Hello, I am new to this forum and recently I have started writing after a long absence. I always enjoyed writing when I was very young then stopped. Writing always came easy to me and I do enjoy it so I have decided to pick it up again. The area where I found myself gravitating to is shorter stories which as a genre you would call "Horror". I enjoy using elements of the paranormal or supernatural (Not YA leaning). I find that when I look at my writing I tend to veer away from the shock element or gratuity when dealing with actions against people. More of a keep the feelings, atmosphere and setting visceral but leave actions of inhumanity in the shadows. I wonder then is it really a horror then or is the line coming closer to mystery or thriller for example. I am curious to hear others thoughts.
Horror comes with a great deal of mystery and so does thriller. The difference is that in the horror genre the mystery doesn't always have to be solved and is usually paranormal. (If it's not then it's snuff). Horror stories try to creep you out like a bad nightmare or a scary make-belief. I don't believe in ghosts but if a book makes me doubt my logic and keep me up at night, that means that the horror part made it's way through my veins successfully. Horror books also tend to have a cover with a quote somewhere near the title, in which it is claimed that the incidents and testimonies of these stories really took place. A trick to add to your paranoia. The only horror book I read and liked was an old anthology of stories when I was a child. I was a fool for that kind of stuff back then.
There is a great deal of similarities between the two as both usually revolve around the pursuit or discovery of an antagonist and how the characters eventually manage to (or in some cases fail to) to overcome the threat of the antagonist. I would say the main difference between the two would be that mystery focuses more on the pursuit and discovery of the antagonist whereas horror focuses more the conflict between the antagonist and the characters.
"I would say the main difference between the two would be that mystery focuses more on the pursuit and discovery of the antagonist whereas horror focuses more the conflict between the antagonist and the characters." That's a very good point Wolfmaster.
