Write a poem that pays homage to a specific genre of horror. This gives you a set of conventions you can use. In the poem "Slumber Party Massacre," the last four lines detail one of the most common mistakes made in slasher horror movies (wandering off alone in the dark). Here are the last four lines of this poem:
The door is ajar, inviting him inside
To paint the walls in red,
But he waits instead
For each of them to wander off.
This stanza highlights a popular genre scene and features an unexpected rhyme with lines two and three. If you can work in a rhyme without forcing it, do so. If not, capturing the scene is more important.
Write visually. Think about your favorite horror movies as you construct the lines of your poem. The more visual you can make the horror on the page, the better you will be able to draw your readers in. Description is a key element of horror. The description can be something designed to disgust your readers or something to send a chill along their spines.
Touch your readers with visceral writing. Horror poetry isn't typically intellectual. Touch readers on a primal level by addressing the fears that many people share. This example, told from the point of view of someone buried alive, is an example of visceral writing that touches primal fear.
I see darkness and feel something
Before me, confining me as I try
To breathe and realize I
Am buried alive and dying
Quick
Horror isn't pretty. Use your words to show this.