You don't jump scare in text. Jump scares are cheap shocks that happen because of auditory or visual cues. You cant do that in text. In horror writing you need to build tension. How you create that is your choice, but since this is writing you can get inside the characters head which is a great way to build the fear.
The OP was asking about writing horror and King is the biggest and most successful horror writer in history. Having somebody suggest reading King is pretty on point. As for style, every person has the type of writing that they enjoy reading so if King isn't for you then he isn't for you. Still is a great place to start for people who are interested in becoming better horror writers.
King is hardly the only one: HP Lovecraft Dan Simmons Edgar Allan Poe Ann Rice Bram Stoker Mary Shelly Just to name a few.
The only kind of jump scare I find works in written form is having some suspenseful scene and then, on the next line, you give the resolution, but it's either so surprising or so profoundly disturbing that it makes the reader put the book down for a moment just to reel from the impact. Needless to say, that's incredibly difficult to do, at least for me, and I doubt I've ever accomplished that because it requires some truly effective writing. That being said, I'm not a big fan of jump scares anywhere even if I found the first Five Nights at Freddy's very effective, but even in that game it wasn't the jump scares that were scary; they were just the "payoff," or punishment for failure. The effectiveness was in the suspenseful, creepy atmosphere and ambiance of the rest of the game, the parts where you were trying to keep those jump scares from happening while being unable to run away or fight back in any mentionable way. That's why, when speaking of scaring people in literature, I prefer to forget all about jump scares and rely on atmosphere and ambiance. Not every person fears the same things, so there will always be people out there who won't be scared by your writing. You just have to accept that just like you have to accept that there will always be people out there who will hate your writing, no matter how good it is. You have basically two choices: writing about what you fear, which can easily make your writing more effective because you write from experience, or you write about something that a majority of people find scary: not all scary things are created equal. Some things are more universally feared than others. Choosing a subject that's more universally feared than your greatest fear will give your story greater potential to freak out a greater number of people. Luckily, odds are, you are creeped out by the same things that most people find creepy, so if the two align, you have a great starting point. No matter what baddie you choose, however, I'd strongly advice you to forget gore and graphic details and instead focus on the aforementioned atmosphere and ambiance. Those are the things that will help your story to crawl under the reader's skin and leave them feeling uneasy even after putting the book down. That's what I want when I write a horror scene. It's not easy and because I suck as a writer, I've had to do tons of research just to learn what elements help make a scene creepy and disturbing (instead of gory and disgusting). I usually stick to the mantra of the guy who directed the Silent Hill movie: "I don't want disgusting, I want disturbing." Think about it. Those are two very different things, and it's the latter that will leave your reader feeling uneasy even after finishing your story if you did your job well. Anyway, I have my own horror scene to ponder, so good luck and may your writing cause endless nightmares!
My thirteen year old son loves Five Nights At Freddy's. Personally, I've played once and it scared the bejeebers out of me!
I think in the same way that a lot of movie directors choose not to watch earlier versions of the stories they're adapting, an author could argue that writing in a genre they have no experience with even as a reader could potentially be a good thing as they're not bound by the limits those before them have set, but are in the mode and mood of tackling the project however fits the story and their writing style best.
Honestly, the only thing that comes to mind is the fact that humans are made of water? Perhaps the water is what fueled his fathers drunken rage? and he is so insane that he is mad at people because they are mainly made of the same thing his father is?!?! vague
Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! Did this work? No, damm, I don't think it can be done in text. Concentrate on what gives you the chills and put it in your writing. You will never get that startling fear you want. But you can scare the bejesus out of someone with your story. Make it believable.
