7 Tips for Scaring Your Readers

Random Horror Title Ideas

• Whispers of a Ghost.
• Dead Man’s Wish.
• Gone Town.
• Skeletons in the House.
• The Lost Soul.
• A Party For Ghouls.
• Monster Strike.
• See Zombie and Run.

But if you enjoy the sensation of a dozen spiders crawling down your back, here are some truly creepy titles:

1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirely Jackson.
2. It by Stephen King.
3. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
4. Where Did The Baby Go?
5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

What should I name my story? You should name your story with a title that’s relevant, marketable, eye-catching, and genre-related. Make sure a casual reader knows by the title whether your book is non-fiction, adult fantasy, short story, romance, memoir, middle grade, etc.

Start with one of your greatest fears—not to be confused with things generically considered scary. Whether it’s something trivial like clowns or something huge like losing a child, the best stories start with something personal. So what scares you? Explore it for a while and take that fear to its darkest place.

1. Use the environment.
2. Use your own fears.
3. Write longer sentences.
4. Make your readers breathe faster.
5. Leverage fear of the unknown.
6. Avoid clichés.
7. Practice.

Examples of titles that “fit” their subjects: Raise the Titanic, The Firm, “A Rose for Emily,” The Caine Mutiny, Presumed Innocent, Love Story, In Cold Blood, Riders of the Purple Sage, The Amityville Horror. That should help you narrow the field a bit as you try to decide on the right title for your story.

Some of the greatest stories are also the most suspenseful. Psycho, American Psycho, The Sixth Sense, Drag Me to Hell, Pet Semetary, Odd Thomas, Harry Potter, The Devil’s Labyrinth, etc. Some surprises come at the end of a long suspense.

Read your own work. Titles are often memorable lines from the book or story itself. Readers may enjoy the moment when they realize why a story has a particular title. Examples of this type of title include To Kill a Mockingbird, Catch-22, and Catcher in the Rye.

Crazy Isn’t Enough. Motivation is always a factor in this respect.