True Terror: The Evolution of the Horror GenreA Story by Cody WilliamsTrue Terror: The Evolution of the Horror Genre By Cody Williams
Since the dawn of time fear has been the most common emotion in humans. Whether people are more afraid of, clowns, spiders, or the typical monster under their bed everyone has experienced fear at some point in their lifetime. The emotion fear originates from the horror genre in literature. The horror genre had specific eras throughout time. Theses eras are known as; Gothic Fiction, which took place in the 1700s and 1800s, Lovecraftian Horror which took place in the early to mid 1900s, and Contemporary Horror which took place from the late 1900s to now. What is Gothic Fiction? Gothic fiction is the mixture of horror and romance in literature. Gothic fiction is believed to have been invented by Horace Walpole when he published the novel The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story which was the first novel to contain supernatural elements. Readers at the time found the novel completely different and original. The Gothic Fiction genre continued to grow through the remainder of the 1700s. In 1818 Mary Shelley published the best-selling novel Frankenstein. The novel was the first to introduce the dangers of science and the terror that it could cause. It is a story about a scientist who becomes obsessed with death and will stop at nothing to create life. The novel is believed to be the first science fiction novel. In the mid 1800s a new author by the name of Edgar Allan Poe completely transformed the Gothic Fiction genre. Along with being credited for writing the first short story, Poe also introduced the psychological aspect of horror in his stories. For example, “Tell Tale Heart” is the story of a man driven to madness by an old man’s lazy eye which he believes to be the evil eye. While the story also has physical horror, it also contains psychological horror when the man is made to confess his crime by his conscious for the murder he committed. The next era of horror fiction is commonly known as Lovecraftian Horror. Lovecraftian Horror was named after the great H. P. Lovecraft. H. P. Lovecraft was the “changing of the guard” so to speak from Gothic Fiction to Lovecraftian Horror. Lovecraft wrote stories about the unknown. For example, Lovecraft often wrote about the aspects of the extraterrestrial. Along with creating a new sub-genre, H. P. Lovecraft was also a major influence in the comic industry. William Gaines, long time editor for E. C. Comics, was the first publisher in the United States to publish horror comics in the 1950s with the launch of The Haunt of Fear, The Volt of Horror, and The Crypt of Terror (later to become Tales from the Crypt. In the mid 1900s film became inserted in horror. The first horror film to become a major success in the film industry was Rosemary’s Baby released in 1968 and earned 33 million dollars in the box office with a 3.2 million budget. Rosemary’s Baby would the open the door for arguably the best horror author of all time Stephen King. The third and current era in the Horror Genre is commonly known as Contemporary Horror. The three most popular Contemporary Horror authors are Richard Matheson, Peter Straub, and of corse the one and only Stephen King. Richard Matheson is the best-selling author of I Am Legend. He played a major role in influencing Stephen King. “When people talk about genre, I guess they mention my name first, but without Richard Matheson I wouldn’t be around. He is as much my father as Bessie Smith was Elvis Presley’s mother. He came when he was needed.” Stephen King wrote in the introduction to Matheson’s I Am Legend. Along with being a best-selling author, he wrote many episodes for the original The Twilight Zone series (Riordan). Another best-selling modern horror author is Peter Straub. Straub’s most notable works include: Julia, Ghost Story, Shadowland, The Floating Dragon, and Koko. However, his two best-selling novels of his career are, The Talisman and Black House which he was co authored with Stephen King. The Talisman is the story of a twelve year old boy named Jack who embarks on a dangerous journey from the New England area to California to find the talisman that will save the life of his dying mother. His quest takes him into a medieval parallel universe (King). Stephen King became such great friends with Straub after co-writing The Talisman they decided to team up again in 2001 and write a sequel titled Black House. In 1974 a brand new author by the name of Stephen King burst into the scene once again completely changing the horror landscape. The new novel was titled Carrie. Carrie was the story of a girl with the power of telekinesis and went on a psychopathic rampage after getting pig blood poured on her at the prom. Carrie eventually went on to become a blockbuster hit in the theaters only two years after publication. Stephen King’s success continued to grow until he became a household name. The King brand of fiction became a multimillion dollar industry (HWA). His next novel ‘Salem’s Lot also shot to number one on the New York Times Best-seller List. However, perhaps his most popular novel is The Stand. The Stand is by far Stephen King’s largest book maxing out at one thousand one hundred fifty-two pages. The Stand tells the story about a super flu which nearly wipes out the earth’s population (King). Another major success by Stephen King is the novel IT. IT, published in 1986, is the story of an unknown creature masquerading as a clown who tortures the town of Derry, Maine killing local children. It only came out of hibernation every thirty years to feed. “The Looser Club” was formed in 1946 was a group of teenage kids who banded together to destroy It. Thirty years after the thought they have beaten It one of the members of “The Looser Club” called all of his old school friends to inform them that It has returned (King). Stephen King has set the tone for the future of the horror genre and set the standard for future author such as Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son). Fear is the most common emotion in the human anatomy. Fears often originate from the horror genre. The three major eras in the horror genre are: Gothic Fiction (from the 1700s to the 1900s.), Lovecraftian Horror (the early 1900s), and Contemporary Horror, or Modern Horror. Copyright 2013 by Cody Williams Courtesy of TTP Entertainment
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14 Reviews  Last Updated on December 14, 2013 Tags: non fiction, horror, Cody Williams Author
Cody WilliamsElizabethton, TNAboutI am in my second year at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee were I major in instrumental music education and minor in English. My passions include playing the trombone/euphonium an.. more..Writing
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