The Art of the Scare, with Horror Author Katherine Arden

Sometimes, the most effective spooky stories come not from jump scares or violence, but from the steady building of tension and the subversion of everyday life. "I think many people find that things that are familiar and real, but also turned unaccountably strange, are the scariest," says award-winning writer Katherine Arden. "It's the uncanny valley; it's the nightmare that takes place in your own house."

Read all about her work and her tips for keeping readers on the edge of their seats – then enter the Scary Stories Competition by October 28th.

You started off writing fantasy and then moved into horror. What drew you to scary stories?

I'm a huge horror fan and have been for a long time. My first fantasy series contained elements of horror. I have read widely in the genre and I love horror movies. It felt natural to try my hand at a scary story, and I am glad to say that I enjoyed the process and plan to write more. 

I find that the scariest things are often things that feel familiar and real. Do you agree? When writing, are you often pulling from your own life (or research about others’ lives)?

I think the 'scariest thing' varies from person to person. Many people find that things that are familiar and real but also turned unaccountably strange are the scariest. It's the uncanny valley; it's the nightmare that takes place in your own house. I sometimes pull pieces from my own life – a color, a description, how someone looks, how someone acts. But mostly I'm making things up. I think most authors would say the same. 

It’s easy to be cliché and/or gratuitous when trying to write something creepy – lots of blood, lots of monsters! How can writers avoid common horror tropes, and what do you find to be more effective for achieving that fear factor? 

I would say, first off, write what you like. A wonderful writer like Stephen King, and also more contemporary horror authors like Stephen Graham Jones, don't shy away from these tropes. So, you do you. Horror has plenty of tropes and clichés, and I think my best advice would be to read widely in the genre and also watch a lot of scary movies so that you understand horror tropes and how to either employ them or avoid them effectively. 

For our teenage writers new to scary stories, what books would you recommend that they check out for inspiration?

For younger readers, I'd recommend The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier; Doll Bones by Holly Black; Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie; The Clackity by Laura Senf; and This Appearing House by Allie Malinenko. 

For readers in high school, I'd recommend The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, and also to start getting into the work of many wonderful writers of horror for adults, including The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson; The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones; Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay; Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman; and The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward.

What are you looking for in a winning entry? Any other advice for the writers, especially those who are new to scary stories?

I am looking for original ideas, a distinctive voice, a good sense of atmosphere, and how to 'build' an effective scare. I would advise young writers who want to write scary stories to read a lot of scary stories. Not just novels, but scary folk stories and ghost stories. Also, practice telling people scary stories aloud, so you can see right away what gives people a good scare.

*Note from Write the World: As you scare, make sure you keep our Writing Guidelines in mind!

About the Guest Judge:

Katherine Arden is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of the Winternight Trilogy and The Warm Hands of Ghosts. She is also the author of the Small Spaces Quartet, four books for children.

The first book of the Winternight Trilogy, The Bear and the Nightingale was named by Amazon as the best science fiction and fantasy novel of 2017. The trilogy has been nominated for the Locus and Nebula Award, the Vermont Book Award, and four Goodreads Choice Awards. The Winternight Trilogy has been translated into over twenty-five languages.

R.L Stine called Arden’s Small Spaces, the first book in the Small Spaces Quartet,  “terrifying and fun.” It was named a best book of 2018 by Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, the Chicago Public Library system, and the American Library Association, as well as being nominated for student book awards in over twenty-five states. It is the winner of the Golden Dome award in Vermont, the William Allen White award in Kansas, the Nene award in Hawaii, and student-voted awards in Idaho and Nebraska.

Born in Austin, Texas, Arden studied Russian in Moscow, taught at a school in the French alps, and worked on a farm in Hawaii. She currently lives in Vermont, where she writes, hikes with her dog, skis, and continues to expand her vegetable garden and extensive beds of perennial flowers.