DISCUSSION : Horror Stories!

Since I saw all those posts that really look forward to these - I want to try to post at least one a day, however I think that will only last about a week before I run out of ideas.

I am not asking for help or guidance. I want to join in a conversation that talks about stories in the horror genre. I am not asking what stories that have them - but unlike my other conversations, you can share stories if they help you explain. Here are some base questions but (most) anything related to the topic works.

  1. Why do you think authors started writing horror stories?
  2. Is there a common theme youā€™ve seen in horror stories? (movies / app)
  3. If you had to pitch a horror story to Episode- what would you pitch? (keep in mind they like gem choicesā€¦ sigh and romance.)
  4. Is there a story that you think would fit perfectly on a horror shelf?

(warning, I call out souls who vote and do not discuss >:P)

1 - NONE!
12 - Every. Damn. Scene.

On a Scale from 1-12, how much romance should be in a horror story?

Romance

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On a Scale from 1-12, how much drama should be in a horror story?

Drama

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On a Scale from 1-12, how much mystery should be in a horror story?

Mystery

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On a Scale from 1-12, how much thriller should be in a horror story?

Thriller

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On a Scale from 1-12, how much comedy should be in a horror story?

Comedy

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On a Scale from 1-12, how much action / adventure should be in a horror story?

Action / Adventure

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On a Scale from 1-12, how much horror should be in a horror story?

(yes I did just ask this)

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I think horror doesnā€™t have to have romance, but people (especially on Episode) prefer it, which is fine.

When I took an American Horror class, we realized that all horror has elements of mystery, drama, and especially comedy so I think itā€™s important to add those in.

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@FallenAngelNight13 Good luck with posts every day. Tag me in them if I miss one :joy:

1. Why do you think authors started writing horror stories?
Well, from what I saw, a lot of people and I mean A LOT, were really hyped for Halloween this year. (Did I miss something?) And most of the mainstream is milking supernatural creatures right now. (They are focusing on witches with the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and AHS. No offense to both shows. I like them and am a fan.) I guess people finally understood that horror is actually a great genre. Lol

2. Is there a common theme youā€™ve seen in horror stories? (movies / app)
The common thing in movies is the serial killer ones. Pleaseā€¦ I donā€™t care about themā€¦ if you feel unsecure, get a gun, stay with the police. The serial killer is only a humanā€¦ They canā€™t do much.

The common thing in Episode isā€¦ things gone wrong kinda? Idk how to explain but most trending stories in the Horror genre is ā€œI did this by myself/with my friends and now this happened! Help!!!ā€ Itā€™s enjoyable though. If done correctly.

3. If you had to pitch a horror story to Episode- what would you pitch? (keep in mind they like gem choicesā€¦ sigh and romance.)
Mystery and Thriller. Romance in horror stories is OK. But, it should be related to the plot. Like, Iā€™m dating the devil, okay? What else? The devilā€™s name is Lucifer, okay Christianity, then how do you think God will like that Iā€™m dating his ex-favorite angel? No! Heā€™ll punish me! Give me my consequences and make it relate to the plot!!

4. Is there a story that you think would fit perfectly on a horror shelf?
Yes. The Infected and JEZEBEL! are really good stories. They would fit perfectly.

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For some people, this is their zone. Others it might just be a challenge theyā€™ve set. Others just might be a little twisted and want to scare people? But I believe most people who write in thr ā€œhorrorā€ genre are actually writing a romance story and just putting in the horror genre to get seen

I donā€™t watch horror movies, and actually donā€™t really read them on the app too much so I feel like I canā€™t adequately answer this question, so instead Iā€™m going to make another dig at romance and say the common trend is RoMaNcE :expressionless:

Someone breaks into your room overnight because they want to steal your bra. Dun dun duuuun! :scream:
For real though, I think Episode could pull off a Blair Witch project time of featured story. Like youā€™re camping with 4 friends (all are love interests), maybe theyā€™re also filming their trip too? Or something like this British show I used to watch as a kid called Jeopardy, which I found really scary at times. It was 8 UK kids camping in Australian outback, which is terrifying enough on its own, because dingoes eat babies here, but like a whole bunch of stuff happens which I wonā€™t go into but I think episode could epi-fy something like this to include gem choices.

Romance - I voted 2, since weā€™re voting on how much it should be involved and not how much it currently is. In real life, Iā€™m less scared when my boyfriend is around, so having a love interest would be too reassuring for a horror story.

Drama - I voted 7. I think most horrors need an element of drama, but in saying that I think itā€™s possible to do it without.

Mystery - I voted 10 because if I donā€™t know whatā€™s going on, then Iā€™m going to be left in suspense, going to be more scared, etc.

Thriller - I voted 10 again. Mostly because I donā€™t know the real difference between the two (I think I read someone saying thrillers were more jump scares? Or had more suspense). But also because the app kind of shoves them together in the same category so itā€™s sort of saying they go hand in hand.

Comedy - I hit one as like an instant reflex because thatā€™s my domain and I got defensive for a moment :flushed: But I think horror stories are able to include some comedy, but probably only in the first episode otherwise itā€™s going to feel like a borderline parody and people wonā€™t take it too seriously.

Horror - Ok, people, who voted 11??? Who actually brought the average down from a solid 12? I bet it was someone who writes romance and puts it in the horror genre

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Why do you think authors started writing horror stories?
Because they like the genre. (Iā€™m talking about real horror stories, not stories placed in that genre to trend better.)

Is there a common theme youā€™ve seen in horror stories?
On the app- Truth or Dare :rofl: and other ā€œgamesā€ played by teenagers that go wrong.

If you had to pitch a horror story to Episode- what would you pitch? (keep in mind they like gem choicesā€¦ sigh and romance.)
I think something like The Infected would do very well as a featured story.
If I had to come up with something on my ownā€¦ lol Iā€™ve already added gems to my horror story. They can take it :joy:

Is there a story that you think would fit perfectly on a horror shelf?
I have a few favourites:

  • The Infected
  • House of Fun (Not complete- I really hope it will be continued)
  • Haunted: Brook
  • Shroud (scariest story on the app IMO)
    And there are others.
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1. Why do you think authors started writing horror stories?
Simply because they like the genre.

2. Is there a common theme youā€™ve seen in horror stories? (movies / app)
I find that almost every horror movie Iā€™ve ever seen is about some kind of ā€˜evil spiritā€™ or something like that. It often possesses a house (or maybe a person) and then a new family moves into the ā€˜hauntedā€™ house and well, then all the trouble comes along.

3. If you had to pitch a horror story to Episode- what would you pitch? (keep in mind they like gem choicesā€¦ sigh and romance.)
I have absolutely no idea about what to pitch to Episode :joy:
I like watching horror movies but I am definitely not creative enough to come up with an idea of my own.

4. Is there a story that you think would fit perfectly on a horror shelf?
No one really comes to mind.

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  1. Considering most stories on the platform consist of romance and ā€˜dramaā€™, a broad term it is, I believe other genres such as horror are intended to counteract them, or depending on the authorā€™s abilities a stepping stone to greater directing and plot.

  2. Coming from a plebe hearing from school friends who love them, as well as reading some here, I think a common theme nowadays is MC accidentally initiating or agitating the monster or villain, if it makes sense. Or stumbling onto a bigger conspiracy.

  3. From stories like Shroud (and one of my many, many ideas), a story involving monsters from different cultures can be very interesting. If Episode is not willing to depict violent murder, I think a simple struggle between MC and the villain would suffice. A mystery or two also works, judging from Pretty Little Liars.
    If all else fails, horror-comedy or dark comedy can work, if Episode can pull it off.

  4. As Horror is already a genre on the app, Iā€™m not sure I could recommend more than everyone else in the thread can other than contest winners. And Blue River. And donā€™t forget about the Infected as well.

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An american Horror Class? That sounds super scary to me, but also very interesting. Do you want to give an example of why horror stories should have comedy?

Yes supernatural. I am part of those people haha. However, I havenā€™t watched any of those shows- I feel like you just debunked most horror stories -

Yes, there is that common theme. Like awakening a dark spirit chasing the reader and their friends for some reason. What do you mean ā€˜if done correctly?ā€™ in question number two.

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It was far from scary, it was so much fun. I miss it.

And it helps to have comedy because it breaks up the monotony of constant horror. When you have comedy, your audience / readers put their guards down for a second because theyā€™re laughing.

It also helps once you amp up the fear, which often times happens right after a comedic moment. Because their guards were down, they donā€™t expect a jump scare, or something terrible to happen next, etc.

Itā€™s an effective and useful tool in horror because having fear throughout the whole movie works, but adding comedy and other elements of emotions takes your audience /reader on a rollercoaster of emotions, and it messes with them that much more.

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I actually read a story (which inspired this topic) which when it was featured everyone was like, ew romance. Not reading, however I read it as a review and the summary it way to misleading. So, itā€™s kinda what you are saying- they made their story seem really romantic, but itā€™s def a horror / mystery. (yeah thereā€™s still some romance but heā€™s the one trying to kill me soā€¦ yay romance?

Interesting pitch, I havenā€™t seen the Blair Witch Project, but that would be an interesting story. (as long as itā€™s not drowning in romance). Iā€™m glad you brought up parodies because if the story is filled with too much comedy the story looses itā€™s scariness. What do you think is a good median for comedy? Like- funny characters, or just one character? Every scene or just one scene per episode?

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Iā€™ve seen to many truth and dare stories on the app, Iā€™m not sure how different they can be because the concept would be the same - you have to complete the dares or you die D:

What type of choices did you add gems to? Did you add gems to the most ā€˜popularā€™ choices or your story, or create new choices from your original?

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There are two with the EXACT same cover :rofl:. At first I thought they were by the same author (as one says (horror version) next to the title) but then I realised that theyā€™re actually by different people.

I created brand new choices. Since points impact my endings, the gem choices all give you bonus points or a way to skip the mini games (and gain the necessary points by default). Thatā€™s why Iā€™m more than happy to keep both versions on the app :rofl:

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The trouble house stories - I havenā€™t read one on the app yet but if I did, Iā€™d want to be on vacation or something or every little creak will have me like GHOST! DEMONNN-

Do you like reading horror stories on the app?

I saw those too! Like awhile back, and part of me was thinking isnā€™t that cover copy-righted?

Itā€™s a book cover by Jacqueline Green (I just googled it lol).
Ignoring that, I donā€™t know why you would use the exact same cover as someone else when your stories have the exact same title. Clearly thereā€™s going to be confusion :rofl:

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heheh Dark Comedyā€¦ If I ever have the time I so badly want to make a Dark Comedy because their isnā€™t many on the app, plus I love Dark Comedy.

Anywho, what made you choose to write a horror story from a different culture?

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Kinda like the cliches in romance genre. They add a twist to cliches, why not add the twist to make the story more suspenseful? :crazy_face:

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Romance - 2 - I voted two because I think romance helps lower ones ā€˜guardā€™
Drama - 5 - I voted five because when I think of Drama, I think of family drama. Perhaps your family is the reason a demon is after your soul, but if like there is cheating or family lies I think the story looses itā€™s horror.
Mysterty - 10 - I voted for 10 because I think a horror should have lots of mystery, but not over power the horror.
Thriller - 10 - Diddo with Mystery
Comedy - 5 - As most others have said, comedy is like entertaining and helps lower ones ā€˜guardā€™ but too much and the story looses itā€™s horror.
Action / Adventure - 8 - I donā€™t know how to explain this, but I think ghost hunting counts as adventure, plus fighting the antagonist is pretty cool.
Horror - 12 - tbh I added this to see if anyone would vote less than 12

SHUHRURH I forgot Fantasy poop


  1. I believe authors started writing horror stories because they wanted to write something other than romance or drama or comedy or fantasy.
  2. On the episode app Iā€™ve seen alot of ā€˜rivalā€™ of an ancient creature or something. Lots of serial killer. Lots of police who do nothing.
  3. Iā€™d love to see a high schooler who was researching like a serial killer (who is behind bars). But then the same steps that the serial killer took before it killed itā€™s victims start happening to them. Of course, this means the person behind bars is a fake or the person hunting the MC is a copy cat. In the end, I would want the serial killer to be a female because guess what- females are deadly af.
  4. I havenā€™t read that many horror stories but Iā€™d recommend these three which are (Haunted: Take Me Home, Haunted: Brook and Ghastly Grasp)
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Iā€™m usually not very affected by watching these kinds of movies but every now and then (especially if Iā€™m home alone at night) I just start thinking of them and I make sure that all doors are locked, windows are closed and that nearly every light in the house is on :joy:

I havenā€™t actually read a lot of horror stories on the app, only a few thrillers, but I quite enjoyed them since they were so different from most other stories. Also, I think horror/thriller stories tend to be a lot more creative and original because they donā€™t necessarily have to focus on romance and drama like many other Episode stories.

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