It seems that previous opinions of the horror genre have been mostly, if not completely, fed by superficial concepts that have resulted from seemingly inconsequential viewing of horror films. After being informed of this genre through lectures of particular horror elements, through readings containing horrific qualities, and with thought provoking horror film viewings, the horror genre has come to be one of the deepest and most reflective of the human psyche. It seems that all horror literature and film boils down to two fears; the fear of annihilation and the fear of loss of humanity.
Annihilation is not only avoided by humans, but by all living organisms. Humans, along with many other creatures, develop and adapt to survive this ever changing world. The feared incapability to adapt to these changes, and eventual destruction, results from knowledge of past experiences. Many examples of this basic fear can be seen in various works of art ranging throughout all of history; from the earliest of cautionary folk talks to modern films. Monster films are first hand expressions of this fear. In The Thing from Another World (USA 1951) and The Host (S. Korea 2006), the characters witness destructive forces unknown to their world thus making it harder to avoid annihilation. The Thing from Another World depicts a threatening alien bent on destroying human life in order to sustain its own. In The Host, it is a similar destructive force that works to maintain itself alive. It is also alien in the sense that it is a unique creature not common in the world, but it was a mutation of a once harmless organism. Drag Me to Hell (USA, 2009) presents an annihilative force more common to humans, but its nature is so powerful and unique that the main character is unable to adapt or change these circumstances and is eventually dragged to a destructive realm. Throughout the whole film, the main character witnesses and tries to avoid the Lamia curse, giving her a glimpse of her likely future due to the curse placed on her. The destructive powers don’t need to be alien or uncommon in order to be feared, it only has to be potentially overwhelming thus stripping away the possibility and hope for survival. Even though death is a natural event for all human and living beings, it is still avoided and potentially feared especially if there is pain or additional physical destruction. In an essay The Uncanny, Freud suggests that humans invented a double or some sort of intangible counterpart as “an insurance against the destruction of the ego, an energetic denial of the power of death…and probably the ‘immortal’ soul was the first ‘double’ of the body.” This suggestion inevitably challenges most, if not all, religious beliefs since it marks the notion of souls as a human invention and nothing more than a result of a fear of physical destruction. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, tells the story of an African community who live the same way they had lived for centuries. Their lifestyle is savage-like and inhumane to outsiders who lack the understanding of their ways. When reading this, one might deduct that this seemingly inhumane society is the horrific aspect of the book. However, as one reads further on into the second half where outsiders enter and begin to take over of their society, one can see that the truly terrifying aspect is the destruction of their way of life. Their lifestyle which has been a part of them for centuries is annihilated. What the reader originally thought to be horrific is in fact what the main character considers to be part of their humanity. Rather than surviving without the essential parts of his life, the main character Okonkwo prefers to opt out from what he thought would be an inhumane life, thus leading to the other elemental human fear.
This other fundamental fear which feeds the horror genre is that of loss. This kind of horror deals with surviving a destructive event and the resulting overwhelming emotions, thus leading to a loss of humanity or self-control. This loss covers two extremes; having uncontrollable emotions or ideas, and the other involves shutting off oneself from these emotions so as to avoid feeling terror. There are many examples of both in films and literature. In The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson, the main character, Lou Ford, is constantly feeling impulses to kill not only people that are seen as threats to himself and his goal, but also friends and loved ones. These emotions and desires were a result of an abusive past event which caused a desensitizing of his emotions concerning right and wrong. Throughout the book, the character would say, “He had to die,” or “She had to die.” To him it was logical, but to the reader it is pure monstrosity. Peeping Tom (U.K. 1960) is another example in which the horror inducing character has reached a monstrous identity due to his intense emotions and impulses. Unlike Lou, who seems incapable to distinguish right from wrong, he is aware of the repercussions of his actions, yet his impulses are seemingly too strong for him to control. His character was changed by past experiences in the same way as Lou, however, in this story it involved constant exposure to strong material. Like in the previous two examples, one can see the corruption of the moral compass in The Giver by Lois Lowry. In this story, a futuristic society has willingly shut off their ability to feel in order to avoid sorrow, and as such there are certain resulting actions that are perceived to be horrific to the reader while being completely normal to the community’s members. Not only are there horrific actions taking place in the story, but the characters are unable to feel joy, love, and a wide range of positive emotions as a result of them shutting their emotional senses to avoid sorrow, pain, and suffering. Their state of being can be deducted to be something akin to depression, which to the person suffering from such an emotionless state, is so horrific that it drives the person to seek self annihilation.
The effectiveness of the horror genre and the fears it relies on all feed on human beliefs. To most people, certain phobias would be silly notions based on unrealistic situations. Then there are other fears that are more intense due to the perceived high probability of its terrifying and unwanted results. Whether it is a fear of annihilation or loss of control and humanity, the horror genre exists due to fundamental human beliefs, desires, and in some cases the lack of these elements.
