5 Most Common Types of Cliffhangers with Examples

by

Have you experienced reading a book or watching a TV series where something happens just at the end of a chapter or episode that makes you go, “What? What happens next?” Then you end up either reading “just another chapter” or watching “just another episode” until you realize you’ve binged the whole thing! 

If you are writing a novel. learning the different kinds of cliffhangers can help you ensure that you can sustain your readers’ interest throughout the book. 

5 Common Cliffhangers and Stories That Use Them 

We know, we don’t really want cliches when we write cliffhangers. Here are some examples of the most common types of cliffhangers that you can use, with actual examples from books and movies that used them effectively. 

Spoiler alert: We will be sharing actual examples to show where authors use these different kinds of cliffhangers, so if you don’t want to know certain details from our examples, we advise you to read with discretion. 

1. The Physical Danger Cliffhanger

You guessed it: this refers to throwing your protagonist right in the middle of life-threatening danger. Maybe he falls off a literal cliff and is hanging on by a very thin branch, or you throw him right in front of a drunk driver, or he’s staring down the barrel of a gun. Whatever serious peril you can think of, that falls under this type of cliffhanger. 

One example of this kind of cliffhanger is The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, which opens with the wizard Gandalf hanging, literally, from a cliff. Because he’s a key character and a necessity to the mission of the fellowship, the creators make sure that we keep wondering what happens to him until later in the movie series and also in the book. 

2. The Unknown Next Victim 

Another cliffhanger strategy is when the plot revolves around a series of murders. The whole premise itself already creates a prolonged sense of suspense in the audience, as they hold their breaths to see who’s next. 

Then, when the next one is killed off, they need to watch for the next victim, while also hoping that the perpetrator is caught or that something finally happens to break the cycle. 

James Patterson, king of thrillers and known for killing off many of his characters, employs this kind of cliffhanger. For example, in his book Zoo, set in an apocalyptic time, readers keep turning the pages to see which animal would attack next or which character will end up killed. 

This is also the power behind books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. 

3. The Blackout 

The blackout is another common cliffhanger that writers use, and you’ve probably read a lot of examples of these: the main character is about to reach the goal, when a sudden blow to the back of his head renders him unconscious, or the house has caught fire and he’s on his way to safety but suddenly he faints from the smoke. 

It may be closely related to the physical danger kind of cliffhanger, but the big difference is that when you come back to the main character, some time usually would have elapsed. Maybe he wakes up in the hospital, or even after a coma of some days. 

4. Character Revelation 

Another way that writers create a cliffhanger is by suddenly unveiling a crucial detail about a main character. Maybe it turns out his mother isn’t dead, or a husband shows up right before she gets married to the love of her life. 

In mystery author Sidney Sheldon’s book, Tell Me Your Dreams, we spend the first chapters following a series of disturbing things that happen to the protagonist. Then, just when we’re starting to believe that a psychopath is after him, the author reveals that the person who did all those stuff is actually our main character himself—that he suffers from multiple-personality disorder! 

With that revelation, we find ourselves flipping the pages to see how the author can effectively explain everything in the context of the disorder. 

5. The Emotional Cliffhanger 

This is a common cliffhanger for movies and may be more difficult to employ in a novel: the trick is to bring the reader or viewer through an emotionally-wrenching turn of events for the protagonist, and then to zoom in on his or her reaction to the tragedy, and suddenly end there. 

For a novelist, this means being careful to show, and not tell, the reader what to feel, so that he experiences exactly what the main character is going through. 

For example, in Taran Wanderer, Book 3 of The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, the protagonist Taran is in a quest to find out his parentage. At one of his stops, he meets a farmer who claims to be his biological father. Taran struggles with his decision to stay with the disabled old man, feeling like an eagle stuck in a cage. One day, he finds the man hanging off the edge of a cliff, and he struggles with his moral duty of doing everything to save him, or or just let him die so he could finally go free. 

Learning the Different Types of Cliffhangers 

As a writer, knowing some of the most common types of cliffhangers means that you have tools in your arsenal. Learn to use them wisely, and let your readers experience the thrill of wondering and turning the pages to find out what happens next! 

If you want to learn more about cliffhangers, check out some of our other posts. Or keep an eye out too when you read different novels, and learn how some of your favorite authors use the technique.  

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like: