Chase Talks About the Horror Genre: Readers and Protagonists

My original intention for this paper was to get more in depth about the emotions that are associated with the horror genre. However, I found lots of information relating to the readers of horror fiction and how they relate to the characters they are reading about. This angle resonated a lot more with me. When I read, I typically cast myself as one of the characters if not the main character even though some times the author's descriptions don't necessarily describe me. Anyway I thought that was the more interesting approach to the subject.

If readers of horror fiction had an audience watching them, surely someone in that audience would shout, “Oooo, girl, don’t open that book,” much like they would tell a teenage camp counselor to not go skinny dipping alone in the middle of the night. What that sentiment translates into is - why would any sensible reader want to be scared? Essentially, fear is the purpose of the horror genre, which employs various means and devices, and it appeals on “a very deep emotional level.” (Saricks, 2009, Loc 2975) Many of the things that scared people as children find their way into these stories such as monsters in the closets or supernatural forces scratching at the window. The feelings that those type of images bring about stay with the reader even after they set the book down. Horror fiction serves its purpose best when it mixes unexplainable events with unknown creatures that bring threatening peril to the characters and evokes terror in its readers.

The first thing is that you have to separate the readers of horror fiction from horror movie fans. With the written word, the reader is able to participate in creating that world. This makes them already emotionally invested in the story. Once that world is established, they need to connect with the protagonists of the story. There are personal ways that they can connect with the characters such as being a mom caring about her daughter. They can also connect in universal ways. In horror fiction, this could be the fear of death that most people have. The reader must also accept that what's happening to the protagonist is real and is also a threat to them as well. Horror fiction is unique in that it can offer a catharsis for the reader as the characters rise up, face the monster, and come out for the better. In a sense, the reader did as well.

Stephen King explained horror as such: “The work of horror really is a dance— a moving rhythmic search. And what it’s looking for is the place where you, the viewer or the reader, live at your most primitive level.” With that said, it isn't too hard to imagine the reader and the protagonist sharing in that dance.