For anyone thinking about writing in the horror genre, there are certain situations that, over the years, have been done so often that the audience knows exactly what to expect. Using any of these is fine if you're being post-modern and ironic as in the Scream series, because you can get the audience laughing as they jump. But if you're trying for the big scare, here are some situations to avoid, and alternative scenarios to consider.

The woman alone in the old dark house

She's usually blonde, big breasted and not very bright. She shouts things like "Who's there?" or "Is that you Joe?" Then she goes into dark rooms to see what's in them. Tippi Hedren plays a fine example in The Birds, as does Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. This scene has been so successfully lampooned by the Scream series that its going to be hard for anyone to do it again; but if you must, you'll need to find a new way of raising the tension. Making the woman blind has been done, as has having a man being stalked by a woman. But how about having the stalker existing inside mirrors, and only able to reach out at arms length. What happens if he gets a knife?

The kid who's Mom isn't Mom any more

The kid says "That isn't my mom" A smug doctor says, "It's all in your mind kid: The Mom leads the kid off, and the next day both Mom and the kid give the doctors far-away stares. This was a staple in 1950's paranoia flicks like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Invaders from Mars, and was given a new lease of life in Dark Skies. Serious thought is needed to give a new slant. How about if its the pets that are getting taken over, and only the kids notice?

The experiment gone wrong

They say things like "Morals are for lesser mortals" and "The ends justify the means" Then their creation jumps up and bites them. Think of all the movie versions of Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and you can't go far wrong. A more recent example was Beau Bridges in Sandkings, the pilot for the modern Outer Limits. Anyone planning on using this scenario should really meet some scientists. Many of them are weirder than their fictional equivalents, and they provide great material for stories.

The mob of villagers

Sometimes there's a ringleader, such as an old woman whose grandchild has been killed. Other times there's just an angry mob shouting "Rhubarb" and waving torches. Perhaps the best example is actually in a spoof, Young Frankenstein. How about trying a calm mob? I can't think of a new way of doing this that would be scary, but maybe you can do better?

The priest who's lost his faith

There are two ways this can go. The creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and kills the priest in particularly gory fashion. Or the creature says "Your feeble god means nothing to me" and the priest steps up to the base and drives the creature away. There are fine examples of the first in Stephen King's Salem's Lot, and John Carpenter's The Fog. You could try having the creature banishing the priest to hell? I haven't seen that one... yet.

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