The Differences Between Horror and Thriller

Did you know the two genres have less in common than you think?

The article I have chosen for Sunday’s Topic will take at least 12 minutes to read. More than twelve if you are like me. I stop and absorb things before moving on to the next and then may or may not go back to figure out where I disagree. So, sit back with your favorite drink and read through this post before chat at 8PM EDT on October 11th.

Horror fiction ultimately has different goals than thrillers.

Horror fiction has the specific intent to frighten, scare, disgust, and/or startle the reader by inducing feelings of terror. These elements can be delivered in a variety of ways, but in the end a horror novel wants to keep the reader in a constant state of dread.

The thriller genre is also different from horror in many ways.

While a work of horror will often merely fill the reader with dread, a thriller relies on suspense through each development of the story. Thrillers give readers feelings of excitement, anticipation, surprise, with devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers natural additions to the story.

I am urging you to take a little bit of time before chat, this article is quite well done and even if you don’t write in these genres it never hurts to be able to hold up your end of the conversation should you stumble into an award ceremony at the THE HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION.

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