View source for Horror fiction


{{About|the genre|the same genre in film|Horror film}}
{{Redirect|Horror story|other uses|Horror Story (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Supernatural horror|the film genre|Supernatural horror film}}

[[File:Dracula (1931 film poster - Style F).jpg|thumb|[[Count Dracula]], a [[vampire]] who emigrates from [[Transylvania]] to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, poster of ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' (1931)]]
{{Speculative fiction sidebar}}{{Literature}}
'''Horror''' is a [[genre]] of [[speculative fiction]] that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of [[psychological horror]] and [[supernatural]] horror. Literary historian [[J. A. Cuddon]], in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length{{nbsp}}... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing".<ref>{{cite book |first=J.A. |last=Cuddon |chapter=Introduction |title=The Penguin Book of Horror Stories |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin |year=1984 |isbn=0-14-006799-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_y1e0/page/11 11] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_y1e0/page/11 }}</ref> Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. The threats present in horror fiction often reflect broader cultural anxieties.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://aeon.co/essays/horror-is-a-dark-and-piercing-reflection-of-our-anxious-times|title=Our age of horror|last=Owen|first=M M|date=2018|magazine=[[Aeon (magazine)|Aeon]]}}</ref>

==History==
===Before 1000===
[[File:Athenodorus - The Greek Stoic Philosopher Athenodorus Rents a Haunted House.jpg|thumb|upright|alt= Athenodorus and the ghost, by [[Henry Justice Ford]], {{circa}} 1900|An illustration of [[Andrew Lang]]'s "[[Athenodorus Cananites|Athenodorus]] confronts the Spectre"]]

The horror genre has ancient origins, with roots in folklore and religious traditions focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic, and the principle of the thing embodied in the person.<ref>{{cite book|first= Rosemary|last= Jackson |year= 1981|title= Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion|publisher= [[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]]|place= London|pages= 53–5, 68–9}}</ref> These manifested in stories of beings such as demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Some early European horror-fiction were the [[Ancient Greeks]] and [[Ancient Romans]].<ref>{{Cite web|title= Even Ancient Greeks and Romans Enjoyed Good Scary Stories, Professor Says|url= https://phys.org/news/2007-10-ancient-greeks-romans-good-scary.html|access-date= 2020-09-02|website= phys.org|language= en|archive-date= 13 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201013202820/https://phys.org/news/2007-10-ancient-greeks-romans-good-scary.html|url-status= live}}</ref> [[Mary Shelley]]'s well-known 1818 novel about [[Frankenstein]] was greatly influenced by the story of [[Hippolytus (son of Theseus)|Hippolytus]], whom [[Asclepius]] revives from death.<ref>Though the sub-title of ''Frankenstein'' references the [[titans|titan]] Prometheus, none of the ancient myths about Prometheus is itself a horror tale.</ref> [[Euripides]] wrote plays based on the story, ''Hippolytos Kalyptomenos'' and [[Hippolytus (play)|''Hippolytus'']].<ref>* Edward P. Coleridge, 1891, prose: [http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/e/euripides/hippolytus/ full text] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060412140830/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/e/euripides/hippolytus/ |date= 12 April 2006 }}</ref> In [[Plutarch]]'s ''[[Parallel Lives]]'' in the account of [[Cimon]], the author describes the spirit of a [[murderer]], Damon, who himself was murdered in a [[Public bathing|bathhouse]] in [[Chaeronea]].<ref>* John Dryden, 1683: [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_(Dryden_translation)/Cimon full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162201/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_(Dryden_translation)/Cimon |date=12 June 2018 }}</ref>

[[Pliny the Younger]] (61 to {{circa}} 113) tells the tale of [[Athenodorus Cananites]], who bought a haunted house in [[Athens]]. Athenodorus was cautious since the house seemed inexpensive. While writing a book on philosophy, he was visited by a ghostly figure bound in chains. The figure disappeared in the courtyard; the following day, the magistrates dug in the courtyard and found an unmarked grave.<ref>
Pliny the Younger (1909–14). "LXXXIII. To Sura". In Charles W. Eliot. Letters, by Pliny the Younger; translated by [[William Melmoth the younger|William Melmoth]]; revised by F. C. T. Bosanquet. The Harvard Classics. 9. New York: P.F. Collier & Son.
</ref>

Elements of the horror genre also occur in [[Biblical]] texts, notably in the [[Book of Revelation]].<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Beal
 | first1 = Timothy
 | author-link1 = Timothy Beal
 | chapter = Left Behind Again: The Rise and Fall of Evangelical Rapture Horror Culture
 | title = The Book of Revelation: A Biography
 | url =  https://books.google.com/books?id=2WaYDwAAQBAJ
 | series = Lives of Great Religious Books
 | date = 23 October 2018
 | location = Princeton
 | publisher = Princeton University Press
 | publication-date = 2018
 | page = 197
 | isbn = 9780691145839
 | access-date = 9 April 2021
 | quote = Taken together with the rapture and tribulation themes in evangelical apocalyptic horror movies, this zombie connection testifies to the variety of ways that Revelation feeds into deep, largely repressed correspondences between religion and horror in contemporary culture. 
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Pippin
 | first1 = Tina
 | title = Death and Desire: The Rhetoric of Gender in the Apocalypse of John
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=juAXEAAAQBAJ
 | publisher = 	Wipf and Stock Publishers
 | publication-date = 2021
 | page = 105
 | isbn = 9781725294189
 | access-date = 9 April 2021
 | year = 1992
 | quote = If these books were arranged in a bookstore, one would find all the women writers under 'science fiction.' The Apocalyse, on the other hand, would be found under 'horror literature.'
}}
</ref>

===After 1000===

The [[Witch of Berkeley]] by [[William of Malmesbury]] has been viewed as an early horror story.<ref name="Livermore 2021 p. 43">{{cite book | last=Livermore | first=C. | title=When the Dead Rise: Narratives of the Revenant, from the Middle Ages to the Present Day | publisher=D.S. Brewer | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-84384-576-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ikI3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 | access-date=2023-06-01 | page=43 | archive-date=1 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601232902/https://books.google.com/books?id=ikI3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Werewolf]] stories were popular in medieval [[French literature]]. One of [[Marie de France]]'s twelve [[Lai (poetic form)|lai]]s is a werewolf story titled "[[Bisclavret]]".
[[File:Vlad Tepes coloured drawing.png|thumb|left|upright|alt=A Print of Vlad III|[[Vlad the Impaler]], the inspiration for [[Count Dracula]].]]
The Countess Yolande commissioned a werewolf story titled "[[Guillaume de Palerme]]". Anonymous writers penned two werewolf stories, "Biclarel" and "[[Melion]]".

Much horror fiction derives from the cruellest personages of the 15th century. [[Dracula]] can be traced to the Prince of [[Wallachia]] [[Vlad III]], whose alleged [[war crimes]] were published in [[German language|German]] pamphlets. A 1499 pamphlet was published by Markus Ayrer, which is most notable for its [[woodcut]] imagery.<ref>Raymond T. McNally and Radu R. Florescu (1972). "In Search of Dracula." Houghton Milton. Pages 8–9.</ref>  The alleged serial-killer sprees of [[Gilles de Rais]] [[Cultural depictions of Gilles de Rais#Folklore|have been seen as the presumed inspiration]] for "[[Bluebeard]]".<ref>Kiernan, Dr. Jas. G. "Sexual Perversion, and the Whitechapel Murders." The Medical Standard: IV.5. G. P. Engelhard and Company: Chicago.</ref> The motif of the vampiress is most notably derived from the real-life noblewoman and murderer, [[Elizabeth Bathory]], and helped usher in the emergence of horror fiction in the 18th century, such as through László Turóczi's 1729 book ''Tragica Historia''.<ref>in Ungaria suis cum regibus compendia data, Typis Academicis Soc. Jesu per Fridericum Gall. Anno MCCCXXIX. Mense Sepembri Die 8. p 188-193, quoted by Farin</ref>

===18th century===
 [[File:Horace Walpole.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Horace Walpole]] wrote the first [[Gothic novel]], ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]'' (1764), initiating a new literary genre.<ref name="Walpole"/>]]
The 18th century saw the gradual development of [[Romanticism]] and the [[Gothic fiction|Gothic horror]] genre. It drew on the written and material heritage of the [[Late Middle Ages]], finding its form with [[Horace Walpole]]'s seminal and controversial 1764 novel, ''[[The Castle of Otranto]]''. In fact, the first edition was published disguised as an actual medieval romance from Italy, discovered and republished by a fictitious translator.<ref name="Walpole"/> Once revealed as modern, many found it [[anachronism|anachronistic]], [[reactionary]], or simply in poor taste, but it proved immediately popular.<ref name="Walpole">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30313775 "The Castle of Otranto: The creepy tale that launched gothic fiction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703063419/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30313775 |date=3 July 2019 }}. BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2017</ref>

''Otranto'' inspired ''[[Vathek]]'' (1786) by [[William Thomas Beckford|William Beckford]], ''[[A Sicilian Romance]]'' (1790), ''[[The Mysteries of Udolpho]]'' (1794), ''[[The Italian (Radcliffe novel)|The Italian]]'' (1796) by [[Ann Radcliffe]], and ''[[The Monk]]'' (1797) by [[Matthew Lewis (writer)|Matthew Lewis]].<ref name="Walpole"/> A significant amount of horror fiction of this era was written by women and marketed towards a female audience, a typical scenario of the novels being a resourceful female menaced in a gloomy castle.<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Davenport-Hines|year=1998|title=Gothic: 1500 Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin|place=London|publisher=Fourth Estate}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Rothwell.tif|left|thumb|upright|[[Mary Shelley]] by [[Richard Rothwell (painter)|Richard Rothwell]] (1840–41)]]
The [[Gothic fiction|Gothic tradition]] blossomed into the genre that modern readers today call horror literature in the 19th century. Influential works and characters that continue resonating in fiction and film today saw their genesis in the [[Brothers Grimm]]'s "[[Hänsel und Gretel]]" (1812), [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Gothic aspects in Frankenstein|Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus]]'' (1818), [[John William Polidori|John Polidori]]'s "[[The Vampyre]]" (1819), [[Charles Maturin]]'s ''[[Melmoth the Wanderer]]'' (1820), [[Washington Irving]]'s "[[The Legend of Sleepy Hollow]]" (1820), [[Jane C. Loudon]]'s ''[[The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century]]'' (1827), [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[The Hunchback of Notre-Dame]]'' (1831), [[Thomas Peckett Prest]]'s ''[[Varney the Vampire]]'' (1847), the works of [[Edgar Allan Poe]], the works of [[Sheridan Le Fanu]], [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'' (1886), [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1890), [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s "[[Lot No. 249]]" (1892), [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The Invisible Man]]'' (1897), and [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'' (1897). Each of these works created an enduring icon of horror seen in later re-imaginings on the page, stage, and screen.<ref>{{cite book |author=Christopher Frayling |year=1996|title=''Nightmare: The Birth of Horror''|place=London|publisher=BBC Books}}</ref>

===20th century===
A proliferation of cheap periodicals around the turn of the century led to a boom in horror writing. For example, [[Gaston Leroux]] serialized his ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|Le Fantôme de l'Opéra]]'' before it became a novel in 1910. One writer who specialized in horror fiction for mainstream pulps, such as ''[[Argosy (magazine)|All-Story Magazine]],'' was [[Tod Robbins]], whose fiction deals with themes of madness and cruelty.<ref>[[Brian Stableford]], "Robbins, Tod", in [[David Pringle]], ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers'' (London: St. James Press, 1998) {{ISBN|1558622063}} (pp. 480–1).</ref><ref>[[Lee Server]]. ''Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers''. New York: Facts On File, 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-8160-4578-5}} (pp. 223–224).</ref>  In Russia, the writer [[Alexander Belyaev]] popularized these themes in his story ''[[Professor Dowell's Head]]'' (1925), in which a mad doctor performs experimental head transplants and reanimations on bodies stolen from the morgue and which was first published as a magazine serial before being turned into a novel.  Later, specialist publications emerged to give horror writers an outlet, prominent among them was ''[[Weird Tales]]''<ref>[[Robert Weinberg (author)|Robert Weinberg]], "Weird Tales" in M.B Tymn and Mike Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines''. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1985.{{ISBN|0-313-21221-X}} (pp. 727–736).</ref> and ''[[Unknown Worlds]]''.<ref>"Unknown". in: M.B. Tymn and Mike Ashley, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Westport: Greenwood, 1985. pp.694-698. {{ISBN|0-313-21221-X}}</ref>

[[File:Howard Phillips Lovecraft in 1915.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[H. P. Lovecraft]] in 1915]]
Influential horror writers of the early 20th century made inroads in these mediums. Particularly, the venerated horror author [[H. P. Lovecraft]], and his enduring [[Cthulhu Mythos]] transformed and popularized the genre of [[cosmic horror]], and [[M. R. James]] is credited with redefining the [[ghost story]] in that era.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-07771-0.html|title=Medieval Studies and the Ghost Stories of M. R. James By Patrick J. Murphy|website=www.psupress.org|access-date=2020-03-17|archive-date=17 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317165713/http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-07771-0.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[serial murderer]] became a recurring theme. [[Yellow journalism]] and [[sensationalism]] of various murderers, such as [[Jack the Ripper]], and lesser so, [[Carl Panzram]], [[Fritz Haarman]], and [[Albert Fish]], all perpetuated this phenomenon. The trend continued in the postwar era, partly renewed after the murders committed by [[Ed Gein]]. In 1959, [[Robert Bloch]], inspired by the murders, wrote ''[[Psycho (novel)|Psycho]]''. The crimes committed in 1969 by the [[Manson Family]] influenced the slasher theme in horror fiction of the 1970s. In 1981, [[Thomas Harris]] wrote ''[[Red Dragon (novel)|Red Dragon]]'', introducing [[Dr. Hannibal Lecter]]. In 1988, the sequel to that novel, ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (novel)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'', was published.

Early cinema was inspired by many aspects of horror literature, and started a strong tradition of [[horror film]]s and subgenres that continues to this day. Up until the graphic depictions of violence and gore on the screen commonly associated with 1960s and 1970s [[slasher film]]s and [[splatter film]]s, [[comic books]] such as those published by [[EC Comics]] (most notably ''[[Tales from the Crypt (comics)|Tales From The Crypt]]'') in the 1950s satisfied readers' quests for horror imagery that the [[silver screen]] could not provide.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hutchings|first1=Peter|title=The A to Z of Horror Cinema|series=The A to Z Guide Series|volume=100|year=2008|publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc.|location=Lanham, MD|isbn=978-0-8108-6887-8|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_5DPHOVG7YC|access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref> This imagery made these comics controversial, and as a consequence, they were frequently censored.<ref>[[Collins, Max Allan]] (28 February 2013). [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-allan-collins/11-most-controversial-com_b_2774592.html "11 Most Controversial Comic Books"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218231630/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-allan-collins/11-most-controversial-com_b_2774592.html |date=18 December 2018 }}. ''[[HuffPost]]''. Retrieved 5 February 2019.</ref><ref>Hansen, Kelli (1 October 2012). [http://library.missouri.edu/news/special-collections/banned-books-week-comics-and-controversy "Banned Books Week: Comics and Controversy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015400/http://library.missouri.edu/news/special-collections/banned-books-week-comics-and-controversy |date=7 February 2019 }}. [[University of Missouri]]. Retrieved 5 February 2019.</ref>

The modern [[zombie]] tale dealing with the motif of the living dead harks back to works including H. P. Lovecraft's stories "[[Cool Air]]" (1925), "In The Vault" (1926), and "[[The Outsider (short story)|The Outsider]]" (1926), and [[Dennis Wheatley]]'s "Strange Conflict" (1941). [[Richard Matheson]]'s novel ''[[I Am Legend (novel)|I Am Legend]]'' (1954) influenced an entire genre of apocalyptic zombie fiction emblematized by the films of [[George A. Romero]].

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the enormous commercial success of three books – ''[[Rosemary's Baby (novel)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1967) by [[Ira Levin]], ''[[The Exorcist (novel)|The Exorcist]]'' by [[William Peter Blatty]], and ''[[The Other (Tryon novel)|The Other]]'' by [[Tom Tryon|Thomas Tryon]] – encouraged publishers to begin releasing numerous other horror novels, thus creating a "horror boom".<ref>"Ira Levin's ''Rosemary's Baby'' (1967), Thomas Tyron's ''The Other'' (1971), and William Peter Blatty's ''The Exorcist'' (1971) were all released within a few years of one another...and their immense combined sales indicted to many publishers that horror was now a profitable marketing niche." Simmons, David, ''American Horror Fiction and Class: From Poe to Twilight''. London: Palgrave Macmillan  2017 {{ISBN|9781137532800}} (p.119)</ref><ref>[[David Pringle|Pringle,David]], "Rosemary's Baby", in Pringle (ed.) ''Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels''. London, Grafton, 1988. {{ISBN|0246132140}} (p.103-5)</ref>

[[File:Stephen King, Comicon.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Stephen King|[[Stephen King]] in 2007]]
One of the best-known late-20th century horror writers is [[Stephen King]], known for ''[[Carrie (novel)|Carrie]]'', ''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]'', ''[[It (novel)|It]]'', ''[[Misery (novel)|Misery]]'', and several dozen other novels and about [[Stephen King short fiction bibliography|200 short stories]].<ref>Barone, Matt (8 November 2011). [https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/11/the-25-best-stephen-king-stories/ "The 25 Best Stephen King Stories"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020116/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/11/the-25-best-stephen-king-stories/ |date=7 February 2019 }}. ''[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]]''. Retrieved 5 February 2019.</ref><ref name=Thrillist>Jackson, Dan (18 February 2016). [https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/stephen-king-books-a-beginners-guide "A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020140/https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/stephen-king-books-a-beginners-guide |date=7 February 2019 }}. [[Thrillist]]. Retrieved 5 February 2019.</ref><ref>[[Richard Bleiler]], "Stephen King" in: Bleiler, Ed. ''Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror.'' New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003, {{ISBN|9780684312507}}. (pp. 525-540).</ref> Beginning in the 1970s, King's stories have attracted a large audience, for which he was awarded by the U.S. National Book Foundation in 2003.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Uj4fAAAAIBAJ&pg=1529,1684719&dq=national+book+award+stephen+king&hl=en| title = Stephen King receives honorary National Book Award| author = Hillel Italie| work = Ellensburg Daily Record| date = 18 September 2003| access-date = 12 September 2010| quote = Stephen King, brand-name writer, master of the horror story and e-book pioneer, has received an unexpected literary honor: a National Book Award for lifetime achievement.| archive-date = 16 April 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210416221954/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Uj4fAAAAIBAJ&pg=1529,1684719&dq=national+book+award+stephen+king&hl=en| url-status = live}}</ref> Other popular horror authors of the period included [[Anne Rice]], [[Shaun Hutson]], [[Brian Lumley]], [[Graham Masterton]], [[James Herbert]], [[Dean Koontz]], [[Richard Laymon]], [[Clive Barker]],<ref>K.A. Laity "Clive Barker" in Richard Bleiler, ed. ''Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror''. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003.
{{ISBN|9780684312507}} (pp. 61–70).</ref> [[Ramsey Campbell]],<ref>K.A. Laity, "Ramsey Campbell", in Richard Bleiler, ed. ''Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror''. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003. {{ISBN|9780684312507}} (pp. 177–188.)</ref> and [[Peter Straub]].

===21st century===
Best-selling book series of contemporary times exist in genres related to horror fiction, such as the [[Kitty Norville]] books by [[Carrie Vaughn]] that contain blend [[werewolf fiction]] and [[urban fantasy]] (2005 onward). Horror elements continue to expand outside the genre. The [[alternate history]] of more traditional historical horror in [[Dan Simmons]]'s 2007 novel ''[[The Terror (novel)|The Terror]]'' sits on bookstore shelves next to genre [[Mashup (book)|mash up]]s such as ''[[Pride and Prejudice and Zombies]]'' (2009), and [[historical fantasy]] and [[horror comics]] such as ''[[Hellblazer]]'' (1993 onward) and [[Mike Mignola]]'s [[Hellboy]] (1993 onward). Horror also serves as one of the central genres in more complex modern works such as [[Mark Z. Danielewski]]'s ''[[House of Leaves]]'' (2000), a finalist for the [[National Book Award]]. Like Danielewski, many authors have opted to publish their works online, with notable examples including ''[[Ben Drowned]]'' by [[Alex Hall (author)|Alex Hall]] and ''[[Candle Cove]]'' by [[Kris Straub]]. There are many horror novels for children and teens, such as [[R. L. Stine]]'s [[Goosebumps]] series or ''[[The Monstrumologist]]'' by [[Rick Yancey]]. Additionally, many movies for young audiences, particularly animated ones, use horror aesthetics and conventions (for example, ''[[ParaNorman]]''). These are what can be collectively referred to as "children's horror".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lester|first=Catherine|date=Fall 2016|title=The Children's Horror Film|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/628733|journal=The Velvet Light Trap|volume=78|issue=78|pages=22–37|doi=10.7560/VLT7803|s2cid=194468640|access-date=1 May 2019|archive-date=1 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501215659/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/628733|url-status=live}}</ref> Although it is unknown for sure why children enjoy these movies (as it seems counter-intuitive), it is theorized that it is, in part, grotesque monsters that fascinate kids.<ref name=":0" /> Tangential to this, the internalized impact of horror television programs and films on children is rather under-researched, especially when compared to the research done on the similar subject of violence in TV and film's impact on the young mind. What little research there is tends to be inconclusive on the impact that viewing such media has.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pearce|first1=Laura J.|last2=Field|first2=Andy P.|date=2016|title=The Impact of "Scary" TV and Film on Children's Internalizing Emotions: A Meta-Analysis|journal=Human Communication Research|language=en|volume=42|issue=1|pages=98–121|doi=10.1111/hcre.12069|issn=1468-2958}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
One defining trait of the horror genre is that it provokes an emotional, [[psychology|psychological]], or physical response within readers that causes them to react with [[fear]]. One of H. P. Lovecraft's most famous quotes about the genre is that: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenproverbs.com/au_lovecraft.html|title=Golden Proverbs|access-date=15 December 2012|archive-date=16 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516112733/http://www.goldenproverbs.com/au_lovecraft.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the first sentence from his seminal essay, "[[Supernatural Horror in Literature]]". Science fiction historian [[Darrell Schweitzer]] has stated, "In the simplest sense, a horror story is one that scares us" and "the true horror story requires a sense of evil, not in necessarily in a theological sense; but the menaces must be truly menacing, life-destroying, and antithetical to happiness."<ref>Schweitzer, Darrell, "Why Horror Fiction?" in ''Windows of the Imagination''.  Berkeley Heights, NJ : Wildside Press, 1999. {{ISBN|9781880448601}} (p. 64, 67).</ref>

In her essay "Elements of Aversion", Elizabeth Barrette articulates the need by some for horror tales in a modern world:
{{Blockquote|text=The old "fight or flight" reaction of our evolutionary heritage once played a major role in the life of every human. Our ancestors lived and died by it. Then someone invented the fascinating game of civilization, and things began to calm down. Development pushed wilderness back from settled lands. War, crime, and other forms of social violence came with civilization and humans started preying on each other, but by and large daily life calmed down. We began to feel restless, to feel something missing: the excitement of living on the edge, the tension between hunter and hunted. So we told each other stories through the long, dark nights. when the fires burned low, we did our best to scare the daylights out of each other. The rush of adrenaline feels good. Our hearts pound, our breath quickens, and we can imagine ourselves on the edge. Yet we also appreciate the insightful aspects of horror. Sometimes a story intends to shock and disgust, but the best horror intends to rattle our cages and shake us out of our complacency. It makes us think, forces us to confront ideas we might rather ignore, and challenges preconceptions of all kinds. Horror reminds us that the world is not always as safe as it seems, which exercises our mental muscles and reminds us to keep a little healthy caution close at hand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://horror.fictionfactor.com/articles/aversion.html |title=Elements of Aversion |access-date=2 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228210354/http://horror.fictionfactor.com/articles/aversion.html |archive-date=28 February 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>|sign=|source=}}

In a sense similar to the reason a person seeks out the controlled thrill of a [[roller coaster]], readers in the modern era seek out feelings of [[horror and terror]] to feel a sense of excitement. However, Barrette adds that horror fiction is one of the few mediums where readers seek out a form of art that forces themselves to confront ideas and images they "might rather ignore to challenge preconceptions of all kinds."

There are many theories as to why people enjoy being scared. For example, "people who like horror films are more likely to score highly for openness to experience, a personality trait linked to intellect and imagination."<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The benefits of being scared|issue=3216|pages=8|journal=New Scientist|volume=241|doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(19)30224-6|date=9 February 2019|last1=Whyte|first1=Chelsea|s2cid=126647318}}</ref>

It is a now commonly accepted view that the horror elements of [[Dracula]]'s portrayal of [[vampire|vampirism]] are [[metaphor]]s for sexuality in a repressed [[Victorian era]].<ref name="Demetrakopoulos">{{cite journal|title=Feminism, Sex Role Exchanges, and Other Subliminal Fantasies in Bram Stoker's "Dracula"
|author=Stephanie Demetrakopoulos
|journal=Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies
|volume= 2|issue= 3|date=Autumn 1977|pages= 104–113|publisher= University of Nebraska Press
|jstor=3346355|doi=10.2307/3346355
}}</ref> But this is merely one of many interpretations of the metaphor of Dracula. [[Jack Halberstam]] postulates many of these in his essay ''Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker's Dracula''. He writes:

{{blockquote|text=[The] image of dusty and unused gold, coins from many nations and old unworn jewels, immediately connects Dracula to the old money of a corrupt class, to a kind of piracy of nations and to the worst excesses of the aristocracy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/30740375/913659240/name/halberstam%2Bdracula.pdf |title=Technologies of Monstrosity |access-date=2 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512090142/http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/30740375/913659240/name/halberstam%2Bdracula.pdf |archive-date=12 May 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>}}

[[File:Punch Anti-Irish propaganda (1882) Irish Frankenstein.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration from an 1882 issue of ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'': An English editorial cartoonist conceives the Irish [[Fenian|Fenian movement]] as akin to Frankenstein's monster, in the wake of the [[Phoenix Park killings]]. <br> Menacing villains and monsters in horror literature can often be seen as metaphors for the fears [[incarnate]] of a society.]]

Halberstram articulates a view of Dracula as manifesting the growing perception of the [[aristocracy]] as an evil and outdated notion to be defeated. The depiction of a multinational band of [[protagonists]] using the latest [[technologies]] (such as a [[telegraph]]) to quickly share, collate, and act upon new information is what leads to the destruction of the vampire. This is one of many interpretations of the metaphor of only one central figure of the canon of horror fiction, as over a dozen possible metaphors are referenced in the analysis, from the religious to the [[antisemitic]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula |url=https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/EB/S/Stoker%20-%20Notes%20for%20Dracula.pdf |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date= |website=Wasabi Technologies |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[Noël Carroll]]'s ''Philosophy of Horror'' postulates that a modern piece of horror fiction's "[[monster]]", [[villain]], or a more inclusive menace must exhibit the following two traits:
* A menace that is threatening&nbsp;— either physically, psychologically, socially, morally, spiritually, or some combination of the aforementioned.
* A menace that is impure&nbsp;— that violates the generally accepted schemes of cultural categorization. "We consider impure that which is categorically contradictory".<ref name=Datingghosts>{{cite web |url=https://www.hindihorrorstories.info/2019/01/best-hindi-horror-story-real-pakyong-ghost.html |publisher=Dating Ghosts |title=Horror Stories |work=Hindi Horror Stories - सच्ची घटना पर आधारित सबसे डरावनी कहानियाँ |access-date=6 January 2019 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106153328/https://www.hindihorrorstories.info/2019/01/best-hindi-horror-story-real-pakyong-ghost.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Scholarship and criticism==
In addition to those essays and articles shown above, scholarship on horror fiction is almost as old as horror fiction itself. In 1826, the gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe published an essay distinguishing two elements of horror fiction, "terror" and "horror." Whereas terror is a feeling of dread that takes place before an event happens, horror is a feeling of revulsion or disgust after an event has happened.<ref>[[Ann Radcliffe|Mrs Radcliffe]], "[https://books.google.com/books?id=KMg2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA145 On the Supernatural in Poetry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108110659/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KMg2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA145 |date=8 January 2023 }}", ''[[The New Monthly Magazine]]'' 7 (1826): 145–52.</ref> Radcliffe describes terror as that which "expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life," whereas horror is described as that which "freezes and nearly annihilates them."

Modern scholarship on horror fiction draws upon a range of sources. In their historical studies of the gothic novel, both [[Devendra Varma]]<ref>Devendra Varma, ''The Gothic Flame'' New York: Russell & Russell, 1966.</ref> and S. L. Varnado<ref>S. L. Varnado, "The Idea of the Numinous in Gothic Literature," in ''The Gothic Imagination'', ed. G.R. Thompson (Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1974).</ref> make reference to the theologian [[Rudolf Otto]], whose concept of the "[[numinous]]" was originally used to describe religious experience.

A recent survey reports how often horror media is consumed:<blockquote>To assess frequency of horror consumption, we asked respondents the following question: "In the past year, about how often have you used horror media (for example, horror literature, film, and video games) for entertainment?" 11.3% said "Never," 7.5% "Once," 28.9% "Several times," 14.1% "Once a month," 20.8% "Several times a month," 7.3% "Once a week," and 10.2% "Several times a week." Evidently, then, most respondents (81.3%) claimed to use horror media several times a year or more often. Unsurprisingly, there is a strong correlation between liking and frequency of use (r=.79, p<.0001).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clasen |first1=Mathias |last2=Kjeldgaard-Christiansen |first2=Jens |last3=Johnson |first3=John A. |title=Horror, personality, and threat simulation: A survey on the psychology of scary media. |journal=Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences |date=July 2020 |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=213–230 |doi=10.1037/ebs0000152 |s2cid=149872472 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329200207}}</ref> </blockquote>In 2025, the ''Chicago Tribune'' designated librarian Becky Spratford as the Chicagoan of the Year in Books, for what Christopher Borrelli described as a "career tirelessly nudging horror literature into the American mainstream." <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-12-16 |title=Chicagoan of the Year in Books: If you're into horror, thank the librarian Becky Spratford |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/chicagoan-of-the-year-in-books-if-youre-into-horror-thank-the-librarian-becky-spratford/ |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> Spratford has written three textbooks on horror, added a horror column to ''Library Journal'', and held roles with the Shirley Jackson Awards, the Horror Writers Association, and the Bram Stoker Awards.<ref name=":1" />

==Awards and associations==
Achievements in horror fiction are recognized by numerous awards. The [[Horror Writers Association]] presents the [[Bram Stoker Awards]] for Superior Achievement, named in honor of [[Bram Stoker]], author of the seminal horror novel ''[[Dracula]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/about-the-awards/2007-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date= |website=Barem Stoker Awards |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Australian Horror Writers Association]] presents annual [[Australian Shadows Awards]]. The [[International Horror Guild Award]] was presented annually to works of horror and dark fantasy from 1995 to 2008.<ref name="IHG Recipients 1">{{cite web |url=http://www.horroraward.org/prevrec.html |title=IHG Award Recipients 1994–2006 |website=HorrorAward.org |access-date=30 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422073428/http://horroraward.org/prevrec.html |archive-date=22 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="IHG Recipients 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.horroraward.org/index.html |title=IHG Award Recipients 2007 |website=HorrorAward.org |access-date=30 October 2014 |archive-date=2 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502054310/http://www.horroraward.org/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Shirley Jackson Awards]] are literary awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic works. Other important awards for horror literature are included as subcategories within general awards for fantasy and science fiction in such awards as the [[Aurealis Award]].

==Alternative terms==
Some writers of fiction normally classified as "horror" tend to dislike the term, considering it too lurid. They instead use the terms [[dark fantasy]] or [[Gothic fiction|Gothic fantasy]] for supernatural horror,<ref>[[Brian Stableford]], "Horror", in ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'' (p. 204), Scarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005. {{ISBN|0-8108-6829-6}}.</ref> or "[[psychological thriller]]" for non-supernatural horror.<ref>Brian Stableford, "Non-supernatural horror stories tend to be psychological thrillers, often involving criminals of an unusually lurid stripe." "The Discovery of Secondary Worlds:Some Notes on the Aesthetics and Methodology of Heterocosmic Creativity", in ''Heterocosms''. Wildside Press LLC, 2007 {{ISBN|0809519070}} (p. 200).</ref>

==See also==

* Related genres
** [[Christmas horror]]
** [[Crime fiction]]
** [[Dark fantasy]]
** [[Death metal]]
** [[Ghost story|Ghost stories]]
** [[Gothic fiction]]
** [[Monster literature]]
** [[Mystery (fiction)|Mystery fiction]]
** [[Speculative fiction]]
** [[Thriller (genre)|Thriller]]
** [[Weird fiction]]
** [[Analog horror]]
** [[Space horror]]
* [[History of horror films]]
* [[Horror convention]]
* [[Horror film]] 
* [[Horror game]]
* [[Horror podcast]]
* [[LGBTQ themes in horror fiction]]
* [[List of ghost films]]
* [[List of horror fiction writers]]
* [[List of horror podcasts]]
* [[List of horror television programs]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Neil Barron]], '' Horror Literature: A Reader's Guide''. New York: Garland, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0824043476}}.
* [[Jason Colavito]], ''Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge and the Development of the Horror Genre''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0786432738}}.
* Brian Docherty, ''American Horror Fiction: From Brockden Brown to Stephen King''. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0333461297}}.
* {{Cite book |last1=Errickson |first1=Will |last2=Hendrix |first2=Grady |year=2017 |title=Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gk7KDQAAQBAJ |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Quirk Books |isbn=9781594749810 |oclc=1003294393}}
* [[Stephen Jones (author)|Stephen Jones]] and [[Kim Newman]], (eds.), ''Horror: 100 Best Books''. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1998. {{ISBN|0786705523}}.
* [[Stephen King]], ''[[Danse Macabre (King book)|Danse Macabre]]''. New York: Everest House, 1981. {{ISBN|978-0896960763}}.
* [[H. P. Lovecraft]], ''[[Supernatural Horror in Literature]]'', 1927, rev. 1934, collected in ''[[Dagon and Other Macabre Tales]]''. Arkham House, 1965.
* [[David J. Skal]], ''The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror''. New York: Norton, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0859652117}}.
* Andrea Sauchelli [http://philpapers.org/go.pl?id=SAUD-2&proxyId=&u=http%3A%2F%2Fapq.press.illinois.edu%2F51%2F1%2Fsauchelli.html "Horror and Mood"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517094516/https://philpapers.org/go.pl?id=SAUD-2&proxyId=&u=http%3A%2F%2Fapq.press.illinois.edu%2F51%2F1%2Fsauchelli.html |date=17 May 2021 }}, ''American Philosophical Quarterly'', 51:1 (2014), pp.&nbsp;39–50.
* Gina Wisker, ''Horror Fiction: An Introduction''. New York: Continuum, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0826415615}}.

==External links==
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{{Horror fiction|state=expanded}}
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[[Category:Horror fiction| ]]
[[Category:Speculative fiction]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Horror fiction|access_date=2026-02-23}}