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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/12724-Realistic-or-Supernatural.html
Horror/Scary: September 04, 2024 Issue [#12724]




 This week: Realistic or Supernatural
  Edited by: Dawn Embers Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

An unusual Horror/Scary Newsletter by Dawn

A look from a non-horror author about the topic of the genre and some elements that help distinguish what qualifies for some readers.


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Letter from the editor

When it comes to genre fiction, there often is a requirement of definition. What defines the genre? What elements qualify the story as horror or scary? There are certain expectations that come with the different story genres, which includes that of horror. A reader who knows what they want from the genre may have certain opinions over what will qualify. While I don't have the answer for everything that fits within the given genre, I have a couple of points here for us to consider.

Supernatural Elements

This might be a little more obvious. This is where we get things like monsters that live under the bed and creatures that go bump in the night. Also may include vampires that attack, instead of sparkle, and werewolves/windegos that terrorize forts. One could even say the villains of slasher moves are on the supernatural side considering how it is nearly impossible to kill them as they seem to come back later. There are haunted mansions that continue to build on their own or even ghosts that throw books. Many options exist in the supernatural that can help to create a scary story.

However, those elements don't guarantee that the story will fit in the genre. A story that focuses on ghosts can be scary. But a story with a drag queen ghost, a socially awkward morgue employee seeing ghosts for the first time and a detective love interest come together in a story that is not horror. Instead, it fits in the suspenseful romance category. I've actually enjoyed a few romance novels that have involved characters who can see ghosts and none of them are what I would put in the horror genre. Well, maybe the grandmother ghost who had been a black widow who killed all her husbands and when came back as a ghost, she kept trying to kill the other characters. That one was close.

While having supernatural elements is common in horror, those elements also find their way into other genres. And the topic can go the other way. A story doesn't need to have something supernatural in order for it to be scary or in the horror genre.

Realistic Approaches

There are some very realistic things and people who can be very scary. Serial killers are a good example. While I haven't done enough research to know if there are any real life killer that was a doctor that obsessed over a US Marshal, but there are definitely some crazy people out there who have done some very scary things. And the serial killer is just one example. People live in fear on a regular basis, which is something that can be used within a story to give the atmosphere and responses that fit within the genre of horror.

However, the question can become when does the story qualify as a horror story with the realistic elements compared to maybe the genre of suspense or thriller. In many ways, it's a matter of how the story is told. The atmosphere, characters and the way you approach the story is going to be a big factor whether or not it will fit within a particular genre.

So that leads us to this point:
What elements do you use in order to write a horror story?



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Ask & Answer

Do you use a more realistic approach or less natural horror elements in your stories?

I haven't done a Horror newsletter in years, so there isn't any feedback. Instead, I have just a prompt to provide for anyone that wants to take a chance.

Write a story that uses a realistic element that is scary but write the story in two different ways. First, try to write it as a horror story. Then try to make it more suspense/other genre instead of horror. Consider what aspects of writing it takes to make them seem different. Have fun!


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