Listen to the great Alfred Hitchcock describe the difference in film how you create suspense versus surprise:

Consider now this dinner scene:

flickr photo shared by Kheel Center, Cornell University under a Creative Commons ( BY ) license

Following Hitchcock’s advice, write a film scene indicating how the audience will know exactly what is under the table, how it will be revealed, and then relieved. What is under the table?

They sit round the table and the adults talk

The children have to be quiet.

1 little boy hears something under the table

The boy looks and sees a poisonous snake

He tries to say something but gets told to be quiet

The boy looks again

The snake gets agitated as the discussion gets louder 
The boy wets his pants of fear

His mother tells him to sit straight and by setting him correctly at the table touches his leg

The mother feels the wet leg

She looks down at the leg and sees the wet trousers

Then in the corner of her eye she sees a movement

She looks under the table and sees the snake
She shouts

All get up and go from the table

1 adult gets a walking stick and beats the snake to death