Many people, from children to adults, love books, movies and TV shows that are scary. This can include spooky paranormal stories, creepy Gothic romantic dramas, adrenaline-packed action flicks, or true terrorizing horror.
“I’ve always loved stories of the supernatural,” Christopher Golden, author of the Body of Evidence series, once said in an interview. “As a child, I enjoyed anything creepy or unsettling and I loved monsters of all shapes and sizes. Ordinary life is so mundane, and things that went bump in the night were always the most intriguing to me.”
What’s the appeal?
Part of it may simply be the adrenaline rush, the excitement we don’t always get easily in daily life. We are still wired for action, the fight or flight response that our ancestors probably had to face on an almost daily basis as they hunted, or defended themselves against wild animals and other tribes. Now the stress builds up slowly, at school or at work or at home. A good scare can release it.
Scary stories can also help you deal with your own fears. They can give you specific tools to use, like examples of how to escape from kidnappers or fend off a mugger. Watching characters survive dangerous situations, or overcome the bad guys, can give you confidence that you could survive a similar challenge.
“One of my all-time favorite books is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak,” editor Joshua Glazer has said. “It introduced me to my first monsters—and taught me how to make friends with them. I think that’s the role of scary literature in a kid’s life. It provides a safe and neutral realm where kids may engage their fears without becoming consumed by them.”
Granted, it’s unlikely that your average reader will ever have to face a true Wild Thing, diabolical super villain, alien, ogre or vampire. But sometimes the example is more of a metaphor.
“Growing up is intrinsically horrific,” Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of Tantalize, has said. “You’re a shape-shifter in your changing body. You’re a vampire in your thirst for life. Your emotions can turn you from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. Essentially, Gothic fantasy is all about reflecting this reality through metaphor.”
We hear a lot about escapist literature. But sometimes literature helps us to face our fears instead.
What does your choice of literature say about you? Does it change depending on the circumstances of your life? Do you feel better after a good scare? Why?
Chris Eboch
Greg R. Fishbone
Nick
lindajoysingleton
Parker Peevyhouse
Joni Sensel
I never liked scary things at all. I have a difficult time separating it from reality. I was always afraid that the things could be real and even though I’m grown and have children of my own, I still get a chill down my spine when I go into a basement! I’m a sissy. Even the previews of all the horror flicks scare the crap out of me.
I’ve always been in favor of the “coming of age” stories, partly because I still feel like I’m trying to grow up, but also because those early teen years were so poignant for me.
I think there’s something to your “circumstances of life” question. I have data from a survey about endings that I use in a workshop, and younger people are FAR more likely to prefer or enjoy unhappy endings or tragedies, which become significantly less popular as the age of the respondent increases. And I suspect that’s because the older you are, the more “real” unhappy endings you’ve experienced, so the less you want to read about them, too. I would guess there might be a similar curve for horror. Good questions!
Most middle grade novels include the happy ending. Young adult novels are more likely to have unhappy or ambiguous endings. Teenagers are learning in real life that the world contains many shades of gray, and is certainly not always fair. Maybe teens want to explore this?
I prefer a happy ending. I still want to believe that good will be rewarded, and evil punished. It’s comforting to think that happy endings are possible.
And yet… in the last week, I lost a good friend to cancer, and my husband’s young cousin died of an overdose. My instinct was to turn to escapist literature, where I knew I would have a happy ending. My husband wanted to watch sad shows. I joined him, and I have to admit that being able to cry over the fate of a fictional character allowed me to release some grief, but at a step removed from reality.
Part of the reason I like scary stories is that I’m curious. I have to know what’s going to happen. The suspense is probably my favorite part.
I love reading scary things! Especially at night. I think it is for the adrenaline rush. It’s funny because I would much rather “deal” with things of the dead/other world rather than things that concern the living (meaning I would rather sleep at a haunted house and possibly face a ghost than a crack dealer). My grandmother always said, “be more afraid of the living than the dead.” Lately, I’ve been in that kind of mood where I just want to curl up on my couch and read a very good scary story or two… or three.