic descriptions of crime scenes that will spook the reader.
  5. “Writing 21st Century Fiction” by Donald Maass is another must-read book for students. It is a practical guide rich with many writing exercises and activities to help students improve their fiction writing skills. Students can refer to this often with writing any essays, especially horror essays. 

Concluding Words About Horror Essays

Writing spooky stories and horror essays is a great way to encourage students to overcome writer’s block easily. Spooky stories are a fun and light-hearted way for students to step out of their comfort zones and learn to manage their words. Horror essays can go in different ways, and they are a good tool for students to explore their creativity.

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