For two centuries now, horror and suspense stories have become one of the most intriguing types of story genres. These genres have captured the attention of countless of readers and nowadays watchers. According to Percy D’Aco, horror stories are created to show discomfort and fear reflecting on one’s greatest fears. In the process of writing horror stories, numerous authors create suspense to make people continue reading and stay hooked on the story. A great example of the use of suspense would be the horror story “August Heat,” written by W.F Harvey.
Stories about monsters appeal to humans because they provide the right amount of fear and danger, pushing on the boundaries of comfort. There are examples of monsters in literature as old as The Odyssey of Homer which includes monsters such as the sirens, and as new as the Harry Potter series which includes the monstrous Voldemort. In these stories, as well as others such as Beowulf, Grendel, and The 13th Warrior, the monsters in each are critical to the storyline. The monsters in Beowulf, Grendel, and The 13th Warrior are determined by the perspective of each story, and represent the main characters’ fears.
What is your favorite movie villain or monster? Michael Myers is my favorite movie monster. But what makes him stand out, what makes him more mysterious than others? Also, what does he do, what makes him my favorite, you may ask. Michael Myers doesn’t do ordinary killer things.
Monsters are a topic everyone can relate to. In Where our Monsters Come From, Leo Braudy speaks of the origin of Halloween, where monsters stem from, and four main kinds of monsters and their origin. Each of these four monsters is relatable to a human element and possibly even our darkest realities. These monsters are ones of nature, creation, one stemming within us, and one of the past. Braudy’s story about these monsters has a deeper connection meant to instill in the reader with a reality on what a monster actually is: us.
Dahl, Connell, Jackson craft chilling tales that readers do not want to put down because of their setting, image, and foreshadowing. Setting is where the story takes place,now that the people know a little bit about setting, the people can tell its importance in the story, in setting the mood. You could have a dark rainy night, with a mysterious house. This setting creates a horror type of setting. You could use setting to show emotion, for suspense.
What scares children and grown people alike? What has remained part of our society as an archetype since the beginning of written literature? Monsters! Most monsters fit a general archetype; almost all monsters are universally hated, viewed as scary, and seen as hideous. Monsters, seen through a lens of fear, are often often are pitted against heroes in adventure stories.
The interesting facts about us humans is the way we see things. About how the human condition takes on the horror or fear they think. The way our minds think under illusional fiction. Stephen King might have a claim that humans crave horror to face our fearss, although many other people crave horror for a fun experience. Why do we all crave for horror?
What makes a monster truly terrifying? Is it the monsters ability to make you feel helpless against a seemingly unstoppable force and creating a sense of isolation? Giving you that fear that can only be obtained when your life is put in danger. Building on your fear and slowly turning it into paranoia to the point where you’re not sure what is safe or not and ultimately leads to you being truly alone. The best example of this isolated horror is from the cult classic 1982 film, John Carpenter’s “The Thing.”
Stories from the horror genre leave little information to the imagination. Although, why do people believe this about most stories. Well authors use the horror genre elements to surprise, excite, and give a reader many emotions while reading.
The horror writers association wrote on horror.org that horror, “forces us to confront who we are,” along with examining, “what we are afraid of” (Bradbury). People fear losing what they have, and they fear, “the fire bursts,” in their house, along with many other things (Bradbury). This story is horror because of the levels of emotions and supernatural occurrences that are
Fear plays a big part in everyone’s lives. While not everyone will admit it, everyone is scared of something. There is a lot that isn’t known about the world and everything in it. For some this is a tool that can be used to develop horror in literature as well as many other things. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
They represent the fears, anxiety, desires, and fantasies that a culture has. Buy studying the monsters of a particular time, place, or culture, we can understand more about that culture, and
Why does gothic horror even matter in literature? Gothic horror can create numerous ideas found within a novel more interesting or suspenseful about what will happen next. These stories use different characteristics to create a gothic atmosphere in the story. During the Victorian era, the idea of gothic literature grew in popularity. It is influenced by countless ideas, including religious themes around this time period, and usually reflects on the characteristics of the people living in the Victorian era.
It is used to make the story become more real, and easier for the reader to place himself in the story, and feel the same way as the characters. Stephen King is using the terror effect throughout the whole story. He is making the feeling of dread and anticipation the main factors in the horrifying experience. He also uses the horror effect, when he is writing about The Boogeyman, but he leaves out the gross out part. Edgar Allan Poe is in the same way using both terror and horror to give the reader the most horrifying experience.
The comedic play written by William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, follows a set of characters afflicted by magic as they intertwine paths while tryingand try to navigate through the night before Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding. Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius are four young lovers caught in a love predicament. Similarly, the fairy king Oberon and fairy queen Titania bicker over custody of an Indian boy. During their feuds, Athenian craftsmen attempt to practice the play Pyramus and Thisbe in celebration for Theseus’s wedding, but some events turn astray. Magic dictates the actions of the characters as it influences their emotions, is used underhandedly used to achieve selfish desires, and convolutes the plot through the addition of odd events and misunderstandings to ultimately act as a method offor resolution.
