She thought she had escaped the haunted house. But as she stepped onto the porch of her own home, she felt the same icy grip on her ankle. The horror had followed her home.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the darkness. I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst. But when I opened them again, I was in my own bed, safe and sound. It was as if the horror had been a cruel joke played by my overactive imagination.
The silence that followed was deafening. It was over, but the fear lingered like a ghost in the room.
One good sentence could be 'And so, as the sun set on that fateful day, a new beginning was quietly born in the hearts of those who had endured.'
One could be 'And so, as the sun set on that fateful day, a new beginning was silently born.'
One could be 'The shadows in the corner seemed to writhe and twist, as if alive.' Another is 'A cold, clammy hand brushed against her neck, sending shivers down her spine.' And 'The silence was broken only by the slow, methodical drip of something unknown in the darkness.'
You can use 'The old, creaking floorboards groaned under his feet, as if warning him to turn back, but he pressed on, oblivious to the doom that awaited him.' This sentence is effective in a horror story. The description of the floorboards as old and creaking gives a spooky setting. The idea that they seem to be 'warning' the character adds an element of the supernatural. And the fact that the character ignores this warning and is headed towards doom ramps up the tension for the reader.
One could be the main character suddenly hearing a strange noise right outside the supposedly safe room they've barricaded themselves in. It leaves the reader wondering if the source of the noise will break in and harm the character.
One cliffhanger could be the main character suddenly seeing a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness just as they think they are safe. Another could be a door slowly creaking open on its own when the protagonist has just started to relax. And a third could be the sound of a strange chanting starting up again just as the sun is about to rise.
One could be 'The old house at the end of the lane loomed like a malevolent specter in the moonlight.'
The old house creaked in the wind, each groan sounding like a dying scream.