The Unknown is something I really have to say is one of the most amazing parts of horror. When I say “the unknown” I mean tossing out hints of what might be happening. Implying that something supernatural is happening, when really something psychological is happening instead is one of the more common tricks used.
The Visual Novel/Anime series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni by Ryukishi07 is the perfect example of the unknown. There are so many things implied in this series about what’s really going on in a small Japanese town I wont ruin it by mentioning them. If you’re seriously interested in horror watch the anime, or play the visual novels.
This is a two season TV series and the second season explains what’s actually been happening, the first season is horror/mystery the second season is mystery/exposition. I highly recommend watching the first season.
We have a habit of explaining the unknown here in the US, and once you explain the unknown it loses its power and becomes just another “sparkling vampire”. If you want to establish the unknown properly, drop hints as to what’s going on rather that flat out tell the audience how to stay safe.
How the unknown works is simple, your audience has no idea what the hell is going on other than the hints you as the author drop. If you imply that what’s going on is supernatural, then your audience will assume what’s going on is supernatural, but if you drop hints that there is a murderer as well then they will assume that what’s going on is a murderer using the supernatural against the audience.
Yes what I described above is very generic, but it all depends on what hints you as the author drop. Sometimes the hints themselves are ambiguous enough to imply many different scenarios.
Depending on what hints you want to use I recommend you read up on the supernatural, curses, strange events, cryptozoology, and folklore. These are all wonderful areas to read about as they have amazing stories that will give you ideas.
Here are a few links to help you out.
- Ghosts
- http://www.theshadowlands.net/ghost/
- Strange creatures
- Cryptozoology.com
- Japanese Folklore
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_folklore
When you plan a horror story around the unknown always make sure you never tell too much about what’s going on and have the characters themselves speculate on what’s going on rather than telling the audience what’s going on. You want the audience themselves to speculate as much as your characters. This is how you use the unknown to your advantage, and create a proper mystery.
