The Questionable Taste of Horror Fiction and Its Notable Works

Categories: Horror

Essay, Pages 4 (869 words)

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Horror Fiction

Horror is in many ways a unique genre. It has the ability to make us feel frightened, disgusted and fascinated at the same time. During an intense scene in a horror movie or book you often feel tempted to look away, but at the same time you’re “glued” to the screen or page – You can’t let go; you want to see what’s hiding in the dark. Another fascinating aspect of the horror genre is the fact that it remains controversial due to its extreme nature.

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A lot of critiques argue that horror is not needed and that it does more harm than good, and that statement begs for the question to be asked; what is the purpose of horror? The first works of horror fiction and the so called gothic horror were written in the 18th century, but it wasn’t before the 19th century that the genre really started to blossom. In this century, a lot of classics that build the very fundament of the genre for years to come were written.

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart” along with other classics like “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” are brilliant examples of groundbreaking works from the 19th century. One of the most prominent characteristics of horror is that nothing is too extreme. Horror stories are often explicit and violent, sometimes even to a grotesque extent. This is probably why horror (or at least modern horror) is one of those things that you either love or hate.

Especially since the introduction of horror in movies and cinemas, the genre has been controversial. As it is the case with many “extreme” genres like violent computer games or pornography, it’s often argued that the explicit nature of these genres (including horror) can hurt little children or people with “weak” minds. Due to this, some critics claim that horror is not needed and that it should be banned. Furthermore, today it’s very hard to find a horror movie which is acclaimed by movie-critics. There are a few “quality” classics like Psycho, The Shining and The Exorcist, but the vast majority of modern horror movies are commercialized clichés with bad acting and unoriginal directing1. The fact that most of the works that are considered classics in cinematic horror are actually based on older novels, says a lot about the general difference in quality between horror books and horror movies. It also says something about the diversity of the horror genre in general. Frankenstein, The Shining, Psycho and The Exorcist are all good examples of classic horror movies based on novels. The diversity as well as the development of the horror genre is also significant when comparing an older novel like “The Tell Tale Heart” from 1843 to a relatively new one like “American Psycho” from 1991. “The Tell Tale Heart” is what you would normally consider a classic horror novel and it has most of the common genre features. “American Psycho” on the other hand, is a more modern novel and it is often argued that it’s not even a horror story because it lacks the mystique and suspense that is symptomatic for the horror genre. Society in 1843, when The Tell Tale Heart was published, was of course more primitive and more religious than today. Due to this, common fears at this time were often unchristian things like The Devil, demons, hell, death, hauntings and evilness in general. This is evident in The Tell Tale Heart were the protagonist murders a man (most likely his father) because he has a “vulture” and devilish eye. He then feels haunted and winds up telling the police about the murder even though they had no clue. The horror in this novel lies in the darkness of the protagonist mind and in the haunting of him after the murder. The horror of American Psycho is different. Christian Bateman is a rich psycho- and sociopath who murders people – usually of the lower class of society. The murders seem rather spontaneous and there is very little, if any, planning behind them. The horror in American Psycho lies in how cynical Christian Bateman is; his disgust for people who are poorer than him can make him hurt- or even murder them in cold blood. The Tell Tale Heart simply shows that murdering is wrong and that your evil deeds will come back to haunt you – either literally haunt you or haunt you through your conscience. Also at this point, American Psycho is different. It functions as critique of a certain group of people in the “highest” part of the upper class. It shows how the ego of a rich psychopath can randomly make him hurt innocent people. Horror is indeed a complex genre and whether or not we need is tough question to answer. Horror certainly has its bad sides, but we must remember that it can also teach us something. It can take us on a trip to the darkest part of the human mind and explicitly exhibit some of our worst fears for the sake of entertainment. Due to this diversity, the horror genre has always been controversial and discussed, and it will probably remain that way for years to come.