Playwright's second terrifying story (8)
I believe the answer is:
schiller
'playwright's' is the definition.
(Friedrich Schiller)
'second terrifying story' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'terrifying story' becomes 'chiller' (a chiller is a scary story).
's'+'chiller'='SCHILLER'
(Other definitions for schiller that I've seen before include "German author" , "Author of Ode to Joy" , "German dramatist (Maria Stuart, Wallenstein etc.)" , "German poet, dramatist; William Tell, Maria Stuart" , "German dramatist/poet" .)