Horror Mediums and Where to Find Them

By: Omar A., Grade 11

The horror medium is one of the most unrated and underappreciated mediums of movies, books, or games, along with being one of the most controversial. Other than the fact that most people out there do not really want to spend their free time fearfully, there tends to be some disfavor towards it from some people, who might question its effects, necessity, and “shock value.”  However, as there are so many types of horror out there, there really can not be some definitive answer to any of those questions — also considered that not all horror out there could be scary. But those are genres, but often, the medium of horror could be a major determinant of the horror and effectiveness of the material. 

I was initially one of those hesitant getting into horror material, however as I grew up into being a pre-teen, I started to get a spark, this small, incessant pressure to try something new than the typical fantasy that I knew and loved. Naturally, I began with the books of Stephen King, dubbed “the King of Horror.” This is where I and so many others diverged. I love horror novels and almost everything that I have read from Stephen King has jumped to be some of my favorite material out of any medium out there. However, I couldn’t help but not be at all scared by anything in his books…or really in any horror novel out there. Yes, various disturbing ideas or concepts could be written in them, but ultimately, nothing made me feel fearful or stressed in continuing. However, considering they don’t have much of the unique horror aspect present in movies with jumpscapes, brooding music, and exploding visual tension, they do something so incredible in the psychological aspect, where they can allow the reader to truly get into the fear of the main character or victim, and witness what seems to be the real monster in much of those stories. Not the alien or medieval entity, but the humans themselves and how they can turn out to be quite terrible.  

On the other hand, movies excel in the visual nature of horror material. Yes, movies like Midsommar or Get Out can get across psychological horror and connect the audience in a horrifying way by allowing them to see all the terribleness first hand. But for movies like The Ring or The Shining or the Exorcist, the visuals are what allow the audience to peek into the mind’s most gruesome creations; the worst the human mind can conjure up. I find that aspect simply the most fascinating in any movie and what could actually scare me. Being forced to witness both the human and inhumane at once gives the mind a jolt, a spike that leaves a long-lasting impact. Albeit, I haven’t seen that many horror movies, not as many books or games, but they also tend to really stick with me and so much who watch it; and that is often what so many people who watch anything or read anything, not just horror, want. Something that sticks with them, and horror has a tendency to do that incredibly effectively by targeting the thing most humans are most…well afraid of as an emotion: fear or hopelessness.

But, lastly, what I truly believe to be the ultimate method of horror is simply video games. Books can get you into the head of the characters and horror, movies allow you to see it, but games, along with both of those, allow you to experience and go through it… Games like Silent Hill 2, and Resident Evil 7 biohazard, which despite being some of the more well known horror games out there, have stuck with me so much that I just can’t help but frequently go back to them. To crave that jolt that many could be afraid of. But even with those already terrifying experiences, there is an ultimate ultimate horror, something that couldn’t get any human closer to an actual horrifying encounter with supernatural entities or creatures from the other side… There are games like Until Dawn, which allow you to not just control more than a couple characters, but allow you to control their decisions, and whether they live or die. With games, books, or most standard horror material, there tends to be one clear storyline or followthrough filled with scares and not much deviations. By giving extra control to the player by forcing them to make split second decisions that could impact whether they or other characters live or die, I believe it couldn’t get a much better horror experience than that — by putting you directly into the shoes of the characters and forcing you to make the decisions, along with the typical brooding atmosphere, jumpscares, chilling soundtrack, and horrifying designs. That's something only video games could really create — even a choose-your-adventure horror book couldn’t give those extra scares. But also games provide the experience of “going on the biggest roller coaster first so that you could handle all of the lesser ones.” I began with Resident Evil 2, which took me eight different starts to get through, getting a little bit ahead every time, until I braved myself enough to continue and finish it. That experience allowed me to feel less fearful in all other material, simply because I don’t have to control anything more. 

There are the three predominant methods of horror out there, each with their advantages. And, even if it might seem that video games are the only effective horror media out there, I do not believe that is true. For one, horror games couldn’t get you into the heads of the characters like books, etc. But there are even further types of deviations in each horror material, regardless of medium, such as supernatural horror, situational horror (battle royale, etc.), body horror, or isolation horror, etc. each playing on one individual's fear that might not work as well on another. That's why I don’t believe it is fair to judge horror all in one, in general, because something that might seem "horrific through its excessive violence” likely wouldn’t apply to all of the rest, so much of the criticisms that might apply to one type of horror likely wouldn’t hold true to another. 

And in the end, if horror is making you scared, then it does its job well. Some people want it to be effective, some don’t even want to try and see, but in the end, I believe everyone should try it. Some might not end up liking it, some would out of nowhere, like me would start enjoying it or looking for it. It's all about lifting the curtain covering the dark room, and peeking inside to see how bad stuff could actually get…