The Psychology of Horror
by Horror fiction has been terrifying people for generations, yet we still ask for more. Why are we so attracted to being afraid?
Being a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, the connection between the two often intrigues me. A fiction story usually seems more compelling if it is based on a true account or likely to happen in real life. This is not to take away from well-crafted stories of complete fantasy by talented writers. But in general, the closer to real life fiction is, the more it seems to grasp the attention of readers and to have a long-term effect on them.
The horror genre is home to some of the most exaggerated possibilities and grandeurs of fantasy. At the same time, properly executed horror sticks with us the most, sometimes causing us in real life to look over our shoulder or keep the lights on at night. Horror endures, in various forms of media, as a powerful way to keep fiction in touch with our emotions. What is it about this speculative genre that sits so close to home?
We’ll examine some famous horror icons in the light of our living existence, but first let’s take an objective look at one of the most powerful emotions we can feel: fear.
Fear: The Emotion of Horror
Horror is all about what we are afraid of. You can debate with different people and never come up with an agreed upon standard of fear and its causes. Fear can be innate (preprogrammed into our behavior and personality), learned (through experience and culture), or some combination of the two. Fear has a physiological basis (our brain reacts a certain way when we are afraid, our heart rate and breathing increase, etc.) and a psychological basis (the subjective experience of being afraid, which can affect our way of thinking and actions).
Obviously, fear is a complex emotion and varies among individuals, as different people may fear different things. Some people even claim to fear nothing. What generations of horror fiction has proved, however, is that the experience of being afraid is fairly universal. Furthermore, as unpleasant as fear can be to experience, there is also an enormous attraction to it when portrayed in a safe manner such as a fiction story. There is a certain thrill of having our fears invoked without the threat of actual danger that has captivated horror readers for centuries.
As fear varies from person to person, not everyone will get a thrill out of every horror story. But fear not (pun intended), for there is a vast variety of scary stories and terrifying tales. There are many subjects and even sub-genres within horror, and each one seems to scare us, tapping into our shared potential to be afraid by toying with our individual differences.
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Post CommentRick Denny - Writer/Director
On May 10, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I enjoyed the the read, but it angers me that when I pressed the “LIKE IT” Button that it rolled me over to Ebay. Bad form Socyberty.
I retired from a lucrative Insurance Practice to jump headlong into a Film Career. A gravitate towards Comedy, given I’ve been making people laugh all my life, and like it. But, it’s just so freak’n easy to break into Horror that I decided to cut my teeth Directing my first for this Genre. Besides, I live in the deap woods where a hoard of vexacious spirits lurk about in the thick dark of night. We’ll shoot the entire movie here.
I have never experienced Writers Block. I may edit and restructure what I write, but never block. I wrote my first Comedy titled ANTENNA MAN in under thirty days. Then everyday for a month after the First Draft, I read it twice each day, making neccessary changes until it was a pure work of Comical Art. The concept is so brilliant, that it just may have found a Producer. (applause)
Anyhow, when I sat down to write my first Horror, I’m three days and 38 pages into it, and I just had to stop to research the Psychology of Film Fright. In the past thirty years I myself have seen a few Horror Genre films that I found entertaining, but I never felt anything remotely approaching fear. Last time I felt fear watching a Movie I was in my teens, when The Exorcist was first released. I sorry, but Catholics men dressed in gowns, alone in a little girls room — scary.
Last thought: Critics seem to have a brutal loathing for Horror Films. Yet, the Genre has such a faithful following that even really bad films make money. That said, I wish only to write and Direct a Horror film that will scare the living shyte out of even the most seasoned Horror Buff. And I know exactly what it takes. Not by anything I’ve read here, which again, was a nice read, but I have seen what lurks in the dark, just out of the corner of our eye; what plays in the corners, in the closet, under our beds late in the night; when we are most vulnerable, when we sleep. And I know where those souls go the soul stealer’s steal, in the night, in the dark, from their beds, in their sleep.
NecroMecca
Olivia
On October 1, 2009 at 6:24 pm
This is a great article. It made me realize something; the reason I think that a lot of people hate the Twilight series (myself included) is because it strips the vampire, one of the classic icons of fear, of nearly all its weapons and reduces it to a pretty plaything for insecure, lonely, and naive young girls–practically the opposite of what it is supposed to be.
Netty net
On October 31, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I like how a story can play on someone fears. Great job
Joseph VanBuren
On October 7, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Thank you for all of the comments. I have decided to make a series of these articles, with the second one being published soon.
Alan
On January 5, 2012 at 6:45 am
I really liked this article.