View source for Comedy horror



{{Original Research|date=April 2023}}
[[File:One Exciting Night 1922 lobby poster.jpg|thumb|Poster for the American comedy horror film ''[[One Exciting Night (1922 film)|One Exciting Night]]'' (1922)]]
'''Comedy horror''' (also called '''horror comedy''') is a [[literary genre|literary]], [[television genre|television]] and [[film genre]] that combines elements of [[comedy]] and [[horror fiction]]. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "[[black comedy]], [[parody]] and spoof."<ref name="Miller 2004 p. 1" /> Comedy horror can also parody or subtly spoof horror [[cliché]]s as its main source of humour or use those elements to take a story in a different direction. Examples of comedy horror films include ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein]]'' (1948), ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' (1981), the ''[[Evil Dead]]'' franchise (1981–present), ''[[Gremlins]]'' (1984), ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]'' (2004) and ''[[The Cabin in the Woods]]'' (2011).

==In literature==
Horror and comedy have been associated with each other since the early days of horror novels. Author Bruce G. Hallenbeck cites the 1820 short story "[[The Legend of Sleepy Hollow]]" by [[Washington Irving]] as "the first great comedy horror story".<ref name="hallenbeck1">{{Harvnb|Hallenbeck|2009|p=3}}</ref> The story made readers "laugh one moment and scream the next" and its premise was based on mischief typically found during the holiday [[Halloween]].<ref name="hallenbeck1" />

Shortly after the publication of [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Frankenstein]]'', comedic parodies appeared. [[Edgar Allan Poe]] put humor and horror on the same continuum, and many nineteenth century authors used black humor in their horror stories. Author [[Robert Bloch]] called them "opposite sides of the same coin".<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|jstor=432309|title=Horror and Humor|last=Carroll|first=Noel|journal=[[The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism]]|pages=145–146|volume=57|issue=2|date=Spring 1999|doi=10.1111/1540_6245.jaac57.2.0145}}</ref>

==In film==
In comedy horror film, [[Black comedy|gallows humor]] is a common element. While comedy horror films provide scares for audiences, they also provide something that dramatic [[horror film]]s do not: "the permission to laugh at your fears, to whistle past the cinematic graveyard and feel secure in the knowledge that the monsters can't get you".<ref name="hallenbeck1" />

In the era of [[silent film]], the source material for early comedy horror films came from stage performances instead of literature. One example, ''[[The Ghost Breaker (1914 film)|The Ghost Breaker]]'' (1914), was based on a 1909 play, though the film's horror elements were more interesting to the audience than the comedy elements. In the United States following the trauma of [[World War I]], film audiences sought to see horror on screen but tempered with humor. The "pioneering" comedy horror film was ''[[One Exciting Night (1922 film)|One Exciting Night]]'' (1922), written, directed and produced by [[D. W. Griffith]], who noticed the stage success of the genre and foresaw a cinematic translation. The film included comedic [[blackface]] performances and footage of a hurricane for a climactic storm. As an early experiment, the various genres were not well-balanced with horror and comedy, and later films improved the balance and took more sophisticated approaches.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hallenbeck|2009|pp=5–7}}</ref> Charles Bramesco of [[Vulture.com]] identifies ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein]]'' as the first commercially successful comedy horror film. Its success legitimized the genre and established it as commercially viable.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.vulture.com/2015/10/history-of-horror-comedy-in-11-crucial-films.html|title=The History of Horror-Comedy in 11 Crucial Films|last=Bramesco|first=Charles|work=[[Vulture.com]]|date=22 October 2015|access-date=27 October 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Frankenstein_&_Dracula_-_Victory_-_New_York_City,_New_York_-_1952.jpg|thumb|319x319px|Frankenstein & Dracula In Theatres in New York City, 1952.]]
Following the success of [[Universal Monsters|Universal’s classic monster]] films, horror comedies in the mid-20th century often combined slapstick humor with supernatural elements.  Films like ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (1967) blended parody with gothic horror.<ref>Grabias, M. (2017). Horror and Humour in Vampire Oriented Cinema. ''Kultura i Historia'', ''17''(32), 109-126.</ref> This era established the foundation for later films that would more evenly mix horror and comedy. 

=== Slapstick and gore in horror comedy (1980s–1990s) ===

The 1980s marked a shift toward more extreme and graphic horror comedies. Films like ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' (1981) and ''[[Evil Dead II]]'' (1987) featured elaborate practical effects and exaggerated gore, merging [[body horror]] with absurd humor.<ref>Gowan, D. (2023). Laughter and Madness: The Comic Horror of Evil Dead II. ''The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research'', ''13''(1), 36.</ref> Other notable entries, such as ''[[Gremlins]]'' (1984) and ''[[Beetlejuice]]'' (1988), embraced fantasy-horror elements while maintaining a comedic tone suitable for wider audiences.<ref name=":0" />

The 1990s saw a continuation of self-aware horror comedies, as seen in ''[[Scream (1996 film)|Scream]]'' (1996), which satirized slasher tropes while still functioning as a horror film.<ref>WEE, V. (2005). The Scream Trilogy, “Hyperpostmodernism,” and the Late-Nineties Teen Slasher Film. ''Journal of Film and Video'', ''57''(3), 44–61. <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/20688497</nowiki></ref> This approach influenced later films that incorporated [[Self-referential humor|meta-humor.]] 

=== Meta-horror and satirical trends (2000s–present) ===
Horror comedies in the 21st century frequently incorporate meta-commentary on the horror genre itself. ''[[Scary Movie]]'' (2000) and its sequels directly parodied popular horror films, such as ''[[Scream (1996 film)|Scream]]'' (1996) and ''[[I Know What You Did Last Summer]]'' (1997).<ref>Wee, V. (2005). The Scream trilogy," hyperpostmodernism," and the late-nineties teen slasher film. ''Journal of Film and Video'', ''57''(3), 44-61.</ref> Unlike traditional horror-comedies, ''[[Scary Movie]]'' primarily functions as a comedy with horror references. Films such as ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]'' (2004) offered a comedic but heartfelt homage to zombie cinema.<ref name=":1" /> ''[[The Cabin in the Woods|Cabin in the Woods]]'' (2012) took a self-aware approach by deconstructing horror archetypes.<ref>Canavan, G. (2014). " Something Nightmares Are From": Metacommentary in Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods. ''Slayage''.</ref>

In the 2010s and 2020s, horror comedies also began incorporating social satire. ''[[Get Out]]'' (2017) blended psychological horror with dark humor to critique racial dynamics, while ''[[Ready or Not (2019 film)|Ready or Not]]'' (2019) and ''[[Bodies Bodies Bodies]]'' (2022) used horror-comedy to comment on class and generational divides.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilkinson |first=Alissa |date=2017-02-24 |title=Get Out is a horror film about benevolent racism. It's spine-chilling. |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/24/14698632/get-out-review-jordan-peele |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Heimberger, T. Eat the Rich: Satire and Marxism in Ready or Not. ''SIGMA TAU DELTA'', 214.</ref>

==In television==
Horror comedy on television dates back to classic sitcoms like ''[[The Munsters]]'' and ''[[The Addams Family (1964 TV series)|The Addams Family]]'' and has since expanded to include a variety of styles.<ref>Morowitz, L. (2007). The monster within: the Munsters, the Addams Family and the american family in the 1960s. ''Critical Studies in Television'', ''2''(1), 35-56.</ref> Notable examples range from the gory slapstick of ''[[Ash vs Evil Dead]]'' and ''[[Stan Against Evil]]'' to mockumentaries like the ''[[What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)|What We Do in the Shadows]]'' franchise and ''[[Wellington Paranormal]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Osley |first=Maysa |date=2025-02-08 |title=10 Best Horror Comedy Shows of All Time, Ranked |url=https://collider.com/horror-comedy-shows-best-ranked/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref> Other comedic horror series include ''[[Todd and the Book of Pure Evil]]'', ''[[Shining Vale]]'', and ''[[Santa Clarita Diet]]'', while animated entries feature ''[[Beetlejuice (TV series)|Beetlejuice]]'', ''[[Invader Zim]]'', ''[[School for Vampires]]'', ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'', and ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced search |url=https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?genres=horror,comedy&explore=genres&title_type=tv_series,tv_miniseries |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref> More recent additions to the genre include ''[[The Ghost and Molly McGee]]'', ''[[Wednesday (TV series)|Wednesday]]'', ''[[Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (TV series)|Don't Hug Me I'm Scared]]'', ''[[Gravity Falls]]'', ''[[Hazbin Hotel]]'', ''[[Helluva Boss]]'', and ''[[Bunsen Is a Beast]]''.

==See also==

* [[List of comedy horror films]]
* [[List of genres]]
* [[Zombie comedy]] – a subgenre involving zombies
* [[Black comedy]]
{{clear}}
==References==
<references>
<ref name="Miller 2004 p. 1">{{cite book|last=Miller|first=J.S.|title=The Horror Spoofs of Abbott and Costello: A Critical Assessment of the Comedy Team's Monster Films|publisher=[[McFarland & Company, Inc.]]|location=Jefferson, NC|year=2004|isbn=978-0-7864-1922-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3d3DUTr_EwIC&pg=PA1|page=1}}</ref>
</references>

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Hallenbeck|first=Bruce G.|year=2009|title=Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914–2008|publisher=[[McFarland & Company, Inc.]]|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=978-0-7864-3332-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AIgAef-bAcC}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|editor-last=Och|editor-first=Dana|editor-last2=Strayer|editor-first2=Kirsten|title=Transnational Horror Across Visual Media: Fragmented Bodies|publisher=Taylor & Francis|series=Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies|year=2013|isbn=978-1-136-74484-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jZnAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA201|pages=201–208}}
*{{cite book|last=Carroll|first=Noël|title=Beyond Aesthetics: Philosophical Essays|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2001|pages=235–253|chapter=Horror and Humor}}

{{Film genres}}
{{Comedy footer}}
{{Horror fiction}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comedy horror}}
[[Category:Film genres]]
[[Category:Horror genres]]
[[Category:Comedy genres]]
[[Category:Comedy horror| ]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Comedy horror|access_date=2026-03-01}}