Great article! I once read a piece by Stephen King where he proposed that people find comfort in horror because it helps them prepare for the inevitability of their own deaths.
I’ve always felt that as a somewhat anxious person who loves horror.
I bet if they conducted a poll of horror readers and writers, there would be a high percentage with some form of anxiety. I'm definitely among those numbers.
Love the breakdown of this article Brian, horror has been and continues to be my training manual to be prepared for shit shows that will inevitably occur in real life. But like you said, after every horror the dawn eventually comes.
Good food for thought! One way I've always thought of horror prepping us to survive is it also gives us a horrible experience we live through (ex: we connect with someone running from a monster) and our brains don't see the difference with that and reality. We can literally go through those experiences by reading and come out of it better equipped for stressful situations.
Great post, Brian. I like how you tied everything in, highlighting the categories that might help (or hinder) one's ability to survive in the case of a Very Bad Thing happening. You obviously are well-versed in this genre!
Appreciate that! It's so hard for me to pick a favorite, and it changes over time. I think anything eighties horror is my happy place, just from growing up in that time, all the nostalgia. But I'm really into everything from found footage to ghosts and supernatural to space and Lovecraftian. Some favorite books are House of Leaves, Exorcist, Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Some favorite movies are The Thing, The Void, 28 Days Later. Favorite TV show is The Haunting of Hill House. I hope that was vague enough. 😆
This is a great list! I like 80s/90s for the nostalgia too, and really enjoy gothic suspense/horror. I'm jotting down your suggestions to check out as well, thanks.
Loved to hear mention of The Platform. And well stated!
Great article! I once read a piece by Stephen King where he proposed that people find comfort in horror because it helps them prepare for the inevitability of their own deaths.
I’ve always felt that as a somewhat anxious person who loves horror.
Stay spooky. Stay strong !
I bet if they conducted a poll of horror readers and writers, there would be a high percentage with some form of anxiety. I'm definitely among those numbers.
Love the breakdown of this article Brian, horror has been and continues to be my training manual to be prepared for shit shows that will inevitably occur in real life. But like you said, after every horror the dawn eventually comes.
Damn right. Hopefully we'll all see each other on the other side.
Good food for thought! One way I've always thought of horror prepping us to survive is it also gives us a horrible experience we live through (ex: we connect with someone running from a monster) and our brains don't see the difference with that and reality. We can literally go through those experiences by reading and come out of it better equipped for stressful situations.
Very true, like exposure therapy.
Great post, Brian. I like how you tied everything in, highlighting the categories that might help (or hinder) one's ability to survive in the case of a Very Bad Thing happening. You obviously are well-versed in this genre!
Do you have a favorite subgenre within horror?
Appreciate that! It's so hard for me to pick a favorite, and it changes over time. I think anything eighties horror is my happy place, just from growing up in that time, all the nostalgia. But I'm really into everything from found footage to ghosts and supernatural to space and Lovecraftian. Some favorite books are House of Leaves, Exorcist, Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Some favorite movies are The Thing, The Void, 28 Days Later. Favorite TV show is The Haunting of Hill House. I hope that was vague enough. 😆
This is a great list! I like 80s/90s for the nostalgia too, and really enjoy gothic suspense/horror. I'm jotting down your suggestions to check out as well, thanks.