3. – “Art Horror” –
A genre of
entertainment and
form of artistic
expression
(from this point on: Horror)
“Natural Horror”- the horror of
experiencing real horrific events and
real life experiences
4. Half-Breeds – Part Human & Part Animal
The difference is in
their reception, the
response the monster
receives from main
characters.
Characters Response –
• Fear
• Disgust
Monster’s Make Up -
• Unnatural
• Morally depraved
Characters Response –
• Neutrally
Monster’s Make Up -
• Common Place
• Ordinary
The Horrific Monster
5. “You feel those scenes because
you know them.”
– Jack Ketchum
Characters Emotion:
clearly illustrates how to respond and
view the monster in the story
Audiences Emotion:
is a reflection of the example set by
main characters
The Emotional
Response
6. A History of
Horror
Formed during the
ENLIGHTENMENT period
• Logical
• Analytica
l
• Science
• Atheism
argues a natural view of the world
argues a supernatural view of the
world
Why was Horror formed during
a period of logic and reason?
Horror needs a monster which is a
perversion of nature.
To have a perversion of nature
one first needs an understanding
of nature which the Enlightenment
provided.
7. When in Rome…
“Hosts would invite their friends to dinner not
merely for other entertainment, but that they
might witness two or three pairs of
contestants in a gladiatorial combat; on these
occasions, when sated with dining and drink,
they called in the gladiators. No sooner did
one have his throat cut than the masters
applauded with delight at this feat.”
-Nicolaus of Damascus
“an incident in the fight drew a great roar
from the crowd, and this thrilled him so
deeply that he could not contain his
curiosity….So he opened his eyes….He
reveled in the wickedness of the fighting
and was drunk with the fascination of
bloodshed.”
-Augustine writes of Alypius
8. The Theory of Catharsis
The Theory of Cosmic Awe
The Conspiracy Theory
An outlet for the purging of emotions.
An expulsion of the undesirable emotions in order to
reset oneself back to a feeling of normalcy.
“For myself, I like to see the
most aggressive of them –
Dawn of the Dead, for instance
– as lifting a trap door in the
civilized forebrain and
throwing a basket of raw meat
to the hungry alligators
swimming around in that
subterranean river beneath.”
- Stephen King
In cases when the
monster is not
destroyed, negative
emotions and horror
remain.
Normalcy is not
achieved.
An overwhelming combination of
terror, moral horror, and wonder that
evolves into awe and an almost
religious, spiritual feeling of fear of
beings greater and far more powerful
than ourselves.
Sets the standard for the
genre way too high.
Many works of horror
aren’t overwhelmingly
awe-inspiring.
a creative tool used to frighten the masses and
maintain the established order of society.
Karl Marx likened
capitalists to vampires
and werewolves
it isn’t all inclusive to
every piece of the
horror genre
9. The Paradox of Horror
Horror-
1. introduces the normal world
2. disturbs it with a perversion of nature
visa vie the monster
3. then forces the reader or viewer to
figure out why.
we lust for horror because
it is a search for answers
coupled with a fascination
at the disgustingly
disturbed
Quest for Answers to Unknown
• Why is this monster here?
• Where did it come from?
• How do we destroy it?
Question Self as Person
• Why do you stick around to
watch?
• Why do you enjoy what
horrifies and disgusts you?
• Why do you watch the monster?
10. Kendrick, Walter. The Thrill of Fear: 250 Years of Scary
Entertainment. New York: Grove Press, 1992. Print.
Bok, Sissela. Mayhem: Violence As Public Entertainment. TN:
Perseus Books, 1999. Print.
Carroll, Noel. The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the
Heart. London, England: Routledge 1990. Print.
Castle, Morte. On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror
Writers Association. New York: F & W Media Inc, 2006. Print.
Nadall, Judith. The Longman Reader. New York: Longman, 2009.
Print.
Lovecraft, H. P. Supernatural Horror in Literature. 1927. Print.
