The Horror Genre Could Do Better

The horror genre, I'm sure you've all heard of it. This month, I posted some pointers and tips I've accumulated as I've tried to write this genre. (https://vocal.media/horror/keep-this-in-mind-when-writing-scary-stories) Ever since I hit the submit for review button, I've had this idea that's been snowballing.

Unpopular opinion: the horror genre has so much untapped potential. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Erin, there have been tons of successful authors who have thrived off this genre."

That's true. I'm not saying that the field is lacking creative writers, far from it. I'm saying that mainstream horror pieces (primarily written work) are habitually turning to tropes to pull in an audience. That's not an inherently bad thing. I love a good haunted house every now and again.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this; scary stories should try exploring the boundaries of this genre and expanding upon them. There are so many unrealized possibilities that are overlooked solely due to the preexisting expectations surrounding scary stories.

A clear distinction I want to make is that in this post, horror does not equal thriller. At the end of the day, it's up to the reader to decide what is frightening. I'm just saying that more changes should be made when categorizing these pieces and that the genre should encourage diverse plots.

Why aren't there more historical horror pieces out there? No, I'm not talking about slashers set in the 80s and 90s. I'm talking about stories set way in the past, like ancient civilizations. It's already got a decent setup. Technology is null and void, so the complaint of "just call the police" is out the window. Depending on which era you choose, typical household items won't be readily available to the protagonists.

It begs the question of how your characters would meet these challenges. This prompt would almost force you to focus on character development, which is always my greatest struggle in this field. Not to mention, we have plenty of sci-fi horror, so what does the opposite side of the spectrum have to offer?

The door is open for high fantasy horror books, and I'm sure plenty exist, but there's one problem. I'm almost positive that most of them have been classified as fantasy novels only.

Earlier, I mentioned the limited beliefs about what constitutes being a scary story. That comes into play right now. Barring a few exceptions, I believe that scary stories have established tropes and differing motives, making it harder to blend genres in the mainstream world. Plus, the way written content is categorized (especially with YA novels) is extremely outdated, with no definitive requirements available to consumers.

I understand that publishing companies have to generate an income. Mass-producing and marketing a book that is hard to define and covers too many niches sounds like a nightmare without context.

If traditional publishers aren't comfortable producing these stories, we need to validate and legitimize self-published authors. Granted, we should always respect indie authors, but it's good to keep in mind that they have more creative control over their books. Meaning, they might be more willing to produce a product and not have to worry about maintaining the health of a massive corporation. Also, support self-published authors, people!

The Horror genre has so much room for improvement, notably with setting and world-building. I think that so many stories in the realm of horror are excluded because they don't fit in with conventional works in the genre. It's a risk for publishers to concisely market a hybrid book, which is why it's important to support indie authors that can.

There's nothing wrong with using tropes, as long as you do it tastefully. I just wanted to point out that there is far more to cover in this section of media. If you happen to know of any hybrid stories like the ones I mentioned, let me know on my Instagram @erinhastoomanybooks! If you're writing something like this, I'd love to see it! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post. If you want to see more content like this, please like this post, share it with a friend, or subscribe.