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Q&A Good examples of fear/terror inducing techniques used with enemies

Ninety-five percent of the time, what you don't see is scarier than what you do see. Think about The Blair Witch Project, even though it's a movie. You never see the villain. That ending STILL giv...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:00Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4081
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T01:58:10Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4081
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T01:58:10Z (almost 5 years ago)
Ninety-five percent of the time, what you don't see is scarier than what you do see.

Think about _The Blair Witch Project,_ even though it's a movie. You never see the villain. That ending STILL gives me nightmares.

Think about Voldemort and the Death Eaters rousing fear and suspicion among the wizarding world, even before his return at the end of _Goblet of Fire_. You could never be sure if someone was Imperiused... or a Death Eater... or just dotty.

The fear of the unknown adds an extra layer of terror to any antagonist, so hold back your reveal as long as you can. When the protagonist is facing an enemy and doesn't even know what it is, or if "it" is a "them" or a "who" or a "what" or "how big," that's one less facet your hero can prepare for, one more surprise on the antagonist's side, and that much less control your hero has.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-09-28T17:05:29Z (about 13 years ago)
Original score: 12