This is an alphabetical list of elements in horror stories that can build suspense, dread, and terror!
A
Abandoned house
Accursed object
Aliens
Amnesia
Apparition
Asylum
Axe murder
B
Banshee
Blood
Bloody footprints
Body horror
Bone-chilling scream
C
Cemetery
Chilling voice
Claustrophobia
Cold breath
Corpse
Creepy doll
Creepy photograph
Crypt
Curse
Cursed artifact
D
Dark and stormy night
Dark forest
Dark past
Dead of night
Death
Death omen
Decomposing body
Demon
Door creak
Doppelgänger
Dream sequence
E
Eerie silence
End of the world
Evil twin
Exorcism
F
Fear of the unknown
Fog
Forbidden room
Foreboding atmosphere
G
Ghost
Gore
Graveyard
H
Haunted house
Heavy breathing
Hex
Hidden evil
Horrifying discovery
Horror
I
Inhuman eyes
Insanity
J
Jump scare
K
Killer
Knocking sound
L
Labyrinth
Locked door
Lurking shadow
M
Malicious entity
Maniacal laughter
Mirror reflection
Monster
Morbid curiosity
Murder
N
Night terrors
Nightmare
O
Occult
Ominous air
Ouija board
P
Paranoia
Phantasm
Possession
Premonition
Psychopath
R
Reanimation
Restless spirits
Ritual
Rotting flesh
Rusty chains
S
Scratching at the window
Serial killer
Shadowy figure
Shaking camera shot
Shapeshifter
Shriek
Sinister smile
Slasher
Stalker
Supernatural force
T
Terror
Trapped
U
Unexplained phenomena
Unholy entity
Unseen predator
V
Vampire
Vanishing
Vengeful spirit
Victim
Villain
W
Wailing
Walking corpse
Werewolf
Witch
Woods at night
Wraith
Z
Zombie
Zooming camera shot