“Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal…” H. P. Lovecraft.
Welcome to Horror Struck.
Here I hope to explore the vast reaches of the horror genre in a unique way. Horror is a genre rife with opinions. I find that most people are on a spectrum ranging from those that love to hate it, writing it off as a hack genre, not worth the paper or film it is printed on; the casual perusers, those who enjoy a good scare every now and then; and the aficionado, who see horror as an exploration of the visceral man, both literally and figuratively. I find myself somewhere between the casual and the aficionado, I love horror, but I am very picky about my horror. I believe there is a fundamental difference between the experiences we know as horror and fear. I will post more on this later, but in short, the physiological roller-coaster we call fear is not the same as the value-challenging experience of horror, I believe this has made me picky. I don’t enjoy gut-ripping for the sake of gut-ripping, or blood sucking vampire sex scenes simply because you can put it in there. While violence and sex both have a well earned place in the horror conversation, they are all too often used, IMHO, to fill in for a poor ability to write horror. Real horror should challenge us, make us uncomfortable with its message about the human condition, in short it should leave us Horror Struck.
As a graduate student of psychology I have often wondered what would come of a close look at the horror genre from a psychological perspective. What is it that leaves us horror struck? This blog will explore that. I have picked out various categories to explore, some to examine more closely and others to get you, the reader, to ponder more on what the horrific really is. Always looking for that moment when one is Horror Struck.
Types of horror: This will explore the types of horror that are out there, a list of things I have complied from my own research, the archetypes of horror if you will.
Horror Psychology: This category is will probably be more implicit than explicit. I will look at the psychological aspects of horror and what they mean as pertaining to the human experience.
Great Horror Books: I read a lot of horror novels, in what little down time I have, here I will talk about some of the great horror books and there epic, and quiet, horrifying moments.
Horror Short Stories: As those who follow the horror genre know, the horror short story is the bread and butter of the genre, most of the best horror authors never wrote a novel, but were prodigious in the creation of short stories. We will look at these too.
Hollywood Horror Movies: Need I even mention this , horror has found a larger acceptance in this genre than in any other medium. I watch a lot of horror movies and I will explore them their themes and ideas here.
Lovecraft Mythos: One cannot talk about horror and not talk about Lovecraft. I opened this blog with a quote from him. Lovecraft opened up the gate for me into the realm of cosmic nightmare, and the mythos he spawned has influenced every aspect of the genre. We will look at his themes and contributions with a keen eye of interest.
Lovecraft Quotes: Some from his works of fiction and some from his letters. Lovecraft had a lot to say about the genre and I will post these to help us think about the horror genre.
Supernatural horror: I love the supernatural, I have had a few supernatural experiences myself, and my favorite kind of horror is of the supernatural variety. It’s my little indulgence and I know not everyone’s cup of tea, but I will try to keep things balanced.
I hope you enjoy your time here and that you feel free to participate in what I hope will be a exciting exploration of what happens when we stare into the abyss and we stand horror-stricken when we realize that it gazes right back.
Horror Struck 