Five horror hook patterns
Each one plants a question the viewer has to stay to answer.
- ✦Contradiction: '13th floor nahi hai… phir button kisne dabaya?'
- ✦Broken rule: 'Dadi kehti thi, peeche mudkar mat dekhna.'
- ✦Strange object: 'Yeh ghadi har raat 3:17 par rukti hai.'
- ✦Unfinished sentence: 'Lift ruki, darwaza khula, aur saamne tha…'
- ✦Sound cue: 'Kuan sookha tha, phir bhi awaaz aati thi.'
Build the fear in steps
Each beat should move the fear one step closer: first something odd, then something that can't be explained, then something approaching. If beat two is no scarier than beat one, that's where viewers leave.
Save the scariest moment for the last ten seconds, and don't fully reveal it. What you don't show frightens more than what you do.
Sound and visuals
In horror, audio is half the story.
- ✦First word within half a second. Viewers don't wait through a music intro.
- ✦A short pause right before the twist, but no longer than about 0.7 seconds.
- ✦A first frame with one clear subject: a well, a door, a clock. It must read on a small phone screen.
- ✦Keep captions in the middle of the frame. The Shorts title, channel name and buttons cover the bottom and right edge.
Example script: 45 seconds, the third door (Hinglish)
- Hook0:00
Haveli ka teesra darwaza kabhi kyun nahi khulta?
- Setup0:03
Nani ke gaon mein sab jaante the. Do darwaze khulte hain. Teesre par taala nahi, phir bhi koi haath nahi lagata.
- Build0:12
Us raat main akela tha. Teesre darwaze ke neeche se roshni aa rahi thi.
- Build0:19
Andar kisi ke chalne ki awaaz. Dheere… phir darwaze ke theek paas aakar ruk gayi.
- Twist0:28
Maine Nani ko awaaz di. Peeche se Nani boli, 'Main toh yahan hoon, beta.'
- Payoff0:36
Toh darwaze ke us paar, mera naam kaun le raha tha?
- Loop0:41
Isliye woh teesra darwaza…
The last line is left unfinished, and the first line completes it.
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Common mistakes
- ✕Explaining the whole ghost story in the opening. The mystery ends, and so does the watch.
- ✕Relying on loud jump scares. They startle once, but nobody remembers the story.
- ✕Making false claims about real places or people. If it's 'based on a true story', change names and identifying details.
- ✕The same haveli and the same well in every video. Vary the structure and the source of fear.
Questions
How long should a horror Short be?
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30 to 45 seconds is a good length: long enough to build dread, short enough to hold it to the end.
Can I make horror stories for kids?
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Light mystery can work, but avoid intense fear or violence. If a video is made for children, it must be marked 'Made for kids' on YouTube, and different rules apply.
Is it okay to make Shorts about real ghost incidents?
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Take inspiration, but don't name real people or places in ways that accuse or identify anyone, and don't present what you're unsure of as fact.