Why I Love Horror

“Why do you love horror so much?” I get this question quite a bit, believe it or not. People who are more casual fans or aren’t interested in the genre ask me this because they sincerely don’t understand the appeal.

This is fair enough, I mean, it can be horrifying, gruesome, and sometimes downright disturbing. However, there’s so much more to the genre than just getting its audience to jump in their seats.

I always like to describe horror as being a time capsule. You can watch pretty much any horror movie and completely understand what society’s fears were and why a particular sub genre became popular.

Paranormal movies were created out of the universal fear of death and what happens afterward. Vampire movies were created out of our fear and fascination with human sexuality. Interview with the Vampire (1994) is a prime example of this and, honestly, any piece of fiction by Anne Rice very much contributed to this idea. Rape/Revenge movies (which I'm personally not a fan of) come from the horrors of seeing war for the first time on our television screens. A good example would be The Last House on the Left (1972). Body horror was created out of our fear of illness and the process of dying. Every sub genre has its place and it's reason for existing.

Sometimes the messages aren’t just external either, sometimes, they’re about the trauma we face within ourselves. For example, take any movie about evil children. These movies depict our universal fear of parenthood. We want so badly to be good parents but, when we look at children, they are nothing more than a blank slate that we simply have a hard time understanding. What if they come out evil? What if we try to be good parents but they turn out evil anyways?

The primary reason behind horror movies is to face those fears while still knowing that we are safe from harm. Any trauma we face, whether external or internal, is expressed through horror movies.

They help us to cope with our trauma and give us an opportunity to process our experiences. They give us a voice when we feel we don't have one, all without the expensive therapy bill.

Horror has always been a huge part of my life. When I was a child, I would have debilitating nightmares almost every single night. I remember waking up and screaming for my parents and feeling like I was powerless.

One day, I was told that in order to get rid of a fear, you must face it head on. So that's what I did. I forced myself to watch every horror movie I could find. Obviously, in the beginning, this was not fun. However, I eventually started to notice how I would have fewer and fewer nightmares.

By the time I had reached middle school, the nightmares had essentially disappeared. Now, I'll get them every once in a while but I never feel scared. I never felt that same fear I had back when I was a kid. I could never be more grateful to these movies because of this.

To the outsider, it may seem like I look too deeply into these movies, however, I implore you to watch any horror movie and try to understand why it was made and what sort of fear or trauma is informing said movie.

Many hold these movies deep in their hearts and I am one of them. I am proud to say that I am a die-hard fan of horror movies and I hope that those who are unsure can begin to see the same value that I do.