A not-so-brief history on the horror genre

15/03/24

The horror genre is a subset of film, books, and other forms of media which aims to evoke fear, terror, and unease in its audience. The genre uses multiple generic conventions to create suspense, thrill, and adrenalin in the viewer, resonating with many who see joy in the macabre. At the heart of horror lies the exploration of the unknown, the supernatural, and the darker facets of human nature. From ancient myths and folklore to contemporary novels and films, horror captivates its audience by tapping into its primal fears and anxieties.

Throughout history, horror has evolved alongside societal shifts and cultural phenomena. From the earliest recorded narratives such as Homer's "Odyssey" and the Epic of Gilgamesh, to religious traditions exploring concepts of hell and the afterlife, horror has deep roots in human storytelling. Ancient folklore introduced a plethora of terrifying entities, from witches and ghosts to vampires and werewolves, laying the foundation for the genre's appeal.

In the 18th century, the emergence of gothic horror and romanticism ushered in a new era of literary exploration, culminating in Horace Walpole's controversial novel "The Castle of Otranto," a story about a man plagued with supernatural visions of losing his family and plotting to marry a young girl after killing her groom. The 19th brought tales like Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," which explored the horrors of scientific advancement, while later on, 1897 saw the rise of other iconic books such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and the Invisible Man.

Many stories were also greatly influenced by ancient horror and mythological stories, with Frankenstein notably being influenced by the story of Hippolytus. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is also widely considered as the first science fiction novel. Since the 17th to 19th centuries, science fiction has been seen as deeply intertwined with the horror genre, as seen in future movies like Alien, Annihilation, and The Fly. The 19th century also saw to the creation of many iconic books such as Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Picture of Dorian Grey. Popular gothic horror poet Edgar Allen Poe also emerged into the writing scene during this century, leading to many of his highly regarded poems today, such as The Raven and Annabel Lee.

A significant amount of horror fiction in the 19th to 21st centuries was written by women and marketed towards a female audience. The propensity some women had towards the horror genre led to the generic convention which we today call the 'final girl'. The trope of the final girl is especially popular in more 20th/21st slasher films, such as Scream and Halloween, and is usually a girl who outsmarts the villain by the end of the story and manages to escape. The idea of the final girl has roots in sexism and society's understanding of women in media, with older stories having a more submissive woman who tames the evil, making it out alive, while more modern stories have realized the controversial history of the "submissive" woman and choosing instead to portray someone who is more well adjusted who manages to outsmart the villain and get away using their intuition.

The 20th century marked a boom in horror writing, with authors like H.P. Lovecraft popularizing cosmic horror and M.R. James redefining the ghost story genre. The era also saw the emergence of serial murderers as a recurring theme, influencing the rise of the slasher subgenre in films like "Psycho" and "The Silence of the Lambs." After the rise of what the time considered more violent and sexually provocative films, and the increasing protests from religious groups, in 1934 to 1968, the Hays code was implemented. These codes inhibited various subjects in film, such as graphic depictions of violence, abortions, profanity, and anything else considered violent or sexually explicit.

Due to these suppressive rules, many groups of people who were often underrepresented in media were effectively banned in an attempt to cleanse film of anything deemed immoral. This censorship of not only violence but sexuality greatly impacted the horror genre, and due to beliefs at the time, also effectively suppressed queer characters from film, unless they were explicitly depicted as villains, disturbed, or as getting their retribution at the end of the film. This led to the creation of queer-coded villains in horror movies. An example of the queer-coded villain can be seen in the character of Dracula's daughter, from the 1936 film of the same name. The film follows Countess Zaleska and her insatiable desire for human blood, which ultimately results in some very tension-filled scenes between Zaleska and a young woman whom she kidnaps. This more hidden queer representation can even be seen in the tagline of the film, "Save the women of London from Dracula's daughter!" suggesting that the only people she 'preyed' upon were people of the same sex. The existence of queer-coded villains in media, despite how harmful they sometimes were, eventually drew a more queer audience towards the horror genre, and it is still popular in many LGBT spaces today.

The rise of the Hays Code also saw the rise of more graphic depictions of violence in other forms of media which weren't governed by the Hays Code. Comic books, like those published by EC Comics, became popular with readers in the 50s who weren't able to indulge in violent films. These comics as well as the 1963 film Blood Feast were the pieces of media to eventually kickstart the Splatter subgenre, later seen depicted in more modern films like the Saw franchise, House of 1000 Corpses, Bride of Re-Animator, and other films.

After the Hays Code was removed from cinema and during the rise of the queer rights movement with the Stonewall riot of 1969, some horror movies tended to become more 'out there' with their queer representation and entering a more explicitly LGBT territory. This led to films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. Rocky Horror, while still making their queer characters the villains, didn't even attempt to hide the LGBT tones in the film, with characters cross-dressing on screen, wearing excessive makeup and revealing clothing, and the main villain Frank-N-Furter creating a Frankenstein-esq man in order to act as a sort of 'boy toy'. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde follow are a lot more subtle with their representation, though there are prevalent queer undertones. Dr Jekyll is portrayed in the film as attempting to find the elixir of life and uses female hormones taken from corpses under the excuse that the hormones will help him extend his life since women traditionally live longer. Drinking the elixir changes Jekyll's sex to where he becomes female presenting - which I don't know about you, but to me, that seems like a pretty obvious transgender allegory.

It was and still is a common trope in horror stories to have a monster or someone who is mentally disturbed as the villain. This perpetuation of the disturbed or monstrous villain was used to demonize people who had psychopathy, schizophrenia, DID, etc., and was also used to villainize transgender and homosexual people - usually people who were assigned male at birth. The idea of disability is still considered a taboo subject, and many today are still affected by the harmful portrayals of disabilities in media. The movie Split, for example, depicts an antagonist with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is an identity disorder that usually stems from childhood trauma, and causes the presence of two or more distinctive personalities inside of one person. This character with DID is shown to be a violent kidnapper who can't control his actions because one of his identities is compelled to abduct teenage girls, and another one is compelled to eat them. I think you can understand why some people with DID might not like this film.

Aside from the gross portrayal of disabled people, another way horror writers like to create a tense and unsettling atmosphere is by creating suspense. Jump scares in film are a typical conduit used to create a tense and scared reaction from the viewer. By diverting the audience's attention, or creating an extended period of silence before the scare, the filmmaker builds anticipation and primes the audience for the impending shock. And by manipulating audio or visual cues, like sudden loud noises or rapid cuts in editing, directors can amplify the intensity of the scare. Graphic depictions of violence, gore, and body horror are also to create shock and upset. Dark, dreary locales such as haunted houses, asylums, empty streets, and desolate forests serve a typical backdrop for the horror genre. Movies like Hush, Nowhere, and The Menu implement this trope by using a limited cast as well as having the main character only stay in one setting throughout the entire film. This trope is also used in the 2021 series Midnight Mass, which takes place on a small island off America with an even smaller population, who must battle the persistent force of a supernatural being whilst not being able to leave the island or call for help.

As we continue further into the late 20th century, critically acclaimed books like the exorcist and Rosemary's Baby are published. The 20th century gave way to many well known horror writers such as Stephen King, known best for titles like Carrie, IT, the Shining, and over 200 short stories, as well as Anne Rice, who was very well known for her series of novels "The Vampire Chronicles," the first installment 'Interview with the Vampire' eventually being adapted into both a film and TV show.

The late 80s saw some independent film creators making horror short films and other projects such as 'Possibly in Michigan', which was a surrealist horror/musical made by Cecelia Condit in 1983. The story depicts two women looking for perfume in a store while being stalked by a cannibalistic murderer, which links back to their context at the time with serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer being prevalent. With the rise of the internet, more independent horror series, websites, and movies made their way to the forefront of horror. These internet horror stories often took the form of a first-person perspective, with uploads being posted in character. This new subgenre of horror was called Analog horror, due to its heavy reliance on the style and aesthetics of vintage analog media, like VHS and cassette tapes. The analog horror genre was also sometimes referred to as unfiction, (which is basically a viewer interactive horror story) or as an ARG, (meaning alternate reality game), where it was common for viewers to research the material of the video themselves in order to piece together the story, or even in some cases, alter it in real-time, adding an air of mystery and interactivity which many fans resonated with. Web series such as Marble Hornets, Petscop, the SCP foundation, and Kane Pixel's Backrooms are very well-known parts of this genre, the latter of which gaining its own film adaptation.

Horror video games also started to pick up speed towards the end of the 20th century and early 21st century, with titles like Resident Evil and Silent Hill becoming extremely popular in the 90s. the early 2010s saw a large increase in the existence of horror video games with the release of Five Nights at Freddy's, Slender: The Eight Pages, The Last of us, and Presentable Liberty. Three of these titles ended up with film adaptations.

With the increasing popularity of the horror genre, many 21st-century film directors and writers have taken to creating adaptations, sequels, and remasters of previous horror projects, like American psycho by Bret Easton Ellis in 2000, Doctor Sleep which is a sequel to The Shining, and also countless Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes.

So how exactly has horror changed over the years?

Well, for starters, it is much *much* bigger now, evolving to encompass a broader range of themes, subjects, and storytelling techniques.

With increasing research into more diverse topics like race, sexuality, disability and gender, traditional tropes like vampires and ghosts have been supplemented by explorations of psychological terror, social commentary, and existential dread. Additional events like political movements, wars and pandemics have further influenced the new trend of social commentary seen in modern horror movies. Subgenres have also increased rapidly in number, offering audiences a diverse array of experiences from supernatural horror to psychological thrillers.

Modern horror often blends tones of dark comedy and satire with suspense and terror, creating complex and multi-layered narratives. There's also been a notable push for diversity and representation within the genre, both in terms of the characters depicted and the creators behind the camera, although there are still many films that fall short on well-done representation.

Technological advancements have revolutionized visual effects, allowing for increasingly realistic and immersive horror experiences. With the rise of cinema, streaming services, and the internet, horror has become a global phenomenon, with filmmakers from diverse cultural backgrounds contributing their unique perspectives to the genre.

While the horror genre has expanded to a huge scale throughout the years, the generic conventions stay pretty much the same, making way for many movies to attempt to subvert the genre in an interesting and impactful way. "Midsommar," "Get Out," and "Hereditary" are standout examples of modern horror films that break away from typical genre conventions. In "Midsommar," director Ari Aster creates horror through a bright settings and psychological tension, exploring themes of grief and belonging. Jordan Peele's "Get Out" blends horror with social commentary on racism, challenging viewers with uncomfortable truths about not only the past of black people in America, but also the present. "Hereditary," also by Aster, delves into family dynamics and inherited trauma. These films defy expectations, demonstrating how horror can tackle complex themes aside from the average dark, dreary setting with the sole survivor, stalked by a singular killer or monster.

The history of the horror genre is a rich tapestry of storytelling traditions, cultural influences, and artistic innovation. From its ancient origins to its modern-day manifestations, horror continues to captivate audiences with its ability to evoke fear and push boundaries. As the genre evolves and adapts to changing times, its appeal lies in its capacity to tap into our deepest fears and darkest desires.