Horror and terror

In Volume 1 of Mary Shelley‘s ‘Frankenstein’, horror and terror are themes that evidently run strongly throughout, for example the horror of the creation and the awakening of the Creature, and Victor Frankenstein’s fearful response. According to James. B. Twitchell – “Horror – horrére means to stand on end or bristle”, which most definitely applies to Frankenstein. Written in the early 19th century, Shelley took inspiration from society at the time – particularly science – with the use of Galvanism, electricity, and scientific theories – which fascinated her. This was seen as something completely horrifying at the time of the novel – which emphasizes the horrific nature of the novel itself, as it challenged and fascinated readers with the idea of turning something completely terrifying into a reality. Horror and terror are evident themes in many scenes of volume 1, for example, in the letters there is terror in a sense that Walton and Frankenstein are both obsessively devoted to achieving their goals; in chapters 1 and 2 there is an unnatural, chilling, tone as Frankenstein’s childhood is portrayed as unrealistically perfect, as though concealing something, contrasting with the disasters later on in his life. Chapter 3 explores Frankenstein’s dangerous obsession with knowledge and power;…

Sleep terrors are usually terrifying experiences. A sleep terror is when a person is dreaming but they are physically having an episode of screaming and flailing in fear. It is considered a parasomnia, which is an undesired occurrence during sleep. Sleep terrors can last anywhere from seconds to a few minutes. In extreme cases they can last a while longer. Nightmares are also very terrifying, but they are not the same as sleep terrors. Sometimes you can remember bits and pieces of what the…

mystery. Gothic Literature relies heavily on romance and malice, and is also very scientific. Although Gothic Literature is sometimes poorly misunderstood due to its dark nature, we can learn a great deal from the lessons that it teaches. Gothic Literature has these fundamental values: it focuses heavily on death, ruin, decay, terror, and chaos, and favors irrationality and passion over logic and reasoning. Terror and horror is the main responsibility of the gothic novelist, he will try to make…

enjoy watching horror films. On the other hand, these characteristics could be the exact reason why some do not enjoy horror films. Watching horror films has both positive and negative effects on its viewers’ mental health, thoughts, creativity, and actions and reasons for watching them or not may vary. Some would compare it to a roller coaster ride. Heart rate increases, palms sweat, skin temperature drops several degrees, muscles tense, and blood pressure spikes as adrenaline runs through…

Over the past several hundred years, horror and monster themes have become very popular in every medium available. At any given time it is not uncommon to find three or four horror movies playing at the same theatre. Arguably starting with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there has been no shortage whatsoever since this explosion of a new genre. This raises the question of why are we so in love with scaring ourselves? What part of the unknown is desirable to the point where horror dominates the…

When analysing Hitchcock’s Psycho, it is clear why it has been labelled as a horror. Although Norman Bates is not a monster in the physical form, his monster-like nature is within his human psyche. There are many reasons for this film to be regarded as a “horror”, the imagery of the old dark house is typical of “horror”, being set in an isolated place, off the beaten track presents a clearly gothic setting where as little as the appearance of a single woman unleashes forces of sexual assault,…

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Pit and the Pendulum” focuses on the abysmal terror and numerous horrors that a person experiences when undergoing physical and psychological torture. Anxiety is immediately revealed at the precise opening of “The Pit and the Pendulum” through the first time the narrator speaks, stating the “I was sick—sick unto death with that long agony” (Poe 1). This statement abruptly establishes a clear feeling of anxiety and terror of the narrator which suggests that…

between science fiction and horror they seem so different, yet share so many similarities. Science fiction obeys the natural laws of the universe, but horror creates its own set of supernatural laws. The horror genre creates terror while the Sci-Fi genre creates a sense of wonder. But both genres are so much alike and are separated by their own periods of time. The film industry uses these periods of time to create different classics for each genre. There is a big contrast between classic and…

some even experience immense guilt. That's why i think The Babadook is so interesting. In some ways it's a supernatural monster movie that combines the early tropes of German expressionism, like Nosferatu, with the modern trends of creepypasta’s such as ‘Slender Man’ or the ‘Rake’. But on the other hand, it's a deep psychological thriller about the horrors of guilt, grief, mental illness, and even motherhood. Directed by Jennifer Kent, and Starring Essie Davis, as a mother with a very…

Horror is a genre of films and literature which stimulates negative emotional reactions of its viewers and readers respectively. The reactions would primarily be fear, shock, terror, anger and pure agony. “The 3 types of terror: The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it's when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the…