If we held  a contest as to which is most frightening; which would win? The Unknown or the Unexplainable.

If you look at horror in the movies, a lot of the more frightening stuff  is achieved with lighting, shadows, sound and occasionally the MacGuffin. Whereas when you are writing a horror story or novel, you must rely on words that have texture and carry feelings. Another thing that horror writers need to remember is there is a difference between something being gross and something frightening.  Road kill is gross but not necessarily frightening.  A story about road kill that comes back to stalk the person that turned the animal into road kill might be frightening.

Have you ever wondered if a mass murderer spotted you in the mall and then changed his mind?