In literature, horror (pronounced hawr-er) is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in
the audience—in other words, it develops an atmosphere of horror.
We have spent the Month of October talking about Horror and I think we have had some interesting conversations. On Sunday October 25th we will talk about
sub-genres of horror. It will be a relaxed topic chat. 7PM EDT
When the topic of Gothic Horror came up during a chatroom discussion, I said I didn’t write it and as far as I know, I don’t read it. Then added, I am going to use
Gothic Horror as a topic and I bet when I start looking into it I will discover that I have read it.
It turns out, I have been almost an avid reader of Gothic Horror. Wilki Collins Woman in White is one of my favorites. And who hasn’t read Poe? The Picture of
Dorian Grey, Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein for crying out loud. What was I thinking when I said I wasn’t a fan?
The battle between humanity and unnatural forces of evil (sometimes man-made, sometimes supernatural) within an oppressive, inescapable, and bleak landscape is
considered to be the true trademark of a gothic horror novel.
Gothic horror seeks to suck the reader in with highly descriptive passages. If you get the sensation of being able to see, feel, touch, smell, and hear the story within the words.
It’s also common for there to be at least some romantic elements.
Gothic horror tends to utilize a central antagonist (usually in the form of a ghost or other supernatural entity) attached to one building, region, or person.
Another standard template that’s been used in countless Gothic horror books is the mental and emotional decline of the main protagonist(s).
Early novels in the gothic horror subgenre heavily feature discussions of morality, philosophy, and religion, with the evil villains most often acting as metaphors for some sort of human temptation the hero must overcome.
In 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s debut novel, Frankenstein, marked a shift in gothic horror by changing the
typical gothic villain from an evil man or supernatural creature into an physical embodiment of human folly, brought to life through the power of science.
Edgar Allan Poe managed to condense elements of gothic horror within his short stories, starting in 1839 with the release of "The Fall of the House of Usher”
The Victorian era (1837-1901) produced some of the most well-known examples of gothic horror with the publication of such novels as Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White (1859) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897).
Although the genre was named after the gothic castles and crumbling medieval ruins so prevalent in early novels, many modern gothic novels have moved away from this traditional setting towards more contemporary locations.
This has become a rather long post, be sure to use the links to the full articles and maybe add a new title
to your reading list.
Did you know the two genres have less in common than you think?
The article I have chosen for Sunday’s Topic will take at least 12 minutes to read. More than twelve if you are like me. I stop and absorb things before moving on
to the next and then may or may not go back to figure out where I disagree. So, sit back with your favorite drink and read through this post before chat at 8PM EDT on October 11th.
Horror fiction ultimately has different goals than thrillers.
Horror fiction has the specific intent to frighten, scare, disgust, and/or startle the reader by inducing feelings of terror. These elements can be delivered in a
variety of ways, but in the end a horror novel wants to keep the reader in a constant state of dread.
The thriller genre is also different from horror in many ways.
While a work of horror will often merely fill the reader with dread, a thriller relies on suspense through each development of the story. Thrillers give readers
feelings of excitement, anticipation, surprise, with devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers natural additions to the story.
I am urging you to take a little bit of time before chat, this article is quite well done and even if you don’t write in these genres it never hurts to be able to hold up your end of the conversation should you stumble into an award ceremony at the THE HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION.
Let's Talk About Fear
What attracts a reader to Horror? Why do the volunteer to be scared? Why do they express disappointment if the author doesn’t deliver on this fear?
When a Reader chooses a Horror Story she enters into a Contract with the Author. She expects the writer to deliver the goods and if you do not deliver a less than positive review will follow.
I am not an expert on fear but I have been afraid. It is a very emotional feeling that causes real physical reactions. Flight or Fight. Heartbeats rise and many other physiological changes happen. Why on earth would be volunteer to let an author do this to us?
Again, I am not a psychologist, but I think we are willing to let others terrify us because we know we aren’t actually going to be eaten by Griffins or be locked in someone’s basement. At the most, we may put down the book and check under our beds for a few nights but we, the reader, will escape
with only a little lingering stress, at worst, a bad dream.
We are willing to indulge because we know we are safe. We control the book. We can put it down anytime we wish. We don’t even have to commit to reading the whole thing.
Reading horror is like having protected sex.
October is Horror Month at the Writer's Chatroom
We will talk about horror in many forms.
Genres and Subgenres.
What are the key ingredients of horror?
When does a story or novel go from suspense or thriller and become horror?
Why do readers like to be scared?
There are all kinds of possibilities when it comes to Horror Month at the Chatroom.
I don't want to show my age or lack of experience but here goes..
When I was looking for Horror Images to download for the Blog and Newsletter I kept coming across images of Bottles of Coke. Like above and to the right. Am I missing something about the relationship between Horror and Coke? Would someone be kind enough to hit reply on this email and let me in on the secret, please.
