Insanity In Stephen King's Why We Crave Horror Movies

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,

“When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at the tenth-row center in a theater showing a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare”. When King says this he uses your imagination to put you in a practical situation at the movie theater that many people have experienced. The preparation for jump scares and nerves rushing through a person’s body creates an entirely new experience of excitement than being at a normal movie. A personal horror film experience that I have experienced was watching my very first horror film. The horror film was the worst scary movie I had ever seen and that was my first horror movie, but it was still more exciting than watching a normal movie because of the rush. The beginning of the movie said “BASED ON A TRUE STORY” which made my pulse race because I had no idea what was

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.

In the essay, "Why We Crave Horror Movies", Steven King explains that the modern day horror movie is our relief for violence it is what feeds the gator. He uses horror movies because of there violent nature. We all need to be able to step outside life's boundaries and certain

“Why we crave horror movie” is a type of mini review written by Stephen King in playboy 1981 in which he had discussed, various features of the horror movies. Stephen King is an American writer well famous for writing the horror movies and is popular in the world of literature as Richard Bachman. In this mini-review King had used an ethical approach to delineate the differences between the some of the horror movies and to highlight certain psychological factors responsible for people’s craving for the horror movies. In this piece of writing, King had spotted certain emotions that become reason for this psychological drive. Moreover, he by using his straightforward approach

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.

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.

A new horror film just got released into theaters, are you going to go pay to see it? Most definitely. Horror films draw us in because we are all mentally ill, as Stephen King says. In King’s article “Why we crave horror films” he argues humans are insane, and why it is necessary for them to watch horror films. To defend King’s argument, it is clear to see that humans “need” to “purge” primal urges. People watch these films because they love being scared, feed their mental cravings, and watch for their own entertainment. Everyone has that so-called “insane” side to them, wether they like the films or not.

“Why we Crave Horror Movies” is an essay written by the most popular horror author, who works included Carrie (1974), The Shining (1977), The Dead Zone (1979) and Misery (1987), Stephen King. The excerpt originally came from his book “Danse Macabre.” “Why we Crave Horror Movies” was originally published in Playboy Magazine in 1981. The essay was an explanation of why King felt that people craved horror movies. He goes into great detail throughout the essay and gave various reasons of he felt the way he did. While reading the first the that came to mind was the ‘target audience’ because he is speaking to a certain group of people. Then ‘logos’ because King is making a huge assumption throughout the essay, which came of very strong. Lastly, ethos’ because of the tone King sets in the essay, and ‘pathos’ because overall King has a purpose for the essay he wrote.

Further, King goes on to state that when we watch a horror movie, “we are daring the nightmare,” meaning we are almost begging to be scared. King also states there are multiple reasons for this, but one of the main points is “to show that we can, that we are not afraid.” He then appeals to the audience experiences by making his paper more relatable and comical when he compares horror movies to roller coasters. King states, they are both usually liked by the young, but once their age reaches to the forties or fifties, “one’s appetite for double twists or 360-degree loops may be considerably depleted.” Additionally, King uses his clever collage of comparisons to explain one of the horror genre’s many intentions are to show us right from wrong. Which might also provide some of us with “psychic relief,” throwing ourselves in a place where intensive questioning is unnecessary, giving people a small break from their complicated daily life.

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

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

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

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).

Ever since the advent of celluloid films, horror movies have always held a fascination for viewers. Just why do people pay good money to be scared out of their wits? Apart from its entertainment value, the horror movie satisfies certain primordial needs in man. Through the horror movies, one is able to come to grips with one's personal demons, fear of death and other irrational phobias and in the process achieve a catharsis. Far from being morbid, such movies actually affirm life for the movie-goer, for he is able to emerge from the dark into the light, both literally and figuratively, having explored the world beyond our normal perception as well as the deep recesses of the human soul and say, "It's good to be alive."