Trust & Obey

My back remains stiff as I sit paralyzed but my eyes are flying across the pages. The blood in my veins turns to ice as I wonder what will happen to the protagonist. Will they survive? What must they do to make it? What would I do in this situation? If anything moves in the house my body jumps and my mind breaks from the page. As soon as I regain my bearings, my eyes dart back to the page.

Horror is just my thing. I love to be antsy and nervous while reading a book. One of the best things horror has to offer is its plethora of subgenres to intrigue anyone! Anyone who doesn’t mind being scared can get into the genre.

One book I remember thinking was really unique but probably don’t recommend is The Grip of It by Jac Jemc. It was the book I picked out of a list for my English 103 class in my senior year. All I can say is I don’t know what the heck I read but it was wild. I even read it twice and was still a bit unsure. After reading it, I followed up with The House of Usher by E.A. Poe and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. All are about houses with a nefarious presence bent upon destroying those who dwell inside. We are left unsure and unsteady in regards to the events. They all led me to write an essay on how fear is ageless and what scares us today is what scared our parents and what will scare our children. Elements like the unknown, insanity, and being out of control make everyone get jumpy. I had a lot of fun constructing and executing that paper!

In the genre of horror, there are many subgenres that dictate how the plot will unfold. I am a fan of thriller/horror when it comes to movies like “The Quiet Place” and “The Quiet Place Part II” because usually, it’s more action and adrenaline based. As far as books and novels I have more fun reading the classics. At some point, I would like to try H.P. Lovecraft but I don’t know if he will have any good works. All I know is he impacted the style greatly. I get a kick out of the deeper symbolism and complexity of classical horror and the macabre. It’s not just meant to scare or thrill you, it makes you think and wonder what’s to come. There’s also sci-fi horror. To me it’s usually not all that great, it’s just aliens instead of monsters and set in the universe. Psychological horror is usually about losing your mind and not being able to trust what you see. Sometimes this can be fantastic and even freakier than the other subgenres. Other times, I can just sit there confused much like I was with The Grip of It. Psychological horror can easily lose the punch it planned to pack. Finally, there is romantic horror but I really don’t read that. I have little desire to and if I have I don’t remember doing so! It just sounds really weird.

I understand horror isn’t for everyone, much like sci-fi. It takes a certain type of person to enjoy it and if people don’t like heavier themes it most likely isn’t for them. However, I do notice that there are more self-declared horror fans than other genre fans. I can definitely find fantasy or romance fans but they aren’t as common especially in my age bracket. Horror seems to be able to procure die-hard fans. I think the reason for this is that it can elicit so much emotion. Not the teary-eye, runny nose emotions but the heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping emotions. That feeling in tandem with figuring out the puzzle with the characters makes the rollercoaster of a horror novel so much fun! I rarely know what’s to come but the excitement of figuring out what’s to come is what brings me back every single time.

Honorable mentions for the horror (and some thriller) genre:

Skin by Ted Dekker, The Oath by Frank Peretti and Tell Tale Heart by E.A. Poe