Society’s Obsession with Horror and the Occult Patricia Oldani and Lili Clift

The Origins of Horror Began in the early 18th century when Western culture began to worry obsessively about mortality Death started to be seen as a negation of life rather than life’s completion Images of rot began proliferating in art Death was transformed into self-conscious products of the imagination; horror writers were able to turn death into something predictable and safe- something people could potentially enjoy and be entertained by Based in old storytelling methods like myth and folklore

Why Horror Scares Us Horror plays into our ignorance or childlike naivety; “Children believe in ghosts and demons as easily as in Santa Claus” Horror has the ability to bring out our buried childhood fears like the fear of something beneath the bed or hiding in the closet, things that “live in the shadow” of what we don’t know Horror uses the anxieties of the modern world by incorporating these anxieties into their depictions of monstrosity Since we no longer have to be scared of natural predators (like leopards and lions) in everyday life, we have created new predators through the horror genre Horror aims to create a reaction of fear and disgust in response to a supernatural or abnormal being (like zombies, monsters, ghosts, etc.) Though the genre plays into emotions that people would normally avoid (like fear, disgust, and uncertainty), people usually view horror films/novels in order to experience these emotions. Therefore, when they get scared they are experiencing a positive emotion and are getting what they want out of the film/novel.

Why Horror is Still Around Today Horror stories satisfy our need to know “there are still slobbering things in the dark”, that there is something hiding in the shadows, essentially that there is still something to be scared of As a genre, horror is extremely flexible and is able to adapt to various periods of cultural change and differences across national boundaries Horror (“slasher” films/stories in particular) shows its target demographic (young adolescents) how to survive when separated form parents and authority figures Viewers of horror enjoy being scared in otherwise safe spaces like cinemas or even their own homes Horror is fueled by contemporary events and concerns of society so it always has new material to build off of There are many elements within a film/novel/video game with which to scare the audience (narrative structure, camera viewpoint, editing, and musical score)

Examples of Horror Based Off of Cultural Fears Domestic violence in The Shining Atomic bomb in post- WW2 Japan in Godzilla The 1970’s “me generation” of selfish parents in A Nightmare on Elm Street The difference of the cultural other (1970’s rural working class) in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre STD/Disease contamination and epidemics (possibly playing into our modern fear of diseases like Ebola) in It Follows

Possible Effects of Horror on Modern Society The violence within horror films and horror-based video games has been repeatedly linked to modern acts of violence in the media People who partake in these films and video games are thought to be more likely or capable of inflicting the kind of violence depicted within the genre This violence could take the form of mass murder, torture porn, body mutilation, etc.