Fear and Horror Key Vocabulary

The main character in a story, often facing challenges or fears that drive the narrative.

• Protagonist

• Suspense

• Antagonist

• Cliffhanger

The character or force in a story that opposes the protagonist and often serves as a source of fear or conflict.

• Supernatural

• Antagonist

• Tension

• Protagonist

The act of looking forward to or expecting something to happen with a sense of excitement, eagerness, or even anxiety.

• Dramatic Irony

• Foreshadowing

• Cliffhanger

• Anticipation

The feeling of tension, uncertainty, or anticipation created in the reader as they await the outcome of events, often used to build fear and horror in a story.

• Supernatural

• Suspense

• Dramatic Irony

• Antagonist

A literary device in which the author hints at future events or outcomes, increasing the sense of danger and fear.

• Protagonist

• Cliffhanger

• Supernatural

• Foreshadowing

The overall feeling or mood created in a story through descriptions, settings, and tone, which can contribute to a sense of fear and horror.

• Atmosphere

• Dramatic Irony

• Foreshadowing

• Tension

The mental or emotional unease experienced by characters or readers in a story, often caused by conflict or impending danger.

• Foreshadowing

• Cliffhanger

• Tension

• Atmosphere

Some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. E.g. ghosts, witches, vampires.

• Antagonist

• Anticipation

• Supernatural

• Suspense

When the audience knows something that the characters do not, which can create tension and fear as the characters' actions lead them into danger.

• Dramatic Irony

• Protagonist

• Cliffhanger

• Atmosphere

A narrative technique in which a story ends with an unresolved or suspenseful situation, leaving readers in a state of fear or anticipation.

• Protagonist

• Supernatural

• Antagonist

• Cliffhanger