Why do we love horror so much? The answer of course may vary from person to person but there may be some reasons that we all might share. Some are obvious, some maybe more subconscious.
Atmosphere: Horror has its own unique atmosphere about it. When executed properly a good horror story will have an earie and dreadful feel about it. It was what the old Universal films of the Thirties and Forties did so well and what captivated me as a young child in the first place.
The villains and monsters, Whether its Dracula or Norman Bates or Michael Meyers, we stand in awe of these villains.
The Blood and Gore: We can be both disturbed and thrilled at the same time at the sight or thought of a gory kill.
An Emotional Thrill Ride: Horror will often bring other elements into a story; Humor, Romance and Eroticism and brought in to heighten our senses, take us off guard and lessen the tension before the big scare.
But then there are the more subconscious reasons. Horror teaches us empathy. Any good horror story has a good strong protagonist(s) that we like and can relate to on some level. When that protagonist is in peril we feel for that character, we root for that character. Oh, sure there often throw away characters in stories that are killed off just to pad the kill count, which is fine. But the empathy we develop for the main character often spills over in real life. It is probably why the horror community is such a supportive and compassionate community. Nothing takes me out of a movie more than when I can't identify or like the main character that I am supposed to relate too.
Finally, whether it is watching horror, writing horror or reading horror (In my case as it is with others it is all three) Fictional horror gives us an outlet and a coping mechanism for dealing with the horrors of the real world both external and internal. We are all damaged to a certain degree. I see that in many posts on here, me included. I think by watching these movies and writing and reading these stories. We become these characters and a part of these stories. If we can survive the likes of Freddy, Pinhead and Pennywise, then we can survive anything.
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