Save the Cat!® Writes Horror: The Ultimate Guide to Creating Monster in the House Stories - Softcover

Nash, Jamie; Based On The Books By Blake Snyder

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0984157654 ISBN 13: 9780984157655

Publisher: Save the Cat!® Press, 2025

Synopsis

“It’s he-e-e-re”… the most heart-pounding, jump-out-of-your-seat, scream-worthy book in the Save the Cat!® series.

Veteran horror screenwriter and novelist Jamie Nash leads us into the shadows of Blake Snyder’s legendary Monster in the House genre—and sheds light over the secrets to crafting truly terrifying tales.

Save the Cat! Writes Horror is your guide to writing and delivering blood-chilling films and novels using the world’s most successful storytelling method, including:

• A deep dive into horror’s core ingredients—Monster, House, and Sin—with subtypes, examples, and tools to help you design your own diabolical tale

• The mad science of turning Save the Cat!’s 15 beats into a horror story that builds tension, sharpens scares, and leaves your audience squirming

• How to balance Scares, Gross-outs, and Dread to torment your audience flawlessly

• Why knowing your horror’s heartbeat—Slow Burn vs. Relentless—changes everything

• How to use the Dread-O-Meter to engineer spine-tingling scenes with precision

• How to build memorable horror characters—from first-to-die victims to final girls and guys—while exploring how their flaws, choices, and arcs mirror deeper fears and social truths

• Plus: real case studies, scarecraft tools, career advice, and a comprehensive analysis into what makes the genre tick (and bleed)

Whether you’re a screenwriter, novelist, or seasoned horrorhound, Save the Cat! Writes Horror will help you write the kind of story that lingers long after the lights go out.

About this title

About the Author

Jamie Nash is the author of Save the Cat! Writes for TV and the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet Workbook. Jamie has written and sold almost every type of story under the sun, including the horror films Exists, V/H/S/2, The Night Watchman, Altered, and Lovely Molly, and the family films Santa Hunters and Tiny Christmas. He has written the Middle Grade novels Bunk! and The 44 Rules of Amateur Sleuthing and the sci-fi novel Nomad. Jamie knows what it's like to make a living as a writer. When he's not writing and selling work, he teaches screenwriting at the Maryland Institute College of the Arts (MICA) and co-hosts the podcast Writers/Blockbusters. Jamie lives in Maryland with his wife, son, and a talking dog.

Edition details

• Publisher: Save the Cat!® Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0984157654
• ISBN 13: 9780984157655
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160