Building Suspense: Techniques to Keep Your Readers on Edge

How to Make Your Horror Stick, Sting, and Stay in the Reader’s Head

Suspense is the oxygen of horror. It’s the quiet breath before the scream, the creaking floorboard in the next room, the question that goes unanswered until it’s far too late.

Whether you’re writing psychological horror, folk terror, or supernatural dread, suspense is what keeps readers turning the page—with one eye nervously on the shadows. Here’s how to build it, bend it, and let it break at exactly the right moment.

What Is Suspense—and Why Does It Matter in Horror?

Suspense is the emotional tension that builds when readers know (or suspect) that something bad is about to happen. It’s the quiet before the scream, the flicker in the light, the creak on the stairs.

Unlike action or shock, suspense draws things out. It’s about dread, not drama. It’s what keeps your readers turning pages even when they want to look away.

In horror, suspense is vital. It:

• Builds atmosphere

• Fuels fear without immediate payoff

• Allows the horror to feel psychological, not just physical

A suspenseful horror story doesn’t just show terror—it invites the reader to participate in it.

How Suspense Affects the Reader

Your reader is not a passive observer—they’re complicit in the experience.

Suspense works because it puts them ahead of the character, or sometimes just behind. Either way, they’re emotionally involved, watching events unfold with bated breath.

When done well, suspense creates:

• 🫀 Anticipation – “Something’s coming…”

• 🧠 Engagement – “I need to know what happens next.”

• 🫣 Discomfort – “I think I know what’s going to happen—and I hate it.”

The beauty of suspense is that it doesn’t need gore or jump scares. It just needs a question the reader can’t stop asking: What if? What now? What’s behind the door?

Suspense vs. Surprise: What’s the Difference?

Both suspense and surprise serve horror—but they’re not the same thing.

🎬 Think:

• Suspense: You know someone’s in the house, and the character is going upstairs anyway.

• Surprise: A ghost jumps out of the mirror.

Great horror uses both. But suspense leaves bruises that last longer.

How to Build Suspense in Your Story

Here’s how to keep the tension crawling under your reader’s skin:

1. Let the Reader Know Just Enough

Give them a sliver of information. Hint at the threat. Let them squirm knowing more than the protagonist—or suspecting less.

🕯️ “We don’t talk about the room at the end of the hall.”

2. Control the Pacing

Slow the story down at crucial moments. Use long, detailed sentences to build dread, then short, clipped ones to mimic panic.

3. Isolate Your Character

Suspense thrives in silence and solitude. Trapping your protagonist (physically or emotionally) ups the tension.

4. Use the Senses

Sound is especially effective. The scratch at the door. The whisper upstairs. Make the setting breathe with discomfort.

5. Delay the Reveal

Hold back. Let the reader feel the weight of not knowing. Draw out scenes. Tease answers. Let dread simmer.

6. Make It Personal

Give your character something to fear—emotionally. The best suspense stems from stakes that feel personal and internal, not just physical.

Great Examples of Suspense in Horror Stories

• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Suspense through isolation, psychological unravelling, and a house that never stops watching.

  
  

• Bird Box by Josh Malerman You never see the monster. You just feel its presence—and that’s what terrifies you.

  
  

• The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Unreliable narration + ghostly sightings = maximum dread with minimum action.

  
  

• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier A suspenseful masterclass in jealousy, memory, and the fear of never measuring up.

  
  

• The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell A chilling blend of domestic suspense and gothic unease—where every character harbours secrets.

Writing Prompt:

Write a scene where your character hears something they can’t explain—but don’t show what caused it. Let the fear be in the imagining.

Final Thoughts: Let It Linger

In horror, it’s not always what’s behind the door. Sometimes, it’s how slowly the hand turns the knob.

Let your readers feel the buildup. Let them itch with the need to know more. Let your story breathe tension into every shadow, every silence.

Because when suspense is done right, you don’t just scare your readers. You haunt them.