Elements of Horror Fiction

Setting The time, place, environment, and historical

context of the story. Horror stories often include isolated locations,

stormy nights, old houses, graveyards, etc…

Mood The underlying feeling of a story. Horror stories make careful use of mood

shifts to create suspense and advance the plot.

Character Not all important characters are people,

sometimes they are houses, objects, or creatures.

Unreliable Narrators Not all narrators are telling the truth. The

reader must determine whether the narrator is trustworthy by paying careful attention to his or her actions, attitudes, and statements.

Irony (situational and dramatic) Situational Irony: the difference between

what the reader expects to happen and what actually happens.

Irony continued… Dramatic Irony: the reader sees a

character’s mistakes and misunderstandings, but the character does not.

Suspense Authors build suspense through careful

pacing of the plot, focusing the reader on key images through repetition, and the use of dramatic irony.