Horror : The Mind Of Horror By Stephen King

Why We Crave Horror Movies,” Steven King shares his opinion for why society enjoys watching horror films. He is a very well-known author and is very good at what he does. Let’s take a closer look at his article to examine his use of rhetoric to bring his readers to a point of considering a new perspective about themselves. Mr. King takes his reader on a journey of a mix of reasoning and emotions to help guide him or her from one perspective to the other side of a new perspective.

There are many reasons why people watch horror films, and some of these reasons are explored in King’s essay. King states that people watch horror movies “To show that [they] can, that [they] are not afraid...” (396). Essentially, King is saying that scary movies help their audiences prove to themselves that

We yearn for horror to re-establish our feelings of normalcy. For instance, some people would watch a movie and see people melting or in an ugly form, but then realize what King said,

Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone was mentally ill? If the only way for people to feel normal was to watch a horrific, bloody movie? In Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, King states that “we’re all mentally ill...those outside the asylum only hide it a little better”(King 1). I completely disagree, if we were all mentally ill, murder would be legal, and killing people would be a daily ritual. Also if we are supposedly “mentally ill” that means that even cute, pure babies are mentally ill also, and that they also crave a good horror movie. This suggests that there is not one person on this planet that doesn’t crave watching the blood and gore of horror movies. King’s statements are clearly false because we all know at least one person that is still afraid of the dark, let alone Jack the Ripper who cuts people’s bodies to shreds. So, if people openly reject the nightmare forced horror movies, that means we all don’t “crave” them.

In the essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” King explores his insight into why people enjoy and are fascinated watching horror movies. First, King points out “to show that we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster”. He’s suggesting that horror movies are like roller coaster in that we search for the pleasurable, daring, lighter side of feeling fear and the thrill of trying to overcome it. King further states, horror movies “takes away the shades of grey,” giving the audience permission to return to children again, “seeing things in pure blacks and whites.” King goes on to explain that we go to “re-establish our feelings of normality”; providing psychological relief for the audience, allowing them to “lapse into simplicity, irrationality, and even outright madness." In my opinion, King’s reason for viewing horror films for psychological reasons is the most unsettling. He argues that horror movies gives the audience permission to return to childhood, viewing their emotions in a simple and madness way. I’m not sure everyone has the ability to differentiate these feelings. If we take a moment to observe the actual audience, we would discover that it’s mostly teens and young adults who have difficulty coping with their emotions and very impressionable.

People nowadays love being scared in any way, shape or form. Wether it would be ranged from going to an amusement park to a haunted house. In the article King states, “When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at tenth-row center in a theater showing a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare. To show that we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster”. In the article King compares horror films to roller coasters, to show that they are similar. They both have their element of surprise, you never know what is coming till it happens. Everyone loves the adrenaline rush they get when they get scared. It leaves them wanting more of what they are getting. Today the most popular type of films are horror, there is always that hype over the new horror film that will be coming out. No matter what the circumstances are, these things are done to

There are various reasons due to which people prefer to get this challenging entertainment. Among them the major reason given by the author and that was logically supported by him was their urge to express of pacifying their certain innate yet less appreciated emotions such as fear, aggression, pessimism and anarchy. As these anti-civilized emotions are against the status quo of the society and not get proper expression therefore people like to watch the horror movies. Besides this these horror movies, also bring some sort of recreation to the audiences, whether it includes enjoying the horrifying characters of the movie or seeing their pals manic and distressed. The author had used an ethical approach to differentiate between the movies getting higher ratings compared to others as the former group is more synchronous with the human natural emotions compared to the latter, which includes simple fairy tales of black and

In Stephen King’s somewhat subjective essay in the 1984 Playboy magazine, Why We Crave Horror Movies, King describes his reasoning behind why so many people are fond of watching movies residing in the horror genre. The content of his essay, though inserted in an unconventional area for

Novelist, Stephen King, in his explanatory essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” asserts that man has an affinity towards horror movies. King’s purpose is to convey that men are driven by the intensity of emotion. He adopts a conversational tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in his male readers. Stephen King begins his essay with a claim that “we are all mentally ill”. King puts men in a box throughout the essay by suggesting that all men feed on horror movies as a way to substitute their deep dark desires.

Summary of "Why We Crave Horror Movies" In the essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” Stephen King argues that all humans are “mentally ill” and we are drawn to horror movies in order to remain sane. King begins by presenting some reasons as to why people watch horror movies; first, he states that some go to prove that they have the courage and are not scared. Another reason King suggests is that some will watch horror movies to reassure themselves about their appearance and to restore their feelings of “essential normality.” King also proposes that horror films cause some adults to feel like children again, playful and frightful.

In the essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King, the author talks about the benefits of the horror movies on human beings. He argues that we all behave like mad people by performing weird things like talking to ourselves, showing disgusting faces and having odd fears. Comparing the horror movies with roller coasters, he states that young people are more fascinated by these adventures to prove the point that they can do this and are not afraid of taking challenges. He argues that we get fun by watching people getting hurt and suffering from menacing pain in the movies. Despite having insane thoughts in their mind which they want to execute in reality people are expected to show emotions that are accepted by the society. Horror movies gives psychic relief to these insane

Which is the next thing that Steven King says horror films does for us. As he says, "When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at tenth-row center in a theatre showing a horror movie we are daring the nightmare."(443).As to say that we are challenging are fear, to say yah I beat it I beat the monster. When I watch a horror film I feel unprotected, isolated, and

It was a dark, cold, November night. The moon overlooked the lake as it mirrored its reflection. It was peaceful, too peaceful. I was on my way to my aunt’s, who lived a mile or so from my house. I didn’t want to go, but my mother made me. She was working a double shift at the hospital and she didn’t want me to be alone tonight. Tonight was the night my brother died two years ago. It’s a funny story how it happened, but that’s a story to tell another time. According to Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies” he draws viewers into horror stories like the one above simply because we crave it. King claims in his essay we obsess over the wanting of horror as if we are daring the nightmare. The human condition is finally allows people

Do you enjoy watching murder, the paranormal, and any other morbid scene which makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, your palms sweat, and your adrenaline surge? Why people enjoy watching murder, tragedy, and carnage in their spare time has been a mysterious phenomenon. If these gruesomely horrific scenes would not be enjoyable in real life, why is watching a recreation of it so riveting? Stephen King, a world-renowned horror novelist, wrote “Why We Crave Horror Movies” to give insight as to why horror movies, although gruesome and morbid, captivate audiences. King also aims to persuade readers to continue to watch horror movies, arguing that they are a crucial part of keeping sanity. King delves into this psychological aspect of humans and believes that the desire to watch horror films is a normal tendency of humankind. “Why We Crave Horror Movies” includes appeals to emotion, logic, and author credibility in order to convince readers of the positive, normal desire to watch horror films, why it is important to watch them, and why the reader should believe what the author is saying. King utilizes the rhetorical devices—pathos, logos, and ethos—in an effective way through the use of metaphor, logic, humor, and emotion to persuade readers that watching horror films is normal.

In Stephen King's "Why we Crave Horror", the famous novelist argues for a rather depressing explanation of society's fixation with horror movies. He insinuates today's generation's obsession over gory and demonic storylines is a result of our internal need for violence that must be satisfied. Such claims may shock readers at first, however, King's use of diction, imagery and tone leave us no choice but to agree with his analysis of human behaviour. He uses these rhetorical tools to prove to the naive reader that we truly are "mentally ill".