Start with a core fear
Choose one primary source of dread
Make the threat feel inevitable
Limit what the audience knows
Use silence and absence
Reveal information slowly
Create vulnerability in the characters
Put characters in isolated or trapped situations
Make ordinary settings feel wrong
Use sensory details sparingly and precisely
Focus on anticipation more than gore
Escalate tension in small steps
Break patterns at key moments
Give the antagonist clear intent
Make consequences personal
Use pacing to control fear
Keep the stakes immediate
Let the unknown remain unknown
Build emotional attachment before terror
End scenes on unsettling notes