Horror Genre: A Literary Analysis

What is horror? Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as "a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay." It stands to reason then that "horror fiction" is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader. An example of a horror film is "The Shining", directed by Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick was a well-known director, producer, writer and cinematographer. His films comprised of unique, qualitative scenes that are still memorable but one iconic film in his collection of work is The Shining. Many would disagree and say that The Shining was not his best work and he could have done better yet, there are still those who would say otherwise. This film was not meant to be a “scary pop-up” terror film but

Horror is the genre that keeps the reader on their toes for nights upon end. It keeps them thinking. Thinking about how cruel and disturbing someone, or something, could possibly be. Thinking about what in the world happens to a character after the story drops off in a cliffhanger. Thinking about the probability that the events in the narrative could transpire in real life. Thinking about how likely it is for those things to happen to the reader. Refusing to look out their window in fear of seeing the glimpse of a murderous face, and listening to every sound with acute accuracy, praying that the noise is not one of a stranger creeping up the stairs. Scary accounts make the reader live in fear whenever the

Horace Walpole can be accredited with the creation of the horror genre and specific characteristics like a “…foreign location, a dark and ominous castle, and a naïve young woman fleeing from an evil, lustful man.” Walpole’s most well know work, The Castle of Otranto, has set a precedent for being the first novel that made fictitious horror popular and has also become the basis for all other horror literature and film. An associate professor at the Federated University of Australia by the name of Meg Tasker, who was noted in the BBC magazine article, The Castle of Otranto: The creepy tale that launched gothic fiction, says that Walpole took inspiration from “a whole range of literary sources and folklore, German as well as English and Scottish”. The BBC’s magazine also notes that works by William Shakespeare held influence over Walpole and his novel with the addition of satire and comic relief to break up the more melodramatic heavy moments within the novel. With Walpole’s novel being the catalyst, it influenced a number of writers from Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen

If somebody asked me what my favorite type of movie is I would probably say horror. I would say horror because it provides a thrill in me that no other type of movie sparks within me. When reading Stephen King’s article I realized there is more to a horror movie than just thrill, there is anticipation, and even suspense shown. In “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, Stephen King uses a mysterious tone and pathos to successfully persuade his audience of kids and adults into watching mysterious horror movies that will let you re-establish your feelings.

Wes Craven’s horror movie “Scream”, inspired the gruesome murder of Gina Castillo. Castillo’s sixteen year old son and his fifteen year old cousin killed Gina Castillo. Why would anyone wish to watch the petrifying film, “Scream”? What would trigger a person to take inspiration from the horror movie, “Scream”. Stephen King describes horror as a piece of the human condition. Author of several horror novels, Stephen King wrote an essay titled “Why We Crave Horror.” In this paper he thoroughly explains why the human species craves horror and how it makes humans feel. In this essay, Stephen King precisely claims that humans desire, horror because horror pushes them to face their fears, renew their feelings of normality, and to expose

him or her involved in the film - how often have you been watching a

What is a horror? What does it mean to be terrified? The definition of a horror fiction is "fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader." Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called "horror" (Wikipedia) . "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a great example of a story on the basic level of a gothic horror, in which the element of fear is evoked in its highest form. There are many different elements, such as setting, feelings, themes, and characters, that play an essential role in suggesting this.

The horror genre has held a prominent position in culture for most of history. Beginning in folklore, used as a device to scare children into good behaviors (e.g. The Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales), horror has integrated its way into the 21st century through film, and in recent years even video games. Yearly, primarily during the fall when the leaves start to brown and the natural eerie sense of fear fills the air around Halloween, the film industry likes to fill in the holes between its major grossing seasons by filling the audience with fear. However, it was Christmas of 1973 that defined the new age of Horror, when William Friedkin released The Exorcist. According to Julia Heimerdinger of Academia’s online journal, Horror, as a whole, can

Horror is ingrained in human society, in our movies, in our music, in our stories. Horror is inescapable; it surrounds us, it envelops us. Horror is part of being human; in fact, the definition is being frightened or disgusted. There are two short stories, which truly fit this definition of horror, Going to Meet The Man by James Baldwin and The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. Going to Meet The Man by James Baldwin and The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe utilize too very different forms of horror, Baldwin using vivid, disgust-provoking imagery, and Poe using terror to provoke fear, however both incorporate a similar theme, that man is capable of horrible atrocities.

Horror is an opportunity for us humans to face our fears. Reading Stephen King’s short story “Strawberry Spring”is a perfect example that we use horror to “show that...we are not afraid” (King, “Why We Crave” 1). We go to prove ourselves as brave. In comparison, watching horror movies is alike “daring the nightmare” (King, “Why We Crave” 1). In this case, the “nightmare” is facing our fears, considering horror films are equivalent to going through a literal nightmare. To point out, the narrator in “Strawberry Spring” is “enchanted by that dark and mist-blown strawberry spring, and by the shadow of violent death that walked through it…” (King, “Strawberry Spring” 1). As a matter of fact, we are all enchanted by the darkness in the story just as the narrator is. Additionally, King describes this process as riding a roller coaster by reason of “a really good horror movie may… surprise a scream out of us… the way we may scream when the roller coaster

A girl runs frantically through the woods trying to escape an axe wielding villain. The defenseless victim suddenly trips and collapses to the ground. The villain laughs wickedly as he lifts the axe above his head. The girl releases a final scream as the weapon quickly ends her life, causing the audience to go silent as they watch the villain drag away the lifeless body. Death, blood, guts, suspense, screaming, and terror are all just a few things to expect when watching a modern day horror film. What is horror? Horror can be defined as an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. (Wilson) The description of horror is not very pleasant, but for some reason horror films are extremely popular. Why is this so? People are addicted to the

Horror is designed to scare, cause alarm and dread, while also entertaining the audience at the same time in a cathartic experience (Dirk, 2016). Horror films are meant for a specific type of audience that enjoy scary films. Dirks (Tim, 2016) approach to genre horror, is that films went back as 100 years ago, from the earliest days our vivid imagination in seeing ghosts in the shadows to be connected emotionally of the unknown, and fear things that are improbable. You watch a horror film, it makes you aware of the scary surroundings, the essence of fear itself, without actually being in any sorts of danger. Dirks argues that there is a fun and thrill factor in being frightened, or watching something disturbing. It gives you that feeling of an adrenaline rush, as well as having that feeling someone is actually next to you lurking in the dark (Dirk, 2016).

According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of gothic is “of or relating to a style of fiction characterized by the use of desolate or remote settings and macabre, mysterious, or violent incidents.” (Definition). As we all know, there is way more to gothic literature than the definition given to us. They did not mention anything about romantic elements such as high emotion, the elements of pure horror, or even the presence of the supernatural. You also have all of the gothic conventions of weather, the sublime, dreams, justice, revenge, unreliable narrator, and those are just a few to name. I believe that Matthew Lewis’ The Monk is one of the best examples of gothic literature because of its ability to thoroughly expand on the definition of gothic literature and use most of, if not all of gothics writing conventions.

Horror Stories are a very popular genre of books. Some can be exceptionally malicious and gruesome in nature while others are tamer and rely on suspense. People tend to read these stories for the adrenaline rush, to explore the unknown, and to conquer their own adversities. Studies show that us as humans like to experience fear. We read and view scary stories so we can experience artificial situations of “fight or flight.” These scenarios, whether real or imagined, get your body ready for action by giving you an extra dose of adrenaline. The thrill and suspense that hangs over us while reading, is a welcomed feeling. Scary stories also allow us to explore the unknown. In books there are boundless supernatural realms, where wonder and horror walk side by side- realms were people rise from the dead, and fight their own

The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel written by Horace Walpole. It is regarded as the first Gothic novel, initiating a new literary genre which became extremely popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.