Why We Like Horror

Robert Lewis
August 5, 2007

Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't ask me: why do you like that creepy stuff? Admittedly, this is usually some religious fundamentalist who thinks that enjoyment of horror is comparable to devil worship. Sometimes, it's a perfectly sane person that, not being a horror fan him or herself, just doesn't get it.

Well, here comes Bob to save the day. I'm going to do my damnedest to set the record straight once and for all. Of course, I can't speak for everyone. I suspect that if you ask fifty different horror fans why they like "that creepy stuff," you'll probably get forty different answers. The other ten, having heard that so many times before, will proceed to dump their drinks in your lap and walk away. The only answer I feel qualified to give is my own, but I think it's probably similar to most others, in at least some ways.

In order to answer the question, properly, though, I need to divide it up into segments, and tackle them one at a time. There is no simple answer to why anyone likes anything. There's usually a long series of small reasons, working together, that create enjoyment.

But first, let's lay down a few rules. People speak about things differently than others and they understand things differently than others, so we need to define just what we're talking about. When I discuss "fiction," that's fairly all inclusive. It can be realistic, or fantastic. It can have true historical elements or be a complete fabrication. The only rule is that it needs to be a made-up story.

When I discuss "fantastic fiction" I'm talking about any fiction that falls outside of what we know as reality. This includes all supernatural fiction, and some hard sci-fi (hard science fiction is usually based on some degree of real science, but frequently the science in the story is far more advanced than our own, and can't be included in what we define as modern reality--at least not yet).

When I discuss "horror" we're getting more specific, and also a lot harder to define. Everyone has a slightly different view of what horror is. For example, the movie Amadeus (which is a highly fictionalized story of the last years of Mozart's life) is not considered a horror movie, though I believe it definatley has elements which wouldn't feel the slightest bit out of place in a horror story.

The simple way to define it would be just to say: if it's in the horror section, it's horror. But that's not perfect, either. So I'll say that it's a story that is either intended to cause fear (or to disturb the reader/viewer) or one that does cause fear (or disturb the reader/viewer). That's a very flawed definition, though, and I may be forced to break it from time to time during this discussion--after all, TWO TWISTED NUTS by Jeff Strand and Nick Cato could hardly be considered a story intended to cause fear, yet it's still a horror story almost as much as it is a comedy, due to the horrific situation the characters find themselves in.

In other words, we're wingin' it. I'm going to do the best I can to stick with these definitions, but don't hold me to them too much.

Now, let's divide our main question ("Why do you like that creepy stuff?") into several key components. Divide and conquer.

NOTE: I'm going to discuss things from the angle of books and readers, rather than movies and viewers, though most of the points I make are relevant in both discussions.

Why do we like fiction?

Of course the first question has to be why we like any fiction at all? Why not just read non-fiction? It's generally more informative (though I have noticed a disturbing trend in which the metaphysics and "New Age" sections in bookstores have outgrown the science sections). In theory, it would be more applicable to real life. Some might say it's more beneficial.

However, I think that's a rather unfair assessment. Of course non-fiction is necessary, and I love it as much as the next guy. I even write a good deal of it myself. But to assume that it's more beneficial than fiction is rather silly, if you ask me.

Still, this is a difficult question to answer. Far more difficult, indeed, than any of the others that follow. We might as well be asking why we live at all. Actually, now that I think of it, that's easier still. We live to breed--simple as that. But why we do all the things we do in the meantime, that's a whole other question, and I don't have a good answer.

I do, however, have a fairly simple answer. If I may quote the late, great Kurt Vonnegut: "We're here on Earth to fart around..." Really, I think it may well be just as simple as that. We're here to enjoy ourselves, and to help others to do the same. There's a lot of bullshit wrapped up in that (the necessity of getting a job is right up there at the top of my list), but it all comes down to enjoying ourselves.

That's where fiction comes in, I think. Indeed, that's where all art comes in. Humans are different from our Darwinian ancestors in several key ways, but perhaps the most important is that we're able to think about things in a more advanced way, and we're able to appreciate art. If there were a god, the best evidence we would have for its existence would be our appreciation of art.

(Parenthetical aside: There is, of course, no god. There is no real evidence for the existence for such a being. And while art may provide the best attempt at proving such a being to exist, the fact that we appreciate art is a product of our highly evolved brains, which give us the capacity to think beyond such religious superstitions.)

Fiction, above all, is entertainment (that's why this is in the entertainment section of the website, even though I allowed myself to digress and discuss religion for a moment). It may be and do many other wonderful things, but it's primary purpose is to entertain.

Why, then, do we want or need entertainment? The simple answer is that we've evolved to appreciate such things. The longer answer comes back to that Vonnegut quote. We're here on Earth to fart around. A lot of times, people seem to lose sight of that simple fact. Fiction--entertainment--provides an escape from all the bullshit that is everyday life. When you're reading a good novel, you can forget, for a short while, all about politics, the mortgage, your job, whatever's troubling you.

That, I think, is why we like fiction.

Why Do We Like Fantastic Fiction?

Not all horror is fantastic. Let me be perfectly clear on that right from the beginning. One of the most disturbing novels I've ever read is THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Jack Ketchum, and the scenario presented in that novel is all too realistic. That is, perhaps, why it's so incredibly unsettling.

However, since so much of horror is indeed fantastic, we need to understand the desire to read fantastic fiction if we're ever to understand the desire to read horror.

It's an interesting fact that some form of religion has surfaced in every known culture throughout human history. That doesn't mean it's true, by any means. But what it does suggest is that there was, at some point, some evolutionary benefit to religious belief. Or if not a benefit, than at least some explanation for it from our Darwinian past.

Humans, ancient and modern, need magic in our lives. I think that's a biologically built-in part of humanity: the desire for magic. In the past, people have made up gods to fill this void. In modern times, we're working very hard to overcome that. Many of us have realized that there is no magic in the universe.

Indeed, as beautiful as our universe is--and ye gods is it beautiful!--it is also a very cold universe. There is no supreme being looking out for us. We're on our own on this little rock in a very unfashionable corner of a galaxy not like so many others in a constantly expanding universe. When you think about these things, and think of the senselessness of it all, it's nice to have a little magic.

It can be dangerous to believe in the irrational, but the irrational may well be a necessary part of our lives. Therefore, we invent stories to fill that void. We can have our irrationality, but limit it to a fictional world that does not directly affect our own real world.

That's at least one theory concerning why we like fantastic fiction: People need some magic in their lives. When they come to the realization that there is no magic, they turn to fiction to fill the void.

Or it could just be that they're fun tales.

Personally, I think it's a bit of both. I think that at the subconscious level, the first case is definately true, to at least some extent. However, I don't think anyone consciously thinks "I need magic, so I'm going to read some Tolkein today." Consciously, they're thinking: "LORD OF THE RINGS is a fun story, I think I'll read that today."

At the conscious level, we're just looking for a fun read. The reason we find these particular books to be "fun reads" is at the subconscious level and is a product of the human desire for magic.

A slight digression (hopefully one for which I may be forgiven): One day I was chatting online with a friend, and telling him about a magic trick I was learning. Don't worry, I wasn't giving away the secret. I just described the effect. His response was that there's no such thing as magic.

It took me a moment to think of a reply. Of course, I knew he was right, but I couldn't think of why it mattered that there was no such thing as real magic. What I was doing was pure illusion and I've never claimed otherwise.

Finally, I decided on a reply: "You're wrong," I said. "The trick isn't real magic. It's just an illusion. But if I can use it to bring a smile to someone's face, then that, my friend, is real magic."

If you ask me, I've never said truer words in my life. Which was perhaps overshooting it a bit, since I was just hoping for a witty comment in response to what I felt was an out of place remark of his.

Why Do We Like "That Creepy Stuff?"

So many words later and now, here I am, committed to answering a question that probably can't be properly answered at all, because everyone has a different reason. The answer I give is my own, and it's a fairly simple one. Some of you may have similar reasons.

Every day, you wake up in the morning, and participate in what is laughably referred to as the real world. You take your shower, try to look your best, and drive off to work so you can pay the bills. It's the same old routine. As the characters of Stephen King's DREAMCATCHER would put it: SSDD. Same Shit, Different Day. Only today, the shit's going to be quite different as well.

You get to the office early, and take a moment to call your wife or mother about nothing in particular. Just usual September morning small talk about the weather, plans for the next couple days, who has a birthday coming up. You see the boss coming out of his office, so you quickly hang up and pretend you're getting some work done.

Once he's gone back to his office, you run to get a coffee from the break room. On your way back to your work station, you glance out at the view of the Statue of Liberty from your office in the World Trade Center.

A few minutes later, it's all over.

That's why I like horror. Because every day, real monsters do real things to real people. Monsters fly planes into buildings. Monsters abduct children and sell them as sex slaves in other countries. Monsters start wars. Monsters rape and monsters kill. Every minute of every day, somewhere in the world, there's a real monster doing something really horrible to another human being.

Some people think that's a good reason not to like horror. "Isn't it enough that there's all this horror in the real world?" they ask. "Do you really have to make it up, too?"

And for them, that may well be true. But I don't think they understand the appeal for the rest of us. Horror fiction can be an escape from those real horrors. It can, as others have pointed out before me, be comforting to settle down for a couple of hours with a safe monster, whether it's a ghost, or a zombie, or Jason Voorhees.

It can be comforting because you know it's a safe monster. You might get that rush of adrenaline as you worry about your favorite characters, but ultimately, you know it can't hurt you.

Aside from that, I think horror can provide a good commentary on the horrors of real life. All fiction can be a metaphor for real life. Horror just examines the darker parts of life.

And a third thought I have: I think that, for many people, it's easier to deal with a tragedy the second time around. The first time is a total mindfuck. The second time, you're a little more prepared. It would be easier, would it not, to deal with a disaster in the real world, if you've already "experienced" something like it in a work of fiction?

That's what I think anyway. Though if someone asks me on the street, I'm liable to just give Stephen King's answer: that I have the heart of a small boy...and I keep it in a jar on my desk. Either that, or I'll dump a drink in their lap.

Stay scared...but not too scared.

Bob