Epistolary horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that tells a story primarily through documents such as letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, or other written records. This narrative style allows readers to experience the story intimately, often through the eyes of multiple characters, and creates a sense of authenticity. Since the story is filtered through personal documents, epistolary horror frequently emphasizes subjectivity, allowing readers to question the reliability of narrators and the nature of truth itself. 

Originating in the 18th century, this form was popularized by Gothic novels that explored fear, suspense, and the supernatural, often tied to picturesque or historical settings that masked dark pasts. Its conventions often include fragmented narratives, first-person perspectives, and the use of personal writings to convey terror or psychological tension. By limiting the story to letters or journals, authors can amplify suspense and create a sense of voyeurism, as readers see private thoughts or learn forbidden knowledge, which heightens the emotional and psychological stakes of horror.

One of the most famous examples of epistolary horror is Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. The novel is constructed entirely from letters, diary entries, telegrams, and newspaper articles, allowing multiple characters to narrate events from different perspectives. This structure heightens the tension and creates a patchwork of viewpoints that gradually reveal the terrifying presence of Count Dracula. The narrative attempts to create the sense that readers are investigating the mysterious occurrences alongside the characters, creating a feeling of immediacy and suspense that is a hallmark of the genre. Similarly, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) utilizes letters written by Captain Walton to his sister as a framing device, embedding Victor Frankenstein’s narrative of horror within the correspondence. The epistolary form allows Shelley to explore themes of isolation, scientific ambition, and ethical transgression while maintaining the intimacy of personal reflection. Both novels, classic works of Gothic fiction, show how the epistolary form can enhance psychological depth and manipulate the flow of information to sustain tension.

Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story has characteristics of epistolary horror, though it expands the definition beyond letters and journals. While the novel is primarily written in a third-person perspective following Lisey, it incorporates Scott’s unpublished writings, notebooks, and personal notes, creating an epistolary structure within the narrative. These texts serve as gateways into Scott’s inner world, revealing his trauma, his creative process, and the supernatural elements of Boo’ya Moon. King uses these documents to blend psychological and supernatural horror, immersing the reader in Lisey’s investigation of her husband’s legacy while giving them access to Scott’s private thoughts. 

Like Dracula and Frankenstein, Lisey’s Story uses written artifacts to convey multiple layers of perspectives while heightening the novel’s suspense and danger. The use of personal writings underscores memory and grief, allowing the reader to explore Lisey and Scott’s past firsthand, just as Lisey relives it through her own rediscovery of her repressed memories. Lisey’s Story both continues the tradition of epistolary horror and modernizes it, using a combination of Lisey’s vivid flashbacks, Scott’s posthumous notes to lead her on her journey, his written manuscripts, and his letters to Lisey to create danger surrounding Boo’ya Moon and to allow her to finally confront her unresolved grief.