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| The Horror Of It All By Deb Leblanc |
| Most of my life I’ve been a people-watcher, always fascinated with
different mannerisms, idiosyncrasies, just generally curious about what makes people tick. This curiosity inevitably led me to the question, What makes someone a horror fan? Interestingly enough, while pondering this, I found myself categorizing horror venues. There are those who enjoy the blood and gore of slasher movies or books. There are those who prefer psychological fright. And I’m sure if I were to delve into it deeper, those categories would subdivide into infinity, which would only complicate the issue and send the answer farther into oblivion. It would seem at first glance that other genre preferences are more easily defined, therefore understood.Take romance for instance.One could assume that the connoisseur of romance may be consciously or subconsciously seeking that perfect relationship. And, if for no other reason, they enjoy reading books or seeing movies that allow for the possibility of a perfect relationship to exist. Another for instance is the avid mystery buff. Through logic, one may assume that individuals captivated by a weekly dose of CSI or the next whodunit novel enjoy the mental challenge of problem/puzzle solving. But what about horror fans? Whether the horror is physically or mentally portrayed, what drives us toward the genre? What are we seeking? Escape? If so, why to such extremes? What is it about the horror lover’s brain that causes it to tingle at the mere thought of watching a Friday The 13Th sequel or a new, family-moves-into-haunted-house movie? What makes them wiggle with delight when they get their hands on a newly released Koontz or Rice book? Is it simply a case of innate, morbid curiosity? Or is it because we, as horror fans, (who are often looked down upon by some as barely literate because of our genre preference), are, in fact, capable of stretching our minds fearlessly beyond where most refuse to go? That the lot of us is willing to open up and allow our thoughts to wrap around the possibilities that other things may exist outside the realm of our immediate world? That we’re willing to face, head-on and open-eyed, the physical horrors that already exist in our day-to-day and given headlines on the nightly news? In truth, these additional questions made my head hurt and brought my musings to an abrupt halt. I concluded that there’s really no need for a psychological dissertation regarding the reason we love horror. The answer is simple. Who the hell cares? I just enjoy being frightened by what is different, unusual, and, yes, even macabre. So no matter the reason, call me sick or sane, I say, BRING ON THE HORROR, DAMMIT! |
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