Are you looking to write a horror book but unsure which horror trope you want to use? The one good thing about horror tropes is there are a lot of them, which gives you, as a writer, more freedom to dive into, explore, and reinvent. Below, we outlined the top horror tropes for you to dig deeper into that will surely give your readers such a good scare they won’t be able to put your book down. 

1. Monsters And Creatures 

This trope is a popular one that can include a number of villains, such as vampires, werewolves, or other creepy creatures. Readers love a book that keeps them on the edge of their seats when a creature comes into town and wreaks havoc. 

2. Abandoned/Haunted Place

This trope typically involves a group of people who have come across a haunted location, like a haunted house. With this trope, you have room to add those intricate and creative little details that will make your book stand out from the others, like the history of the home, details on the entity that haunts it, how the group found this place, etc. You can also decide who makes it out of the haunted location. Readers will have the chance to root for their favorite character that they want to survive. 

3. Possession

This dark horror trope can be tailored and used in many different ways. However, typically, a ghost is summoned somehow, takes over an individual’s body, and terrorizes the people who brought them back. 

4. Cursed Artifacts

This trope involves the curse of an object, such as an artifact, doll, toy, jewelry, etc. Typically, the object accidentally falls into the main character’s hands, and they have to not only find out how to break the curse but also how to survive.

5. Psychotic Killer

Even though this trope is widely used, it can be quite versatile. The killer could be a stalker who knows the main character and is out on a warpath to destroy their life, or a complete stranger who is a psychopath and just wants to kill everyone. You can tailor this trope to your liking. Regardless of how you set up this trope, you’ll be able to get your readers engaged and hope the main character survives the killer. 

6. Isolated In A Remote Location

In this trope, an individual or a group of people are stranded in a remote location, like the woods, a cabin, the desert, or in the mountains, and they have to fight to survive the dangers of the environment. These characters have to face different elements of their environment that are absolutely terrifying. You can also combine other horror tropes, like possession, a psychotic killer, a creature, etc. 

7.  A Science Experiment Gone Wrong

Even though science is one of the number one reasons why we can function in our daily lives with proper medicine, vaccinations, etc., sometimes science experiments can go wrong. In this trope, it explores what could happen if a certain experiment were to take the wrong turn. The science experiment could be anything that piques your interest. For instance, it could be robots taking over the world, or it could be that a certain illness breaks out.

8. The Kids Save The Day

When people say, “Kids are the future,” they couldn’t be more right in terms of this trope. This trope typically follows a group of kids whose parents or adults in general either are dead or oblivious to what’s going on. They can’t rely on adults, so it’s up to the kids to save the day. 

9. The Scariest Things Come Out At Night

When it gets dark outside, you never know what lurks in the shadows. In this trope, the problem arises at night, whether the main character is hiding from a ghost, serial killer, or monster, the villains typically set their eyes on their target when it gets dark outside. 

Your Horror Trope Book Is Finished, What Now?

Now that you’ve picked your trope and finished your book, the next step is to advertise it. The only way your fans will know you have a new book ready is to get it out into the world and post about it on social media. However, to market your book, you need something eye-catching that will make your audience want to buy your book. A captivating template from Book Brush is just the thing you need to promote your book and get your fans excited to embark on this new journey with you and read your new horror book.

Book Brush is a tool where you can create book covers, graphics, bookmarks, movie posters, etc., to take your book marketing to the next level. You’ll be able to design these graphics easily in just a few short steps. Make sure you explore our versatile selection of templates that embody the horror trope theme that will get your book to stand out and get the recognition it deserves!