I'm in the process of revising my post on How To Write A Horror Story and, as part of that, just came across a massive list of horror tropes over at tvtropes.org.
Below are 409 horror tropes. All of these--all of them--are from the article (just ONE article) I linked to in my last sentence. AND each one has a link to its own article, one that will tell you more than you'll likely ever need to know about the troupe.
Just for fun, why not pick a random number between 1 and 409 (if you like, you can do this by heading on over to random.org) and exploring the associated trope? Or how about picking two or three random tropes and using them to write a piece of flash fiction?
What twists could you add? Which non-standard characters could you use?
Click here for a list of character tropes: Characters.
409 Horror Tropes & Subtropes
Once again, these tropes are from: Horror Tropes.
1 Abandoned Area
2 Abandoned Hospital
3 Abandoned Hospital Awakening
4 Abandoned Playground
5 Abandoned Warehouse
6 Ghost City
7 Ghost Town
8 Ghost Planet
9 Haunted Castle
10 Haunted House
11 Absurdly Ineffective Barricade
12 The Adjectival Man
13 Afterlife Express
14 Alien Geometries
15 All Hallows' Eve
16 All in the Eyes
17 All Webbed Up
18 Alucard
19 Always Night
20 Anal Probing
21 Ancient Tomb
22 And I Must Scream
23 And Show It to You
24 Ankle Drag
25 Another Man's Terror
26 Apocalyptic Log
27 Artifact of Doom
28 Artifact of Death
29 Summoning Artifact
30 Tome of Eldritch Lore
31 Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
32 Attack of the Killer Whatever
33 Attack of the Monster Appendage
34 Autocannibalism
35 Ax-Crazy
36 Backstory Horror
37 Bad Black Barf
38 Bad Humor Truck
39 Barred from the Afterlife
40 Barrier-Busting Blow
41 Bat out of Hell
42 Bat Scare
43 Bear Trap
44 " Beat Still, My Heart"
45 Belly Mouth
46 Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts
47 The Blank
48 Blood Bath
49 Bloody Handprint
50 Blue-Collar Warlock
51 Body and Host
52 Body Horror
53 Body of Bodies
54 Brain Food
55 Broken Heel
56 Buried Alive
57 The Calls Are Coming from Inside the House
58 Campbell Country
59 Camp Unsafe Isn't Safe Anymore
60 Cannibal Clan
61 Cannibalism Superpower
62 Cat Scare
63 The Chain of Harm (especially #4 and #5)
64 Chest Burster
65 Spawn Broodling
66 Child by Rape
67 Chinese Vampire
68 Chupacabra
69 Circus of Fear
70 Clingy Costume
71 Cobweb Jungle
72 Complete Monster
73 Conjoined Twins
74 Connect the Deaths
75 Corpse Land
76 The Corruption
77 Cosmic Horror Story
78 Creepily Long Arms
79 Creepy Basement
80 Creepy Cemetery
81 Creepy Changing Painting
82 Creepy Child
83 Creepy Children Singing
84 Creepy Circus Music
85 Creepy Doll
86 Creepy Housekeeper
87 Creepy Long Fingers
88 Creepy Souvenir
89 Crop Circles
90 Cruel and Unusual Death
91 Crusty Caretaker
92 Curiosity Killed the Cast
93 Damsel in Distress
94 Dangerous Key Fumble
95 Dangerous Windows
96 Danger Takes a Backseat
97 Dark Lord on Life Support
98 Darkness Equals Death
99 The Darkness Gazes Back
100 Dark World
101 Daylight Horror
102 The Dead Can Dance
103 Vampire Dance
104 Deadly Bath
105 Deadly Prank
106 Deadly Road Trip
107 Death by Materialism
108 Death by Mocking
109 Death by Sex
110 Defanged Horrors
111 Demonic Dummy
112 Depraved Dentist
113 Developing Doomed Characters
114 Distress Call
115 The Doll Episode
116 Don't Go in the Woods
117 Stay on the Path
118 Drool Hello
119 Ear Ache
120 Eaten Alive
121 Electromagnetic Ghosts
122 The End of the World as We Know It
123 The End... Or Is It?
124 Enemy Rising Behind
125 Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
126 " Everybody's Dead, Dave"
127 Evil Elevator
128 Evil Hand
129 Evil Is Visceral
130 Evil Phone
131 Exorcist Head
132 Extremely Dusty Home
133 Eye Awaken
134 Eyeless Face
135 Eye Scream
136 Eyes Are Unbreakable
137 The Eyes Have It
138 Face Revealing Turn
139 Facial Horror
140 Tear Off Your Face
141 False Innocence Trick
142 The Family That Slays Together
143 Faux Horror Film
144 Faux Horrific: Pretending something is scary for laughs.
145 A Fête Worse than Death
146 Final Girl
147 Fingore
148 Flat Scare
149 Flaying Alive
150 Flies Equals Evil
151 Food Chain of Evil
152 Footprints Of Muck
153 For Doom the Bell Tolls
154 The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You
155 Freak Lab Accident
156 Gate of Truth
157 Ghostapo
158 Ghost Butler
159 Ghost Story
160 Ghostly Chill
161 Ghostly Goals
162 Ghostly Glide
163 Giant Eye Of Doom
164 Giant Spider
165 God and Satan Are Both Jerks
166 Gory Deadly Overkill Title of Fatal Death
167 Gory Discretion Shot
168 Sound-Only Death
169 Gross-Up Close-Up
170 Grotesque Gallery
171 Gutted Like a Fish
172 Gypsy Curse
173 Half the Man He Used to Be
174 Halloweentown
175 Hair-Raising Hare
176 Harbinger of Impending Doom
177 Haunted Fetter
178 Haunted Headquarters
179 Haunted Heroine
180 Haunted House Historian
181 Haunted Technology
182 Hazardous Water
183 Headless Horseman
184 Hell Hotel
185 Hell Is That Noise
186 Hockey Mask and Chainsaw
187 Hollywood Exorcism
188 Homicide Machines
189 Horny Devils
190 Horrifying the Horror
191 Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday
192 Horror Host
193 Horror Struck
194 A House Divided
195 Humanoid Abomination
196 Human Resources
197 Human To Werewolf Footprints
198 I Can See You
199 " I Hate You, Vampire Dad"
200 I Love the Dead
201 Inescapable Horror
202 I'm a Humanitarian
203 Cannibal Clan
204 Cannibal Tribe
205 Horror Hunger
206 Invited As Dinner
207 No Party Like a Donner Party
208 Picky People Eater
209 Brain Food
210 I'm Cold... So Cold...
211 Impromptu Tracheotomy
212 Indian Burial Ground
213 Infernal Retaliation
214 Initiation Ceremony
215 Inn of No Return
216 Inscrutable Aliens
217 In That Order
218 Ironic Nursery Tune
219 It Can Think
220 It Won't Turn Off
221 The Jersey Devil
222 Jump Scare
223 Kaiju
224 Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge
225 Kensington Gore
226 Lamprey Mouth
227 Life or Limb Decision
228 Amputation Stops Spread
229 Light-Flicker Teleportation
230 Lightmare Fuel
231 The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday
232 Living Bodysuit
233 Living Shadow
234 Long Neck
235 Losing Your Head
236 Lost in the Maize
237 Made from Real Girl Scouts
238 Made of Plasticine
239 Madwoman in the Attic
240 Magnetic Medium
241 Malevolent Masked Men
242 Malevolent Mutilation
243 Man-Eating Plant
244 Marionette Motion
245 Meat Moss
246 Meaningful Background Event
247 Medical Horror
248 Menstrual Menace
249 Mirror Monster
250 Mirror Scare
251 Mobile Menace
252 Monster Clown
253 Monster Progenitor
254 Monsters Anonymous
255 Monstrous Humanoid
256 Mook Horror Show
257 The Most Dangerous Video Game
258 Mother of a Thousand Young
259 Mouth Stitched Shut
260 Mummy
261 Mummies at the Dinner Table
262 Mundanger
263 Murder by Cremation
264 Murder Water
265 Murderous Mannequin
266 Murderous Mask
267 Museum of the Strange and Unusual
268 Nested Mouths
269 Never Sleep Again
270 New House New Problems
271 Nightmare Face
272 Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book
273 Night Swim Equals Death
274 No Face Under The Mask
275 No Immortal Inertia
276 Not a Mask
277 Nothing but Skulls
278 Nothing Is Scarier
279 Not Using the Z Word
280 Occult Detective
281 Occult Law Firm
282 Offscreen Teleportation
283 Ominous Crack
284 Ominous Fog
285 Fog of Doom
286 Ominously Open Door
287 Ominous Music Box Tune
288 Once is Not Enough
289 Organ Theft
290 Orifice Invasion
291 Orifice Evacuation
292 Our Werewolves Are Different
293 Paint the Town Red
294 Peek-A-Boo Corpse
295 People Farms
296 Personal Horror
297 Perverse Puppet
298 Phlegmings
299 Picky People Eater
300 Pleasure Island
301 The Power of Blood
302 Prank Date
303 Pretend We're Dead
304 Protect This House
305 Psychological Horror
306 Psychological Torment Zone
307 Psycho Party Member
308 Puppeteer Parasite
309 Over The Shoulder Murder Shot
310 Rain of Blood
311 Raising the Steaks
312 Razor Apples
313 Regret Eating Me
314 Resist The Beast
315 Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain
316 Rise from Your Grave
317 Room 101
318 Room Full of Crazy
319 Room Full Of Zombies
320 Rule of Scary
321 Sadist
322 Safe Zone Hope Spot
323 The Savage South
324 Scare Chord
325 Scary Flashlight Face
326 Scary Jack In The Box
327 Scary Scarecrows
328 Scary Scorpions
329 Screamer Trailer
330 Screaming Woman
331 The Secret of Long Pork Pies
332 Security Cling
333 See-Thru Specs
334 Senseless Phagia
335 Sensor Suspense
336 Sensory Abuse
337 Serial Killer
338 The Seven Mysteries
339 Shadow Discretion Shot
340 Shaggy Search Technique
341 Silver Bullet
342 Sinister Scraping Sound
343 Skele Bot 9000
344 Skeleton Crew
345 Slashers Prefer Blondes
346 Slow Transformation
347 Sole Surviving Scientist
348 Sorting Algorithm of Mortality
349 Spiders Are Scary
350 Spooky Painting
351 Spooky Photographs
352 Spooky Seance
353 Spring Loaded Corpse
354 Stages of Monster Grief
355 Staking the Loved One
356 The Stars Are Going Out
357 Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome
358 Supernatural Proof Father
359 Surprisingly Sudden Death
360 Surreal Horror
361 Swarm of Rats
362 Taxidermy Is Creepy
363 Taxidermy Terror
364 Tentative Light
365 Television Portal
366 Terror At Make Out Point
367 Too Much For Man To Handle
368 These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know
369 Things That Go Bump in the Night
370 Through the Eyes of Madness
371 Too Many Mouths
372 Touch of the Monster
373 Tongue Trauma
374 Torso with a View
375 Torture Cellar
376 Town with a Dark Secret
377 Traumatic C-Section
378 Tulpa
379 Überwald
380 Ultimate Evil
381 Uncanny Valley
382 Uncanny Valley Makeup
383 Undead Author
384 Unexpectedly Abandoned
385 Unfinished Business
386 Urban Legends
387 Vampire Invitation
388 Vagina Dentata
389 Van Helsing Hate Crimes
390 Very Loosely Based on a True Story
391 Viral Transformation
392 The Virus
393 The Corruption
394 Virus Victim Symptoms
395 Walking Backwards
396 Wax Museum Morgue
397 We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties
398 Wendigo
399 What Happened To Mommy?
400 White Mask of Doom
401 Who You Gonna Call?
402 Wipe That Smile Off Your Face
403 With Great Power Comes Great Insanity
404 Word Salad Horror
405 The Worm That Walks
406 You Are Who You Eat
407 You Look Like You've Seen a Ghost
408 Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb
409 Zombie Apocalypse
Good writing!
Photo credit: "2014-005 pulvis et umbra" by Robert Couse-Baker under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.
