Hi all! I write in my spare time, and I'm trying to keep my work scary – I'm good at disturbing ideas, but what I'm after is less about content and more style. Looking for recommendations that give the kind of fear you get from watching a good psychological horror movie, or an analogue horror series, where the horror is primarily in the writing style. I want to invoke paranoia, looking over your shoulder that night, that kind of thing. The closest thing I've found is House of Leaves, which is not replicable in my medium. Any suggestions?
by OnlyHereOnaBlueMoon
2 Comments
The Ruins by Scott Smith might be what you are looking for.
Lots to learn from H.P. Lovecraft, one of the top writers to create weird, eerie, disturbing fiction.
Obligatory mention that he is deeply problematic (xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, and probably some other bad qualities I’m forgetting) but the style and craft is worth a study. His work is a bit older (early 20th century) and the prose a bit more cumbersome than most contemporary fiction, so YMMV, but when things get spooky and terrifying he’s pretty effective.