Horror Narrative 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

Everyone loves to watch a good horror film. Whether the effects in the movie are really gory or extremely unsettling, these nail-biting experiences are what give the audience a thrill as they try to peel their eyes away from the screen. The concept of these movies is to give the viewers a good scare, one that will have them glancing over their shoulders or double checking if their doors are locked at night for the next week. This genre has been around since the late nineteenth century, but horror movies did not gain much popularity until the 1930s. Modern day horror films have evolved from its beginnings, but the elements in a horror movie are consistent regardless of time.

The audience is seated, the lights dim, and all of a sudden, through wild anticipation, the music cues as a notification that the show is about to begin. Theater is a creative outlet for the soul to paint a picture towards showcasing a short story. This past weekend, I attended a play at Crabpot Players Theater to observe a parody of one of Shakespeare’s most famous pieces, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As a whole the play was fairly decent, but there were a few minor issues that held the piece back. It is officially time to analyze the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Michael Hoffman’s 1999 film version of Shakespeare's midsummer night’s dream was able to modify the audience experience of the play. Michael Hoffman had successfully turned the play into a film and was able to show a visible expression of the characters to the audience. He had also made some changes, like the settings and made his version modernized. Though the film was based on the Shakespeare’s play, the audience’s experience is still different.

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.

Stephen King said, “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They’re inside us, and sometimes, they win.” This quote sums up the arguments made in the article “Why We Crave Horror” and what King believes. Stephen King makes three correct claims saying that humans crave horror to have a peculiar sort of fun, face our fears, and reestablish our feelings of normalcy.

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.

Since it’s infancy at the beginning of the eighteenth century, horror has followed certain conventions that results in an awakening of the senses, evoking intense emotions of fear and terror in the audience. Horror feeds off triggering the primal fears embedded within all of humankind, creating a sense of menace that is the very substance of this genre. Furthermore, the central menace of a piece tends to enlighten the human mind to the world of the paranormal and the enigmatic, dark side of the unknown. The movie “Psycho” directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a perfect example. Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre, “Psycho” was filmed with great tact, grace and art in regards to horror conventions.

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

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".

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

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

Notwithstanding authors sometimes use words or actions to add suspense like they might add noise to add suspense or they might say it's too quiet when it's supposed to be noisy. Sometimes authors bring back a character that has died or thought to be dead, to add suspense. Also, another idea author uses to add suspense is to start out quiet and end up loud and noisy. Suspense is to make the reader read more so they can find out what happen in the story. Suspense can also make the reader scared since suspense usually comes with terrifying things.

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."

This idea is relevant because on the stage, the Restoration actress, is nothing but an ornament in the male gaze. This attitude is apparent as Thomas Shadwell links the new phenomenon of female performers with painted theatrical scenes, both innovative commodities for audience consumption: