Sight
Dust, cobwebs, sheets on furniture, broken tables, chairs, windows, lamps, peeling wallpaper, gaps in the floorboards, holes in the walls, flickering lights (if there’s electricity) chandelier with broken strings of crystals, broken glass on the floor, spiders, cockroaches, rust, mildew, ripped curtains, shadows, gloomy staircases, old portraits & paintings, cracked…
Sounds
footsteps on the stair, creaking doors, window shutters rattling on the outside, wind scattering/rustling paper through a broken window gap, words whispered in ear, screams, crying, wailing, laughter, glass smashing, the scrap of a chair moving, the scritch of tree branches scraping at the windows, rats squeaking, movement in the walls, a…
Smells
Phantom perfume or cologne, burning smells, pipe or cigarette smoke, mildew, rot, dank, rusty or metallic smells, wet wood and stone, rancid breath, yeasty beer smell, food, dust, dry rot, rat/mice feces, urine
Tastes
Sour & dry mouth from fear, dust floating in the air and coating the tongue, salty tears
Touch
A phantom hand on the shoulder, the puff of breath on the earlobe or the back of the neck, the sensation of being grabbed on the arm, pushed, pulled, pinched, poked, slapped, burned, a feeling of light-headedness and nausea, hair rising on arms or the back of the neck, the body’s reaction to a drop in temperature (chills, shivering, breath puffing out…
Helpful hints:
–The words you choose can convey atmosphere and mood.
Example 1: I cringed at each creak on the old warped stairs, but it didn’t sway my determination to make it to the bedroom on the second floor. Halfway up, a shadow flickered at the corner of my vision. I froze, and as I stood there, caught a woody scent lingering in the air. Tobacco smoke? A shiver curled through the hairs on the back of my neck then cascaded down my backbone. It was all I could do to not hurl myself back down the stairs toward the front door…
–Similes and metaphors create strong imagery when used sparingly.
Example 1: (Metaphor) The dining room chair suddenly jolted back and tilted toward me, a gracious invitation by an invisible host…
Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers
Setting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. To help with this, we have expanded and integrated this thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers.
Each entry has been enhanced to include possible sources of conflict, people commonly found in these locales, and setting-specific notes and tips, and the collection itself has been augmented to include a whopping 230 entries—all of which have been cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. So if you’re interested in seeing this powerful Setting Thesaurus, head on over and register at One Stop.
On the other hand, if you prefer your references in book form, we’ve got you covered, too, because both books are now available for purchase in digital and print copies. In addition to the entries, each book contains instructional front matter to help you maximize your settings. With advice on topics like making your setting do double duty and using figurative language to bring them to life, these books offer ample information to help you maximize your settings and write them effectively.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
*boop* says
creepy…
Joanne Van raaphorst says
Oh wow. It hadn’t occurred to me to make a list of all the things to do with my settings. Thank you for this. Brilliant!
BECCA PUGLISI says
It’s so much easier to get the setting exactly where we want it when we know beforehand what to aim for :).
Mercy says
I really love this
Thank you so much for doing this
name says
brilliant
Ayesha says
Thankyou soo much…it really helped me
Raven says
omg!! Thankyou so much, this helped with my assignment!!!
abigail says
thank you so much, helped me alot during lockdown!!
BECCA PUGLISI says
Well thank goodness for that!
jackies says
Thank You really helpful
Hamza says
Thank You really helpful
Alisa says
Thank you so much, there are totally enough ideas for me for my essay
Jojo says
Very helpful
Mia says
thank you so much i needed ideas and this gave me so much.
Hi hi hi says
I am doing a descriptive writing project and this helped me so much! Thank You!
ANGELA ACKERMAN says
Glad it helped!
Nelly says
Thanks
Zachary Chandler says
I love the website I had to write a paper about Halloween and I used this website to find my d Description Word I need . Who ever made this website I don’t know what I would tell him or her but it’s one of my favorite it gives me great description of what words I don’t understand and I then I can use it later if I could rate it 5 stars
ANGELA ACKERMAN says
Zachary, I am so glad you like this website and it’s a help to you!
joury says
thank u a lot s helps me in my writing
Heba Bint Junaid says
Thanks! It was quite helpful for my paragraph. 😊
Alysa says
This was SOOO helpful. Thanks a lot. It was very helpful.
Alysa says
This was SOOO helpful. Thanks a lot.
SPEEDEMON says
this helped me with my essay A LOT!!!!!!!!!!! 😊
Swos says
This is awesome!👌
P.Nithya Goud says
This awesome
fatima shakil says
This is so helpful for everyone . People can use them in essays while describing a haunted house .
Mia says
That is exactly what i used it for
Razan says
This is so helpful! Definately the best website for writing! Thanksssss❤️❤️
ANGELA ACKERMAN says
Happy this helps!
Lulu says
Good!
Olivia says
I really like it. It’s really good.for.young children and writers. I love it do much
Emily taylor says
wow I really needed this thank you sooo much
Peace says
Amazing. Im a 14-year-old writer and all these descriptions inspired me on how to write my mystery book. Thanks so much Becca
Anonymous says
I really liked it because it helped me a lot to inspire me with my writing for greater depth.It was all very creative and amazing 😃👍🏻
areeb says
very good descriptions
vasanti says
This is too helpful
Tomatohead says
Helpful!!!!!
Jack Kelly says
Good descriptive terms and phrases!!
Savannah Smith says
Thank you so much you have helped me so much.
Anonymous says
This story describes the house and starts to leave an image of what the inside of the house looks like. I get shivers reading it.
Autumn says
I love this website it helps me
Raksha says
Thank you so much.. It helped me a lot… I am very happy about this web page😊
melissa mccreadie says
yeah me too it helped alot
Jade Elis says
Thank you so much it really helped write my writing assessment and get full marks, don’t worry i didn’t cheat that much!
jngaoj says
lmao “that much”
Jhouslyn says
It Game Some Ideas What To Write
Hamza Zaidi says
Its just awesome because I get a idea to write it in my suspense story??
shahad says
thanks alot it really helped me in my suspense story writing and it did really gave me some ideas to write it thanks 😉
Zabit Khwaja says
Thank you very much. This is helpful to do my English HW.
Zabit Khwaja
lucy says
me too
Jaycee Lee says
Thank you !! This has really helped me to do my homework and to inspire me for different t ideas.
chloe says
this helped me do my English course thank u sooo much
Anonymous says
this is awesome! 😀 helped me do my coursework for English!
thanks a lot 😀
cardo says
this story is awsome i want to read another one.
Anonymous says
Thanks Aloot It Helped Me In My English Homework:) But I Think It Would Be Better If There Were More Examples Of Haunted Houses:D x
Anonymous says
this has helped me a great deal with my story for my English class 🙂
THANKS
Mary Witzl says
I love the image of the child riding a phantom rocking horse — very effective.
Angela says
This one was so fun to do. There are so many unusual settings to explore–stay tuned!
heyjude says
You gals cover some of the greatest topics!!! Hope you can get these out in book form soon or eventually! Keep up the good work!
Bish Denham says
I can hear the wind moaning around corners…whhoooooooooowhoooooo.
Christina Farley says
Fantastic! Thanks!
Abby says
Gives me the shivers too. =)
Danyelle says
Gives me shivers just reading it. 😉
Savannah Smith says
Yeah?!