Suspense is a feeling of worry or excitement caused by uncertainty, confusion, or not knowing what will happen next. In a story, suspense happens when the audience is eager to learn what will happen in the plot or conflict, such as during tense moments, puzzling events, or mysterious situations. This feeling is especially strong when the story involves a character the audience cares about. However, suspense is not only found in stories.

In narratives

In literature, films, television, and plays, suspense is an important tool for keeping people interested. There are two main types of suspense: one happens when the result is not known, and the suspense comes from wondering who, what, or how something will happen. The other happens when the result is already clear from earlier events, and the suspense comes from nervous or worried waiting to see when it will happen. Readers feel suspense when they are very curious about what will happen next, or when they know what is likely to happen but do not know how it will happen. Even in historical fiction, where characters' life stories are already known, the reason something happens often creates suspense in the story.

Another part of suspense is foreshadowing, such as clues about a national crisis or revolution in Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits (1982).

Paradox of suspense

Some writers have tried to explain the "paradox of suspense," which is a type of story tension that still works even when people know how the story ends. Some theories suggest that true repeat audiences are very rare because, when a story is told again, people often forget many details. This creates gaps in memory that make the story interesting again. Other theories say that uncertainty remains even for stories told many times because, when people are deeply involved in a fictional world, they may forget real-life knowledge about the story or expect fictional worlds to behave differently from the real world, where events cannot be repeated exactly.

Yanal argues that story tension that works even when a story is repeated should not be called "genuine suspense" because uncertainty is a key part of what makes suspense meaningful. Baroni suggests calling the type of suspense that relies on audiences knowing exactly what will happen "rappel." This kind of suspense is especially enjoyable for children who know the endings of familiar fairy tales because they can predict what will happen next. Baroni also explains that another type of suspense without uncertainty can happen when there is a conflict between what the reader knows about the future (knowledge) and what the reader wants to happen (desire). This often occurs in tragedies, where the main character dies or fails, creating a form of suspense called "suspense par contradiction."