Writing Horror

Creating tension and atmosphere through verbs How can we create a creepy atmosphere in our writing? Is it through our adjectives? No, it is through our verbs. It is our physical actions and reactions which show our fear, not the colour of our eyes!

Try it out Replace the verbs in the following sentences to create a creepy atmosphere. The boy ran down the alley. A tall man walked behind him.

Choose your ammunition Use a thesaurus to look up as many synonyms as you can for the following verbs. Creep Fall Run Shiver

Create tension Read through the passage from Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak. Add in appropriately creepy verbs to create a tense atmosphere. Context: Madam Octa is a huge and deadly spider that Darren controls by playing a flute. Here we see Darren's power over Madam Octa failing. The sound ________ me. My head turned, the flute ______ from my lips, and my concentration ________. My link to Madam Octa disintegrated. She shook her head, took a couple of quick steps closer to Steve's throat, then ________ her fangs and appeared to grin. Steve ______ with fear and _____ to his feet. He _____ at the spider, but she and his hand missed. Before he could try again, Madam Octa lowered her head, quick as a snake, and sank her poison-tipped fangs deep into his neck!

Original text The sound alarmed me. My head turned, the flute slid from my lips, and my concentration snapped. My link to Madam Octa disintegrated. She shook her head, took a couple of quick steps closer to Steve's throat, then bared her fangs and appeared to grin. Steve roared with fear and surged to his feet. He swiped at the spider, but she ducked and his hand missed. Before he could try again, Madam Octa lowered her head, quick as a snake, and sank her poison-tipped fangs deep into his neck!

Get writing Your scenario: a girl is entering a deserted house. Your task: use the following five verbs in five sentences, which tell this story. Crept Trembled Gasped Fled Grimaced Finally, write the next five sentences of the story by yourself. Make sure you use some creepy verbs.