alright, this is one of the most difficult scenes to write when there isn't blood, or gore, or jump - scares. it's hard to have to write a type of scene like this when writing because the reader can't physically see what is happening. The solution? It's right here.

1) set the mood perfectly. have, 

flickering lights

unusual sounds like distant footsteps

whispered voices

an eerie silence

creaking of doors or steps

irregular patterns of sounds

2) have short sentences at a rapid pace, this builds tension, but make sure you're describing the scene. you still need to have the correct tension. and have single sentence paragraphs every so often, this helps with building that tension you need.

3) have the minimum characters through the scene. the less people; the more scary your scene will be.

4) describe things with great detail. this is a big one. like i said, the reader can't actually see what's happening, so make sure you kind of give them those mental images and pictures to help them see what's goin' on.

5) the best way to do this, is to be in 3rd person POV. the reason is, we can see everything, we can see them from other's perspectives to make the scene more intense, we can have more exposition to build tension. 

6) have your protagonist ignore the warning signs. example, if theres an open door, have your protagonist open that door. even though they either know or don't know that that's a bad idea. even have another character against it, but your protagonist still opens the door anyway. (due to mild curiosity.. or stupidity.) 

7) describe how things look, i want you to give me chills, have me be on the edge of my seat with this. I want you to freak me out, have me scared. this is what you're aiming for.

(this next part is for horror NOVELS. If your genre is not horror, then youre done at this point. but this next little bit is for the people writing horror novels and not knowing where to start.)

now, this should be kinda like a draft for you. these are your seven key events. you need to have these types of scenes:

#1 the monster is introduced scene

 #2 the monster attacks scene

#3 the protagonist ignores the warning scene

#4 the true nature of the monster is revealed scene

#5 the protagonist becomes the victim scene

#6 the protagonist is at the mercy of the monster scene

#7 the protagonist escapes the monster scene

was this helpful??

(also, I will have an example chapter coming up where i will give examples on every type of scene, including this one, fight scenes, kiss scenes, etc. look out for that)