For a horror story, you can use 'She felt a presence behind her, the air growing colder with each passing second.' This creates an immediate sense of unease. Then there's 'The old portrait on the wall seemed to follow her with its eyes, no matter where she moved in the room.' It gives a spooky feeling. And 'The door slammed shut on its own, trapping her in the room with the unknown terrors that awaited.' which adds to the sense of being trapped and in danger.
Well, sentences like 'Every creak of the old floorboards sounded like a warning of impending doom.' are great. Also, 'His eyes widened as he saw a figure emerge from the mist, its form indistinct yet menacing.' Moreover, 'The wind howled outside, but the real horror lurked within the walls of the abandoned house, waiting.'
One could be 'The shadows in the corner seemed to writhe and twist, as if alive.' Another is 'A cold, clammy hand brushed against her neck, sending shivers down her spine.' And 'The silence was broken only by the slow, methodical drip of something unknown in the darkness.'
You can use 'The old, creaking floorboards groaned under his feet, as if warning him to turn back, but he pressed on, oblivious to the doom that awaited him.' This sentence is effective in a horror story. The description of the floorboards as old and creaking gives a spooky setting. The idea that they seem to be 'warning' the character adds an element of the supernatural. And the fact that the character ignores this warning and is headed towards doom ramps up the tension for the reader.
First, place them at key moments. For example, when the tension is building, use a sentence like 'The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as an eerie silence filled the room.' This heightens the sense of dread. Also, use them to describe the setting. 'The dilapidated cemetery was filled with tombstones that seemed to lean towards each other, as if sharing dark secrets.'
She thought she had escaped the haunted house. But as she stepped onto the porch of her own home, she felt the same icy grip on her ankle. The horror had followed her home.
One good sentence could be 'As the sun dipped below the horizon, the enchanted forest came alive with a soft, ethereal glow.' Another might be 'With a wave of her wand, the young wizardess opened a portal to a world filled with glittering jewels and talking animals.' And also 'The hero's heart pounded in his chest as he faced the fearsome dragon, its scales glinting in the firelight.'
A good sentence could be 'The thatched roofs of the cottages in the medieval village glistened in the morning dew.' Another is 'The blacksmith's hammer rang out across the village square, a familiar sound that signaled the start of a new day.' And 'The villagers gathered around the well, their voices a murmur of gossip and news.'
Some good phrases are 'a bone - chilling silence', 'the shadowy figure lurked', 'an eerie stillness filled the air'. These phrases can quickly set a spooky mood in a horror story.
You could use names such as Mortimer, which gives the impression of something death - related. Another one is Isabella, which can be made spooky when the character has a tragic or haunted past. And then there's Vlad, which immediately makes people think of the infamous Dracula.
In a horror story, you could use phrases such as 'The moon cast an ominous glow'. This gives a sense of foreboding as the moon is often associated with strange and spooky happenings. Another one is 'His heart pounded in his chest like a caged animal'. It shows the character's fear in a very visceral way. Also, 'The darkness seemed to reach out and grab him' is effective. It personifies the darkness, making it an active and menacing force that the character has to face.
Zombies can be used effectively. They represent mindless, relentless hordes that are driven by a basic instinct to consume. The idea of being surrounded by a slow - moving but unstoppable mass of the undead is terrifying. You can have them overrunning a small town or chasing the protagonist through an abandoned city.
Some good words are 'macabre', 'creaking', and 'shadowy'. 'Macabre' is associated with death and the gruesome. 'Creaking' is often used to describe old, spooky things like doors or floorboards in a haunted house. 'Shadowy' helps create an atmosphere of mystery as things lurking in the shadows are often a source of fear in gothic horror.