Horror Story -

Keep your monster or threat partially hidden. Letting the reader's imagination fill in the blanks is often more terrifying than a full description.

But this time, the reflection wasn't looking at him. It was looking at something behind Elias.

In the mirror, the reflection screamed, but no sound came out. In the real world, Elias felt a cold, wet breath against his ear. "Found you," a voice rasped, sounding exactly like his own. Horror Story

Many great horror stories end on an ambiguous or cyclical note, leaving the reader wondering if the horror is truly over.

Start with small, "wrong" details and gradually increase the tension until the final reveal or twist. Keep your monster or threat partially hidden

Elias didn’t want to turn around. He kept his eyes locked on the mirror. Then, a pale, spindly hand—long fingers ending in jagged, black nails—reached out from the darkness of the real hallway and rested gently on Elias’s shoulder.

No hallway, no furniture, no Elias. Just a flat, silver void. Then, a face pressed against the inside of the glass. It was his own face, distorted by a scream, palms slamming against the surface of the mirror from the other side. It was looking at something behind Elias

By Thursday, Elias stopped looking at the mirror entirely. He covered it with an old bedsheet. But that night, he woke to the sound of fabric hitting the floor.