In the meantime, please share with us a favorite horror movie, show, or trope of yours! We promise not to use this information against your characters.
Favourite tropes include being forced to do a terrible option no matter what, chases through spooky settings, and the sensation/atmosphere of being watched no matter where you are but especially in places considered safe.
movies: REC (original/spanish one) It Follows (the test drive reminded me of this!) Zygote (a horror short with supernatural/sentient body horror) Annihilation (for the visuals/transformation) video games: Little Nightmares, and Inside. The horror is in the worldbuild as much as the challenges and antagonists
oh, the creature in IT shapeshifts into various classic monsters (e.g. creature from the black lagoon, boris karloff mummy, werewolf from i was a teenage werewolf, frankenstein's monster), based on what might scare its target more or a movie they recently watched, etc; which might fit springwood's classic vibe
Psychological horror or gothic horror. Things like the Haunting and Session 9. Psychological can sometimes be even more scary because you have to look deep in yourself
the psychology of “would you really kill other refugees around you in order to get home faster” or “would you try to stick it out despite more and more bad shit happening to you and everyone”
events and (planted? evidence?) that make the refugees trust the others around them less and less despite trying initially to make bonds for safety in numbers
another great trope is just a slow creeping sense of dread - little things that are off that just start to add up, not paid enough attention to perhaps until it’s too late, the train is here
Spooky ghosts! Some of my favorite horror movies are Crimson Peak and Black Sunday (which is more of a revived-evil-witch thing, but still). Also, the original Suspiria: it’s not that scary, but the slow, silent chase scene with the razor wire really messed me up the first time I saw it.
Psychological horror. Violence and gore in horror isn’t scary it’s just gross. But fucked up perceptions, things not being what they seem, Protag wondering if they’re the crazy one or if they’re right.... the good shit
not a movie, but I’ve also always found the story “The White People” to be super effective; it’s basically the diary of a young Victorian girl whose nurse has been introducing her to pagan/fairy rites, and while it initially seems like it’s just normal kid/teen fantasy thing, it eventually gets dark.
random ailments afflicting one member/certain members/the whole town every so often, maybe as part of a chapter - for a few days people lose their hearing, for a few days people can’t speak, for a few days vision is affected - causing not only physical disruption but also psychological trauma as well as it keeps happening
meng yao
: goddd this exactly. like to me slasher films are either just action flicks or gross-out movies, i definitely prefer something more nuanced and psychological as opposed to just 'you are in physical danger'. also suspense/mystery
It Follows (the test drive reminded me of this!)
Zygote (a horror short with supernatural/sentient body horror)
Annihilation (for the visuals/transformation)
video games: Little Nightmares, and Inside. The horror is in the worldbuild as much as the challenges and antagonists
ok i'm done i swear