This article is about the genre. For the film genre, see Horror film.
"Horror story" redirects here. For other uses, see Horror Story (disambiguation).
"Supernatural horror" redirects here. For the film genre, see Supernatural horror film.
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Horror is a genre of fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten or scare.[1] Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, 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".[2] Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.
Prevalent elements include ghosts, demons, vampires, monsters, zombies, werewolves, the Devil, serial killers, extraterrestrial life, killer toys, psychopaths, sexual deviancy, rape, gore, torture, evil clowns, cults, cannibalism, vicious animals, the apocalypse, evil witches, dystopia, and human-made or natural disasters.
^Carroll, Noël (1990). The Philosophy of Horror or Paradoxes of the Heart. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 28, 36, 53. ISBN 0-415-90145-6. Art-horror requires evaluation both in terms of threat and disgust. ... some emotional states are the cognitive-evaluative sort. And, of course, I would hold that art-horror is one of these. ... The audience's psychological state, therefore, diverges from the psychological state of characters in respect of belief, but converges on that of characters with respect to the way in which the properties of said monsters are emotively assessed.
^Cuddon, J.A. (1984). "Introduction". The Penguin Book of Horror Stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 11. ISBN 0-14-006799-X.
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includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, magical realism, superhero fiction, alternate history, utopia and dystopia...
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of fiction. Brian Stableford argues "dark fantasy" can be usefully defined as subgenre of stories that attempt to "incorporate elements of horror fiction"...
universes, and extraterrestrial life. It is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been...
belief systems of most cultures, and appear in many works of fantasy and horrorfiction. The term is also occasionally used for real-life attempts to resurrect...
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This is a list of science fictionhorror films. Contents !–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 4D Man (1959) 9 (2009) 9 (2019) Absurd...
published by Stephen King, an American author of contemporary horror, thriller, science fiction, and fantasy. His books have sold more than 400 million copies...
rarely used. Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can...
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