Examining the Horror Genre

     It has become quite a phenomenon in our culture. In many ways, it has branched out to so many aspects and angles that it’s taken on a life or death of its own. The painful, strong emotion caused by extreme dread, fear, or repugnance. Something disagreeable or ugly. The definition itself tells only part of what it truly now has come to represent. It is a genre of the things that scare us, that send chills down our spines, all things from creepy to grotesque to downright horrendous. The horror genre has gone beyond its simple elements and become a world made up of true fans and devotees. From scary stories to pop-culture box office classic movies, the horror world has indeed surpassed what it once was and seems to grow more and more throughout the years. What some consider to be the foundation of what Halloween is based on has broken off and become its own thing for not just one day of the year, but to be taken in and enjoyed for all days of the year, at any time one wants to.

Why do we like Horror? Because we like the thrill, the rush, to be scared, to see an emotion in us come out that gives us utter joy and excitement. Of course, some people are scared out of their wits, while others thrive and love a good scare. There have been many books that tell the very twisted tales of Horror, but movies that depict horror have become quite big themselves. We all know the characters, the eerie music themes, and it's because we know them so well that it leaves us open to the industry making more and more for as long as we show an interest, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Horror stands as a fan favorite among millions, and throughout its many depictions, it has caught on and brought in much money and more fans over the years. But it’s not about how much it makes, how much it branches out, or even how many followers it has. Horror is about one thing that some’s it up, the very things that scare us. 

    Edgar Allen Poe was quite the poet of his time. He brought the element of horror to poetry, and it took off in such a way that hundreds of years later, today we still read his work, and it’s still just as good as the day he wrote so long ago. He wrote many poems and short stories of the macabre, and because the basis of the horror culture has taken off so much this century, that’s why we welcome him and his greatness to this one. His work of horror was the first of its time, well, the first that became popular, that is. Poe inspired not just many writers after him, but also, more than likely, the things in horror today that we have come to love so much. Recently, works of Poe have been made into a movie, which just goes to show you that old things and new things come together and are just as good as everything else that makes it so. Dracula, Vampires, Werewolves, Haunted Houses, and Killers have become the basis of the horror culture today. Many movies show these themes and characters, and while they are meant to scare, they have also taken turns, sometimes not that creative but downgraded.

Death, while I will not sit here and describe it because we all know what it is, it’s the core and takes up a good section of the Horror genre. All things that defy the scariness, the bloody, and whatever else sometimes lead to the very result of death. Yet it is our enjoyment of it when watching it in movies, reading about it, or even recreating it in roleplaying like events that give us two takes on death itself, in life as what will become of us at some point and something we will see throughout our live,s and to be enjoyed and not taken seriously in fiction. Our imaginations run so wild that it is why we have accepted some things in horror that we wouldn’t normally in real life. Yes, horror and real life do clash, but that’s not for debate in this topic. This is about how horror was, is and shall continue to be as long as there are people like us that take it in and love it for all it’s worth and its because of all of these things that horror will never truly been run into the ground..cause after all even if it was surely it would pop back out.

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