The Lighter Side of Absolute Zero: Reading Doesn't Produce Fright <link rel="prev" href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/2006/08/trite_horror_icons.html" title="Trite Horror Icons" /> <link rel="next" href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/2006/08/three_modes_of_living.html" title="Three Modes of Living" />   <script type="text/javascript" src="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/mt-site.js"></script> </head> <body class="layout-one-column" onload="individualArchivesOnLoad(commenter_name)"> <div id="container"> <div id="container-inner" class="pkg"> <div id="banner"> <div id="banner-inner" class="pkg"> <h1 id="banner-header"><a href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/" accesskey="1">The Lighter Side of Absolute Zero</a></h1> <h2 id="banner-description"></h2> </div> </div> <div id="pagebody"> <div id="pagebody-inner" class="pkg"> <div id="alpha"> <div id="alpha-inner" class="pkg"> <p class="content-nav"> <a href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/2006/08/trite_horror_icons.html">« Trite Horror Icons</a> | <a href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/">Main</a> | <a href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/2006/08/three_modes_of_living.html">Three Modes of Living »</a> </p> <a id="a000994"></a> <div class="entry" id="entry-994"> <h3 class="entry-header">Reading Doesn’t Produce Fright</h3> <div class="entry-meta"><span class="entry-category">{Perplexity}</span> <span class="entry-topics">Topics: <a href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=5&tag=Horror&limit=20&IncludeBlogs=5" rel="tag">Horror</a> <a href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=5&tag=Writing&limit=20&IncludeBlogs=5" rel="tag">Writing</a> </span></div> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p> I was recently talking with a friend of mine and each of us confessed we have never been scared by a book, and in truth feel no contents of any book will ever instill even a remote sense of fear. I’m sure psychologists everywhere have opinions on why this is, and frankly I don’t much care. I’m not sure I read stories to scare myself, I’m not even sure if I like being scared (and I’ve read articles stating scary movies succeed because we <em>like</em> being scared). And yet, when the weather cooperates and casts a pallor of gloom around me, you will be sure to find me in a dimly lit room (candles if I can) devouring as much Lovecraft and other “masters” as I can find. You might even be treated to an impromptu ghost story of my own creation. </p><p> So what am I writing when I write a horror story if I concede I will not scare anyone with it? If I am not writing to frighten, then what am I doing exactly? I’m still coming to grips with why I read, but it seems to me, from my perspective only, horror literature isn’t about fright and terror in the reader’s psyche, it’s about something else, something I can’t put my <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">claw</span> finger on. </p> </div> <div id="more" class="entry-more"> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">Posted by Seth Croston Barber on August 29, 2006 10:12 AM</span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="http://blog.0kelvin.net/lite/2006/08/reading_doesnt_produce_fright.html">Permalink</a> </p> </div> <div class="trackbacks"> <h3 id="trackback" class="trackbacks-header">TrackBack</h3> <div id="trackbacks-info"> <p>TrackBack URL for this entry:<br />http://blog.0kelvin.net/mt-tb.cgi/428</p> </div> <div class="trackbacks-content"> </div> </div> <div id="comments" class="comments"> <div class="comments-content"> <h3 class="comments-header">Comments</h3> <a id="c000308"></a> <div class="comment" id="comment-308"> <div class="comment-content"> <p>When you read, you are in control.<br /> Even a video / DVD you can pause and stop, but it arrives at it's own pace. A book is read at yours...</p> <p>Think about it, the creepy room. A sudden noise behid you, only to see its a cat. Turn back for the real monster to eat you.</p> <p>That's a staple of movies. And to some extent plays. But it's near impossible to give that short, sharp shock to a reader. (I know, Harris seems to do it but...)</p> <p>However with a book, you can haunt someone. The images created are in their imagnation. You can creep someone out. It's a different scare, but shock is harder.</p> </div> <p class="comment-footer"> Posted by: <a title="http://cork-host.blogspot.com" href="http://cork-host.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Will</a> | <a href="#comment-308">August 30, 2006 2:37 AM</a> </p> </div> <a id="c000309"></a> <div class="comment" id="comment-309"> <div class="comment-content"> <p>While I'm not going to object to anything you said you do bring up probably the main point, and that is there are many kinds, categories, and levels of fear. I will even go so far as to say each one of us has a unique set of triggers that will produce such emotions, and this only works against horror writers <em>if</em> their goal is to scare someone. It is a monumental task, and perhaps it is patently impossible to such a degree that we ought to reevaluate our aims and attempt to achieve something no less chilling, but not try to yell "BOO!" and hope for a fight-or-flight response (which I don't equate with real horror or terror).</p> <p>I suppose someone, somewhere has done a thorough study of fear and fright and would be better equipped to categorize such discussions and works of fiction. I'd be somewhat interested in what they'd have to say. . . .</p> </div> <p class="comment-footer"> Posted by: <a title="http://0kelvin.net/~seth/" href="http://0kelvin.net/~seth/">Seth Croston Barber</a> <a class="commenter-profile" href="http://0kelvin.net/~seth/"><img alt="Author Profile Page" src="http://blog.0kelvin.net/mt-static/images/comment/typekey_logo.png" width="16" height="16" /></a> | <a href="#comment-309">August 30, 2006 10:07 AM</a> </p> </div> </div> <form method="post" action="http://blog.0kelvin.net/mt-comments.cgi" name="comments_form" onsubmit="if (this.bakecookie.checked) rememberMe(this)"> <input type="hidden" name="static" value="1" /> <input type="hidden" name="entry_id" value="994" /> <div class="comments-open" id="comments-open"> <h2 class="comments-open-header">Post a comment</h2> <div class="comments-open-content"> <script type="text/javascript">  </script> <p class="comments-open-moderated"> (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) </p> <div id="comments-open-data"> <div id="name-email"> <p> <label for="comment-author">Name:</label> <input id="comment-author" name="author" size="30" /> </p> <p> <label for="comment-email">Email Address:</label> <input id="comment-email" name="email" size="30" /> </p> </div> <p> <label for="comment-url">URL:</label> <input id="comment-url" name="url" size="30" /> </p> <p> <label for="comment-bake-cookie"><input type="checkbox" id="comment-bake-cookie" name="bakecookie" onclick="if (!this.checked) forgetMe(document.comments_form)" value="1" /> Remember personal info?</label> </p> </div> <p id="comments-open-text"> <label for="comment-text">Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)</label> <textarea id="comment-text" name="text" rows="10" cols="60"></textarea> </p> <div id="comments-open-footer" class="comments-open-footer"> <input type="submit" accesskey="v" name="preview" id="comment-preview" value="Preview" /> <input type="submit" accesskey="s" name="post" id="comment-post" value="Post" /> </div> </div> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-9423091-2"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script> </body> </html>