Billy's Weblog

Why Horror? September 24, 2008

Posted by lightnessanddark in Darkness.
Tags: bag of bones, christian, dean koontz, endor, leviathan, stephen king, why horror, witch
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This article was written for a couple of reasons. 

 

1.                  To explain/defend my interest in horror

 

2.                  To introduce my new WordPress blog, “LightnessandDark”

 

What is horror?

 

The first point to make about horror is it is not a genre.  It is a feeling and an element of fiction that can be present in any genre, like humor.  I happen to be a big fan of both, so books like Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz are right up my alley.  Works of fiction should be entertaining above all else, and horror and humor are two great ways to entertain me.

 

It is extremely difficult to determine what is and what is not a horror story.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a ghost story, but is it a horror story?  Godzilla is a monster movie, but is it horror?  Alien was scary, but was it horror or science fiction?  Teen Wolf was…oh, you get the point.

 

So why do I find horror entertaining? 

 

I am entertained by horror because it pulls back the thin veil of reality we live in and shows us what lurks in the shadows.  We live in a very enlightened and civilized society.  We don’t believe in fire-breathing dragons, the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot.  We believe Elvis really died on August 16, 1977 (also the date of my earliest memory).  We dismiss things as impossible just because we’ve never seen them.  I believe there are a lot of truths out there we no longer believe in.  Horror fiction explores many of the old truths our civilized society has forgotten.

 

What type of horror do you like?

 

I tend to like supernatural fiction – ghosts, vampires, and maybe a werewolf or two.  My favorite stories are about things that go bump in the night.  I am not as big a fan of slasher films or stories.  About the only exceptions are the Scream movies, which were about horror films as much as anything else – and as spoofs of the “genre”, they were among the smartest horror films out there.  Plus they had Neve Campbell.

 

Serial killers don’t interest me.  I am not a big Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees fan. I have seen too many of those films, and that type of horror has a limited appeal for me.  I can enjoy the tension as the hero/heroine battles against the monster, but any film where we end up rooting for the monster isn’t my thing.  (Aside from Godzilla, I’m always rooting for Godzilla.  As a result, I hated Godzilla vs. King Kong.  Stupid monkey.  We all know who really would have won.)

 

I enjoy spooky horror movies like the “The Sixth Sense” and “The Others.”  I loved the X-Files and enjoyed the premiere of Fringe.  I like not having all the answers until it’s too late.

 

I avoid almost any horror sequel because they are almost always just cash grabs.  Do we really need a Friday the 13^th number 10?  I don’t think so.  The Ring Two, probably not.  Scream 2 and 3 – okay Neve Campbell, so yes.

 

The horror books I like are character driven, set in the “real’ world, heh, heh, heh.  The technical term would probably be mundane horror – an oxymoron.  Stephen King’s Bag of Bones, The Shining, and ‘salem’s Lot are among my favorites, along with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and Ghost Story by Peter Straub.  Here’s my Horror Top Ten list for those who are interested (http://lightnessanddark.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/top-ten-horror-novels/).

 

But why do we need any kind of horror when the world is filled with real horrors?

 

Horror, like most entertainment, is about escapism, taking us away from our problems.  Horror takes us into Dracula’s Castle with Jonathan Harker.  Horror takes us aboard the Nostromo with Ellen Ripley as she battles the Alien.  Horror brings us face to face with someone else’s larger than life problems — allowing us to forget our own problems for a while.  If you think you’ve got problems, at least you aren’t about to be devoured by Dracula or the Alien or something worse.

 

Horror is about setting aside our modern day arrogance about what we know – think we know.  Almost every horror movie has a scene where someone explains why what is happening CANNOT be happening.  I love that moment. 

 

 

What is Lightnessanddark about?

 

Lightnessanddark is a place for those who have the light of Christ, but are entertained by horror and dark fantasy.  It’s a place for fans of Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, and also a place where we can discuss Stephen King without having to explain his appeal.  (I think most Christians who have a problem with Stephen King have never actually read his work.)  Lightnessanddark will also be a place where I will occasionally share some of my own original fiction.

 

So why do you connect Christianity and horror?

 

People have asked me how a Bible-believing Christian can be so interested in horror, but if you allow for the broadest definition, the Bible is the biggest horror novel of them all.  It includes demons, ghosts, monsters, dragons, plagues, murder, bloodshed and war, but it is also a book of Hope where good overcomes evil in the end. 

 

The Bible is why I am able to enjoy horror fiction.  Through its teachings, I have placed my hope for eternal salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I can enjoy horror novels, because at the end of the biggest horror novel, I know that through God’s Grace, I will be on the winning side.  That gives me great freedom from any real horror that life can dish out.

 

If we study the Bible carefully, we see things that don’t always fit our perceptions of reality.  We think there are no such things as ghosts, but Saul, with the help of the witch at Endor, conjured up the ghost of Samuel (1 Samuel 28), who then accurately predicted his doom — a horror story for King Saul.

 

We also think there are no such things as fire breathing dragons, but Job 40:19-21 says of Leviathan, “Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.  Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.  His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.”  This is one fearsome creature, doesn’t sound like a whale or crocodile to me, sounds horrifying, so I’m intrigued by it.

 

Lightnessanddark is about both sides of the coin, and my hope is that it will make people think about the world around them, maybe even encourage them to peek behind that thin veil we call reality.  You never know what you’ll find…