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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43771
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43771
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In paranormal stories you first need to **establish normality**. Make sure that you note down the elements that you have presented as the cardinal staples of normality. You then need to **break them** , one by one. **The order in important**. You first break the elements of normality that could be explained by the laws of normality itself as a temporary altered state, or as an unlikely coincidence. Then you can introduce bigger changes until you defy even the laws of physics.

For instance:

- introduce a group of students going to school on a schoolbus on a sunny day.

- the schoolbus breaks down. The engine won't start. _This could just be a normal event._

- sudden gusts of wind lift a cloud of dust along the road. _Unlikely, but still possible._

- animals start appearing at the edge of the road, and they stare, unafraid, at the kids in the bus. _Strange, but perhaps there is a not-so-obvious explanation._

- black mud starts dripping from the ceiling of the bus. _Extremely strange, no satisfying reason can be provided._

- the bus is lifted in the air and starts flying. Open defiance of the laws of physics. 

With each step, you also need to provide a voice that denies the possibility that these events are paranormal. This is the voice that the reader needs to cling to. It provides a step-by-step transition into the harder-to-believe scenes without immediately dropping the suspension of disbelief. In the example above, I added this voice in italic.

Original score: 5