Now that's a little TOO scary!
Horror is perfect for metaphor and allegory. In fact, a horror story is often allegorical by default, what with its bizarre landscapes and freaky beasties.
Here are some categories of horror and some thoughts on what they symbolize:
Reality Bites
psycho killer! Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
These are generally stories about close calls with home invaders, attempted kidnappers, and human traffickers.
Or rabid dogs, vicious sharks, and monkeys.
Human killers and the natural world (seen in Jaws and Cujo) have grit and, well, reality to them. I think they're cautionary tales above all else…be respectful of animals, especially ones you don't know! Respect nature!
There are just as many lessons to be learned as far as other people go (or potential other people) Lock your doors! Keep an eye on your drink! Hold your keys between your fingers until you get to the door!
Parents should LOVE horror stories like these and share them liberally (I believe they often do)…but always within reason I suppose. We don't want our kids to become paranoid.
Well…maybe just a little bit. Just paranoid enough.
Have you heard the Urban Legend about the killer hiding in the back seat? Good! Hopefully you always check your back seat before getting in your car. I know I do!
Monster Mash
-Monsters as Metaphor
The giant bugs of 1940's and 50's scifi were atomic bomb-created.
Frankenstein is our own hubris come back to haunt us. Arrogance and disrespect of nature leads us to the horrors of Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Descent, Alien, etc etc etc.
Vampires and Zombies might represent narcissistic people who DRAIN others of their energy. Perhaps psychopaths and sociopaths are what we're talking about. We must not get too full of ourselves!
We've been warned!
Ghosts
-Booberries
I think that ghost stories are compelling and scary because we ALL wonder, or fear, or anticipate what will happen to us after we die. Ghost stories crack open the door to see what life after death might entail…and the stories also REMIND us of our own mortality. Maybe that's what makes them truly scary.
Ghost stories help us work out the fear of Death itself. That's the ultimate fear!
…Or is it?
The Other
Mad from the Revelation!
This metaphor is the ultimate expression of the fear of the unknown. The world is a huge place that is largely beyond our control. There are powerful forces out there that have a strong influence over us whether we like it or not. Otherdimensional or demonic Beings and stories give us a chance to deal emotionally with those potentially overwhelming emotions.
__
I may have missed out on some genres like Body Horror, and the kind of horror that comes from within ourselves and the dark parts of our own human nature.
Strange as it is, even though I don't believe in Demons and while I don't deny the possibility of ghosts, I don't think they can hurt us - those genres are still the ones that scare me the most. How about you?
Wishing you all a fun, safe, memorable Halloween season!
-Banes
from the best of banes collection, back from the grave once again
Horror CateGORIES
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 24, 2024
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Banes at 11:16AM, Oct. 25, 2024
@KAM - Oh yeah, very interesting! Makes a lot of sense actually.
Banes at 11:15AM, Oct. 25, 2024
@usedbooks - Oh yeah, I remember that Black Mirror episode. The Life is Strange game sounds interesting!
KAM at 2:08PM, Oct. 24, 2024
I have a book of Victorian Ghost Stories and the introduction mentions how the ghost story revival was caused by England's embrasure of technology and changing of the status quo into an unknown future and ghosts represented the now gone past. A Christmas Carol is a good example of how important the past is to the story, Marley's ghost, the Spirit of Christmas Past, Scrooge's redemption...
usedbooks at 11:10AM, Oct. 24, 2024
@Banes: Thankfully, most of those stories end with the protagonist fixing the situation. Or with some twist reveal that at least it isn't eternal. (I think Black Mirror had some kind of time prison for an especially evil prisoner. It felt like an inordinately long time to the prisoner but only minutes in reality...) Some anthologies with shorter episodes can be a lot nastier, too short for a conclusion. It's not strictly horror, but I loved Russian Doll (and others like it), as the protagonist attempts escape, the universe starts unraveling at the seams making it super horrifying at the climax. The game Life is Strange has two endings. Either undo all you did to save your friend or save your friend but the fabric of time is destroyed, and you can watch the universe fall apart together. The best thing is how quickly the stakes raise at the climax of glitch-in-time stories.
Banes at 9:31AM, Oct. 24, 2024
@usedbooks - I agree! That is a terrifying prospect. Even when trying to write horror, I tend to avoid developing ideas about some kind of eternal existence befalling people...it's just too scary.
Banes at 9:30AM, Oct. 24, 2024
@PaulEberhardt - Thanks, Paul! I think the power, and popularity, of horror must come from those real world anxieties. Those are some deep thoughts on the specifics of peoples' shared worries. Love it!
Banes at 9:28AM, Oct. 24, 2024
@marcorossi - That makes a lot of sense. I think I agree - the fear that comes from ghost or supernatural stories comes from some primal psychological nerve that's being provoked. Slashers are also metaphorical, yeah - I love that genre but it doesn't generally scare me at all.
usedbooks at 9:00AM, Oct. 24, 2024
The scariest horror to me is stories where person or small group of people is trapped either in time or space. Especially time. I've seen the story in a few anthologies and old movies where someone is able to manipulate time, but something goes wrong, and time either stops or becomes incredibly slow for the universe but seems normal speed for the main character, so they can no longer interact with the world. The concept puts me in such a state of existential horror. So much scarier than a physical being or monster or anything that can be interacted with. The concept of eternity is the most frightening antagonist I can imagine.
PaulEberhardt at 4:08AM, Oct. 24, 2024
To me, a good ghost story is always tapping into the fear of the uncanny, the unknown and unknowable. The death aspect is often there, of course - that's tradition - but in many ways it's as in death as the big undiscovered country. All of this said, I still think having horror categories makes sense, they're important to get a grip on the genre, and this is an excellent overview.
PaulEberhardt at 4:02AM, Oct. 24, 2024
I think this is pretty complete. Of course these categories cross over all the time. For instance, a classic vampire can easily be read as an allegory on tyrants (sucking the lifeblood = raising unfair taxes; getting distracted by counting peas until the cock crows = being obsessed with invading every detail of people's lives = bureaucracy; hiding behind a mask of civilized, smooth-talking stylishness = exactly that), which would have reflected many people's real-life issues at the time of the story (and may again if people keep casting their votes irresponsibly), and representing the dangerous Other that invades your home because you invited it to by stirring things up in that Other place and may even turn you into one of its own.
marcorossi at 2:37AM, Oct. 24, 2024
I personally don't believe in ghosts, but I see that ghosts are a concept common to many cultures, so much that many spirits in folk tales or in ancient religions should IMHO be considered variants of ghosts. It is weird and I think it works on some very primal psychological principle. For me, I always liked more supernatural horror, and even in realistic stuff like thrillers or slasher movies I think that the big bad should just be seen as the representation of some psychological fear, the realistic appearence is only a cover IMHO.