Vladimir Propp analyzed folk tales and identified 8 main character types that help move the narrative forward. These include the hero, villain, donor, dispatcher, false hero, helper, princess/prize, and her father. Propp argued we should view characters by their narrative function rather than as real people. The document then discusses how some of these character types, such as the hero, villain, donor, and helper, apply to the horror genre and film The Conjuring specifically.

1. Vladimir Propp’s
Character theory

2. Propp’s Theory
• Propp was a Russian soviet formalist scholar
Propp’s narrative function
Propp studied folk tales and found that there were 8 main character types. Prop
emphasised the fact that when looking at characters we should not identify them as
real people but as function who help the narrative. These 8 main characters are:
1. The hero
2.The villain
3.The donor
4.The dispatcher
5.The false hero
6.The helper
7.The princess/prize
8.Her father
The main character have relevance to the horror genre and are shown within horror
films.

3. The Hero
• The hero is the character that the audience is routing
for. They also are in a battle with the villain and beats
the villain in the end. As props theory was based on
finding from folk tales, the hero’s aim was to get the
princess/prize
• however in horror, the hero is the victim we want them
to survive and live at the end. The victim often
undergo’s trying to fight a supernatural being,monster
or force
For example in The Conjuring 2013
• The mother Carolyn was being possessed by a
supernatural force. Carolyn had to fight for her life
before being completely taken over by the force. During
this scene the audience are routing for Carolyn to beat
the supernatural force and rid it forever.

4. The Villain
• The villain struggles to triumph against the hero.
usually comes across as being dark
• Mise-en-scene:disfigured face, messy hair,dark
clothing
• Mise-en-scene is the key element to juxtapose the
hero and distinguish the differences between the
two
• The personality and actions of the villain makes
the audience route for the hero.
For example in The Conjuring 2013
• The dead witch that is trying to possess the
Carolyn is the villain

5. The Donor
• The character that offers the hero help in order to
strengthens them.
• The donor can also give them magical objects or
weapons to help win over the villain
For example in The Conjuring 2013
• The supernatural hunters Lorraine and Ed offer
help to the family to help stop the supernatural
forces within the house

6. The Dispatcher
• The character that makes the villains evil known to
the hero and sends them off.
For example in The Conjuring 2013
• The supernatural hunters Lorraine and Ed offer
help to the family to help stop the supernatural
forces within the house. These characters find
evidence from records of death and makes the
family aware

7. The False Hero
• The character takes credit for hero’s
achievements and actions.
This is rarely found in horror movies but can exist in
some. Not all of the 8 main characters appear in the
horror . Also all 8 are not needed to make the
narrative move forward

8. The Helper
• This character helps the hero fight evil
For example in The Conjuring 2013
In the conjuring, the characters that helps Carolyn
defeat the witch that is possessing her. Ed helps to
exorcise Carolyn as he recites the bible reference
whilst the priest was absent.

9. The Princess/prize
• The character that needs to be rescued from the
evil villain.
• For example in the conjuring, Carolyn could be
considered the character that needed to be
rescued from evil as she needed to be exorcised
in order to be completely rescued.

10. Her Father
• The character that gives the task to the hero.Her
father also makes sure that is daughter is married
to the hero. Propp identified that her father and
the princess are hard to functionally hard to
identify.
• This character is harder to identify as not many
horror films display this character and don't
necessarily need this character to push the film
forward.