Horror The Supernatural Genre Essay

The horror genre is synonymous with images of terror, violence and human carnage; the mere mention of horror movies evokes physical and psychological torture. As remarked by noted author Stephen King “the mythic horror movie…has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized.” (King, 786). At manageable intervals, we choose to live these horrific events vicariously through the characters in horror movies and books as a means of safely experiencing the “what if”. The horror genre allows us to explore our fears, be it spiders, vampires, loss of our identity, or death of a loved, under the most fantastic and horrible

Horror is a genre that is often overlooked due to a plethora of reasons. Readers tend to think of vampires or werewolves, but it is much more in depth. Horror is a genre that if dissected properly, can help the reader understand the correspondence to society. The Horror genre has been around since the 1890’s, when Georges Méliès was credited for creating the first horror film, emphasizing the idea that horror films have a cavernous meaning. In Georges Méliès famous short film, Le Manoir du Diable, the main character confronts Satan and has nowhere to run. This represents conflict within oneself, coinciding with the idea of a deeper meaning being prevalent throughout Shirley Jackson's work. In the novel, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley

For many years the genre of horror has provided entertainment to audiences through horrifying gore, monsters, violence, and the supernatural. The most frightening type of horror is demonic possession, which is why it forms such a fascination. It creates extreme suspense, curiosity, and relevance. Through the formalist and psychoanalytical approach in the film Annabelle directed by John R. Leonetti, the article “The Horrors of Witchcraft and Demonic Possession” by Brian P. Levack, and the short story “Devils Movie”, it is evident as to why individuals are so fascinated with the demonic side of horror. The film Annabelle, which is a movie filled with suspense, is about a demonic entity that takes over the doll Annabelle and later on is a threat

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

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.

The Call of Cthulhu is a horror story that is able to break through and cause terror. The horror comes from forcing the reader to witness awful and unexplainable things happen to the characters in the story, especially without the ability to prevent the misfortunes from happening. It becomes terror because Lovecraft places the entire story in our reality rather then a fictional setting. Becuase of this, we are forced to relate the story’s events to our physical world. It inflicts a sense of danger by insinuating that the forces in the story exist around us. Lovecraft is able to effectively place the imaginary story in our physical world by arming the story in science and logic, using familiar references and locations, and makes you an unofficial

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

Type the word horror into google and you will receive the following definition on Merriam Webster: an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. Horror is different than fear in that it is more disturbing, disgusting, and creepy. Writers of horror stories take repulsive or unspeakable elements and turn them into a story that’s sure to make even the strongest of reader’s arm hairs stand on edge. One such writer spent a portion of his life writing these kind of stories. Edgar Allan Poe was influenced by his own life experiences, social normalities of the early 19th century, and used literary devices to write horrific works such as The Black Cat, The Raven, and Berenice.

“You’ve just crossed over into The Twilight Zone” says Rod Serling before every episode of The Twilight Zone. A show that leaves it’s viewers in a macabre state. Instead of drawing a conclusion like most shows, the show usually ends mysteriously. It utilizes similar elements as other short half-hour shows, but goes about it in a different way. This outlandish style is seen in literature, more specifically short stories, as well. Even though other short stories employ the same literary devices, “The Beast In The Cave” by H.P. Lovecraft is uniquely mysterious because of the story’s suspenseful plot, compelling diction, and, most important, overshadowing theme.

Horror can be defined as a genre meant to psychologically trigger individual fear with the presence of certain supernatural or abstract characteristics. The genre is dependent on people’s fascination with unrealism and the sensation that comes from experiencing fear personified into tangible elements on a screen. Horror films have thrilled audiences for decades, revealing stories of the more sinister parts of life. The popular allure that stems from the genre comes from the tension moviegoers experience when aroused by specific stimuli uniquely present in these cinematic features (Walters). Over time, as the genre progressed, the standardized elements found in a typical horror movie began to shift in different directions primarily due to changing societal circumstances and increasing consumer demand for cinematic innovation. The expansive nature of the different codes and conventions within the horror genre, coupled with the evolution of society’s fascination with these characteristics, has led to the mutation of the genre itself in order to allow for unique approaches to a familiar style in response to both economic developments and taste shifts within the consumer industry.

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 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).

Lovecraft was able to write stories the way no one else at the time could. Cosmic and distant, these stories were something

In “The Call of Cthulhu,” H.P. Lovecraft makes use of a more psychological horror path, which is a major aspect of Lovecraftian horror. Psychological horror uses more suspense build up and shock than blood and gore. H.P. Lovecraft accomplishes this by using a buildup of suspense, not revealing the ‘monster’ till the end while hinting at what the ‘monster’ is throughout the story. H.P. Lovecraft writes the main character following his great uncle's manuscript and piecing together the puzzle of “the Great Ones.” H.P. Lovecraft also creates the sense of suspense by making the main character’s inner dialogue contain the main characters emotions and thoughts of suspect. Another example of the use of psychological horror is when Henry Anthony Wilcox dreams of “the Great Ones,” and experiences a period of mental breakdown that physicians could not identify. Once Henry Anthony Wilcox came out of the episode he remembered nothing, creating a shock factor, and making the reader ask “how did that happen?”

Horror stories focus on creating a feeling of fear and shock using many sources. There are many sources of horror besides monsters and there are more factors involved in making stories part of the horror genre, including supernatural elements, hubris, and setting. Stories including the “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Outsider” by H.P. Lovecraft, and “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs include these elements.