Is it Horror-ible? By Robert Reams

HORROR - DEFINITION: (a) painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay; (b) intense aversion or repugnance; (c) to tremble.



Well, I’m back again, and I’m here to talk about the horror genre. What is it? How do you know what it is? First off, when I think about horror and the genre, I think about different mediums; namely books, movies, and personal experiences.



I started to think back to the first “horror” story I read. I think it may have been “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. I know what you thinking. ‘That isn’t horror’! But for a four to five year old, there were some fearful parts – rebelling against your parents (although I would secretly cheer Max on); finding yourself in charge of large scary monsters; and missing/wanting the love of a parent. Changes the perspective, doesn’t it? In reality, the first ‘actual’ horror story I read was either “Something wicked this way comes” by Ray Bradbury or Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot”. After this, I was well on my way to loving the genre in books.



My experiences with the horror genre in movies have been equally as long. Personally, movies are one of my favorite things to experience. Now, I know there are lots of ‘horrible’ films such “Santa Claus conquers the Martians” (If you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest it), “Ice Pirates”, or even “Dead Alive” (funny, full of zombies, and horrible), but I’m not talking about these. I grew up on the 1930s black and white classics like “Dracula” and “Frankenstein”. I loved them as a kid; still do, but they were not scary (my oldest daughter – 12 – finds them not scary). The first movies to actually fill me with dread were either “Psycho” (the original in black and white), “Night of the Living Dead” (again the original), or the first “Friday the 13th” (in the theatre). What else can be dreadful or cause intense fear?



My first physical experience with horror seemed to happen in a museum of all places. Yes, I know that may seem odd, but what the hey. Now I can’t remember which one was first, but they were about at the same time (about four years old) and on opposite coasts. The family had taken a trip to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. We were living in northern West Virginia at the time, so it wasn’t a long trip. I do remember loving the dinosaur and animal exhibits except for one hallway. I found my little self standing in front of a stuff polar bear, which was standing on two legs. It looked 100 feet tall and very lifelike to a four year old. The other museum was in California, a place we had just moved from before West Virginia (and where we would return to very briefly a year later before ending up in Seattle). The family was visiting my father’s set of parents and some museum with a train. I remember when the tour guide blew the train whistle; I took off like my pants were on fire. Someone, my other grandfather I think, finally caught up to my fast moving four year old legs. Both experiences provided some intense fear in me.



Why am I waxing through memory lane? This should be about the horror genre. Well, I figure this might be a way to show that horror can come from anywhere. It’s real life with an edge. For example, my oldest daughter and I have recently written a short story about an ice cream truck (I’m sorry to say that she might be a little warped like me). It may not sound horrible, but the idea came from an actual ice cream truck that drives around in the area, playing that sickly sweet tune, but doesn’t stop for little kids. I’m sure the driver doesn’t even have ice cream; it’s just a vehicle to get around town. Sure it plays a tune and is a little creepy, but it’s a vehicle. Our ice cream truck in our story offers special treats, and the truck driver is not normal (nobody can tell - almost).



So we’re back to the original questions; what is horror? To me, it’s normal life with a twist. The twist may increase your heart rate or raise the hair on the back of your neck. Is there someone behind you? It’s a thrill ride on a looped rollercoaster. Are you breathing a little heavier? That’s horror. Enjoy the ride!