That's Classic Horror!
This horror story contains no supernatural elements and has an obsessive narrator.
What is "The Tell-Tale Heart" (1843) by Edgar Allan Poe?
This horror story is often said to thematize the Freudian partition of the human psyche (id, ego, superego) in a very explicit way.
What is "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1886)
This narrator writes: "I saw what I saw, I heard what I heard, and my soul sickened at it; and yet now when that sight has faded from my eyes, I ask myself if I believe it, and I cannot answer. My life is shaken to its roots; sleep has left me; the deadliest terror sits by me at all hours of the day and night; and I feel that my days are numbered, and that I must die; and yet I shall die incredulous."
Who is Dr Lanyon? (in Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll...)
In his essay "Why We Crave Horror Movies" (1982), Stephen King argues that horror movies allow people to experience this fundamental, human emotion safely, even though the situations on screen are terrifying.
What is fear?
Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House helped popularize this horror subgenre in which it remains unclear whether the supernatural events are real or imagined.
What is psychological horror?
This horror story uses elements commonly associated with fairy tales.
What is "The Monkey's Paw" (1902) by W.W. Jacobs?
This nameless first-person narrator witnesses something outlandishly horrific that subsequently drives him mad.
Who is the (first-person) narrator of "Dagon"?
This is the author of the quote: "The matches fell from his hand and spilled in the passage. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated. Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him."
Who is/was W.W. Jacobs?
This theoretical approach suggests that frightening stories appeal to us because they allow audiences to confront forbidden impulses and repressed taboos in a safe fictional space.
What is the psychoanalytical approach?
First popularized by Mary Shelley, this commonly male horror archetype is famous for his reckless experimentation and disregard for moral and ethical boundaries.
Who is the mad scientist?
This author was Scottish of origin and used the genre of letter-writing as well as scientific language to infuse his narrative with realism.
Who was Robert Louis Stevenson?
Author of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)
This horror story leaves its reader wondering whether the events of the story were real or imagined.
What is "The Boogeyman" (1973)?
This is the author of the quote: "The end is near. I hear a noise at the door, as of some immense slippery body lumbering against it."
Who is/was H.P. Lovecraft?
This theoretical approach explains horror’s appeal as an evolutionary mechanism that activates our ancient “fight-or-flight” survival instincts.
What is the biological approach?
H.P. Lovecraft is considered a founder of this horror genre, which emphasizes humanity’s insignificance in a vast and indifferent universe.
What is cosmic horror?
This main character is haunted by regrets and is often regarded as being both the protagonist and antagonist of the story.
Who is Victor Frankenstein?
According to Stephen King, this stage of horror occurs before the monster appears and represents the suspenseful anticipation of fear in the mind of the reader.
What is terror?
This author wrote: "I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."
Who is/was Mary Shelley?
The cathartic ending of Weapons uses this common method of scaring the audience, which Stephen King considers the lowest out of three possible methods.
What is the gross-out?
In early Gothic fiction, this archetype is a young, innocent woman threatened by a villain and often rescued by a hero.
What is the damsel-in-distress?
This intellectual movement emphasizing logic, reason, and realism helped provoke the emergence of Gothic horror as a reaction against it.
What is/was the Age of Enlightenment?
This is the main character in Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House (1959) who, one haunted night, believes she is holding her friend's hand when in fact she isn't.
Who is Eleanor (Vance)?
This is the author of the quote: "Then the little gurgling laugh came again, and the rising mad sound of it drowned out the voice, and then suddenly absolute silence."
Who is/was Shirley Jackson?
This theoretical approach explains horror fiction as reflecting the fears of the society in which it is written—for example, Frankenstein expressing anxiety about scientific progress and “playing God.”
What is the socio-cultural approach?
This horror trope has religious roots and appears when characters uncover dangerous secrets or pursue insight that leads to madness, disaster, or supernatural consequences.
What is forbidden knowledge?