On Horror.....

[said_scarlett]

As most everyone knows at this point, I write horror. In a semi-professional capacity, as I have had a handful of horror-themed stories published in small print magazines. Nothing big, but I read a lot of horror, I watch a lot of horror, and I play a lot of horror. And I research it.

I subscribe to a few newsletters and the like, mostly filled with reviews and articles and a few essays. And a recent essay I read got me to thinking. And as it's eleven o'clock at night and it's horrifically stormy out, my mind has begun to wander and has spit up this post.

The essay was on the evolution of entertainment horror. Interesting enough read, but one thing stuck out to me.

"...what Lovecraft and Poe and the other fathers of horror did was scary at the time, but not in modern day..."

This gave me pause. I thought back to all the older horror stories I've read, and wondered why the themes and monsters and situations wouldn't be frightening today.

Now, admittedly, maybe the way in which they were written wouldn't be quite as frightening today as it was when first written, but that doesn't mean that what they wrote isn't still scary. Most of the staples that those forefathers of horror laid down are alive and well today, and still used to scare the bejeezus out of people. Everything from the supernatural - ghosts and monsters and the like - to the situational - being buried alive, being trapped in a horrific alternate reality - all are still used in modern day horror.

And when attempts to try something nice and new crop up - Sam Raimi, I'm looking at you* - often they just don't really work.

I am of the mind, however, that it isn't necessarily the thing that is scary. It's the way in which it's presented. Atmosphere is integral to horror. Which is why I have an issue with a lot of modern horror movies - it's all gore and slashing and very little mood. Very little subtlety. It kind of reminds me of a strip Penny Arcade did, where it boiled down to Survival Horror = Monster Jumps Through A Window. And going back to what I mentioned in my above paragraph, recent attempts at creeping, subtle terror have fallen somewhat flat.

I find it in a great deal of horror novels and stories, too. Even my greatest influence and admiration, Stephen King himself, is guilty of this. Hell, I'm guilty of it, as anyone in damned can tell you. But is this because of the evolution of the genre, or the evolution of the audience?

Are we all so jaded and used to being bombarded by visual images that it's the only thing that gets through to us? Are we so used to the horrible and horrific in modern day life, that only gruesome death and dismemberment frighten us? Or has everything else really been played out, so ingrained into us that it's more stale than scary? There are dozens of theories, invoking everything from science to evolution to desensitization. And still, I wonder.

So what scares you? What's the scariest thing you've ever read, seen, played, heard? Share, and maybe shed a little light on my wonderings.

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*I'm referring to the movie 'The Messengers', which ended up some bizarre crossover between Silent Hill and John Steinbeck.

Comments

[theladyfeylene.livejournal.com]

You know, I've never actually seen all of The Exorcist. I've only caught bits and pieces. Gah, yes, there's a case of RL atmosphere adding to things!

It's funny that you list Sixth Sense as horror, because I wouldn't have classified it as that. But it does have all the right elements, doesn't it? I always looked at it as more of a mystery/thriller, but it does meet every horror movie requirement. Huh.

Video games... I have this theory about video games. Through the controller, you're directly connected to the little guy on the screen. There's a much more personal investment in games than in movies. Which is why playing them creeps me out more than just watching them played.

Hahahahaha, I HAD THINKY THOUGHTS!

[yuuo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, video games are more likely to creep me out, but I think that's because I come up against things that I know are going to kick my ass, so I become a weenie. XD; The ReDeads fucking terrify me on Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Wind Waker, they annoy me, but they're so silly looking at the same time that I can't take them seriously. And Twilight Princess is an entirely different beast and obnoxiously easy to kill, so eh.

Watching me freak the hell out going into the Shadow Temple is probably pretty funny to the outside observer. When I go into each room, I IMMEDIATELY play the Sun's Song, even if it's a room I know doesn't have a ReDead or Gibdos in it. And me in the well = epic freak outs, because there's no way around one of the Gibdos if I want to get all the damn skulltulas. And Gibdos take 8 hits with the little Kokiri sword. I WANT MY BIGGORON'S SWORD WHERE IT'S ONLY TWO STRIKES KTHNX. :(

::thread hijacks all over your post, sorry :(::

[chaneystarr.livejournal.com]

Yes, it does. Then again, the things in the Exorcist are some of the things I find creepy anyways. It's also about what scares you. Like, Cath can't watch anything with creepy or ghosty kids/babies in it. It freaks her the hell out. She also can't watch anything with dolls, because that in itself scares the shit out of her. I'm not exactly sure what my buttons are (besides needles/sharp pointy things. And clowns. Clowns are the scariest shit ever.) but I know there are some scenes that just scare the shit out of me because it gets led up to the right way.

You know I had to stop and think about that myself this morning when I was typing it, but that movie had atmosphere like whoa. And the one he did after that with the aliens... which the title is escaping me at the moment. I wasn't overly scared in it except for the time when the thing was reaching under the door. I think that's one of my creepy factors: you KNOWING something's there and knowing its dangerous and being unable to see it. I think the scene that creeped the shit out of me the most in the grudge was the things fingers in her hair in the shower. I go dkfjskdfhdf everytime I see it.

Yes, this is true. You get much more intuned with the little dude, because it becomes an extension of you, rather than you watching some stranger on the screen you're yelling at for BEING STUPID DONT GO THAT WAY.

YOU DID! XD