Horror stories

Horror stories are fictional tales that are written with the purpose of creating suspense and tension in a narrative that's considered scary. This includes stories that feature ghosts, vampires, witches or werewolves. There are often elements of fear, shock and a buildup of 'wicked' or 'evil' characters. The setting is usually one that's considered spooky, such as a castle, graveyard or haunted house. Horror stories are famous for their sense of mystery, suspense, and taking their readers into the depths of the unknown.

As part of the speculative fiction genre, which also includes science fiction, alternative history and fantasy fiction, horror stories have often been written to represent wider, collective fears. In other words, horror stories are used as metaphors.