Horror/Suspense Writing: Keep your reader in spooky suspense(Senior Writing2)

by on Sep 30, 2020

Based on this creepy photo, write the opening to either a horror or mystery story, using the conventions of suspense writing. The aim is to create a convincing setting, introducing some of your characters and drawing the audience into your world.

以下写作视频课内容仅对付费用户和vmwedu阅读写作课学员开放，谢谢支持:)
 

21 Comments

  1. Grace says:
    at 13:18 /

    Charlotte awakened in the near dark. The stars still shone and the day had drawn only a pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east. There are drops of water after the rain at night on the fence on the roadside, some early butterflies are already there starting to fan their wings and steal the fruits of flower’s labour. A covey of birds chittered and flurried with their wings.

    Charlotte opened her eyes blinked as her eyes adjusted. This will be the second week after she has been abandoned by her parents. After a while the rooster begins to croak, the birds begin to chirp, and a new day begins in such a noisy environment. She doesn’t know where to go, but she knows that she can never go back anymore. She lies on the bed which is made of red yellow autumn leaves, smiles in tears. Loneliness made her think about everything horrible. Thirty . . . maybe one hour later. She went to a small stream that hid behind plenty of trees and bushes, washing her pale face with freezing cold water. Then combs her black hair and braids it in two braids and ties the ends with light cyan ribbon. The food inside her school bag is not enough for her to live long anymore. Finishing her last sandwich, she needs to find someone’s house to ask for more food to live with. She brought out a map that had been folded and marked with a thick red pen many many times.

    From there she finds a huge house next to a graveyard, which is not that far away, circled it up, then started the journey up there. But the wired thing about it is that there’s no living organism at all, no birds no foxes and too quiet. when it is only halfway through, an old stone road that is full of moss appeared in front of her. Without a thought, she goes on the mossy road. The strangeness starts to come out, this is like an endless road, unable to see where the last stone of it is. Suddenly a man comes out with a dark blue suit inside and a black cloak as a coat. His skin is as white as paper, the black hair on his forehead moving by the wind. When he opened his mouth, his two sharp long teeth showed his identity. But Charlotte is not afraid at all, in contrast, she walks straight to him. She doesn’t know what is she doing, but she just feels like she has seen this person before, and her brain told her that he is not bad. The dark gloomy grave are around them; she feels she can hear hundreds of goats screaming at the back ground. And . . . when did she arrive to the grave? And in the middle of the grave!!! She has no chance to run, because the grave yard is surrounded by black fences, and the gate is locked by a huge lock.

    “Come with me please Miss”

    After that the man started walking to the castle, crows flying and standing on each grave. Charlotte follows after him. They went into the darkness castle, but surprisingly it’s not scary at all inside the castle, luminous light hanging up the celling Charlotte is taken by two servants to another room, the difference between there and living room is that, this room is very dark, even darker than outside. When the light is on, she knows immediately what’s going to happen, because that room is full of blood and dead bodies with two holes on their neck. She is lucky. The room door isn’t totally close yet. The servant is above to go out, but Charlotte use all her power inside her body to push that door.

    she got out.

    But there’s nothing.

    No Castle, no room, no vampire. But a farm house in front of her.

  2. Anonymous says:
    at 14:56 /

    my second writing

    Oaklandstreet 204

  3. Xiaorui Hang says:
    at 21:28 /

    Sorry it is named untitled document…

  5. KevinW says:
    at 15:07 /

    As Bob the Ghostly descended from the pitch block corridor, he approached a barren landscape. A distant fortress loomed in the distance, and even Bob approved it to be dilapidated. Columns and spires rose as Bob neared. The jet-black crows cried in the jet-black sky, and gravestones littered the boggy marsh. Spiky, skeletal mountains surrounded the hellish landscape.

    Venturing towards the eerie mansion, Bob decide to discover what this place was. Approaching a milky, polluted river, he spotted a small raft with a man in a Italian suit and a dozen or so ghosts. Further down the river, was a three-headed dog. Bob gasped. He realised, in the flash of an eye, that this place was the underworld, the River Styx was the milky river, and the dog, Cerberus, was guarding the entrance to the fortress. The House of Hades.

    Bob made up his mind that he was in the Fields of Asphodel, a meaningless, dull place where those who never really did anything in their lives got as an afterlife. The demonic, crimson red mountains was Tartars, for those damned to eternal punishment, and the lone island was Elysium, for those who were fabulous in life.

    Bob decided, as his responsibility for being a ghoul, he needed an audience with Hades…

  6. Linxi says:
    at 09:23 /

    It was a cold and dreary night, James was playing in the woods, not the best time though for you will never know what lurks around here… James said to himself, “I need to quickly get back or I’ll miss supper, hot dogs I think”. Suddenly, a hard stone whacked his head. It was a while since he was conscience again, but this time in this dreary graveyard. He stood up his back aching, it felt like a sword jabbed in his back. A pair of foot prints where left of the ground, It was the same footprints a stranger had. He lived on, well nowhere, well at least I don’t know, he was a silent fellow too. He stepped forward, he saw it a piece of stone it was compressed into the ground, his eyes where sensitive brilliant in the dark too. Then a crow flew pass him BANG! A person looked straight in his eyes it made James feel strength-less and he fell. When he woke up again he did not have time to waste and then enter like a rude fellow. He slammed the door and then opened the cupboard, a revolver, perfect, now all he needed was a knife, then a voice came, “Hi my dear fellow”. He looked old with wrinkles in his hand his eyes were juicy red, he had a 1980 accent, it was respectful, Then his eyes where plain white and then charged at him with claws as long as knives. He grabbed a leaf hoping to protect him, and then the man died out. It was now a diamond ring, he put it on, then it turned red, he felt more powerful he began to be angry and his nail were knives. He wanted to explore the house so he went into a room with a trapdoor, a basement he thought and went in, there was definitely a draft in there coldness trickled down his spine like blood, it was trapping him making him suffer in agony, he then felt angered and the whole room went boiling hot. It was sweltering now, but then a bullet skimmed his face, the stranger, it was not a coincidence and he knew it, he fired back and BANG! Then again BANG! He raged and his claws stabbed the stranger in the heart, he laughed, “I’m immortal, you dummy I am the lord of hell”! He grasped his hand together and then flame busted from his hands James then shot a revolver at his head, he was finished for sure, He turned in a diamond necklace, then the house started to burn like a wild fire, crows crowed, then lightning hit the surface of the castle his life was draining he went to the top of the castle, then someone looked at him he was masked. Then he pointed the revolver at him, there was only one more thing to do…

  10. Sisley says:
    at 23:50 /

    The thick sludge on the muddy floor was impeccable. I could not blame the weather or the conditions for my slow advance but a part of me knew that this was not a joke. When they say that there was a looming castle that was almost floating, they weren’t lying. This isn’t a hoax. You could say this is an idiotic move, to try and figure out something that eleven others attempted but failed to proceed and come back. Alive that is. I should constantly remind myself that I am only doing this to find the eleven missing people or I might retreat.

    As I approached the bridge leading to the towering oak door, the full moon glowered behind the ominous clouds like a villain who is planning something devilish. The stumbling bricks were cliffs. The entire bridge was a sphere held together by thread while the onyx sky above shaked unsteadily as it glanced down at the palace of fear and mystery. My body stopped moving. I would be seeing daylight again and was engulfed by the chance that I would end up like the other eleven. I wasn’t thrilled. As I rested my hand onto the deserted surface of the great gate, I heard a wolf howl in the distance. But it was more man-like than wolf.Even though I knew that turning back was still an option, I waited patiently for someone to open the gate that should lead me inside. To my surprise, it did creak open slowly but no-one was opening it.

    When people say, don’t make the same mistake again, I suppose that’s very useful advice. But in my case, I might do it repeatedly, until I have no more choices. As my trembling foot stepped into the shadow, the gate slammed shut. An eruption of smoke and dust rose into the silent still air. The thick smell of mist stretched to the shadowing ceilings. Glancing around, I noticed that all the windows were stained or cracked. Except for a window on the right; it seemed as if it had been heaved up with ease. No mirrors in the hall either. The worn out carpet beneath was stretched out and was left to be forgotten among the crinkled roses. Despite every corner of neglect, I kept on advancing into the dark hall alone with every item alive stalking and spying on me. Suddenly, a flock of ravens emerged out of a tower, visible enough in the gloomy sky because of their beady ruby eyes. The rain outside picked up dramatically. Puddles of muddy water collected by my feet as the slaughtering storm dripped through the damaged roof. If anyone was to make out of this black and white scenario, it would be a ghost. Where is the lord of the manor? Or, who is the lord of this run-down coffin that sits on this unstable cliff? That will be something that I do not want to know.

    The drooping paintings frowned down at me as the extinguished flames of the dangling torches that glared threateningly above. Animal heads sliced in half like an orange was stuck in an everlasting picture unable to escape. As I raced through the intimidating hall, I found myself in a greenhouse with cracked windows and flourishing flowers. There was nothing beneath my feet. Nothing but clear glass. The unstable seas below swayed like a broken roller coaster. The more someone stares at it, the more fear collects from them. Suddenly, the greenery withered and crumpled onto the floor in shreds. The glass started disappearing, not shattering. Melting is probably a better word to describe it. The word falling wasn’t enough to describe the situation right now.
    -Sisley

  11. Benjamin says:
    at 19:39 /

    This is my story, hope you enjoy it!

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