What is it about an old house that gives us the creeps? I use the word ‘house’ quite loosely here. It can also be a humungous bungalow or an estate that is centuries old.
As a writer, I like to envision such places when I am creating a story. I also like to imagine what the people who lived in such a place were like- especially the previous generations. Were they good or bad? What legacies did they leave behind? Is there a connection between the past and the present? If so can I build on it to develop a fascinating yet horrific story that a reader would never forget?
The attic is always a great place to fashion a mystery around. It could be a murder that occurred and maybe the body has been sitting there for centuries and a couple of hapless kids who were curious about the attic stumble upon a huge trunk and discover the bones of the person who was killed there. This is exactly what happens in my book Beyond these Walls 2 (which will be released in November).
Maybe people died so violently in the home that their spirits cannot rest. They haunt whoever is occupying the home because essentially it is their territory.
As a writer, putting such paranormal occurrences into words is quite intriguing. It takes a lot of thinking and skill as well. The spine-chilling aspect has to come alive so that the reader can picture themselves in the scene and get a first-hand feel as to what’s happening. This is the hallmark of a good horror writer.
So let’s get back to the old house. If I am standing in front of the very old mansion in the above picture, I can think of a couple of good ghost stories. If I am writing fiction, I must appeal to my imagination. If I am writing a true story, some research into the history of the house would help. Either way, the house is a great place to start a thrilling horror story. There are so many possibilities and just thinking them up brings goosebumps.
Photo Credit: “The Haunted Mansion [Explore]” by Brett Kiger (Creative Commons) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0