I’ve been forming a belief lately. We are inclined to feel fearless in times of complacency and prosperity. We are more in touch with our fears when we are aware of how tentative success can be and the bulwarks we set up against disaster, such as savings or insurance, are insufficient. Readers of horror are more inclined to be the fearful kind. Even on my better days, I think that the fearful side of me is a realistic standpoint.
Allow me to digress for a moment. Horror films had a boost during the great depression but fell off during WWII and then science fiction really blossomed when we started to see more prosperity instead of constant danger. Why? Life was really scary during the depression days. At least horror movies give you a sense of control. You know what you are watching is made up. Being able to face against an onscreen terror is a little empowering when you are facing everyday fears of 25% unemployment, the Dust Bowl, starvation, and a war that cost the lives of millions. America started to see more prosperity during the war but that doesn’t mean those times were easy. The USA started to see prosperity like never before after the war. By this time, horror lost its teeth and that seem to take physical form in movies such as Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein where the horrors that terrified audiences in the 30s were played for laughs. By the mid-50s, horror was practically dead and buried. Like the zombie, horror would see an occasional resurgence. By the 70s, American morale was low. We were still in Vietnam, JFK and MLK were assassinated, and a great deal of American youth were either protesting or disillusioned. The prosperity of the late 40s until the early 60s became a thing of the past. It is little wonder that The Exorcist captured the imaginations of millions who were seemingly primed to question what they were raised to believe or disbelieve. The devil became a hot commodity and horror saw a major boom in film and books. It seems that horror is hot in times of trouble. The times that we doubt and fear are the moments that horror become relevant. These are just thoughts, not facts.
What does this have to do with why I read horror? Is it cathartic? In his essay “The Consolations of Horror”, Thomas Ligotti summed up the element of catharsis in horror fiction is a placebo and that we don’t have become more equipped to deal with our fears by reading it. He’s probably right, but for me reading horror opens up the possibility of being able to confront the horrors of real life. I don’t think that fear can ever be erased but reading the fiction can remind us of what we can accomplish and overcome. Look at it this way. Van Helsing and his crew took on Dracula and won. Robert E Howard’s character Solomon Kane fought vampires, harpies, pirates, and ghosts and survived. You could say that protagonists in horror fail too but the chance of failure is present regardless. The point is that there is the chance, however little, that we will succeed. There is the chance that we can survive the heartbreak over losing a loved one, endure and overcome illness, and face our personal fears.
Last year, I faced one of the darkest experiences of my life. With my child being born, my wife on maternity leave, and a low income, our debt mounted up quickly. Add that to debt that weren’t able to clear and life became difficult quickly. No solution seemed to present itself either. The outcome looked bleak for my small family and I lived in fear every day for months that we would lose everything that we worked for. On many occasions, I thought I was better off not being born. I felt helpless for not being able to find a solution when I needed it. I was frustrated became things only seemed to get worse as time passed by. One of the few things that comforted me during was time was reading horror. Dr Sleep by Stephen King, The Strain Trilogy by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro, The Best of Richard Matheson, Quatermass and the Pit by Nigel Kneale. I consumed these and more during this time of stress trying to adjust to being a new father and being able to afford it. Reading distracted me by allowing me to bravely face something in proxy of my real problems. This could be the function of any form of art: to give us a form of empowerment, however illusory. Sometimes, that’s the best we can do. A solution presented itself for my family and we are doing fine.
If anything, horror fiction has shown me that life is fragile but worth fighting for. Whenever I encounter a fear, it’s easy to forget that it can be conquered. Fighting fear can be an act of faith but take it from someone who has a lot of fear that it is a fight we can win.
P.S. Sorry if this article comes across as too poignant but I we all have our serious moments. If you are unconvinced by my sentiments about reading horror, keep in mind that I primarily read horror for the fun of it. That is the best reason of all to ready any form of fiction.
Written by Nick Montelongo
Allow me to digress for a moment. Horror films had a boost during the great depression but fell off during WWII and then science fiction really blossomed when we started to see more prosperity instead of constant danger. Why? Life was really scary during the depression days. At least horror movies give you a sense of control. You know what you are watching is made up. Being able to face against an onscreen terror is a little empowering when you are facing everyday fears of 25% unemployment, the Dust Bowl, starvation, and a war that cost the lives of millions. America started to see more prosperity during the war but that doesn’t mean those times were easy. The USA started to see prosperity like never before after the war. By this time, horror lost its teeth and that seem to take physical form in movies such as Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein where the horrors that terrified audiences in the 30s were played for laughs. By the mid-50s, horror was practically dead and buried. Like the zombie, horror would see an occasional resurgence. By the 70s, American morale was low. We were still in Vietnam, JFK and MLK were assassinated, and a great deal of American youth were either protesting or disillusioned. The prosperity of the late 40s until the early 60s became a thing of the past. It is little wonder that The Exorcist captured the imaginations of millions who were seemingly primed to question what they were raised to believe or disbelieve. The devil became a hot commodity and horror saw a major boom in film and books. It seems that horror is hot in times of trouble. The times that we doubt and fear are the moments that horror become relevant. These are just thoughts, not facts.
What does this have to do with why I read horror? Is it cathartic? In his essay “The Consolations of Horror”, Thomas Ligotti summed up the element of catharsis in horror fiction is a placebo and that we don’t have become more equipped to deal with our fears by reading it. He’s probably right, but for me reading horror opens up the possibility of being able to confront the horrors of real life. I don’t think that fear can ever be erased but reading the fiction can remind us of what we can accomplish and overcome. Look at it this way. Van Helsing and his crew took on Dracula and won. Robert E Howard’s character Solomon Kane fought vampires, harpies, pirates, and ghosts and survived. You could say that protagonists in horror fail too but the chance of failure is present regardless. The point is that there is the chance, however little, that we will succeed. There is the chance that we can survive the heartbreak over losing a loved one, endure and overcome illness, and face our personal fears.
Last year, I faced one of the darkest experiences of my life. With my child being born, my wife on maternity leave, and a low income, our debt mounted up quickly. Add that to debt that weren’t able to clear and life became difficult quickly. No solution seemed to present itself either. The outcome looked bleak for my small family and I lived in fear every day for months that we would lose everything that we worked for. On many occasions, I thought I was better off not being born. I felt helpless for not being able to find a solution when I needed it. I was frustrated became things only seemed to get worse as time passed by. One of the few things that comforted me during was time was reading horror. Dr Sleep by Stephen King, The Strain Trilogy by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro, The Best of Richard Matheson, Quatermass and the Pit by Nigel Kneale. I consumed these and more during this time of stress trying to adjust to being a new father and being able to afford it. Reading distracted me by allowing me to bravely face something in proxy of my real problems. This could be the function of any form of art: to give us a form of empowerment, however illusory. Sometimes, that’s the best we can do. A solution presented itself for my family and we are doing fine.
If anything, horror fiction has shown me that life is fragile but worth fighting for. Whenever I encounter a fear, it’s easy to forget that it can be conquered. Fighting fear can be an act of faith but take it from someone who has a lot of fear that it is a fight we can win.
P.S. Sorry if this article comes across as too poignant but I we all have our serious moments. If you are unconvinced by my sentiments about reading horror, keep in mind that I primarily read horror for the fun of it. That is the best reason of all to ready any form of fiction.
Written by Nick Montelongo
195 Comments
Linear