: How can I Avoid Being Frightened by the Horror Story I am Writing? Yes, I have to admit it. I don't like horror movies because (shocker) I find them scary. Unlike other people in my house,

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This is really a psychology question, so there wont be a one-size fits all answer which a random individual on the internet can provide you. However, one of your quotes suggests to me a direction:

I do not, as has been speculated, fear death. I am a Christian, and death holds no fear for me. What I fear is the unknown. The darkness can hide anything. When I watch a horror movie, if the 'horror' element is not explained, it's more frightening because I don't know what it is.

This is an interesting phrasing, given that many consider what happens in death and afterwards to be "the great unknown." And yet little unknowns like "what's in this shadowy corner" distract you. If I may read into your statement (again, as a random individual on the internet who doesn't really know you), this suggests to me that you don't fear death because you know what comes after.

However, anyone with a little inductive logic can show that this should also be enough to not be frightened of the shadowy corner, but from your question, that is clearly not the case. There must be some other logic which we can apply.

I would postulate that you have a division in your worldview. There are the present things, like what you're writing, what you are having for lunch, etc. Then there are the eventual things, like death and all that holds from your religious beliefs. You do not fear the eventual things, because you can intellectually rationalize that you shouldn't be afraid of them because you know what comes after those eventual things.

However, there may be a gap in your worldview between the present things and the eventual things. For some reason "what's in the shadow in the corner" can't link up with your faith in the eventuality of everything. Thus, the fear of the unknown can manifest in present events.

If this is accurate (again, I'm just a random individual on the internet), then you might benefit from creating your own "eventuality" for writing. Focus on something that should be an eventuality that's fully in your control (perhaps "I will feel like getting up from this seat, and all will be right with the world"), and tie that eventuality to your confidence that everything will be all right for other reasons (such as your religious beliefs). You may have to play around a bit with it to find the best anchor for you (by all means, find your own, don't borrow a random internet stranger's!). Eventually you'll find something that's close enough to present events to provide you comfort in your certainty and immunity form the unknown, but something far enough out that you can tie it into your general sense of confidence that you know all that matters.

Of course, I would recommend seeking a happy medium: find something that takes the edge off of the fear of the unknown, but doesn't insulate you from it. The fear of the unknown is a powerful force in the human mind. Why miss out on an opportunity to improve yourself. Stare into the unknown, and smile at it. Who knows, something may smile back.

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I little trick i sometimes use if my own writing gets "too close" for comfort (and i mainly write horror):

Be your own comic relief. Maybe in your story, the murder is slowly creeping closer behind his victim, and the reader can see that in the mirror, but the character can't. He is helpless, unsuspecting. Slowly, the horrible murder clown gets closer - and trips over his feet, falling down, hitting a cupboard, on which there is a vase, that falls down, and hits him on the head, knocking him unconscious.

Remember that you are in power. you are in control of your story, and your own story can only frighten you if you let it. From time to time we need to remind ourself of this. And if knowledge isn't enough, we need to prove it to ourselves, by destroying suspension, and making the "scary stuff" do "silly stuff". After you cooled down, just delete the funny scene and continue with the suspense... :)

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There are a couple of ways that might help.

Do not be alone when you write. You don't have to sit in a room full of people. Just sit somewhere (preferably in the park) where there are many people around but not too close.
Do not base you story setting on the location you are in. If you are writing a horror story about something terrorizing people in the park, it is better to sit somewhere else.
If you have to write at home, do it when other family members/friends are around. It helps when you know you are not alone. Opening the door will also help a bit because you know there are people right across the hall. If you concerned about distractions, you can convey that to others beforehand. They will understand.
Write during the day.

You have to compromise on something but I think little distraction is better than sitting alone in fear and able to write anything.

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Seeing an axe murderer at the end of a hallway is scary, but not seeing them and knowing they're somewhere nearby, maybe round the corner, or maybe behind you, is much scarier. This is because, as you said in the question, the fear of the unknown is something that the majority of people have in some capacity.

I wrote in this answer about the scariest scene I've ever read, but that is because the character cannot see what is happening around them, and does not know what will happen if they are caught, therefore our brains fill the space with worst-case scenarios. But seeing the scene from a third person perspective would make the scene look quite silly.

This is what separates good horror writing from bad: Good horror will have us hiding behind our fingers barely able to watch, as we empathize with the fears of the character, whereas bad horror will have us shouting "just get up and run! Don't hide in the closet, the killer will find you! Jump out of the window and get to the police station!"

To make sure you are not drawn into the horror scenario yourself is to eliminate the horrifying aspect: The Unknown. As you're writing the story, think to yourself about the hows and the whys, so that you know more than the reader will. It may even be beneficial to picture the scene in a less then serious way, so long as you don't let that bleed through into your writing, as it will cause it to change from the good type of horror to the bad.

For example, instead of picturing yourself as the character running through the house with a murderer behind you, imagine the house from a bird's-eye perspective, and have the scene unfold like some sort of Benny Hill sketch. This should at least help with the issue of needing to look over your shoulder when writing, as it will be easier to visualize exactly where the character and the thing they are afraid of are, as opposed to "they could be anywhere".

Or take a leaf out of the book of Dead by Daylight and try to see the scene from the perspective of the murderer. They're unlikely to be afraid, so examine the situation from their point of view. Once you've experienced the situation in the position of power, the vulnerable position becomes less frightening.

Alternatively get into the head of the thing causing the fear. Why is this person a murderer? Why did they choose this victim? Why is this big scary cloud monster harvesting souls? We tend to dehumanize things when they're scary, but if a person has a motive, and a backstory, then they are just another person who just happens to kill people. Perhaps it would be possible to reason with them, but the potential victim just never gets the opportunity.

Edit: Adding a summary, all of my suggestions really boil down to the same thing: recognizing that the frightening scenarios are not actually very realistic.

Experiencing the horror feels realistic in the moment, because it preys on our deepest fears. But our fears tend to be unrealistic and expanded inside our own heads anyway, being in the actual situation is much less frightening than what we imagine it would be like inside of our own minds.

The more you focus on the reality of the fictional situation, the more you will come to realize how the most realistic frightening situations are actually just fiction invented by our own brains. So then when you're looking over your shoulder and into dark corners, it will be easier to feel like the real fears are just fictional.

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Also draw on that fear. I read in Jeff VanderMeer's "Wonderbook" about a concept called "writing from your scar," which could also be applicable to your situation also. Basically, it means drawing on those experiences that have left a scar on you (figuratively). You could apply this to your situation by drawing on your fear, incorporating it into your characters' psyches, instilling microtension into all of their thoughts and actions via this fear vs what they want to achieve. If you can do this, you might be able to use your fear to your advantage. But if you feel inclined to writing what scares you (and I applaud you for this act of literary courage), you must not avoid, but rather explore. Good luck.

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Name/Define the fear and you get chance to avoid it

I think using own self for measuring level of horror is not always the best if expecting/hoping for same effect for other readers. Or is it a goal actually for Thomas?

So to be able to keep horror/fear/fright out, it should be defined: What is it, and what effect is harming Thomas' nerves. Every single thing that can be described will have features. Associating features to that fear make several step out from the state of unknown. Features can be addressed, avoided or even stand up against. Depending on the story, the nature of features and Thomas, tools like reality-check, story goal priorization, temporary or permanent elimination of fear source can be effective.

Let me know if we should work on this with further Q&A.

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