Full disclosure, I was born in 1991.
BUT, my family is full of horror buffs and no one escapes that education.
I grew up on the 80’s slashers, horrifying folklore, peculiar superstitions, and the dream of being a forensic psychologist who hunts down serial killers. In my teens and early 20s, I took to cosplay and photography to create horrific images and gory candid’s of pre-existing characters. As many do, I’ve always dreamed of working in a horror genre. Alas, this is real life. Instead of hunting killers and combing crime scenes, I work in health care and live in a bubble of self-induced anxiety. Not the horror genre I was thinking of, but a horror genre all the same.
Then came AI. With these tools, I can now create my own macabre ‘fan art’ and create scenes from my favorite movies. AI gives the creator freedom to make their dreams and nightmares come true.
So let’s make some spooky stuff.
AI Horror Prompts: Time
In reality, the scariest times are usually at night. But AI can create a world in which any time can induce fear.
hyper realistic. cinematic photography. High detail. Corn field at night
hyper realistic. cinematic photography. High detail. Corn field at night
hyper realistic. cinematic photography. High detail. Withered cornfield. Eerie corn field in early morning. Hazy lighting
hyper realistic. cinematic photography. High detail. Dead corn field. Ominous corn field at high noon
I mean, c’mon. Put a few children in any of those and we got a Stephen King novel. It’s all about the wording. The right adjectives and verbs can make the sunniest day a nightmare.
For horror related photos, prompts such as ominous, creepy, horrifying, terrible, chilling, shocking, hollowed, haunted, frightening, appalling, and petrified can set the tone for any horror lover to create a truly unsettling scene.
AI Horror Prompts: Setting
The setting in this sense is the location or terrain you want as your background. If using a commercialized slasher (Freddy Kruger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, ect.) you may want to start out in a place of their origin.
For example, if you were to prompt a photo of Jason Voorhees, you would probably put him in a wooded area or a summer camp setting. While a character like Michael Myers can be prompted into a more suburban background.
action shot. Cinematic shot. Hyper realistic. high detail. Jason Voorhees wearing iconic hockey mask climbing through forest. Blue hour lighting. Foggy lighting. Dirt kick up. Jason Voorhees carries his weapon.
Action shot. Michael myers attacking camera
AI Horror Prompts: Character
Considering the vast datasets Midjourney’s AI has learned on (a debate we will not tackle here), the names of certain characters can be enough to prompt their likeness. And there are so. many. horror. icons. to choose from.
AI Horror Prompts: Michael Meyers
He is everyone’s favorite, right? Right?!?!
Michael Myers as a dystopian warlord in a world consumed by fire and ashes, his outfit is pieces of his victims
hyper realistic. cinematic photography. High detail. Michael Myers stalks a suburban neighborhood. Blue hour. Horror
Hyper realistic portrait photo. Futuristic Michael myers. Cyberpunk style. Bloodied and muddy cloths. Overcast lighting. High detail.
AI Horror Prompts: Jason Voorhees
Instant theme song.
Action photography. Cinematic shot. Hyper realistic. High detail. Jason Voorhees wearing iconic hockey mask. Blue hour lighting. Foggy lighting. Dirt kick up.
AI Horror Prompts: Freddy Krueger
So I went with an uber-simple prompt here, and as you can see, Midjourney struggled with his iconic knife-glove. The results are still pretty nightmare-inducing.
Freddy Krueger in a nightmare world
AI Horror Prompts: Pinhead
Such sights to show you…
High detail hyper realistic. Ultra wide lens. Hellraiser rising from the ground with chains and thorns.
Eye level portrait. High detail. Hyper realistic. Blue hour. Ultra wide lens. Hellraiser rising with chains and thorns. Screaming. Bleeding. Rotted teeth, pale, oil, blood.
Okay, now we’re going to move out of the world of 80s horror and just into the word of horror, because why create limitations when there are so many icons to be had?
It’s Pennywise
Did it nail Pennywise or did it nail Pennywise?
Eye level portrait. Cinematic photography. High detail. Hyper realistic. Pennywise crawling in the sewers.
The Grudge’s Kayako
That middle image – never sleeping again.
The grudge. Horror. Scary. Ominous. Screaming
Psycho’s Norman Bates
Mother! Oh God, Mother!
Norman bates sitting with his deceased, skeleton mother. They both sit in rocking chairs, while a house burns behind them. Dessed in filthy, bloody, torn suit. Bloody butcher knives. Flames.
Scream’s Ghostface
The fact that he always wants to talk on the phone is just terrifying. Midjourney did go a bit rogue on his look, but therein lies the whole “Re-imagining” part.
Horror style. Ghostface. Ghost face.
Nosferatu
How about a true classic?
High detail. Hyper realistic. Cinematic photography. Nosferatu. Vampire. 1800s.
Trick R’ Treat’s Sam
And how about a new classic? (If you don’t love this little guy, we can’t be friends.) This prompt is not rocket science, but you can see while Midjourney obviously understands who the character is, the likeness is challenging.
Sam from “trick ‘r treat”
Time for CHAOS
Google is your best friend. Try searching terms like “folk lore monsters” “evil fables” “popular movie slashers” or even “superstitions”.
The character lists are full to bursting and the possibilities provided to us from AI are endless. Recreate your favorite story or make a new one all your own. AI is here for all your horror needs.
Prompt- /imagine prompt: hyper realistic. high detail. Cinematic photography. Night time lighting. Cthulhu type monster guarding the gate of hell. –chaos 50
Prompt- /imagine prompt: eye level portrait. Hyper realistic. babadook zombie. –chaos 20
Prompt- /imagine prompt: cinematic shot. Hyper realistic. high detail. Blue hour. Foggy lighting. Freddy Kruger in the woods. –chaos 40
P.S. never forget to add some chaos. Why leave any of these guys in their natural habitat when we have AI in our hands?
Jason Voorhees underwater. Mermaid with coral and fins. Wearing white hockey mask
hyper realistic. cinematic photography. High detail. Michael Myers on a unicorn. Michael Myers holding cotton candy
Chucky the doll drawn in the style of Gris Grimly
And remember, just keep hitting that appeal button.