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Save the Cat! Writes Horror
The Ultimate Guide to Creating Monster in the House Stories
by Jamie Nash
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Book Presentation:
“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 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.
Press Reviews:
A true gift for anyone looking to write a horror screenplay. Jamie Nash knows the genre inside and out and has broken down the tropes into forms and functions that are fully understandable, easy to implement, and utterly effective. All you need to add is your own creative inspiration, which this terrific book will spark. – Craig Perry, Producer, the Final Destination and American Pie franchises, Breaking In
Scary good! This book takes the dread out of writing horror and replaces it with tools that are not only practical but wildly inspiring. It’s like having a co-writer who knows exactly how to unlock the fear in your story and the fun in your process. A must-have for horror fans and creators alike. – Eduardo Sánchez, Director/Co-Writer, The Blair Witch Project; Director, Exists, Lovely Molly, Hysteria!, Goosebumps, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
You’ll learn something about your craft from Save the Cat! Writes Horror. It’s compulsively readable and full of smart, actionable advice whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out your horror career. – Adam Cesare, Author, Clown in a Cornfield and Influencer
Jamie Nash has written yet another indispensable resource for the aspiring screenwriter. Save the Cat! Writes Horror is an extraordinary high-level overview of all the pieces necessary to make something great, memorable and, above all, terrifying. – Kyle Brett, Creative Executive (Film), Blumhouse Productions
This book is the writing partner that saves you from scrapping six months of work over one unnoticed misstep on page five. No rigid rules here—just the perfect gentle question asked at exactly the right time. It’s wild that they’re giving this away for the price of a book. Any serious horror writer should be willing to sell their soul for dark magic like this. – Daniel Stamm, Director, The Last Exorcism, Prey for the Devil, Them
The monster at the end of this book is the horror story you write after reading it. – Stephen Graham Jones, Author, The Only Good Indians, My Heart Is a Chainsaw
Save the Cat! Writes Horror completely demystifies the horror screenwriting process by breaking down the genre to its elemental state and allowing the individual to build it back up in the image of their own subjective fears and desires. – Sean Keller, Writer, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Giallo, Rage – Chelsea Stardust, Director, Satanic Panic, All That We Destroy; Producer, Into the Dark
Save the Cat! Writes Horror is not only Nash’s love letter to his wheelhouse genre, but an astute examination of the cinematic things that go bump in the night. A first-rate book for film buffs, genre junkies, and anyone who grew up gnawing their knuckles in front of a late-night horror movie. This is a book that demands to be added to your collection. – Ronald Malfi, Author, Come with Me, Small Town Horror
Jamie Nash is a certified horror nerd who brilliantly and effortlessly delivers a master class on horror. He expertly entertains and enlightens us while unpacking the core elements inside a terrific horror script, providing everything you need when you sit down to write. – Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Co-Founder, Practical Pictures. Past projects include the American Pie and Final Destination franchises, Breaking In, Repli-Kate, and Oddball. Sheila also mentors at the Film Independent Episodic Lab, ran the Fox TV Writers Lab, and has been an instructor at UCLA Film School for over 25 years.
See the publisher website: Michael Wiese Productions
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