iUniverse Writer’s Tips on Horror Story Settings

So, you’re going to write a horror novel. iUniverse self-publishing asks if you have given any thought as to what kind of setting it’s going to have?

iUniverse publishing says this is a vitally important aspect of any horror tale, but one which inexperienced writers often neglect to place emphasis on. Good horror stories are part atmosphere, part suspenseful moments and part scary creatures. The setting is every bit as important as your plot.

Castles or Gothic mansions?

Horror stories use such creepy places for settings as haunted houses, castles, run down chateaus, large hotels as in Stephen King’s “The Shining”, abandoned warehouses, factories, hospitals, especially mental asylums, abandoned mines (“The Hills Have Eyes“), subway tunnels, caves, ghost towns, cabins in the woods, mysterious islands and lonely stretches of highway. However, the setting can sometimes be more effective and terrifying when it is contrary to the readers’ expectations.

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