Thank you. Yes, I love writing horror... and I hope you're already hammering away at the keyboard, writing your new book, and letting the dark and slippery parts of your imagination slither freely. Can't wait to see what you come up with!
I love reading horror. As has already been said here, the way you write it and the twists and turns you use are what will make it original. I loved reading the Ring series by Koji Suzuki (couldn't be further from the films, I promise!) because the characters were so well thought out, each novel in the series completely changes your view of the previous one and some of the scenes are so creepy, it makes you keep glancing over your shoulder as you're reading it. Have you ever heard of the Winchester House in California? The woman who lived there, Sarah Winchester, kept building rooms and changing staircases until the day she died, some of which didn't even lead anywhere and no one is sure why, but it's often referred to as a 'haunted house'. Some people think either spirits told her what to build or she kept building so ghosts would get lost and not be able to find her. Your story kind of reminded me of that, because I don't know what the builders thought who carried out all that work for her. They might have just been in it for the money, they might have thought she was strange or they might have believed in supernatural things themselves and agreed with her plans. It's worth looking up! I think that can definitely offset some of the frustration you feel with bad horror stories where you just want to yell at them 'why would anyone ever do that?!?'. If they acknowledge it, it puts you more in the frame of mind that it's not something you think would ever happen to you in real life, so why worry about it? Characters making decisions that feel more realistic also helps with this. I like the main character in 10 Cloverfield Lane because it felt like she made decisions you would actually make in that situation. My favourite horror stories are where you never know for certain what happened. I don't mean leaving things unresolved, but where you have more than one possible explanation - normally one scientific and one supernatural, and it's up to you to think which one it is.
Hi, I just joined this forum today and haven't even introduced myself, but felt compelled to comment. Unless you are a Hoosier and have a specific small lake in mind, please don't set this in Northeast IN. No one would resort there, trust me from experience. If you are set on Indiana, research Indiana Dunes in the NW or Hoosier National Forest in the South. Good luck.
Thanks for the post! When someone devotes some of their time to enrich my work, it means the world to me. I'm indeed not from Indiana. Could you tell me more about why people never resort there, the lake and the suggested location? Thanks again!
Sure. Simple...There's nothing there but flat, desolate cornfields, and Fort Wayne has no real attractions. Indiana Dunes is close to Gary, which is rust-belt city with some recent resurgence, so that could work with your premise. Southern IN is the nicest part of the state, but just don't pick French Lick or West Baden - there are two renovated hotels there that are already notoriously haunted!
