By Ashley Rands, Marketing
October is here and with it brings colder weather, shortened days, and spooky stories. This month seems to revolve around the macabre and obscene. While we might have some who read and love horror fiction all year long, there might be others who seek out this particular genre only during this specific time of year.
What is Horror?
Horror books or horror genre is typically classified as a story that elicits an emotional response. They are meant to shock, terrify, alarm, and even repulse their readers. When you put it that way, why on earth would we, as readers, want to be afraid? Why do we seek out the hair-raising and spine-chilling works of fiction?
Horror books can give us a thrill or an adrenaline rush; plus, it can be fun to read about things that frighten and repulse. Another reason we might put ourselves through mind-numbing terror is to help us cope with the real terrors we face in reality. Horror books can guide us in distinguishing real evils from harmless shapes and shadows. Stephen King once said, “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.”
Stories can give us a place to put our fears. The horror genre also has many sub-genres. It can be very difficult to separate horror fiction into its various sub-genres. Oftentimes we see that these sub-genres blend into one another. We have listed a few of the sub-genres of horror but remember; this is by no means a comprehensive list.
Gothic Horror
The gothic horror subgenre is ancient in its origins. It dates back to the late 1700s. These books have a mix of romance, death, and horror. Oftentimes it does not have happy endings. The New York Public Library states that the true trademark of gothic horror is “battle between humanity and unnatural forces of evil (sometimes man-made, sometimes supernatural) with an oppressive, inescapable, and bleak landscape.”
The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Devil’s Elixirs by E.T.A. Hoffmann are all well known books that fall under this particular subgenre. Other less known gothic horror fictions can include: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James
Paranormal Horror
Some paranormal horror books often overlap and blend with other categories and subgenres. Brandon Cornett, author of horror fiction, says that paranormal horror can include anything from “telekinesis to witchcraft to demonic possession”. Really anything that cannot be defined by the “scientific realm” can fall under this category.
Some paranormal horror book recommendations include: October Nights by Kevin Lucia, The Shining by Stephen King, Out for Blood by Delia Remington, The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste, The Weight of Blood by Tiffany Jackson, and The Good House by Tananrive Due.
Supernatural Horror
This subgenre can often blend with the above subgenre. The supernatural refers to things that are beyond or transcend the laws of nature. This typically might include vampires, werewolves, witches or other entities that defy the laws of nature. The Content Authority talks more in depth about when to use supernatural vs paranormal. These two genres can be tricky!
Some recommendations include: The Halloween Grindhouse by E. Reyes, What Lives in the Dark by Abigail H Nance, Fledgling by Octavia Butler, and Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco.
Splatterpunk – Slasher Horror
These subgenres can be described as stories that depict gore, disturbing violence, David J. Schow is credited for coining the term “splatterpunk” a genre with “hyperintense horror with no limits”. These stories that fall under this sub-genre are not for the faint of heart. Oftentimes in these types of stories it is the people that we are afraid of. They are the monsters in the stories.
Novels in this horror subgenre include: Psycho by Robert Bloch, Seeing Red by David J. Schow, The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, and Benny Rose, The Cannibal King by Hailey Piper.
Lovecraftian Horror
Cosmic horror is another term used to describe Lovecraftian horror. This subgenre of horror fiction can be classified as “weird fiction”. It is named after the American author H.P. Lovecraft. His work included themes of cosmic dread, dangerous and forbidden knowledge, non-human influences on humanity, superstition, fate and inevitability. We are insignificant and small in comparison to how big and scary the universe can be.
Some recommendations for this subgenre might be: At the Mountains of Madness, by H.P. Lovecraft, In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant, The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper, and The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle.
There can be many more subgenres of horror fiction (comedy horror, dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic). The above are just a few that we chose to highlight. There is a genre of fiction for almost anyone and in the horror genre there could be a subgenre that follows that same statement. What is your favorite subgenre of horror?
