What Type of Story Are You Writng?

Allow me to reiterate: "horror is an emotion." Sure there are other writing elements thrown in such as plot, character and short sentences (this helps with your stories pace), but the core of it all is the emotional aspect.

Yet, within the horror genre there are sub-genres. In the article "What Type of Book Are You Writing?" from the magazine Writing Basics, author Michael J.Vaughn breaks down genres such as romance and Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but most importantly: Horror.

Here are a few types of sub-genres Vaughn mentions that the editors of Tainted Tea particularly get hot for:

• Comic Horror: horror stories that wither spoof horror conventions or that mix gore with dark humor.

• Fabulist: derived from "fable," an ancient tradition in which objects, animals or forces of nature are anthropomorphized in order to deliver a moral lesson.

• Hauntings: a classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.

• Quiet Horror: subtly written horror that uses atmosphere and mood, rather than graphic description, to create fear and suspense.

• Weird Tales: inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events ("Twilight Zone").
  

• Zombie: tales featuring dead people who return to commit mayhem on the living.

We've mentioned before that we are open to considering any and all horror, so don't be shy. Show us what you've got. Didn't your mother tell you to share? You wouldn't want to disappoint Mama, would you?