Horror and the (inter)national mood

In the first half of the last decade, I think there was an increase in serious, gritty horror, at least in movies (Wrong Turn, the Japanese hype, all those torture porn movies), as opposed to the campy teen horror of the previous decade. People have attributed that to the 9/11 shock and the fact that violence, especially over-the-top, uncontrollable violence, was indeed more present in non-fiction media. (No idea if that trend also appeared in book publishing. I've seen quite a lot of books that fit the profile, but I don't have enough mainstream grasp to decide how much of an impact it was.)

If now can't keep up, that may be because it had already happened before, or maybe the finiancial crises lends itself more to, dunno, thrillers or something. On TV, white collar crime seems to be the new Grey, with shows like White Collar and Leverage.

I can only speak for myself, but I personally enjoy reading horror more when the world is going through something awful. Puts thing into perspective. Like however bad things get for real, you can always say, "Well at least we haven't turned into flesh-eating zombies."

That said, speculative science fiction frightens me far more than straight-up horror, the possibility of what might happen if technological advances trump good sense and decency.

It's an interesting question. I find horror escapist entertainment, but I wonder if some of the more wallow-y horror, like those deep dark Asian movies, might stoke too much anxiety in people who are already beset by anxieties. Might horror that gives more of a sense of resolution or the ability to control or prevail over the Bad do better to satisfy the audience? I have no idea. Just wondering.

It's definitely a possibility, but I can only speak for myself. I am biased of course, because I live, breathe and adore horror - in films and books. I know that whether the world is a tough place or a good place, I still find it almost therapeutic reading horror. There's something about going to that dark place that really touches base with me... it puts things into perspective when things are bad (as somebody else said), and when things are good, it gives me inspiration for my creative work. Win, win for me lol.

For some it might stir anxiety, especially for those in dark places in their lives already.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

I can only speak for myself, but I personally enjoy reading horror more when the world is going through something awful. Puts thing into perspective. Like however bad things get for real, you can always say, "Well at least we haven't turned into flesh-eating zombies."

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Won't work for me, I'm afraid. Though I could picture myself in a zombie apocalypse saying something like "well, at least I didn't go broke over a Ponzi scheme."

I've heard this before but not sure if I agree with it. Mostly because when horror sold the best we were in the cold war. Remembering it as a kid the future looked very bleak. Maybe times aren't bad enough? Hmmm, no one argues that but it might be true. For instance my father was a vietnam vet who did search and destroy missions. He lived horror up front and personal but what was he doing in the seventies and eighties? -Eating up horror novels by the boxful. He couldn't get enough. As a kid in the eighties horror and the world offered the same what ifs? I used to think about life after nuclear war, mutant peoples, questioning myself as if I would eat someone else if there was no other food...standard childhood with nuclear missiles pointing at you...hardly the stuff to give you comfortable dreams.

I eat,sleep,and breathe horror. I wouldn't care if the economy was perfect and adorable puppies ran round shitting rainbows,I would still find a good horror novel and read it. I just WUV it. My opinion is quite biased.


I think that the base of true horror fans is still there. Call me a Gothic Pollyanna,but I truly believe this fanbase still has some pull. Every board I frequent,all the members say the same thing;Where are the REAL horror writers? They don't want dark suspense or paranormal romance. They hate Edward with a fiery passion and want the next Lestat or Dracula. Talking to them gives me hope.

A true horror fan doesn't care about the state of the world. We'll read horror no matter what. I do think publishers might be hesitant because paranormal romance type vamps and YA vamps have made so much money. A vamp that eats small children and has no remorse might be a bit much for them.


I would say the same for agents and fully believe that they might apply what Seun stated towards any horror novel they consider. They also underestimate the size of this fanbase. They are not small by any means. Not all publishers and agents will think this way,of course. But a horror novel is a hard sell. Finding an agent that actually represents the genre is like searching for a Sasquatch. You've heard many firsthand accounts but nobody has actually captured one. Still,I try. Because it is my darkest beloved and the one genre that if I had to give them all up, the one I would write for the rest of my life. I am also to the point that I am looking at Tor and the like for direct submission.

There are fans who want the kind of horror that most of us write. Horror seems to go through cycles. Hopefully,the Renaissance is around the corner.

I think if history is anything to go by, people have a tendency to turn to light entertainment in bad economic times. I'm afraid feel-good fiction, like romances and comedies, or how-to books (that allow people to imagine they have some control over their lives) will be popular until we manage to get out of this mess. (I hope it's not true, and it's just my opinion anyway.)

I have loved icky bug since I was a pre-teen, and that was a long long time ago. I was a young whippersnapper during the cold war when we dove under desks just in case a nuke went off (like that would do any good). I squeaked by Viet Nam and lucked out when the Air Force sent me to Spain instead. I lived through the 70's, 80's, 90's and all the crap that went on yet my taste for icky bug never wavered. I watched trends change from good monster horror to the slasher crap to the ho hum vampire crap to the mostly cool zombie genres. All along the way, there has always still been the good old b-movie monster horror that I've loved since I saw those giant ants of Them in black and white that scared the shit out of me, or Gort melting that tank in the baseball diamond in DC or The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms destroying NYC. My love of that has never wavered in almost 50 years. Not to date me...

Right now, it is harder to find. I write it, I will continue to write it. Later this year, I am going to publish one of my novels on Kindle and see what happens. It may sink, it may swim, but it will be out there. Yes, horror is harder to find, but not impossible. You just have to look harder and maybe not through the usual channels, or might I say, the "traditional" channels. And, to address the specific theme of this thread, I think there is still an audience for it, in books and in movies. If not, for instance, SyFy would have no audience every Saturday evening. They surely do, despite some pretty crappy movies here and there.

donatos said:

I've heard this before but not sure if I agree with it. Mostly because when horror sold the best we were in the cold war. Remembering it as a kid the future looked very bleak. Maybe times aren't bad enough? Hmmm, no one argues that but it might be true. For instance my father was a vietnam vet who did search and destroy missions. He lived horror up front and personal but what was he doing in the seventies and eighties? -Eating up horror novels by the boxful. He couldn't get enough. As a kid in the eighties horror and the world offered the same what ifs? I used to think about life after nuclear war, mutant peoples, questioning myself as if I would eat someone else if there was no other food...standard childhood with nuclear missiles pointing at you...hardly the stuff to give you comfortable dreams.

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I would agree with this. I'm not sure how much the mood / emotional climate really impacts such things. As donatos mentioned, the 80's boom came in the midst of the Cold War.

I think the bigger problem with the horror market is that, to the general public, it's still a stigmatized genre. It's viewed as corny, or generic, or immoral, or some combination thereof. It can't shake that public image. I also think people tend to be a lot less forgiving of horror, because the expectation is different. People expect to be scared, and if they encounter a moment that takes them out of the story enough, then they can't immerse themselves again enough to be scared. If I'm reading something comedic, and one joke falls flat, the next joke can bring me right back on board. It's a lot more difficult for horror to recover from a misstep, and I think people are at least somewhat aware of this, to a point where they just don't even give much work in the genre a chance these days.

Kitty27 said:

Finding an agent that actually represents the genre is like searching for a Sasquatch. You've heard many firsthand accounts but nobody has actually captured one. Still,I try.

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Don't give up, Kitty! It's tough, but not impossible. I write horror and I have an agent.

dgrintalis said:

Don't give up, Kitty! It's tough, but not impossible. I write horror and I have an agent.

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Thank you dgrintalis. You've given me hope. I've been too afraid to write Horror though it's what I love and what I do best, because I know I'm no King, Koontz, or Rice. But maybe I'll follow my passion and find my own niche.

Best wishes to you!

Rice isn't even Rice anymore... but what of it? Do your best, and who knows what you can become?

Laura_6 said:

Thank you dgrintalis. You've given me hope. I've been too afraid to write Horror though it's what I love and what I do best, because I know I'm no King, Koontz, or Rice. But maybe I'll follow my passion and find my own niche.

Best wishes to you!

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Follow your heart and write the way you write. Don't try to be the next < insert famous writer's name here >. Be the first you!

I grew up on my mom's ghost stories. She was a master at the art of telling stories. While my siblings would go to sleep, I'd beg my mother to tell me just one more. Recalling her tales can still send a cold horror through me all these years later.

I write horror. Would I like to find a market for my niche? Sure. But even if I dont, I still enjoy writing them.