"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear … of the unknown.”

HORROR NARRATIVE

The Psychology Of Horror

The Rules Of Horror

Self Guided Tour Of Horror

CONTENTS

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HORROR

The FascinationExplores horrors we do not understand.

Echoes the innate violence of our species.

Morbid curiosity.

Evil affirms the existence of good.More Detail

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HORROR

The ImpactProvoke terror.

Build on fear of the unknown.

Entertaining guessing game.

THE RULES OF HORROR

Structural Features

Orientation – brief, engaging, introduce the character(s) & their situation, a glimpse of the secret

horror to come.

Complication – isolate the character(s) with the horror.

Rising Tension – escalating events which threaten the character(s), forcing them to investigate and

eventually confront the horror.

THE RULES OF HORROR

Structural Features

Climax – character(s) seems about to be overpowered by the horror…

Resolution - something enables the character(s) to triumph. As they find peace / resume their normal

lives there is a hint the victory is temporary.

Characters and settings must be realistic. The horror has to be made believable, especially if supernatural.

THE RULES OF HORROR

Conventional Features

Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural.

The reader should be able to relate to the narrative.

There should be something unexpected on its way.

Readers of horror fiction expect the writer to have researched thoroughly.

THE RULES OF HORROR

Linguistic FeaturesBelievable, accentuating the

horror.

Fast paced.

Write normally.

SELF GUIDED TOUR OF HORROR

The Shining - Stephen King (possession)Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (monster)Rosemary’s Baby - Ira Levin (devil)The Silence Of The Lamb - Thomas Harris (serial killer)The Lord Of The Flies - William Golding (human nature)

Novels

The Tell Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe (killer)The Turn Of The Screw - Henry James (insanity/ghosts)Pics & ask Scobinator for ss suggestionshttp://www.classichorrorstories.com/stories/stories.html

Short Stories

Descent (monster)28 Days Later (zombie)The Exorcist (devil)The Orphanage (ghost)Seven (serial killer)The Sixth Sense (afterlife)Cube (psychological)

Films