How can themes for ghost stories be made more terrifying?
When it comes to cursed objects, show the slow and insidious effects on the characters. They start to lose their sanity or their physical health deteriorates. For ghostly apparitions, make them appear at the most unexpected times, like in the middle of a bright day. And for the ghostly lover, make the relationship seem twisted, like the lover is trying to drag the living person into the afterlife with them. By emphasizing these aspects, the themes become more terrifying.
To make the abandoned asylum theme scarier, describe in detail the inhumane treatments that took place there in the past. Let the screams of the past echo through the halls. For the family curse theme, have the family members die in strange and grotesque ways. For the otherworldly portal theme, make the portal seem unstable and unpredictable. It could randomly suck in people or release even more terrifying entities.
For the haunted house theme, make the house seem alive. Have the walls ooze blood or the floorboards creak in a way that seems like they're trying to trap the characters. With the vengeful spirit, give it the ability to possess people and make them do things against their will. For the lost soul theme, make it so the soul is constantly changing forms, never looking the same twice.
