On the other hand, the best horror stories take the characters on rides that throw them into a pit of evil where they struggle to survive as most of their companions are killed.  The emotional ride drags the audience down into powerful terrors they would never face any other way and, after driving them to the breaking point, bring them home safe.  That’s why most horror stories end with the one survivor destroying the evil incarnate and limping out of the darkness into the dawn of a new day.  The reader arrives home safe, emotionally spent, satisfied, and newly grounded to face their normal life.

The value of those emotional rides cannot be over stated.  How much easier is it to deal with mundane challenges of our everyday lives after surviving the man-eating shark or the aliens or the zombies?  How difficult are the challenges we face in relationships compared with the obstacles overcome by Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy?

So get emotional.  It’s the only way to make it real.