Capturing the feeling of dread

That one moment in a film where the protagonist doesn't utter a word, it's silent, but also the sounds of the mere surrounding air is deafening, perhaps a machinery nearby making noise, a fan, a busted ac. But it doesn't explain the sudden scratch that's heard which made the character hold their breath, the sound could be compared to nails in contact with a black board producing a sound that would make your very teeth ache. And as you, the viewer, watch the camera, showing how it ever so lightly shook with the imperfection of human grip. Turn. As the protagonist's gaze does so as well, what would be met on the other hall..?

 Do you fear                         Nothing.     Being watched?             

It's a rather simple, yet it's very much more unnerving technique in horror storytelling than any jump scare a film provides. That fear, that tension, of expectations being built up to a moment, only to be left with just that feeling still latched onto you, left, still, with the expectations, for the worse. I want to capture that feeling in words, for a writer is more limited than a film maker, even the example above doesn't feel as impacting as I hope it be. Scaring someone with mere words, can only be provided by the reader themselves, with their own imagination and anxiety, how do I trigger that

If you do

  What triggers that for you?

Don't look behind you