There’s something thrilling about writing horror — the kind of story that sends chills down your spine and keeps readers wide awake at night.
I know how exciting but challenging it can be to come up with truly terrifying ideas.
That’s why I’ve put together these 45 horror prompts to help spark your imagination and craft bone-chilling tales that haunt your readers long after they’ve finished.
Psychological Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A therapist begins to notice that all their patients are describing the same recurring nightmare, and soon, they start having it too.
Horror Element: Paranoia, shared delusions.
Writing Tip: Use fragmented memories and unreliable perspectives to blur the line between reality and nightmare. - Scenario Description: A person wakes up to find their reflection in the mirror moving independently, but only when they aren’t looking directly at it.
Horror Element: Identity crisis, uncanny doubles.
Writing Tip: Focus on subtle movements and small changes to build a sense of creeping dread. - Scenario Description: A writer discovers that every story they write comes true, but the endings are always twisted and horrifying.
Horror Element: Fear of creation, loss of control.
Writing Tip: Use meta-narrative techniques to make the reader question the nature of the story itself. - Scenario Description: A person begins receiving letters from their future self, warning them of a terrible event—but the warnings become increasingly disturbing.
Horror Element: Time paradox, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Gradually reveal the letters’ contents to build suspense and unease. - Scenario Description: A child’s imaginary friend starts appearing to other people, but it’s not as friendly as the child claims.
Horror Element: Childhood fears, unseen threats.
Writing Tip: Use the innocence of the child’s perspective to contrast with the growing horror.
Supernatural Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A family moves into a house where every night, at exactly 3:33 AM, they hear a voice whispering their deepest secrets.
Horror Element: Haunting, invasion of privacy.
Writing Tip: Use silence and sudden noises to create a chilling atmosphere. - Scenario Description: A person finds an old camera that takes photos of people as they will look at the moment of their death.
Horror Element: Premonition, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Describe the photos in vivid, grotesque detail to heighten the horror. - Scenario Description: A town’s residents begin disappearing one by one, and the only clue is a strange symbol carved into their doors.
Horror Element: Cult activity, ancient curses.
Writing Tip: Use folklore and cryptic clues to deepen the mystery. - Scenario Description: A person starts receiving phone calls from their deceased loved one, but the calls grow increasingly hostile.
Horror Element: Grief, malevolent spirits.
Writing Tip: Use static and distorted voices to create an eerie auditory experience. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that their shadow has a mind of its own and is trying to kill them.
Horror Element: Uncanny doubles, unseen threats.
Writing Tip: Use light and darkness as tools to create tension and fear.
Body Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A person wakes up to find their skin covered in strange, pulsating veins that seem to be spreading.
Horror Element: Transformation, loss of humanity.
Writing Tip: Focus on sensory details to make the transformation visceral and unsettling. - Scenario Description: A scientist creates a serum that grants immortality, but the side effect is that the body begins to rot while still alive.
Horror Element: Decay, grotesque transformation.
Writing Tip: Use vivid descriptions of decay and the character’s growing desperation. - Scenario Description: A person begins to feel something moving inside their body, only to discover it’s a parasitic creature growing within them.
Horror Element: Invasion, grotesque transformation.
Writing Tip: Use internal monologue to convey the character’s growing panic. - Scenario Description: A person’s teeth begin to fall out, but each time they do, a new, sharper set grows in.
Horror Element: Transformation, loss of control.
Writing Tip: Use the character’s reflection and self-perception to heighten the horror. - Scenario Description: A person’s reflection begins to age rapidly, while they remain the same.
Horror Element: Uncanny doubles, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Use mirrors and reflections as a recurring motif to build dread.
Gothic Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A person inherits a sprawling, decaying mansion, only to discover that the house seems to have a will of its own.
Horror Element: Haunting, sentient environment.
Writing Tip: Use rich, atmospheric descriptions to bring the mansion to life. - Scenario Description: A person finds a diary in an abandoned asylum, and the entries begin to mirror their own life.
Horror Element: Madness, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Use the diary entries to slowly reveal the connection between the past and present. - Scenario Description: A person begins to hear the sound of a music box playing in their home, but they don’t own one.
Horror Element: Haunting, childhood fears.
Writing Tip: Use the music box as a recurring, unsettling motif. - Scenario Description: A person discovers a portrait in their attic that seems to change every time they look at it.
Horror Element: Uncanny doubles, supernatural art.
Writing Tip: Use the portrait’s changes to reflect the character’s inner turmoil. - Scenario Description: A person moves into a remote village where the residents all seem to be hiding a dark secret.
Horror Element: Isolation, cult activity.
Writing Tip: Use the villagers’ strange behavior to create a sense of unease.
Survival Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A group of hikers becomes lost in a forest where the trees seem to move when no one is looking.
Horror Element: Isolation, sentient environment.
Writing Tip: Use the forest as a character, with its own malevolent presence. - Scenario Description: A family is trapped in their home during a blizzard, but they begin to hear something scratching at the door.
Horror Element: Isolation, unseen threats.
Writing Tip: Use the sound of scratching to create a sense of claustrophobia. - Scenario Description: A group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world discovers that the infection they’re hiding from is sentient.
Horror Element: Paranoia, grotesque transformation.
Writing Tip: Use the survivors’ dwindling resources to heighten tension. - Scenario Description: A person wakes up in a pitch-black room with no memory of how they got there, and they’re not alone.
Horror Element: Isolation, unseen threats.
Writing Tip: Use sensory deprivation to create a sense of disorientation. - Scenario Description: A group of explorers discovers an abandoned ship in the middle of the ocean, but something is still on board.
Horror Element: Isolation, malevolent spirits.
Writing Tip: Use the ship’s creaking and groaning to create an eerie atmosphere.
Cosmic Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A person begins to see strange, geometric patterns in the sky that no one else can see.
Horror Element: Madness, cosmic entities.
Writing Tip: Use the character’s growing obsession with the patterns to convey their descent into madness. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that their dreams are actually glimpses into an alternate reality where they are the villain.
Horror Element: Identity crisis, alternate realities.
Writing Tip: Use the dreams to blur the line between reality and nightmare. - Scenario Description: A person finds an ancient book that, when read aloud, summons an entity that begins to rewrite reality.
Horror Element: Cosmic entities, loss of control.
Writing Tip: Use the book’s text as a way to introduce unsettling changes. - Scenario Description: A person begins to hear a voice in their head that claims to be a god from another dimension.
Horror Element: Madness, cosmic entities.
Writing Tip: Use the voice’s growing influence to create a sense of dread. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that their town is actually a living organism, and they are just a small part of it.
Horror Element: Cosmic entities, loss of identity.
Writing Tip: Use the town’s strange behavior to create a sense of unease.
Folk Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A person moves to a remote village where the residents perform strange rituals to appease an ancient entity.
Horror Element: Cult activity, ancient curses.
Writing Tip: Use the rituals to create a sense of dread and inevitability. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that their family has been part of a centuries-old blood pact with a dark force.
Horror Element: Family secrets, ancient curses.
Writing Tip: Use the family’s history to slowly reveal the horror. - Scenario Description: A person finds a strange totem in the woods, and soon after, they begin to experience vivid, terrifying visions.
Horror Element: Ancient curses, madness.
Writing Tip: Use the visions to create a sense of disorientation. - Scenario Description: A person visits their ancestral home and discovers that the land is cursed, and the curse is tied to their bloodline.
Horror Element: Family secrets, ancient curses.
Writing Tip: Use the land’s strange behavior to create a sense of unease. - Scenario Description: A person begins to hear the sound of drums in the distance, and the sound grows louder every night.
Horror Element: Cult activity, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Use the drums to create a sense of impending doom.
Monster Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A person discovers that their new pet is actually a shapeshifting creature that feeds on fear.
Horror Element: Shapeshifters, psychological manipulation.
Writing Tip: Use the pet’s behavior to create a sense of unease. - Scenario Description: A person begins to notice that their neighbor is acting strangely, and soon they realize that their neighbor is not human.
Horror Element: Uncanny doubles, monsters.
Writing Tip: Use the neighbor’s strange behavior to create a sense of dread. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that the old well in their backyard is actually a portal to another dimension, and something is trying to come through.
Horror Element: Monsters, interdimensional horror.
Writing Tip: Use the well’s strange sounds to create a sense of unease. - Scenario Description: A person begins to see strange, humanoid creatures in the shadows, but no one else can see them.
Horror Element: Monsters, unseen threats.
Writing Tip: Use the shadows to create a sense of dread. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that the strange markings on their skin are actually a map to a hidden monster.
Horror Element: Monsters, grotesque transformation.
Writing Tip: Use the markings to create a sense of unease.
Tech Horror Prompts
- Scenario Description: A person’s smart home system begins to act strangely, and soon they realize it’s being controlled by a malevolent AI.
Horror Element: Technology, loss of control.
Writing Tip: Use the AI’s voice to create a sense of dread. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that their virtual reality headset is actually a portal to another dimension, and something is trying to come through.
Horror Element: Technology, interdimensional horror.
Writing Tip: Use the VR headset’s strange behavior to create a sense of unease. - Scenario Description: A person begins to receive strange messages on their phone from an unknown number, and the messages begin to predict their future.
Horror Element: Technology, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Use the messages to create a sense of dread. - Scenario Description: A person discovers that their social media account has been hacked, and the hacker is posting disturbing content in their name.
Horror Element: Technology, loss of control.
Writing Tip: Use the hacker’s posts to create a sense of unease. - Scenario Description: A person begins to notice that their smartwatch is counting down to an unknown event, and the countdown is getting closer to zero.
Horror Element: Technology, inevitability.
Writing Tip: Use the countdown to create a sense of impending doom.
Conclusion
I hope these prompts give you the chills and push your creativity into eerie new places.
Writing horror is all about embracing the darkness and letting your imagination run wild.
So grab your pen, dive in, and craft stories that leave your readers checking under their beds.
Happy haunting!