You know I don’t just write about writing fantasy here at Fantasy Author’s Handbook, right?
I’ve talked horror quite often here, and in honor of Halloween falling on a Tuesday, how about a look back and some scary stuff from Fantasy Horror Author’s Handbook’s past?
First of all, anything from 2009-2013 can now be found in The Best of Fantasy Author’s Handbook, Volume I, including…
“Cross & Mix Genres” …fantasy and horror, for instance.
“Legion: A Study in Inconsistency & Implausibility” …a horror movie shows us what not to do.
And still readable in their entirety here…
What Makes a Monster Scary? …a full chapter from my book Writing Monsters.
The Strange Geometry of a Well-Placed Attorney and Phil vs. Cthulhu’s Lawyer …in which I critique my own unsuccessful horror short story.
Surprise vs. Suspense vs. Writing Monsters …advice from Alfred Hitchcock himself.
Books for Fantasy Authors XXI: My Ten Favorite Horror Novels …a list I need to update!
I dig deeper into advice from one of the all time greats in this five part series…
Lovecraft’s Five Definite Elements, Part 1: The One Weird Thing
Lovecraft’s Five Definite Elements, Part 2: Why It’s Here
Lovecraft’s Five Definite Elements, Part 3: What It Actually Does
Lovecraft’s Five Definite Elements, Part 4: What Makes it Scary
Lovecraft’s Five Definite Elements, Part 5: The Damage it Causes
I look back at a horror short story I wrote a long, long time ago, in three parts, including the story, “Piece Music,” itself…
What I’ve Learned in the Last Twenty-three Years, Part 1
What I’ve Learned in the Last Twenty-three Years, Part 2
What I’ve Learned in the Last Twenty-three Years, Part 3
Isolate Your Characters …what happens to your story if any character can call 911?
Looking Back at “32 of Lovecraft’s Favorite Words” …a glimpse into the stygian depths of HPL’s unspeakable vocabulary.
Do You Want Me to Leave You Alone While You Cry? …a very short horror story.
I won’t copy all the links here, but start here for a deep, deep dive into a very, very old horror fiction magazine: First & Last: Exploring Weird Tales Vol. 5, No. 1—Part 1
What’s the Worst Possible Thing You Could Do To Someone? …a question horror authors have to ask themselves, like it or not.
Books for Fantasy Authors XXIII: On Writing Horror …an excellent collection of essays on the subject of writing horror fiction.
The Persistence of the Logical …Nope. No way was that a ghost.
On the Accidental Genius of Eternal Pessimist H.P. Lovecraft …what can we learn from an imperfect man?
Books for Fantasy Authors XXV: Horror of Philosophy…a must read set of three books by Eugene Thacker.
Too Weird to Describe …when or if it’s okay to not describe something.
Lovecraft’s Notes on Writing Weird Fiction …I handed it over to HPL for a week.
Anticipatory Anxiety and the Long Paragraph …manipulate your readers’ breathing for fun and profit.
A Couple Different Kinds of Evil …monster vs. villain, exterior vs. interior.
Confronting the Weird …writing weird fiction requires some familiarity with weirdness.
Some Thoughts on Horror…if you’re writing scary stuff, read this!
Isolation 14 …another horror story.
Fantasy and/or Science Fiction and/or Horror…on the intersections between genres.
On the Kind of Fiction Called Morbid…an essay by Vincent Sullivan from 1896.
A Weird Story Mini-Formula: Three men go out to save the world. One goes mad, one is eaten by the Things, and one returns to tell the tale.
Whew! That oughta keep you scary scribes busy for a minute!
Happy Halloween!
—Philip Athans
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Absolutely not one word of this post was in any way generated by any version of an “AI” or Large Language Model.
In Writing Monsters, best-selling author Philip Athans uses classic examples from books, films, and the world around us to explore what makes monsters memorable—and terrifying.
You’ll learn what monsters can (and should) represent in your story and how to create monsters from the ground up.
