5:55 AM
Vance Holmes
The Meaning of Horror
Dictionary.com defines horror as . . .
1. an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear
2. anything that causes such a feeling
3. such a feeling as a quality or condition
Technically, horror is a feeling – a feeling of fear -- or that feeling as a quality, which is dread, for example "the horrors of war."
Horror literature then, is not limited to monster stories, vampire romance novels, or books that go bump in the night. It can be anything from the blasé to the beastly. However, one could argue that three-headed monsters, vampires and werewolves are fantasy figures – dark and eerie perhaps -- but not real, and therefore not necessarily the stuff of horror, any more than say, magical fairies, unicorns or leprechauns with pots of gold at the end of sparkling rainbows.
1. an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear
2. anything that causes such a feeling
3. such a feeling as a quality or condition
Technically, horror is a feeling – a feeling of fear -- or that feeling as a quality, which is dread, for example "the horrors of war."
Horror literature then, is not limited to monster stories, vampire romance novels, or books that go bump in the night. It can be anything from the blasé to the beastly. However, one could argue that three-headed monsters, vampires and werewolves are fantasy figures – dark and eerie perhaps -- but not real, and therefore not necessarily the stuff of horror, any more than say, magical fairies, unicorns or leprechauns with pots of gold at the end of sparkling rainbows.
Monster books are fantasy – but fantasy is not horror. If a person likes the fantasy of, for instance, a visit from a handsome vampire – then such a story is not a horror, it’s a delight! So subject matter does not define or qualify a work as horror.
To belong in the category of horror, a novel must invoke horror in the reader. As the Horror Writers Association website notes, the requirement of a horror story is that it must "elicit an emotional reaction that includes some aspect of fear or dread."
A Brief History of Horror
Horror was once a universally recognized and highly respected literary genre. Horror literature was identified with the diverse works of esteemed writers such as Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Algernon Blackwood, Richard Matheson and H.P. Lovecraft. Then, in 1974 -- everything changed; Stephen King published his novel, Carrie. This was the fateful year – 1974 – when horror literature lost its identity. It was no longer about emotion, it was about titillation and cheap thrills.
Almost overnight, King's brand of fiction became a multi-million dollar industry. Publishers saw the dollar signs looming before them and charged full speed ahead, making horror into a product. They gave it a specific identity, a specific formula. Writers then popped out of the woodwork, eager to embrace and attempt to duplicate the stunning success of Mr. King. . . . Instead of "evolving, ever-changing," horror became defined -- typecast if you will -- forced to conform to a certain method and a certain manner.
We must now understand that there are two distinct types of horror literature.
1. Popular horror fiction . . . the Stephen King, genre within the genre which is principally defined by the existence of external, inexplicable, unavoidable, unstoppable evil.
1. Popular horror fiction . . . the Stephen King, genre within the genre which is principally defined by the existence of external, inexplicable, unavoidable, unstoppable evil.
2. Classic horror fiction . . . defined by the internal motivations of characters, the dawning horror of the reader, and the most important distinguishing quality of being instructive.
The Meaning of Monsters
The terms "demon" and "monster" belong to the family of words that include "demonstrate" and "remonstrate." Dictionary.com informs that these words are based on the Latin phrases: mōnstrā (to show), mōnstrum (a portent or sign), and monere (to warn).
Monsters are lessons. They are meant to teach. Monsters are revelations, and they are warnings. That’s quite the opposite of something that mystifies and menaces with darkness. Monsters are helpful warnings that bring clarity and light.
Classic horror literature is tied to a moral construct -- and a concept perfectly summed up in a maxim attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt (though obviously said in quite a different context):
"There are no victims, only volunteers."
The classic monster story dates back to antiquity. The prototype is the fable of the Cabalist Rabbi and the Golem – a tale that pre-dates Frankenstein by at least two centuries. The Golem is created by the Rabbi in order to help with work, but it turns into a destructive monster when it is made to work on the Sabbath.
Good Horror vs. Horrible Horror
Since the horror genre so closely correlates with the themes and hallmarks of the adolescent journey, it bears closer inspection than any other YAL genre. Responsible educators, librarians and literary professionals cannot claim that literature is a powerful tool for teens, providing growth by allowing for vicarious experience – but then claim that negative, violent, destructive books are just harmless, middle-schooler, "gross out" fun.
Parents and youth-connected professionals don’t want adolescents, particularly those in the early adolescent years of 11-14, to spend their time contemplating horror for the sake of horror. As children are trying to make sense of themselves and the world, adults instinctively want to protect them from nihilistic negativity and destructivism.
A child at age 11 or 12 -- unless he or she is extremely well-read and mature -- has no way to filter or balance such material. Furthermore, horror for the sake of horror in novels (or art, music and video games) presents adolescents with a distorted view of the world. This nihilistic view does not present truth because it is clearly imbalanced, however, it may appeal to certain imbalances in the developing adolescent’s brain and emotional life.
The literary (cultural) or artistic measure of a work must be its truth. A useful rubric for good horror and bad horror should be similar to one that would allow us to separate a romance novel from pornography. Does the work of horror fiction play upon fears and undermine growth? Or does it examine fears and encourage thought? Is it educative?
Horror Royalty
While Stephen King has been sold as "the indisputable master of horror," he has never claimed that title. In fact, King once famously referred to himself as "the McDonald’s of literature." However, the far lesser-known storyteller, Roberta Simpson Brown, has every right to declare herself a member of horror royalty. Her book, Queen of the Cold-Blooded Tales (QCBT) is a classy collection of classic horror stories.
QCBT contains stories where the protagonist is an ordinary person facing an ordinary situation in our ordinary world, but who chooses to make extraordinary – often, evil – choices.
Mundane, everyday personal problems and frustrating situations turn into horrors when the would-be hero goes beyond normal or natural means to craft a solution, and then suffers the inevitable consequences. Alternately, the protagonist is innocent victim, so it is the antagonist who suffers the karmic blowback. Either way, these tales rely on what we know to be the ordinary and, in some sense, the expected.
The stories in QCBT are predictable from the start. Nothing is jumping out of the plot to surprise us. The horror is that we know what’s coming. We dread it. Classic horror literature, particularly YA horror, has a moral component -- almost always teaching readers a lesson from the matrix of "good things/ bad things (happen to) good people/ bad people."
Classic horror stories redeem themselves in this feature. The shock, gore, blood or monstrosity is neither fantastical nor gratuitous, but rather, serves the purpose of teaching us a very real truth.
Certainly many of Stephen King’s horror stories fit the classic definition, but typically, his books are of a different mold. King’s template involves inexplicable and unstoppable horror visited upon unsuspecting people. It is a roller coaster ride with no hills, valleys, twists or turns – just a straight shot down into hell.
The cold-blooded tales in Roberta Simpson Brown’s book however, consistently follow the classic template. For example, there is the story she calls, Whispers. It’s about a young girl named Kim who is out with her parents shopping for a birthday present when she hears a pair of earrings whispering to her. The earrings are ugly and strange. Kim’s mother thinks they look like little tongues. Despite the advice of her parents, Kim begs to have the earrings. She hears them whispering and senses they might give her some kind of power – a power she can use to hurt her enemies at school. I won’t give away the ending, but obviously it is Kim who eventually gets hurt.
Each one of the two dozen tales in QCBT evokes fear and dread in the reader. Each one teaches the reader a lesson – not about monsters, witches and ghosts, but about human nature. Together, the stories in Queen of the Cold-Blooded Tales touch upon nearly every stylistic characteristic of the horror genre and marker of adolescent development.
Stylistic Characteristics and Themes of the YA Horror Genre
1. Identity – "Who am I?" within myself and in the world, and in relation to God and the universe. "The Dark Unknown"
2. Hero Quest -- the teen protagonist(s) saves the day
3. Archetypal quest themes -- good versus evil, order versus chaos, illusion versus reality, and the necessity of thought as a tool for survival
4. Emotional turbulence
5. Power and Control -- symbols of superhuman power and control, undisturbed by chemical, interpersonal, and emotional shifts (direct antithesis of the adolescent paradigm)
6. Sexual awareness – intensity and power of vampires and similar monsters
7. Introspection
8. Boundary Testing – exploring the dark side
9. Liminality (between-ness) -- half-living/half dead, human/wolf, etc.
10. Marginality – a sense of alienation. Being different, an outsider and also persecuted for that difference. Rejection
11. Moral questions (Trust, loyalty, and betrayal)
12. Revenge -- often for peer or parental abuse. Need for acceptance and approval.
13. Acute Social Awareness – popularity. Getting the guy or girl, attaining beauty, becoming "special" in some way
14. Physical change – "the vampire is usually an unwilling victim of a bodily change he cannot control, a change that brings on frightening new desires and cravings."
15. Responsibility and independence – the battle with a monster that tests personal resilience and resourcefulness
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