Horror The Supernatural Genre

Horror The Supernatural Genre

Horror is an ancient genre, it roots lodged in ancient myth and folklore. Since then the genre has evolved, even sometimes doing without elements of the supernatural on which the original horror stories where founded. Despite the emergence of natural horror, horror which incorporates elements of the supernatural still remains superior. While horror can be successful using only natural circumstances, horror that utilizes elements of the supernatural evokes a more effective response from the reader.

“A Rose for Emily” is a good example of horror which contains no supernatural elements. While pieces of the story contain the unusual or violate societal taboos the story conforms very much to the way in which we think the world operates. The reader could easily imagine that this story might really have occurred at some time. While the realism of the story makes it more plausible to the reader, it also lessens its effectiveness. The idea of a woman lying down next to a dead body for decades is revolting, but not very horrific. No sense of dread is imposed upon the reader, and the only visceral response is one of disgust. While the piece in effective at entertaining the reader, it lacks the ability to truly inspire horror.

Dahl’s “A Man from the South” also lacks the ability to impress a sense of terror and dread on the reader. Like “A Rose for Emily” the story is entertaining, but the reader is not really terrified by any of the events that happen in it. There is a slight sense in revulsion at the idea of collecting human fingers but there is no overall sense of doom in the story.

“The Call of Cthulu” however is of a completely different nature. In it H.P. Lovecraft weaves a tale fu...

... middle of paper ...

...ing mystery, and it plays an important part the success of the story. This element of the unknown increases the effectiveness of nearly any piece of horror. Another factor which makes the supernatural such a potent element in horror is that it allow for the creation of things to evil to exist in this world. Cthulu is such an evil creation, one which is undoubtedly evil. This increased freedom for the author is another reason why the supernatural is so effective.

In conclusion, the use of the supernatural in horror can prove to be extremely successful. While many pieces of acclaimed horror writings do not contain elements of the supernatural, those works which best impress upon the reader a sense of horror often do to some extent. Whether it be the basis for a story or a smaller element of it, the supernatural is an import part of any truly terrifying horror story.