"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest

and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”-H.P Lovecraft

What is Horror?

Horror films aim to trigger an emotional response from their audience. They do this by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often have scenes which may startle the audience through supernatural or macabre (disturbing and horrifying). Horror films also usually overlap the thriller genre.

The History of the Horror Genre: Film

• The horror film genre was birthed in 1880s in silent shorts depicted monsters and vampires. However, the popularity rose in the 1970s with films such as The Exorcist, Jaws, and Rosemary’s Baby.

Nosferatu (1921)

The History of the Horror Genre: Literature

• 1764 Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

• 18th & 19th Century Gothic Horror: –Frankenstein By Mary Shelley –Edgar Allen Poe–Dracula by Bram Stoker–The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The History of the Horror Genre: Literature Continued

• 20th Century – H.P Lovecraft –M. R. James redefined the ghost story– Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am

Legend influence an entire genre of apocalyptic zombie fiction.

– In 1974, Stephen King published Carrie and became “The King” of horror.

Horror Sub-genre• Body horror – shows realistic obliteration or

deterioration of the body, for example, the Human Centipede (2010)

• Comedy horror - this combines both themes of comedy and horror fiction, for example Beetlejuice (1988)

• Gothic horror -  contains elements from both gothic and horror fiction, for example The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

• Kiddie horror – this is aimed at a younger audience that only play on common fears . It contains less gore, and usually has a young protagonist, for example Monster House (2006)

• Monster movie – contains creature or monsters, for example Cloverfield (2008)

• Natural horror - contains mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and animal and plants that are usually harmless, into killers, for example The Birds (1963)

• Psychological horror contains supernatural and ghosts and uses such things as fears, beliefs and eerie music to create suspense and tension, for example The Ring (2002)

• Science Fiction horror - contains murderous aliens, mad scientists, and or experiments gone wrong, for example Alien (1979)

• Slasher film - involves a psychopathic killer who goes round killing a series of different people using a knife or axe, for example Scream 1996)

• Splatter film - focus on the gore, usually contains a lot of special effects and a lot of blood splat, for example Saw (2004)

• Zombie film -  contains creatures who either corpses or mindless humans, for example The Walking Dead

Conventions of a Horror Genre

Setting - Isolated or Urban

atmosphere all community

- – dark streets, ghost town, narrow alleyways-Abandoned houses, insane

asylum-Cabins, barns, subways, underground tunnels, graveyards, dark woods etc

Conventions of a Horror Genre

Types of Characters1. Protagonist – hero or

villain2. Villain – monster,

alien, serial killer3. Immoral teenagers4. sinister children5. Police officer6. Demons, ghosts,

zombies, stalkers

Conventions of a Horror Genre

Themes1. Good vs. evil2. Religion3. Supernatural4. Nightmare5. Insanity6. Revenge7. Darkness8. Envy9. Murder10.Mass murder

“ Why Horror?”

By Noel Carroll

The Question

“Why are horror audiences

attracted by what,

typically (in every day

life), should (and would)

repel them?, or “How can

horror audiences find

pleasure in what by

nature is distressful and

unpleasant?”

The Argument

Carroll argues that it is not a

pleasure in the

grotesqueness of the

violence but rather solving

the mystery that surrounds

the violence. Specifically,

the mystery of the monster

and the way that mystery

is worked into the plot.

The Pain of Suspense

“The pain of suspense, and the

irresistible desire of satisfying our

curiosity, when once raised, will

account for our eagerness to go quite

through an adventure, though we

suffer actual pain during the whole

course of it. We rather chose to suffer

the smart pang of violent emotion

(fear) than the uneasy craving of an

unsatisfied desire.”

The Monster: Pattern of Discovery

• The monster story follows this pattern

1. Proved: The monster must first be proved

to exist.

2. Disclosed: The monster is made known

(often by one character at a time)

3. Discoveries: The audience/protagonist

must discover its identity, origin, purpose,

and astounding powers and properties.

4. Confirmation: something is proven true or

false

1. ProveAt the beginning of horror

stories, the monster is

generally unknown.

Strange events occur that

suggest something sinister,

but it has yet to be proven.

Once the monster’s

existence is proven, the

reader moves to the next

stage.

The first stage that the audience must endure is to

be led through the process of

proving that the monster is real.

2. Disclosed: make known

At this point, the

protagonist and reader

come face to face with

the monster and minor

characters begin to

believe as well that the

monster exists. More

information about the

monster is released.

The second stage that the audience must endure is to

be led through the process of

being exposed to the monster.

3. Discovery

• The origin of the

monster

• The identity of the

monster

• The purposes of the

monster

• And the powers of the

monster

The third stage that the audience must endure is to

be led through the process of

discovering characteristics

and purposes of the monster.

4. Confirmation

The final stage of the

monster pattern is

that the protagonist’s

(and reader’s)

hypothesis of the

monster is confirmed.

The final stage that the audience must endure is to

be led through the process of

proving what they believed about

the monster

Final Words:

“ The disclosure of the existence of the

horrific being and of it’s properties is

the central source of pleasure in the

genre… the appetite is whetted by

the prospect of knowing the

unknowable… this desire will not be

satisfied unless the monster defies

our conception of nature which

demands that it probably engender

some measure of repulsion.”

The viewer/rea

der will remain on board until the close of the book or

movie to satisfy their

curiosity.

The Plot Pattern of Discovery

It’s all about Curiosity…

Carroll argues…

“It [horror story] engages its

audience by being involved in

processes of disclosure,

discovery, proof explanation,

hypothesis, and confirmation.”

The Ring

After the mysterious death of her

cousin, Rachel Keller finds a video

that kills people within seven

days after watching it. She begins

to investigate the video and

discovers that a girl named

Samara is behind it.

DisclosureThe director allows

for hints and secrets to be revealed as the story progresses.

dis·clo·sure: the act or an instance of disclosing; exposure; revelation.

“The disclosure of the existence of the horrific being and of its properties is the central

source of pleasure in this genre”

Katie Embry and her friend Becca are having a sleepover in Katie's home. Katie recounts the story of a supposedly cursed videotape. Anyone who watches the tape gets a mysterious phone call and then dies seven days later. Katie reveals that she had watched the tape the previous week. The phone rings, startling the girls, but it is only Katie's mom. After talking with her mother, Katie returns upstairs and dies.

DisclosureThe director allows

for hints and secrets to be revealed as the story progresses.

dis·clo·sure: the act or an instance of disclosing; exposure; revelation.

“The disclosure of the existence of the horrific being and of its properties is the central

source of pleasure in this genre”

•Due to Katie’s face is distorted, her cousin Rachel is asked to investigate. •Rachel discovers that the people who saw the video with Katie died on the same night and same time as her. •Rachel finds that each victim has a distorted face, just like Katie’s. •Rachel travels to a cabin that each victim had been at and watches a video. At the end of the video, a girl says, “Seven days”•A fly from the video tape manages to leave the TV screen•After viewing the tape, Rachel begins to experience nose bleeds, nightmares, and surreal situations.

Discovery…“Horror stories are often protracted series of

discoveries: first the reader learns of the monster’s existence, then some characters do, then some more characters do…”

dis·cov·ery: to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown)

•Rachel investigates the tape more and finds out about a horse ranch owned by Anna Morgan and her husband Richard and their adoptive daughter Samara. •The horses at the Morgan ranch went mad and drowned themselves, which supposedly caused Anna, a horse-lover, to become depressed and commit suicide•After the Morgan’s adopted Samara, Anna soon complained about gruesome visions that only happened when Samara was around, so both were sent to a mental institution.•Rachel and Noah go to the barn and discover the attic where Samara was kept by her father.

Explanation/proof…The explanation segment of the movie is the moment when the

monster’s behavior is explained. Logic is finally applied to what appears to be illogical.

ex·plain   make clear the cause or reason of

•When they enter the attic, they find a tree burnt to the wall•When they return to the cabin, they learn that the cabin was built on the well. •Rachel falls in and finds Samara's skeleton. •She has a vision, which reveals Anna suffocated Samara and pushed her into the well. However, Samara did not die from suffocation and survived in the well for seven days.

Hypothesis

A hypothesis comes at the end of the

movie. A hypothesis is the

protagonist’s guess at what the

monster is going to do in order to stop

it.

hy·poth·e·sis

a mere assumption or guess.

The Ring

Rachel hypothesizes that Samara will stop killing now that her

body has been found in the well, and her spirit can now rest in peace.

Confirmation

The confirmation comes when there is proof to show that

the hypothesis was accurate or inaccurate. For

example, if the protagonist believed the monster was

able to be destroyed by water then proceeded to throw

water on it. The confirmation would be the death of the

monster by the water. Sometimes, to purposefully

manipulate the emotions of the audience, the

hypothesis may be wrong…

con·firm; to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate; verify

The Ring

• When Rachel attempts to tell her son that they are safe now, her son tells her that Samara never sleeps, and his nose begins to bleed.

• Rachel runs to her boyfriend that watched the video with her and finds him dead.

• She recalls the footage of Samara in the mental hospital and realizes that Samara was truly evil.