The Landscape of Horror: Exploration of Genre and Setting

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The Landscape of Horror: Exploration of Genre and Setting
Setting is an integral feature of literature, but the hierarchy of narrative mechanics varies depending upon genre. In tragedy the conflict could rank as the greatest element based on the conflict’s ability to incite emotion in the reader. In horror fiction the setting is greatly fundamental because outside forces (i.e. elements, landscape and the unknown) incite fear in the characters and readers which in turn accelerates the plot; Also the setting plays a hand in molding the atmosphere, tone and theme of a piece. Through the analysis of theoretical material and short horror stories the reader will gain perspective on the importance of setting in horror literature. The setting of a piece is a multi-faceted device that contributes to the atmosphere, theme and tone of a work. After exploring elemental and geographical setting it will become evident that setting in supernatural literature is the greatest aspect in the rank of narrative elements. Discussing the genre of horror and examining where fear comes from will enable the reader to understand how setting functions as the most integral part of horror literature.
Setting is the all-encompassing environment of a text providing a physical landscape in addition to atmospheric elements that set the tone of a piece. The setting of a story is a backdrop for the unfolding plot, an interactive playground for the characters to interact. A study by Michelle Smith documents the setting of 200 horror stories taken from popular anthologies. Smith targeted short stories rather than novels, because of a novels ever changing setting whereas a short story typically defines one or two settings quickly in order to establish the story’s en...

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... Research 42.1 (2005): 99. JSTOR. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Farnell, Gary. “The Gothic and the Thing.” Gothic Studies Text 11:1 (2009): 113. JSTOR. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Hawthorne, Nathanial. “Young Goodman Brown.” The Dark Descent. Ed. David G. Hartwell. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., 1987. 132-41. Print.
Jackson, Rosemary. Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion. London: Methuen & Co., 1981. Print.
Lovecraft, Howard P. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories. New York: Penguin Books, 1999. Print.
Lovecraft, Howard P. “Supernatural Horror in Literature.” The Recluse, No. 1 (1927), 23–59. Web.
Schmitt, Casey R. “If a Text Falls in the Woods ...: Intertextuality, Environmental Perception, and the Non-authored Text” Cultural Analysis 11 (2012): 17. JSTOR. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Smith, Michelle K. “Nightmares: The Geography of Fictional Horror.” Pg. 71. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

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