Sentimental Horror?

Xenia

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Is there room in the horror genera for the focus to be on an emotion other than fear (nostalgia, betrayal, etc) within a tense/frightening/horror setting or atmosphere?
 

the.real.gwen.simon

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I feel suddenly compelled to reference that Donnie Darko 'Love or Fear' thing.

I guess it's going to depend on the very specific elements you're combining. I mean, people love to talk about finding horror in the mundane, there must also be mundanity in horror. But if you're writing a romance with monsters, it might take some work to keep the horrific elements. The Shape of Water features a scary monster, but in a totally not scary way.
 

R.A. Lundberg

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I'm possibly wrong, but wouldn't that be classed more as suspense, rather than horror? For me, Horror works on shock, fear, and dread. If it doesn't inspire those things, then it's something else. It's why I read Horror. (Although I have read some "horror" books that didn't scare me at all, and some "suspense" books that did. So maybe there's a blurry line here?)
 

M. R. Kessell

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Xenia, I say go for it! Give it a shot and see what you come up with. Maybe you’ll stumble across some new dimension in horror.
 

frimble3

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How about horror/love? Scary stuff in house, turns out its haunted? The ghost is of someone the MC loved (lover, spouse, parent, child). MC is sad. Then, realizes that the ghost still means no good, and the MC must fight/destroy/etc the ghost. Which the MC sadly does, to release the loved one.
Or, 'The Monkey's Paw' which I think is horror/loss.
 

Scythian

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Is there room in the horror genera for the focus to be on an emotion other than fear (nostalgia, betrayal, etc) within a tense/frightening/horror setting or atmosphere?

I instantly think of the atmospheric masters like Shirley Jackson (the Haunting of Hill House is mainly a meditation on nuances such as nostalgia, betrayal, lack of fullfilment, lying to oneself and so on), Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, and Charles L Grant. And, of course, Ray Bradbury, and people who periodically refrence Ray Bradbury, like Stephen King (the opening of "Cujo", much of "IT") and Robert McCammon ("Boy's Life").

The thing is these names represent the very best genre stylists of their generation, just as say John le Carre and Graham Greene did the same thing for the spy thriller genre. And Gene Wolfe, Samuel Delany, Ursula le Guin, J.G. Ballard and (post-1950's) Robert Silverberg did for science fiction and fantasy, and Iain Banks did for space opera. Mary Stewart did this also for thrillers and then for historical fantasy.

I for one totally don't have what it takes to write like that, in spite of enjoying reading stuff like that, but I applaud anyone's attempts to follow in the footsteps of writers of this stature. Some people's inherent leanings and natural style can lead them into this direction--if so, that's great.
 
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DanielSTJ

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I say go for it as well! This could be great!

IT seems like a prime example to me-- just to throw that in too.
 

Calla Lily

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Also try 'The Tag-Along.' Billed as Taiwan's most popular horror, I went jnto it expecting it was over hyped. Maybe a bit, but quite good and definitely has the sentiment.
 

RobertlewisIR

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I'd say yes and no. To me, the one and only defining characteristic of horror fiction is that there is some sort of fear at the core of it. But there are different kinds of fear, and they can be closely tied to a lot of other emotions. So there's absolutely room for a horror to highlight emotions like nostalgia or betrayal. But if it's a horror story, to me, there must be some kind of fear associated with that emotion. If we're talking about nostalgia, it could even be something like fear of losing hold of the past. That could still be a horror story. But if it's *just* about nostalgia, and fear is completely absent, then I wouldn't think of it as a horror novel even if set in a "horroresque" environment. That said, it could still be a very good story, and it might even still be shelved with horror. After all, genres are more about marketing than anything else, I reckon. A good story is a good story regardless of what section it's in.