Author: Wyvern (---.msu.edu)
Date: 07-31-2001 23:21
Some months ago I read an excellent article which made a distinction among three different facets of the "horror" genre: horror, terror, and revulsion (or some equivalent term). I think it was on an RPG-related site, but I foolishly neglected to write down or bookmark the site, and since then I've searched in vain to find it again. If anyone knows the article I'm referring to, please drop me a line.
Anyhow, the reason I bring it up is because I like the way it defined the terms. Revulsion is self-explanatory. Horror was defined (IIRC) as the adrenaline rush that comes from a sudden shock or hair-raising escape; the immanent fear of death or injury; the knowledge that something awful is lurking in the darkness. Terror is the creeping sense of dread that comes with the gradual realization that something is very, very wrong -- what you described as "fearful incongruity", if I'm understanding you correctly. John Tynes' "Instrument of Precision" (http://www.johntynes.com/rl_precision.html) is an excellent example of a potentially terrifying scenario. Horror is the feeling you get when you go to bed at night and hear *something* breathing heavily underneath your wardrobe. Terror is the feeling you get when you wake up in the morning and find that your bed has been rotated 180 degrees.
Wyvern
|
|
