Horror Fiction Unit Notes

Suspense

Uncertainty or anxiety that the reader feels about what will happen later in the story.

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues to suggest events will occur later in the plot.

Foreboding

A feeling that something bad is going to happen.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is told.

First Person

Narrator uses 'I' to tell the story.

Second Person

Narrator uses 'you' to address the reader, often used in instructions.

Third Person

Narrator is outside the action of the story.

Irony

An outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been expected.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something the characters do not.

Situational Irony

When actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended.

Verbal Irony

When someone says one thing but means another.

Tone

Word choice used to show speaker's (or narrator’s) attitude.

Mood

The emotional effect that the text creates for the audience; atmosphere through word choice.

Facade

The face of a building or an appearance that hides something.

Congenial

Having a pleasant personality.

Rapacious

Aggressively greedy or grasping.

Tantalizing

Something that provokes interest or desire; tempting, teasing.

Emanate

To come forth.

Craft Moves Writers Use to Create Suspense

Techniques such as characterization, word choice, and dramatic irony.

Dramatic Irony

A device where the audience knows more than the characters.

Third Person Omniscient

A narrative mode where the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

Third Person Limited

A narrative mode where the narrator is outside the story but knows the thoughts of only one character.

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot.

Theme

The central topic or idea explored in a text.

Setting

The time and place in which a story unfolds.

acute

sharp or severe in effect; intense

vexed

irritated, annoyed

sagacity

acuteness of mental discernment and soundness of judgment

refrained

to abstain from an impulse to say or do something

wary

watchful; being on one's guard against danger

suavity

a suave or smoothly agreeable quality

audacity

boldness or daring, especially with confident or arrogant disregard for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions

vehemently

strongly emotional; intense or passionate

gesticulations

 an animated or excited gesture

derision

ridicule; mockery; an object of ridicule

brisk

moving or activating with quickness and energy

conjure

to produce or cause something to appear

compulsion

an irresistible urge to behave in a certain way

lapse

to revert to a previous state or behavior

trifle

to some small degree