Horror: Where Do You Draw the Line?

When it comes to horror, whether reading or watching, we tend to love all of it. We can't get enough, and we find ourselves looking for and wanting more. to get as scared or as grossed out as possible. But when it comes to horror, where do you draw the line?

As writers, it may be a bit different. You can read and watch it, but can you create it? When it comes to writing horror, where do you draw the line? Do you even have a line? Is there a certain topic or idea in horror that you simply won't go near? I know there are many controversial topics, or simply just things we don't feel comfortable writing. Personally, I haven't definitively drawn a line as to how dark and disturbing I'd go when writing horror, but only because I'm comfortable in writing where I'm at. However, despite not having drawn a line, that isn’t to say I don’t have one because, like everyone, I do. Before I tell you where I would likely draw the line, let’s first explain why we all have a stop point when it comes to horror. First, note that not everyone does; some can read or write it with no issue or stopping point whatsoever. These are what we call true no filter horror fans, and god bless them for being so. Why do some of us draw the line and stop at a certain point when it comes to horror? It’s simple, we feel. We have emotions, and we are human, and sometimes we can only take so much. I will explain where I draw the line when it comes to the horror genre.

Extreme violence can sometimes be too much and just too overwhelming for some of us, and rightfully so. It’s not every day that we see such intense scenes and situations, and not everyone has the stomach for it. Violence in itself is unnecessary, so when we see an abundant amount of it in extreme doses, we tend to try and look away and not be any part of it. While I will write about extreme horror, it depends on the nature of what I will read and write. Rape is a topic that most tend to stay far, far away from when it comes to writing, and I am the same way. It’s just one of those topics where even if you write it to the best of your ability, there will be someone to be critical of it, and again, rightfully so. This is why I most likely tend to stay away from it. Is there a place for it in literature? Eh, that remains to be seen. The killing of children and animals is another topic that’s just too much. I feel like you have to be a really dark person, but also someone who can truly write if you're going to take on this or any of the other topics. No one likes to hear about dead children or animals being slaughtered, so it doesn’t need to be said that if people don’t like reading about it, then it’s just as hard to write it as well. I could list a few more, but I think you get the idea. (Stephen King tends to put children in rather dark situations in his books, which I find highly questionable. While he knows how to trigger people, doing it excessively is troubling).

So, where do you pump the brakes when it comes to horror? Is it one of the topics I listed in the previous paragraph? Perhaps you have another? Either way, it’s not wrong and doesn’t make you weak or strict; it makes you human. There are certain topics we can only take so much of, or topics we simply can’t take hearing or reading about at all. The idea is to stay with what we know we can take, know our limits, and be comfortable reading what we enjoy. It’s also worth noting that those who so have the stomach for it and can write it or a lot more prone to enjoying horror than we are. This doesn’t make us weak and doesn’t make them weird; it’s just that we are all different and have different views and can write in a certain way.

Other examples: I can write about body horror, but I cannot watch it. So I'm not a big David Cronenberg fan. Splatterpunk, while certain scenes in some of my books could be considered splatterpunk, they are only scenes; I don't think I could write an entire splatterpunk book devoted to violence and torture.

In conclusion, I ask one final time, when it comes to horror, where do you draw the line?

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