Psychological horror relies on characters' fears, guilt, and mental instability to build tension rather than graphic violence. It explores common psychological vulnerabilities and fears in a subtle way that makes audiences uncomfortable by exposing repressed parts of the human psyche. The threat in psychological horror comes from within characters rather than outside forces, exposing the evil that hides behind normality. The Shining is an archetypal example, with Jack Nicholson's slow descent into madness as the hotel caretaker becoming increasingly unsettling and climactic as he becomes the real menace, despite supernatural elements in the film.