So, we are up to scary stories. Someone likes them, someone not. But what does those mean? Before explaining short terms about such type of stories lets mention first that they are part of speculative fiction. It is a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.
Horror is a genre of speculative fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is frequently supernatural, though it might also be non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society.
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters’ belief in them. Colloquially, the term “ghost story” can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a short story format, within genre fiction. It is a form of supernatural fiction, and is often a horror story.
A campfire story is a form of oral storytelling performed around an open fire at night, typically in the wilderness, largely connected with the telling of stories having supernatural motifs or elements of urban legend. Campfire stories hold a strong association with camping as a form of recreation.
An urban legend (urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend) is a genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend or family member, often with horrifying elements. These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events (such as disappearances and strange objects).
Gothic fiction/Gothic horror/Gothic story is a genre or mode of literature and film that combines fiction and horror, death, and at times romance. Gothic fiction tends to place emphasis on both emotion and a pleasurable kind of terror.
As we can notice from those terms, horror genre in literature and movies has several subgroups/variations which are very similar, and that is why single term is often used. There is also unofficial term ,,Halloween stories” which are, as the name suggests, being spoken during Halloween season. Those are same scary/horror stories, which purpose is to scare people on Halloween and add ,,effect” to holiday itself.
