We all have things that we're afraid of, whether they be animals, the dark, lightning, the monster under your bed (yes, he's really there!), gas prices, etc. This is why the horror genre is so hard to define because an array of things can scare different people.
Does a man in a wig scare you?
Er, well, a man in a wig may scare different people for a varied number of reasons!
Do monsters scare you?
Or, do people scare you? Alive or dead?
We all have a multitude of definitions for scary. Tell me, what scares you?
We all have things that we're afraid of, whether they be animals, the dark, lightning, the monster under your bed (yes, he's really there!), gas prices, etc. This is why the horror genre is so hard to define because an array of things can scare different people.
25 comments:
Cockroaches scare me. I'd rather face a psycho in his mother's dress any day. Unless he was dressed as a clown, too. Then I'd rethink it.
Any scenario that could occur in real life terrifies me. Nuclear war, viral outbreaks, anything like that.
Believe it or not (and this will seem silly), I styill have nightmares about dinosaurs.
Yup.
Ever since I read Jurassic Park (in 91 or 92, I think), I have recurring dreams about being eaten by everything from T Rexes to Procomsognathids, and even some prehistoric critters that never existed.
I know. Goofy.
As far as more realistic things that scare me, I'd have to say people top that list. Living people. Farticularly religous fanatics of any denomination. It never ceases to amaze me the levels of cruelty people are capable of. Just when I think humanity can't sink any further, someone goes and proves me wrong.
I know most people in the world are good people. It's true. But those very few bad apples scare the poo poo outta me.
Yep, roaches. Especially in Florida, where they're several inches long and crunch when you smush them (*shudder*).
Hmmm. Flying scares me. A lot. Ebola terrifies me.
Crazy psycho killers. Being buried alive. Drowning. Being trapped.
I'm just a big p*ssy, aren't I? Sheesh.
LOL re: gas prices
I love the Evil Dead movies! *g
IRL, deep water scares me because I never learned to swim.
But in books, a good author can make me scared of things I'm not scared of in real life, just because they're threats to a character I care about.
Naomi,
I'm not afraid of roaches, but I think they're gross and would probably burn down my house if they EVER invaded it.
David,
You're right about people being scary. Yikes!
December,
I agree with the disease thingy. Any disease that could wipe out the planet is scary.
Erica,
I love the Evil Dead movies too! Bruce Campbell is awesome! :*)
Spiders scare the crap out of me and I have no clue why. I'm not even sure what I think they'll do they just creep me out. I swear sometimes I can feel them crawling.
Beyond that different things scare me at different times. My overactive imagination (thank you God!) can always find something to twist. Gotta sleep with the closet closed. Blood and guts don't get me as much as the psychological fear. The Ring had me up for days. Freddy Kruger is still the worst for me cause he gets you while you sleep. Hell, can't even run in heels and fall down ;-P
Beyond that I've got to agree with David. Human nature scares the crap out of me. While most people are good there are always the crazies and then you have the 'neighbor' that snaps and kills his family or shoots up his work. You never know where the line gets blurred.
Helplessness scares me.
The current reality of the status quo scares me a lot...
But, I'm also afraid of mice. Really afraid...
Gwyneth
DH, I would burn down my entire street if I even suspected cockroaches had been there.
Liane,
People are one of the scariest things out there.
Bernita,
I agree. No one likes to feel helpless.
Gwyneth,
I'm defnitely afraid of said status quo and mice...and rats! I could kill them, but I would be too busy running...
Naomi,
The entire street? LOL. You got me beat! :*)
Debt. Debt really scares me.
Really careless people scare me too, and people who are malicious.
Large bureaucracies that do nothing scare me, and so do bureaucrats.
Neocons scare me.
Oh, dear, I sound incredibly neurotic now!
I think people and what people are capable of are the scariest things. That'sone reason horror works--even if the antagonist is a monster, it is so often a metaphor for something about humanity. Or it is used to illustrate a human trait that is scary--most often, that's helplessness, as Bernita said. That is a base fear that almost everything comes back to, being unable to do anything in a given situation.
The book Ghoul by Brian Keene has a monster in it (a ghoul!) but, as he illustrates throughout, the real monsters are the people in this little town. I don't recommend this book, I didn't think it was written particularly well, and this metaphor I mention was stated too obviously. He should give the reader a little credit for figuring things out. But it was still a good point and is a good illustration of what horror is all about.
Kanani,
You're not neurotic, just very socially aware. Thanks for stopping by! :*)
Rob,
I have heard of that book but I nevr had a chance to pick it up. Thanks for the heads-up! :*)
Thanks for stopping by my blog;))
Mice scare me. I hate rodents. I can't even look at them.
Clowns scare the crap out of me...and water. And oh god, The Thing Under The Bed...rivalled only by The Thing In The Closet!!! (seriously)
Kari,
I don't like rodents either....ewww!
Heather,
The dark used to scare me when I was a kid. Clowns don't bother me. I loved Killer Clowns From Outer Space!
Centipede scare me. I had an 'Young Indiana Jones in a pit of snakes' moment when I was a kid.
There I was, reading a Spider Man in bed before I was gonna go to sleep. I reached over to turn off the lamp and noticed a centipede on the ceiling on the other side of the room. Not bothered (yet!) by it, I turned off the lamp and quickly fell asleep.
Not sure how long later, but I could feel something light and tingly land ON MY FACE! I reached and caught the thing in my fingertips and threw it across the room.
Yep. You guessed it. Centipede.
Haven't been able to look at 'em the same way since.
Pain scares me.
And, weirdly, I keep having this recurring dream that I'm in school still and forgot a class...and now it's Finals!
Thomas,
I don't like centipedes or worms either. I cannot imagine what I would have done if something fell on my face in the dark...ewww!
Pain doesn't scare me anymore, Written. I kept having a dream similar to yours. Something about missing too many classes and not being able to graduate, even though I already have a degree...lol.
Being broke cares me. And my children passing away before I do. I'm not really into horror flicks.
Don,
I think being broke would scare most people, and of course, kids dying before parents. You should really check out more horror flicks... :*)
I notice a lot of these fears are at base about powerlessness. No money, being helpless or in someone else's power, being eaten by T. Rex, holocausts, having discovered you are going to fail a class you didn't know you had... All about lack of control.
Very true, Written. What person is not afraid of not being able to control their own lives? Great point!
Ugh. I saw Salem's lot in what, 1976?? Mr. Barlow tormented me for almost 25 years. I'd panic getting a bottle for my kids in the middle of the night because I was convinced he'd pop up from my kitchen floor. Then I watched a re-run and the special effects were so lame I had to laugh. I still not NOT look out windows in the middle of hte night lest "Danny Glick" is floating there all un-dead.
Pinhead scares me to death but I love those movies. Not the gory part. I liked the story in the Hellraiser movies.
I enjoy suspense horror - like Sixth Sense which had some gore but not a lot. Slasher meets nubile young girl and hacks her to death isn't my cup of blood though.
Kim,
Those are some classics. I love them all! :*)
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