Why i Like Horror Movies: Unveiling the Thrilling Allure

Ever since I was a young child, horror movies and stories have been a huge part of my life. It is something I have always been interested in and have a big passion for. Horror is by far my favorite genre in everything, including movies and literature. I also love learning about the history behind the extreme genre, which is horror.

Early Introduction to Horror

For as long as I can remember, I have always been obsessed with horror movies. I still remember the first ever horror movie I watched, Coraline.

After watching that, I had officially been introduced to the world of horror. I began to watch scary tv shows such as Goosebumps and The Twilight Zone. My dad has always been extremely into horror movies himself, so I am sure he was excited he finally had someone to share his love with. He showed me many of the ‘classic’ Horror movies that every true Horror movie fanatic needs to see. Such as Silence of the Lambs (my personal favorite), Halloween, Friday the 13th, and many more. We always talk about new scary movies we have seen while everyone else around us just sits in confusion as we go back and forth talking about the soundtrack, the actors, the CGI or costumes, the goriness, and the overall quality of the movies.

The Deep Essence of Horror

Typically, when people think of horror movies, they just think of the ‘monster under my bed’ type movies, but it is so much deeper than that. The purpose of the genre of fiction is to create feelings of terror, dread, fear, panic, and repulsion in the audience. It establishes an atmosphere of fright. Horror feeds on the audience’s deepest nightmares by putting life’s most mysterious and perplexing things—death, evil, supernatural powers or beings, the undead, witchcraft—right at the center of attention. Horror tends to make the reader or watcher feel afraid through imagery and language. Good scary stories use words and phrases that create a creepy, unsettling air.

The Emotional Pull of Horror

A horror fiction author, H.P Lovecraft, once said, “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Accordingly, horror is important because it exposes an audience’s most frightening nightmares and anxieties, and it truly pushes the restraints of human emotion. Noticeably, horror writers often apply ideas or topics that the everyday person would be uneasy about addressing. There is something about scary stories and films that really get my blood pumping and my adrenaline rushing. When I watch horror movies, as odd as this may sound, I enter my own personal heaven. When a horror movie is done well, it really captivates you into the film, and your mind is solely focused on the screen and nothing else around you. I love the feeling of suspense when you don’t know what is going to happen next and you are sitting on the edge of your seat. I love when I am watching a slasher film and blood splatters everywhere, and I jump to the back of my seat.

The Varied Faces of Horror

There are many different types of horror, including gothic horror, supernatural horror, non-supernatural horror, and thrillers. Gothic horror is a darker style that combines horror and romanticism, such as the infamous Dracula and Frankenstein. Supernatural horror uses paranormal elements to drive the story. They achieve this by using ghosts, monsters, demons, aliens, witches, and zombies. The terror of non-supernatural horror comes from the idea that what is happening in the story could possibly occur in real life, usually involving the possibility of death, making it the ideal style for frightening crime or mystery stories. Thriller is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim of thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats.

Horror’s Lasting Impact

Horror is a genre of literature and entertainment constructed for readers and watchers who have an appetite to be frightened and have their imaginations enlarged through fear of the unexpected and unknown. It can be, and most often is, combined with other genres and styles to evolve into creative and frightening anecdotes that leave people on the edge of their seats.

References

1. Tudor, A. (1989). Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie. Blackwell.
2. Newman, K. (2011). Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s. Bloomsbury./li
3. Nell, V. (1988). Lost in a Book: The Psychology of Reading for Pleasure. Yale University Press.
4. Lovecraft, H. P. (1985). The Dunwich Horror and Others. Arkham House.
5. Jancovich, M. (2002). Genre and the Audience: Genre Classifications and Cultural Distinctions in the Mediation of The Silence of the Lambs. Journal of Film and Video, 54(2/3), 61-73.

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