Blog Post #3 - Genre History: Horror

 The horror genre has ancient roots, coming from folklore and religious traditions. These were a way of reinforcing rules or norms through fear by the depiction of a spirit or entity, and to explain the unknown aspects of death and the afterlife. Horror was first popularized by 18th and 19th century gothic literature such as that of: Mary Shelley - Frankenstein, Edgar Alan Poe - The Raven, and Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto. All of these stories continue to influence the horror genre to this day. 

In the film industry horror genre was popularized mainly by the film 'Dracula' (1931), however, some influential works before this were: "Le Manoir du Diable" (1896) (translated to "The Haunted Castle" or "The House of The Devil", and "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror" (1922). The purpose of the genre is the scare, shock, or disturb the audience. It is a way to explore and confront our deepest fears, which is how horror created many sub-genres such as: Slashers, Supernatural, Psychological, Found Footage, and so on. 

This research is import to my final project because; while my film will be primarily a supernatural slasher, it is important to understand the roots of horror, so that the villain/ conflict will influence norms or rules, and explore universal fears.  


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