A question we have posed to the horror authors we have spoken to this month is "Why do we like horror?", and we suppose a valid answer to that question would be that some people don't. In fact, some absolutely hate it. If you're a fan of the genre, it can be easy to forget that gore, things that go bump in the night and feelings of dread and terror do in fact make a lot of folks turn tail and run.

That being said, horror is a universally beloved genre despite the impassioned and fiery backlash it sometimes receives, and today we wanted to examine why exactly we keep coming back to tales of terror, unrelenting suspense, and sometimes, general misery. 

The base reason that we enjoy horror is that it is a bit of a thrill ride. In the same way that people are enthusiastic about lightning-fast, death-defying rollercoasters and amusement park rides, some get their thrills from the feelings evoked by a good piece of horror media. The difference between an engaging horror novel and actually being chased down a misty street by an axe-wielding maniac, is, much like a well-maintained rollercoaster, contained fear. Horror media allows you to gently tap into mankind's most primal emotion whilst still maintaining the knowledge that you are not in any real danger, thus allowing yourself to be entertained by that emotion. 

Looking more deeply, horror can often be seen as one-dimensional, or "shock value", but we would argue that a great deal of horror is discarded without an examination of further meaning. Whilst we understand that you may have been put off of themes by your secondary school English teacher's scrutiny of 'An Inspector Calls' or 'Of Mice & Men', fiction does mean a whole lot more when it features parallels to the real world. With its weird and frightening nature, horror is a great fantastical vessel for difficult subject matter, a way to examine the hard stuff through fiction. The writing of the great Stephen King is filled to the brim with themes of coming-of-age, the ugly side of growing up, the tragic things that silently burden us. The work of contemporary horror-whizz Stephen Graham Jones deals with the often under-represented indigenous people of America, writing unfiltered slices of Native life and stories of cultural struggle and attrition in with tales of slashers and vengeful spirits. 

Many people- regardless of their genre preferences when it comes to media- are also looking to feel some kind of visceral or strong emotion. Cheap entertainment only suits certain moods, and it's hard to feel engrossed in something when it does not illicit any potent feelings. Horror not only has the capability to shock or terrorise, it also has the ability to make you feel sympathetic, empathetic, tender. Many horror authors weave the theme of love heavily into their work, whether this is familial, romantic, platonic or otherwise. Like any genre, characters and their place in the world is at the centre of the stories, and finding these moments of vulnerability, compassion and love amidst rivers of blood, monsters and masked maniacs makes them all the more special. 

Horror is for the people, you just have to look hard enough.