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I am trying to conjure up everything I can remember of the horror genre, but whatever I think of is already taken. For example, Host, and some others. I need inspiration so I may scare the guts out of people. @Mardox , are you up to it? If not, @Claw2k11 , because you love death. And perhaps some horror.

@iqqih , you can suggest things that are necessary of the storygame.

I'd suggest asking someone who actually has written decent story games.

@RoyalGhost_007

That counts....right? Let me edit.

@DMnv12

Timing is very important. Suspense is a must but when I read Stephen King's "Pet Sematary." (Misspelling is part of the title.) I grew impatient and thought with all my might "JUST DO SOMETHING ALREADY!"

Now, inspiration is the tricky bit, but think about this: People aren't of the dark, they're afraid of might be in the dark...That is, the unknown. Don't actually show the monster, let the audience turn it into what they fear most.

And then make it something cute..?

No, not unless you want a horror comedy.

Another option is to make people wonder about dreadful possibility they can't prove such as: What if the afterlife is one big barbecue with us as the cattle? In such a story, the only difference between Jesus and the devil is how they treat their livestock beforehand.

*mind blown*

But...I need a plot/storyline to go onto. I need inspiration, although, I haven't done a successful Animal Perspective game yet.

A horror genre story for animals?

Wait, wait...It's coming to me now....

What if you play as a Chihuahua that is the regular family dog, and suddenly, your owners say that they're going shopping but never come back? And then you realize that all humans have died to a monster....and its goal is to kill everything in its path? And so the dogs have to fight??? Hmm??

Not bad though the monster should be a bit more chilling than going "Rawr! I'm going to kill you for no apparent reason!", perhaps the ghost of an infant who died young and has a chance of living again if he/she steals enough life force or something? It should be something more unsettling than jump-scary as many people have become jaded to jump scares.

Yeah....

Coauthoring??

Sure, I'll coauthor but first let's ask "What truly unsettles us?"

The answer to the question: Ourselves.

Wait one second, I must create the game.

@Mardox Okay, I've created the game, so let's get onto the setup. I'll PM you so nobody else sees our magnificence bloom full-scale.

The answer of the question is not "ourselves". It is "something that resembles us, but is somehow strange."

Horror can be especially difficult because different people think different ways. I think one of the most popular types of horror that works across wide audiences is the idea of the shadowy unknown, but plausible.

There is a reason that the Jaws movie scared so many large audiences -- people could relate to it (everyone goes to a beach and swims), it was only slightly fantastic (great white shark, only big and hyper-aggressive), and it was mysterious (it stayed out of sight in the water, then suddenly appeared).

Of course, one of the best horror writers of all time is Stephen King. If you look at his books, they also follow many of the same themes. "It" was absolutely terrifying -- because for most of the book the reader never found out exactly what the source of evil even was! It stayed in the shadows and stayed hidden, but still did damage.

Now I say all this without being a horror writer myself. That's just not where I have inspiration nor where I want to write. But the best way to learn what works is to study what others have done. I would suggest reading each and every high-ranking horror story here on this site. Then read some other horror books. If you've never read Stephen King, go out there and grab some of those (and prepare for some fun). Even if you've read them, read them again with the intention of seeing what is being done and how its being done. Keep yourself out of the story and read how the story was made. Then you will learn how to do it yourself.

"There is nothing new under the sun."