The Horror Gene

The horror genre has introduced countless stories and movies to the general public, and around the world, succeeding to scare us again and again. People can get a thrill from the feeling of being horrified and is the reason why horror is such a beloved platform to be entertained by. There is also a scientific reason behind why we as humans, can become addicted to being scared and similarly enjoy the feeling. Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, is a known hormone in the human body[1] which effectively, in the context to reading or watching horror, feeds into an obsession for the platform itself. In contrast to the adrenaline we experience, movies and books also tap into our senses and shared phobias because it leaves a lasting effect that keeps you awake and wanting more. Some of the most successful horror films and books are those that include images of possession, haunting’s and clowns which is why It by Stephen King was adapted into film during 1990[2] and later re-imagined in 2017[3].

Having the ability to scare its audience, horror by definition, allows ‘an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust’[4] that people are solely attracted to through the use of the unknown. This is achieved by slowly drip feeding the audience with ques that indicate a danger is imminent, further causing an anxiety to form through adrenaline. Again, adrenaline affects how we react to horror and that terror;  ‘… if you loved the movie you were watching, the pending adrenaline rush will help you have a great mood… if you hated the movie, the adrenaline rush that you get can have negatives effects on how you feel…’[5], which highlights the idea that we choose to go and see or read what scares us to gain that rush which horror-junkies desire. Writers of horror focus around the unknown to isolate the reader as well as victimising their feelings so that emotions become heightened into a further state of a persons psyche.

The genre itself branched from the Gothic creating a new age of writing, which birthed the dark and the monstrous, toying with the phobias of the world. It started in the late eighteenth century during the pre-romantic era with Horace Walpole and his novel, The Castle of Otranto (1765)[6], introducing a new wave of writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley and more modern examples are Stephen King and Christopher Golden. Golden’s The Abduction Door stresses the instinctive fear of any parent; the fear of losing a child. It dwells heavily on the concept of isolation through notions of mental health, abduction and death. Using abduction as a main theme, as well as using it as apart of the title, projects thoughts and images of not knowing your surroundings; playing on the idea of uncertainty and not being in control, ‘Just in time to see them drag my little girl through the abduction door. It’s the matter of a heartbeat as she vanishes. I scream and lunge… but I’m too late and it clicks shut almost silently…’[7]

The overall influences of horror first gripped hold of society itself, using the hysteria that tormented the mainstream world as an advantage; descriptions of vampires such as Dracula and monsters such as Frankenstein, to force submission on its audience. The unseen and the unknown has been common in horror’s development, with its gradual invitation to film, because to see and to understand deems the reader with control, but horror’s intent is to remove any and all control. Once the control is lost, the readers emotions are victimised, leaving them defenseless and alone.

Someone’s behind you…

 Word Count (WITHOUT QUOTATIONS): 548

[1] ‘Adrenaline/Epinephrine Molecule,’ Last Modified 2016, https://www.worldofmolecules.com/emotions/epinephrine.htm

[2] ‘It,’ Last Modified 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099864/

[3] ‘It (2017),’ Last Modified 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/

[4] ‘horror definition,’ Last Modified 2020, https://www.google.com/search?q=horror+definition&oq=horror+defin&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l6.3144j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[5] ‘ADRENALINE ULTIMATELY CONTROLS OUR THOUGHTS ON HORROR MOVIES,’ Last Modified 2014, https://horrormovieseffect.weebly.com/adrenaline-rush.html

[6] ‘Horror story,’ Last Modified 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-story

[7] Mark Morris, eds., New Fears (London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017), 355.

SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Encyclopaedia Britannica. ‘Horror story.’ Last Modified 2020. https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-story

Google Search. ‘horror definition.’ Last Modified 2020. https://www.google.com/search?q=horror+definition&oq=horror+defin&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l6.3144j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

IMDb. ‘It (2017).’ Last Modified 2020. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396484/

IMDb. ‘It.’ Last Modified 2020. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099864/

Morris, Mark, eds. New Fears. London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017.

THE EFFECT OF HORROR MOVIES. ‘ADRENALINE ULTIMATELY CONTROLS OUR THOUGHTS ON HORROR MOVIES.’ Last Modified 2014. https://horrormovieseffect.weebly.com/adrenaline-rush.html

Since its Victorian adaptation into mainstream with works such as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, the horror genre always uses location to aid in creating scenery which are dark and dreary. However, to create the dark and dreary, a writer mustn’t need to describe a scene in harsh detail as simplicity can also be key for discomfort, ‘Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night.’[1] One of our most innate fears is the dark which is why most horror in literature and film toy with its concept. By looking to the past, humans that lived before us needed to stay safe from predators during the night, battling with death itself. Being afraid of the dark became instinctual[2] hence why people today still find themselves suffering with a fear of the dark.

Horror plots that develop successfully use a sense of isolation as the setting envelops the reader, making them feel alone. In Stephen Gallagher’s short horror Shepherds’ Business, the imagery of an island is used to convey loneliness ‘Picture me on an island… Picture also a choppy sea, a deck that rose and fell with every wave…’[3] Although there are other characters in the story, the idea of being on an island relates to being isolated away from the world; being trapped with no escape, which to most, is quite horrifying. As socialites, we humans have ‘a strong need for interaction with others, especially during times of stress; when we go through a trying ordeal alone, a lack of emotional support… can increase our anxiety and hinder our ability to cope’[4], sending the brain into a panic. Furthermore, once the panic is induced, the fight and flight reaction follows, meaning they fight or runaway.

Abandoned and haunted buildings provide the opportunity for isolation, as well as the increased fear of danger. Humans typically fear the unknown, so the use of a haunted house, for example, taps into the fear of an invisible threat. Movies like the Insidious saga, highlight the use of the five senses so that when people are watching, jump scares become more frequent due to the creation of tension. This can also be achieved through reading as the writer uses the descriptions of the protagonist's surroundings, thoughts, and feelings to build up tension, scaring the reader without the use of visual effects. In turn, without picturing the scene, your left to imagine, putting yourself in the characters shoes, experiencing the heightened tension singlehandedly, ‘…silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.’[5]

The one thing that all locations must have in common for the fear factor to kick in is the danger provided in the location. Whilst being exposed to danger, like in Insidious, a haunted house is only terrifying if there is a threat accompanying the house. Meaning that the graphic imagery of the location is only fully realised when this danger occurs. For example, again in Insidious, the hauntings progressively become more apparent and vicious, after the medium threatens their place in this realm.[6] Without this occurrence of danger, the descriptions of the house become eerier rather than horrific. In order to help emphasise the fear factor, to ultimately unsettle a reader, both explorations of the environment and danger must co-exist.

Location is a key aspect in horror as it offers the first glimpse of imagery that hooks an audience and sets the tone for the rest of the piece. However, it is the happenings and the amount of threat to life within this location that create a true sense of horror.

Word Count (WITHOUT QUOTES): 515 

[1] Virginia Woolf, Jacob’s Room (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 70.

[2] “There's an Evolutionary Reason Why We're Afraid of The Dark,” Last Modified February 19, 2016, https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-the-evolutionary-reason-why-we-re-afraid-of-the-dark

[3] Mark Morris, eds., New Fears (London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017), 29.

[4] Francis T. McAndrew, “The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out.” Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture 4.1 (2020): Accessed 17 March 2020, https://www.academicstudiespress.com/asp-blog/how-places-creep-us-out

[5] Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (London: Penguin Publishing, 2009), 1.

[6] “Series – Insidious,” Last Modified September 27, 2017, https://www.imdb.com/list/ls025573451/

SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY

IMDb. “Series – Insidious.” Last Modified September 27, 2017. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls025573451/

Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House. London: Penguin Publishing, 2009.

McAndrew, Francis T. “The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out.” Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture 4.1 (2020): Accessed 17 March 2020. https://www.academicstudiespress.com/asp-blog/how-places-creep-us-out

Morris, Mark, eds. New Fears. London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017.

Science Alert. “There's an Evolutionary Reason Why We're Afraid of The Dark.” Last Modified February 19, 2016. https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-the-evolutionary-reason-why-we-re-afraid-of-the-dark

With writing horror, there are many and various ways to try and inject fear to an audience. The characteristics of horror were ultimately derived from the cultural fears and anxieties that society found unsettling and uncomfortable. One factor that horror taps into is the fact that we as humans, like to have stability and control of our lives yet, the genre refuses it. Within horror, the writers usually create a sense of isolation as an example would include Edgar Allen Poe’s formula for fear. Others have stated ‘Poe isolates the reader by capturing his attention…’[1] later alluding to how he gains their interest by the victimisation of a readers emotions ‘… the narrator makes a strong appeal to the readers sympathy and empathy… Whatever anguish or despair the narrator feels… the reader also suffers.’[2] Therefore, the genre focuses more on the unknown where the reader is unable to identify where the story is going, leaving them insecure and out of control of the upcoming situations.

Separately to Poe, writers such as Stephen King and Elizabeth Massie highlight the emotional connections that need to develop in order to scare an audience. According to Massie, ‘…Your opening is the first and very possibly last opportunity to make this connection’[3] as the beginning allows horror tropes of isolation to grip hold of the reader but if the narrative fails to gain interest, the story fails to attain what horror essentially is. By framing connections between the narrator and the reader, the characters begin to have a mental and sometimes physical impact on the reader, where King states ‘The more we care about the characters, the more human they are to us, the more appealing they are to us and the more effective the horror tends to be.’[4] As King underlines the human capacity of empathy, the necessary technique of forging connections allow other techniques to impact an audience, victimising their senses, more so with isolation, suspense and finally the payoff.

In recent years, horrors involving monsters have received less pay off than more inventive and modern horrors, as they have become somewhat cliché. In Brady Golden’s The Family Car, the use of suspense is used countless times to introduce the unknown. However, when the unknown is uncovered, the reveal is unimpressive ‘The head… long and narrow… Coarse dark hairs… The face has no mouth… just four inky orbs arranged in a vertical line down its center.’[5] Monsters can be dated back to a persons childhood as they are commonly used for scary bedtime stories, resulting in desensitisation towards such characters in later adulthood. In today’s society, our generalised fears are constantly evolving as it’s crucial that horror writers and the genre maintain up to date with new developments in successful build up and pay off’s. The film Godzilla, originally introduced in 1954[6], left people terrified and with the evolution of society, images like Godzilla are taken light-heartedly because they know it's not plausible. Consequently, in today’s society, a large majority of horror focuses around the supernatural such as vampires and hauntings.

In conclusion, a successful horror fiction writer will utilise all the information they have on modern-day horrors and fears. Instilling fear is key whether it's through the use of isolation and victimising the readers emotions, or establishing a connection.

Word Count (WITHOUT QUOTATIONS) - 506

[1] Claire Gradidge, “Psychology of Fear II- Horror and the writer,” Lecture, Winchester University, 2020.

[2] Claire Gradidge, “Psychology of Fear II- Horror and the writer,” Lecture, Winchester University, 2020.

[3] Matt Elphick, “Psychology of Fear II,” Lecture, Winchester University, 2020.

[4] Elle Fredine, July 22, 2019, “What Stephen King Can Teach You About Writing Great Horror, The Writing Cooperative, https://writingcooperative.com/what-stephen-king-can-teach-you-about-writing-great-horror-67bcd9a9c56e

[5] Mark Morris, eds., New Fears (London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017), 88-89.

[6] “Godzilla,” Last Modified 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047034/

SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Elphick, Matt. “Psychology of Fear II.” Lecture. Winchester University. 2020.

Gradidge, Claire. “Psychology of Fear II- Horror and the writer.” Lecture. Winchester University. 2020.

IMDb. “Godzilla.” Last Modified 2020. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047034/

Morris, Mark, eds. New Fears. London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017.

The Writing Cooperative. https://writingcooperative.com/what-stephen-king-can-teach-you-about-writing-great-horror-67bcd9a9c56e

Horror and Me

Amidst growing up, the horror genre had been somewhat embedded within my life due to the primary socialisation in which I endured. My mother was the most influential, as she would watch films and television series including themes and ideas of the supernatural; vampires, witches, werewolves – you name it. My first vivid memory of being familiarised to aspects of horror, was my introductory to the 1998 series Charmed at the age of 4, then shortly after reaching the age of 5, Doctor Who made its return to the BBC, ultimately scaring me and many children with its pilot episode yet, the fundamental concept of fear intrigued my young self. And then… started my obsession.

The Autons in Doctor Who manifested an initial psychological fear, some labelling it as learned fear, for mannequins and antique-looking dolls. I remember refusing to enter shops or even pass shop windows with glass clearly shielding my skin from the human-shaped plastic. I also remember evading the once Georgian workhouse, the Red House Museum, or at least as much as I could. There was a corridor with a dead-end, lined with aisles of mannequins dressed from Georgian attire to Victorian and modern, showcasing how time and society had changed. Thus, all I could imagine when they entered the valley of plastic were my families deaths. And how this was it. How would I live without them? Where would I go? Who would I live with? By freeing my already huge imagination, those types of thoughts clouded my better judgment, up until I saw them emerge from the shadows alive.

Another early fear of mine, which has crossed over into my adult life, are anything and everything associated with clowns. I have avoided clowns for most of my life and I can’t remember and pinpoint a specific time for when I accumulated such a distasteful fear and discomfort for them as they have managed to bring me to tears before. Fiona Macdonald in 2016 for a BBC article delved into how the clown is seen as disturbing to many. A study was taken, asking more than a thousand individuals and tests ‘concluded that “being ‘creeped out’ is an evolved adaptive emotional response to ambiguity about the presence of threat” in other words… “a person is creepy if we are uncertain about whether he or she is someone to fear”.’[1] As in Kathryn Ptacek’s Dollies[2], horror notions of threat are seen in isolation and the destroying of innocence, further highlighting a commonly used motifs from the parent genre the Gothic such as ‘power and constraint’[3] leaving an audience in distress. Dollies closely link to the text titled Frightening Fiction, as it states ‘one effect… is likely to be the reinforcing of the status quo. By putting normality in jeopardy, it creates a desire for its return and future security’[4], underlining an understanding to the lore of attraction; that every action has an equal or opposite reaction. Yet, a stimulus of fear simultaneously became a reality as the article was written as lunatics dressed as killer clowns created hysteria across the globe, following a social media trend that proceeded further than it should have to begin with.

My belief is fear, whether it’s innate like my fear of heights, or learned through observation and experiences, function as subconscious warnings in our minds, stopping from mental self-infliction.

An unsettling quote from Ptacek’s Dollies lingered with me for a while after reading it as the words showcased why I love to write how I write now; I love to kill every character I create, adult or child to unease you there, reading this.

‘I laid my fingers gently across her nose and mouth. It didn’t take long. She didn’t really even struggle… I watched for her chest to rise and fall, and when it no longer did, I bent down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head, and then I got up and crossed to the closet and put her on the shelf beside the other Elizabeths.’[5]

 WORD COUNT (WITHOUT QUOTATIONS) - 537

[1] Fiona Macdonald, “A surprising history of the creepy clown.” BBC Culture, 19th October 2016, Accessed 5th February 2020 http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161019-a-surprising-history-of-the-bad-clown [2] Mark Morris, eds., New Fears (London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017), 333. [3] Matt Elphick, “Horrific Origins,” Lecture, Winchester University, 2020. [4]Kimberley Reynolds, et al. eds., Frightening Fiction (London: Continuum, 2001), 8. [5] Mark Morris, eds., New Fears (London: Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2017), 348.

SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY