What is it about a good horror story that sends chills of fear
and delight up our spines? Why is it that, even as we double-check
to be sure the locks are locked, we tune in to the fright fest
of fearsome flicks on cable TV as Halloween approaches? What
causes us to peek from between the very fingers that wisely cover
our eyes as we cringe in terror? And what is it that compels
the intrepid hero or heroine – or the hapless, not-so-bright
supporting cast member - to climb those blasted stairs despite
the scary music and the fact that even an idiot would know the
slasher is hiding in the bedroom closet?
In "A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of
the Sublime and Beautiful," Edmund Burke wrote, "When danger
or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving any
delight, and are simply terrible; but at certain distances,
and with certain modifications, they may be, and they are,
delightful, as we every day experience."
Aristotle, in Poetics, proposed that "Tragedy, then,
is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and
of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind
of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate
parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative;
through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these
emotions." Or, put another way, by moving the audience to fear
and pity, they would be purged of these emotions and capable
of experiencing pleasure.
This is catharsis. The purging of fear and pity, by
reminding us that we have it so much better than the characters
in the story. By tricking us into thinking we are so much smarter
than the wide-eyed innocent tromping up the stairs. Read and
be terrified, watch and feel smug, then go out into the sunlight
and be joyful.
Some might argue that it's not catharsis so much as it is schadenfreude – taking
pleasure in others' misfortunes. But I think that is more likely
in the realm of comedy than horror. Horror allows us to feel
terror for a little while, and then realize the pleasurable
relief of realizing that our own reality is something brighter
and finer. Some might sum it up by whispering, There but
by the grace of God go I…
That said, if anyone can figure out why our wannabe victim
is still climbing the stairs to certain doom, please clue me
in. I have no answer to that one.
The Gothic Novel
The Gothic novel was the precursor to the modern horror story.
Characteristics of the Gothic novel include strong supernatural
elements and superstition; sensational, passionate emotions;
decay and death; crumbling castles or other old, ruined buildings;
madness and hereditary curses; and a dark, foreboding atmosphere.
The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole, published in 1754,
is generally considered to be the first novel of this genre.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights
are two of the best known and most popular of Gothic novels.
Where today's horror often relies on similar fantastic elements
and blatant shock value, novels like Frankenstein combined
horror with deeper themes. In Frankenstein, Viktor beholds
the fruit of his labors to bring the dead to life, and grapples
with the uglier side of playing God:
It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the
accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted
to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me,
that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing
that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the
rain pattered dismally against the panes and my candle was
nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished
light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it
breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or
how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and
care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion,
and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!
- Great God ! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of
muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous
black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but
these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with
his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as
the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled
complexion and straight black lips.
Ahh, be careful what you wish for. Could there be any greater
horror than to stand before the hideous, visceral reality of
a re-animated corpse – the crowning achievement of your
dedication to science and study? Doesn't this just beg the
question: Is God ever so repulsed by us?
Who, in fact, is the monster? Viktor, or his creature? When
confronted by such thorny questions, we are forced to look
inward and consider horrors even greater than zombies and giant
bats and vampires.
Holly Jahangiri is a professional writer who claims, tongue-in-cheek,
to channel the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe, Erma Bombeck, and
O’Henry. Holly is an author on Writing.Com (
http://www.Writing.Com/ ),
and you can buy her books at Lulu (
http://www.lulu.com/hjahangiri ).
