The Horror...The Horror...
A lot of people (particularly family members, especially grandparents) wonder why I write horror. Why do I want to write about such nasty, gruesome subjects such as psychotic killers, ghosts, death and the occasional nipple chewing (read The Last Motel if you wanna know what that’s about)? Isn’t there enough craziness in the world – why dwell on the negative?
I’ve loved horror – not just writing, but reading and watching films – for about as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories have to do with horror: cowering under a table while the family watched Friday the 13th: Part 5 when I was around nine; going to a horror exhibition of classic horror icons such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the Victorian Arts Centre when I was around eight; being terrified of the G’mork whilst watching The NeverEnding Story at the cinema when I was around five.
Among the first books I read were horror – from Midnight at Monster Mansion (a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book) to Pet Sematary (the very first adult novel I ever read).
I was always drawn to horror movies – some of the earliest films I remember loving were Jaws, Alligator and Poltergeist.
Horror is in my blood, it’s the way it’s always been. I don’t really have a choice (and I wouldn’t have it any other way).
But why am I drawn to the ‘dark side’ so to speak?
And is it such a bad thing? Why do people always associate loving horror with evil and corruption?
It’s my belief that everyone has a dark side. Everyone has violence and the propensity to do evil.
Thankfully, most of us have enough sense and morality to balance that darker nature, and most know enough not to act on those darker urges even if at times we feel like doing so.
But being aware of your darker side isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it’s only by knowing the enemy that we can defeat it. Pretending something doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away; ignorance isn’t a means of conquering that thing you wish would simply vanish. Just because you acknowledge your dark side, doesn’t automatically mean you’re evil. I know that if someone breaks into my house and wants to do serious harm to my wife, I’m prepared to kill that person if necessary – but does that mean I’m evil? No, I just know I have that protective instinct in me, doesn’t mean I’m going to start acting like Ted Bundy at every spare moment.
Violence and death is a part of life – it’s unavoidable. Wars have been fought (and are still being fought), people do horrible things to one another; history is most definitely stained red, and I can’t see it ever changing.
Writing – or reading, or watching – horror is simply a way of dealing with life. It’s taking something scary and staring it straight in the face. It’s being able to experience something that would normally make you scream or cower with fright within the safety of your living room.
Most people who love horror don’t wish harm on others – they don’t think of life as cheap and get kicks out of seeing someone die. What they do get a kick out of is being scared, of visiting the dark rooms that inhabit all of us and trying to understand this mad, cruel, wild, fun, brutal, beautiful ride we call life.
And by visiting these dark rooms, we often find we’re purged of the violence inside us; it’s by locking it away, throwing away the key and trying to forget where the door was located that can do the most damage. Because, eventually, the monster is going to get restless and come smashing out of its cage.
I love horror because I find exploring the darker side of life stimulating, enlightening and cathartic. It’s a release. Life can be scary, scarier than any novel or movie, and to me, it only makes sense that the best way to combat that fear, is to try and understand what makes people do the things they do; and then, hopefully, things may seem just that little less frightening.
And besides, it’s fun to be scared.
I’ve loved horror – not just writing, but reading and watching films – for about as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories have to do with horror: cowering under a table while the family watched Friday the 13th: Part 5 when I was around nine; going to a horror exhibition of classic horror icons such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the Victorian Arts Centre when I was around eight; being terrified of the G’mork whilst watching The NeverEnding Story at the cinema when I was around five.
Among the first books I read were horror – from Midnight at Monster Mansion (a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book) to Pet Sematary (the very first adult novel I ever read).
I was always drawn to horror movies – some of the earliest films I remember loving were Jaws, Alligator and Poltergeist.
Horror is in my blood, it’s the way it’s always been. I don’t really have a choice (and I wouldn’t have it any other way).
But why am I drawn to the ‘dark side’ so to speak?
And is it such a bad thing? Why do people always associate loving horror with evil and corruption?
It’s my belief that everyone has a dark side. Everyone has violence and the propensity to do evil.
Thankfully, most of us have enough sense and morality to balance that darker nature, and most know enough not to act on those darker urges even if at times we feel like doing so.
But being aware of your darker side isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it’s only by knowing the enemy that we can defeat it. Pretending something doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away; ignorance isn’t a means of conquering that thing you wish would simply vanish. Just because you acknowledge your dark side, doesn’t automatically mean you’re evil. I know that if someone breaks into my house and wants to do serious harm to my wife, I’m prepared to kill that person if necessary – but does that mean I’m evil? No, I just know I have that protective instinct in me, doesn’t mean I’m going to start acting like Ted Bundy at every spare moment.
Violence and death is a part of life – it’s unavoidable. Wars have been fought (and are still being fought), people do horrible things to one another; history is most definitely stained red, and I can’t see it ever changing.
Writing – or reading, or watching – horror is simply a way of dealing with life. It’s taking something scary and staring it straight in the face. It’s being able to experience something that would normally make you scream or cower with fright within the safety of your living room.
Most people who love horror don’t wish harm on others – they don’t think of life as cheap and get kicks out of seeing someone die. What they do get a kick out of is being scared, of visiting the dark rooms that inhabit all of us and trying to understand this mad, cruel, wild, fun, brutal, beautiful ride we call life.
And by visiting these dark rooms, we often find we’re purged of the violence inside us; it’s by locking it away, throwing away the key and trying to forget where the door was located that can do the most damage. Because, eventually, the monster is going to get restless and come smashing out of its cage.
I love horror because I find exploring the darker side of life stimulating, enlightening and cathartic. It’s a release. Life can be scary, scarier than any novel or movie, and to me, it only makes sense that the best way to combat that fear, is to try and understand what makes people do the things they do; and then, hopefully, things may seem just that little less frightening.
And besides, it’s fun to be scared.
posted by BrettMcBean at 5:20 PM
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