What is Horror?
Horror is an intense feeling of dread, terror, fear, disgust, repulsion and/or shock. As a genre of fiction, its main intent is to create those emotional responses of dread, fear, repulsion, terror, etc. in readers. Put another way, horror writing creates an atmosphere of horror in the reader's mind as they dive deeper and deeper into human fears and desires. The genre's definition emphasizes the emotional reaction to the storytelling--the horror. This word comes from the Old French "orror," which means “to shudder" or "to bristle.”
Horror is an ancient form of storytelling that has its roots in history, legends, myths, religion, folklore, and fairytales. These stories often focused on issues and subjects surrounding cultural fears, desires, anxieties, and wonders that have troubled cultures for millennia. This is because horror feeds on readers' deepest terrors by examining death, cultural taboos, the supernatural, the often thin lines between the sacred and profane, the abject, the uncanny, and more.
Horror, like other genres of speculative fiction (Sci Fi, Fantasy, etc.) that concerns itself with "what if?" questions about humanity's relationship with the physical world, metaphysical possibilities, nature, the human psyche, and much more. Writers who work with and in horror to explore these questions:
Horror is an ancient form of storytelling that has its roots in history, legends, myths, religion, folklore, and fairytales. These stories often focused on issues and subjects surrounding cultural fears, desires, anxieties, and wonders that have troubled cultures for millennia. This is because horror feeds on readers' deepest terrors by examining death, cultural taboos, the supernatural, the often thin lines between the sacred and profane, the abject, the uncanny, and more.
Horror, like other genres of speculative fiction (Sci Fi, Fantasy, etc.) that concerns itself with "what if?" questions about humanity's relationship with the physical world, metaphysical possibilities, nature, the human psyche, and much more. Writers who work with and in horror to explore these questions:
- What does it mean to be human? To be monster? To be monstrous?
- What happens during and after death?
- What is humanity's relationship to the natural world?
- What does "normal" really mean?
- What are our fears, desires, and anxieties surrounding people who don't conform to societal expectations?
- What kinds of fears and desires are possible?
- What are the ethics and morals surrounding how we treat each other in life and death?
- What are we afraid of? Why are we afraid?
Click on the button tabs below to learn more about specific elements of horror writing.
Some Sub-genres of Horror
GOTHIC HORROR
Gothic Horror is, in some ways, the catalyst for modern horror. This sub-genre of horror storytelling emerged from 18th century romanticism. Gothic horror usually means we're delving into the macabre, the human psyche, death, the supernatural, and romance. Edgar Allen Poe created some of the most disturbing works of gothic horror.
SUPERNATURAL HORROR
This kind of horror fiction relies quite a lot on paranormal or supernatural elements to drive the story. Supernatural horror often includes ghosts, demons, witchcraft, hauntings, and more. The main source of fear, terror, desire, anxiety, and dread in supernatural horrors is human interface with the unexplainable unknown. This creates serious conflict between tangible reality and the world(s) of the metaphysical.
REALISTIC (VERISIMILITUDE) HORROR
This kind of horror is non-supernatural that does not include supernatural elements. Instead, the terror and dread that comes from realistic horror emerges from the idea that the events in the story could plausibly happen in real life. Death looms large in this kind of horror fiction--some crime thrillers utilize realistic horror to captivate readers.
SOUTHERN GOTHIC
Southern Gothic literature is inspired by Gothic literature. Thus, it often explores themes of horror, the macabre, and the grotesque that are particular to the history and culture of the South, especially after the Civil War. |
MONSTER HORROR
Loads and loads of horror stories emphasize the fear of the unknown by exploring a world in which monsters exist. Werewolves, vampires, disturbing creatures, aliens, and other monsters are often the main antagonists in this sub-genre of horror. More contemporary monster stories examine the blurry line between human and monster.
HAUNTED PLACES & GHOST STORIES
Many of us had our first exposure to the horror genre in the form of hauntings & ghost stories. Whether it was your older sibling trying to scare you at night, a friend, or a haunted book you found in your school's library, ghost stories and haunted houses are a staple of the horror genre. Despite being introduced to use early in our lives, our fascination with haunted houses and ghost stories doesn't seem to wane as we grow older. In fact, it's a popular trope both in modern horror movies and modern video games. Whether you've played Control and Anatomy or not, I would fully recommend the video you can find below for an exploration of the haunted house, both in modern video games and classic novels. This is also part of "Supernatural Horror." APOCALPYTIC HORROR
Apocalyptic Horror often involves pandemics, AI revolts/robot revolutions, extraterrestrial attacks/invasions, impact events (meteor), natural disasters that impact the world, etc.
DARK FANTASY
Dark Fantasy, according to Charles L. Grant, is "a type of horror story in which humanity is threatened by forces beyond human understanding." This kind of horror story is told from the Monster’s point of view or from the point of view of those who have been monsterized.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR
Psychological horror centers on the dark recesses of the human psyche that is supposed to be repressed. This horror explores the emotional and psychological fears and "demons" that humans try to suppress. Stories that examine our the shadowy parts of humanity are crafted almost like vivid and realistic nightmares about ourselves and offer us warnings and revelations about ourselves and the larger human condition. Often, these stories also examine the impact of social norms on the human psyche.
LOVECRAFTIAN (COSMIC) HORROR
This sub-genre of horror gets its name from the "father of modern horror," H.P. Lovecraft. Inspired heavily by Poe and the works included in Weird Tales (the “Penny Bloods” of his time), H.P. Lovecraft would create a type of horror which continues to influence the genre to this day. Dubbed “Cosmic Horror," Lovecraft’s work involved a great unknown, and possibly unknowable, evil that could not be escaped. The protagonists of his tales rarely survived with sanity. Lovecraft is a problematic figure because many of his stories utilized racist and sexist stereotypes to create the horror.
POSSESSION HORROR
This sub-genre of horror entails an evil spirit, demon, or other force possessing/taking control of a human body and mind in order to control them and/or inhabit a human form. These kinds of horror stories often examine loss of control, the nature and origins of evil, and belief and disbelief as major themes.
BODY GORE HORROR
Also called "biological horror," this type of horror explores graphic or psychologically disturbing manifestations and representations of the human body. Body horror explores the grotesque and macabre directly in relation to what the human body can endure--it instills a deeper level of fear because it often entails a loss of who we are or thought we were. |
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