Moving beyond tropes to master scary storytelling🎩🦇
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"There is much to be learned from beasts." - Bram Stoker's Dracula
Tropes. Everyone making or enjoying horror, knows about tropes. But lets talk because...
1. They're sort of important
2. They really hinder your creativity to begin with
3. They're recognizable to everyone.
But, there more important things in horror than tropes. 100%. Because, let me tell it straight! If you decided to try to not include tropes, you'd still be able make a great horror movie. That's right. I said it. There are plenty of examples out there (Impetigore, the lighthouse, twin peaks: the return) but still, they end up featuring tropes by the nature of storytelling. Breaking it down, tropes are simply just 'WHAT's been seen before', and it's likely that your idea ain't that original. Tropes become inevitable.
Because tropes are the WHAT, they're the most talked about thing in horror. It seems like they put bums on seats in movie theatres, and hooks audiences in. The thing is, the WHY just isn't talked about enough in modern horror. The meaning, the reason behind the trope is what makes memorable stories.
Tropes are the recurring narrative patterns, symbols, character types, and plot devices that become noticed. They end up being recurring, because stories work by sharing the same language of 'human experience'. It means they need to be reinvented to still trigger fear, suspense, dread to remain impactful.
They're really great at depicting societal fear by shaping audience expectations through familiar storytelling formats.
Most people then, go into making horror thinking 'OK if tropes are effective, lets begin there.' This is a mistake!!! Because tropes make you fit in, not stand out from the masses of media out there. They bog interesting ideas down and re-inventing them takes so much effort. Beginning with tropes is like making fine wine by buying & pouring an existing bottle of Merlot into the mixing tank, and expecting original richness.
If you are ready to invest in riffing on tropes, then that's great. Just remember that audiences relate to stories for the emotional investment. They might show up for the slasher trope or the cool monster subversion...but behind the trope, if the emotional weight or meaning isn't there ~ fans lose interest quick, this is terrible for return-on-investment of ideas, IP's and their longevity.
The main story idea is what drives you through everything. Bringing together your idea with meaning and raw emotion instead of the what's/tropes/events...this is the game. So, are you brave enough to play?
I'm not saying 'throw tropes in the bin'. I'm saying don't rely on them to begin with. There are only a few instances where I encourage delving into tropes early, but it's for mature and experienced horror creators who know how exactly how to rile up existing fans.
The evidence for moving beyond tropes
Mainstream spooky stories have their own shared language in horror. The best stories subvert, strip down, or deliberately avoid the most familiar horror patterns (jump scares, predictable kills, clear monsters, etc.) and instead lean into ambiguity, psychology, or mythic structure.
Let's go through some beloved horror movies (Sorry, I'll cover books & games in later posts) as these leave tropes behind for the real beef in the story stew.
1. The Witch ~ Mythic (not trope-y) fear mechanics
This movie rejects most modern horror tropes and returns to a kinda pre-modern myth. The horror feels like it stems from belief rather than plot devices.
Folk horror experts argue that stories like this work because of the realm's morality. The terror spills from the idea that the realm itself may be hostile, unknown & bleak. This is a more intense form of horror storytelling, deriving from traditions where humans are at the mercy of forces beyond comprehension.
It's riffing on themes found in early European witch folklore. This is it's motif. The WHY, the meaning behind the fear. The meaning of it's narrative, is embedded by societal belief of the history and significance of evil bidding's from witches.
2. Hereditary ~ Family tragedy disguised as horror
It looks like a haunted-house/demonic trope setup, but it systematically denies this to the viewer. The audience is trying to make sense of the 'no clear, fight back and win, arc'.
This movie aligns with Aristotelian tragedy more than traditional horror. The horror emerges from inevitability—what theorists call “fatalistic narrative design.” Like mythic tragedies (think doomed bloodlines), the characters are trapped in the system they can’t escape.
Haunted house/demon scary by itself? Meh, seen it before. Inevitable threat of an demon taking control over your every move, slowly but surely builds scares with the audiences. Eek! It doesn't expect you to be scared by it's tropes, it knows you'll be scared by its tragedy.
3. It Follows ~ Minimalism and myth logic
The 'entity' follows 1-simple-rule logic: it's slow, inevitable, shape-shifting. It feels less like a modern trope and more like a myth.
The movie reflects what folklorists call 'rule-based horror' ~ built on a single, memorable condition (i.e 'don’t go in the woods at night,' 'don’t break the taboo').
The main narrative vehicle to the movie mixes idea x inevitability. It mimics myth and dark folk legends, the 1-simple-rule is easy to transmit, be remembered and instill fright.
4. The Babadook ~ Monster as metaphor
Rather than “killing” the monster, the film re-frames it as something that must be lived with.
This is the modern myth, grounding the traditions of storytelling with relevant meaning. Interpretations of myth, the monster represents the shadow archetype. By tuning into the effects of the archetype, the audience feels something for the antagonist's goals.
It's metaphor is something that cannot be destroyed, only integrated. That’s a direct inversion of classic horror tropes where evil is expelled. But the power and draw, comes from the influence of the mythic qualities of the monster.
These films don’t eliminate tropes. In fact, because they've been influential, people have re-purposed their ideas. The ideas then become tropes by nature. But they didn't begin with tropes, they locked-in to deeper narrative layers:
- From genre tropes → back to mythic structures
- From plot-driven fear → moving toward existential or symbolic fear
- From external monsters → dialing into internal forces
They replace formulaic repetition of horror with myth-like resonance. The examples prioritize ambiguity over resolution, thoughtfully subverting mono-myth structures. In these movies, they mimic how myths function: not explaining fear, but embodying it through motifs, archetypes, inevitability.
Instead, get deep
My easy emotional investment guide - blog link here
Mythic Storytelling guide - blog link here
Inevitability
As we've explored It Follows & Hereditary, the threat is inevitable. It's one of the most effective tools to use for any terror in horror, and just relying on it is enough to make a compelling scary story.
To ramp up the sense of dread, the end must feel nigh. That means, the inevitability must feel so dreadful that it feels like doom for the narrative realm. The realm doesn't need to be physical, it could be mental or emotional. Just tie it to the most important stake in your story. Because then nothing feels safe.
The best uses of this threat sets consistent conflict, making audiences beg for resolution but also having a riot if the threat unleashes its raw power.
You can safely avoid any 'monster' or 'horror' trope, by bringing something unique to the table. The end is nigh, should have totally different stakes then something we've seen before. The more you delve into this, the more it will set your story apart. Take your time with it!!!!
Trusting fans - Toying with Tropes
Including tropes into your horror means, fans catch on quick. They know if you are stealing or re-using them. Subverting them is tricky by itself, because again ~ audiences catches things quickly and recognizes patterns even if they aren't there, as studies have shown!
Instead of focusing on the trope, dial into the things that fans love about certain tropes in the sub-genre. By focusing on the things they're talking about, you get to brew a more grounded and relatable take on the tropes.
You don't even need to give fans what they want, you could toy with them by referencing their take and making fun of it. But you do need to listen. Trust the fans' love for the trope, because they're the people that have been inspired, moved and engaged with horror media. They're buying the tickets, the books, the merch. If nothing else, they're the experts on what horror is really all about.
Stay tuned for more! Remember to share this blog and follow me on threads: https://www.threads.com/@be.the.bite
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