Horror

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

Horror is a genre of speculative fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing".[1]

Origins[edit | edit source]

The genre of horror has ancient origins with roots in folklore and religious traditions, focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic and the principle of the thing embodied in the person.[2]

Horror in literature[edit | edit source]

Horror in literature, film, and graphic fiction has seen a number of different settings over the decades. These include old haunted houses, graveyards, dark schools, and eerie woods.[3]

Horror in film[edit | edit source]

Horror films often aim to evoke viewers' nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown and the macabre. Horror may also overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction, and thriller genres.[4]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Horror". WikiMD. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  2. "Horror". WikiMD. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  3. "Horror". WikiMD. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  4. "Horror". WikiMD. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
Horror Resources

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD