WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

What Are You Afraid Of?

Fear is an interesting thing. We all experience it, but we don’t all experience it in the same way.

What terrifies one person might barely bother another. Some people are afraid of heights. Others are afraid of the dark, enclosed spaces, spiders, being alone, or things they cannot explain. 

And then there are the fears that are harder to name, the fear of losing someone you love, the fear of discovering something you were never meant to know, the fear of being unable to protect yourself, or someone else, when something goes terribly wrong, or the fear of being forgotten after you’re gone. 

As a horror writer, I find those kinds of fears fascinating. 

When I create a frightening scene, I’m not only thinking about what the reader can see. I’m thinking about what might be happening underneath the surface. What would make someone hesitate before opening a door? What would make them keep looking over their shoulder? What would make them wonder whether they should have come there at all?

Sometimes the most effective horror isn’t the thing standing in front of you. It’s the possibility of what might be waiting just beyond it. 

That is one of the things I love about writing horror. Fear gives a story another layer. It allows us to explore the things people try to avoid thinking about in ordinary life. 

And sometimes, the most frightening question isn’t, What is out there? But is what would I do if it found me?

Fear has always been a part of storytelling, from ancient legends told around fires to modern horror novels and films. We willingly step into frightening stories knowing that, eventually, we can close the book, turn off the screen, and return to the safety of our own lives. But, for a little while, we allow ourselves to be afraid. Maybe that’s part of the appeal.

I’m P.S. Kessell, an independent author of gothic horror, dark fiction, and poetry. 

So now I’m curious. What scares you most in a horror story? Is it something you can see, something you can’t see, or something that could actually happen?

I’d love to know.