In horror and suspense writing, the word "uncanny" demands to come to fruition. It is not just a word used, but a word described and come to life. The uncanny, in writing, is bringing what is familiar and making it unfamiliar and then forcing your character (or characters) to try to understand it or struggle to escape it. How can the uncanny be implemented in your writing?

In H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the narrator recollects his time at the seaport town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. At the very beginning of the story he comes to meet a man who tells him about Innsmouth; he begs him to be cautious. The man says, "Innsmouth? Well, it's a queer kind of town . . . . More empty houses than there are people..."

The uncanny can create an unsettling feeling and it can also create questions for the audience. Readers might wonder, "Why are there more empty houses than there are people? What happened?"

The man goes further to explain to the narrator his feelings about Innsmouth. "There certainly is a strange kind of streak in Innsmouth folks today―I don't know how to explain it, but it sort of makes your skin crawl."

Our notion of what is supposed to be is betrayed by what might be. Ernst Jenstch wrote, “doubt[s] whether an apparently animate being is really alive; or conversely, whether a lifeless object might not be in fact animate.”

In Deathly Hallows, the uncanny character comes in the form of Bathilda Bagshot. When Harry and Hermione are at Godric's Hollow, they spot a small old woman they presume to be Bathilda. She is, after all, just a small and quiet old lady. But as they continue, the uneasiness begins to set in. "The odor of old age, of dust, of unwashed clothes and stale food intensified as she unwound a moth-eaten black shawl, revealing a head of scant white hair through which the scalp showed clearly." There is something off about Bathilda. Harry does not notice it at first, but Hermione does.

Finally, when Harry is alone with Bathilda, something occurs: "she moved weirdly: He saw it out of the corner of his eye; panic made him turn and horror paralyzed him as he saw the old body collapsing and the great snake pouring from the place where her neck had been."

Rowling took our notion of old little women and contorted it into something eldritch, by taking the familiar and making it unfamiliar.

To achieve the uncanny you must do the following:

Construct your character(s) in ways that are familiar to our reality; reveal who they are when their reality is distorted. Who is your character when things are normal and controllable and who are they when the opposite occurs?

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the titular character, under normal circumstances, is a man of knowledge and science. He wants to create something to better humankind. Yet, this is not the case, because Frankenstein, as written by Shelley, is a man who wants to defy God. “A new species would bless me as its creator and source…”

Set the uncanny loose. Let it wreak havoc and mayhem upon your character’s life.

After the deaths of his loved ones, Frankenstein loses control of his life; he is on the brink of insanity because of his monster. He must act before things get worse.

Fix the distortion, place the uncanny back on its leash and hide it away. (Optional)

Before Frankenstein can fight his creation, he dies on Captain Walton’s ship. The monster finds him and grieves. The monster decides to end his life. “I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct.”

If you decide to keep the uncanny alive, then keep in mind that you will be putting the terror in your story at risk. Once something uncanny becomes established and understood, the uneasiness diminishes. The uncanny becomes canny. But as a writer, it's your choice.