 Horror/Scary: March 14, 2007 Issue [#1592] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: zwisis
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The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
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He’s handsome, wealthy and intelligent. Educated at the best schools and one of the country’s top universities, he is a successful business executive at one of the city top financial institutions. Dressed in designer suits with a taste for the finer things in life, he lives in the most expensive apartment block in the city. His name is Patrick Bateman, and he sounds just like the kind of guy you’d want to bring home to meet the parents. However…
… the central character from Bret Easton Ellis’ book “American Psycho”, Bateman is also a vicious, sadistic killer. His privileged lifestyle is a good mask for his brutal nature. His analytical, self-centred character is equally at home discussing the plot of the latest film with a colleague while detailing his actions as he tortures and murders a victim. Obsessed with detail, Bateman spends a lot of time describing and noting every detail of his colleagues’ possessions, like the brand of pen being used or the name of the designer of a particular suit. This masks a massive insecurity, as well as an obsession with the materialism and “yuppie” mentality of the 1980s – the era in which the book is set. Indeed, so immense is his insecurity he bemoans the fact that one of his friends’ business cards is of better quality than his own, simply because it contains a watermark of the company’s logo. I’ve not read the book, but I have seen the film which starred the brilliant Christian Bale as Bateman. It’s chilling, terrifying and horrific.
I find psychological horror more frightening than any traditional horror story, because the horror is more subtle and insidious than the blatant violence of, say werewolves and vampires. It has been said that psychological horror is “the story of a fear that’s all in the head.” In other words, some of the characters in a psychological horror story may find themselves questioning their thoughts about the lead character, wondering if their own negative feelings about the individual are nothing more than a figment of the imagination. That’s because the central character presents such a perfect image to the public nobody would ever think of him being a sadistic killer – or a psychopath!
In psychological horror the protagonist usually has “issues”, and the fear, guilt and ensuing emotional instability is a great way for a writer to develop the character and built tension around the plot. Psychological horror uses negative thoughts and emotions common to us all, hiding these traits behind a façade of normalcy. Readers feel uncomfortable because this kind of horror reveals our vulnerability and our fears – aspects of our characters we work hard to overcome or repress. What is so terrifying about Patrick Bateman is how normal he was in both his behaviour and appearance, yet Ellis created a character using such graphic violence to detail his evil side that publishers were at first reluctant to print the book. In short – Patrick Bateman could be a reader’s brother, husband or even best friend, simply because he appears to be so very ordinary.
Another terrifying literary character is Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lector. Not only is Lector an eminent psychiatrist, with excellent taste and style; he’s also extremely polite, civil and well-mannered. Perhaps the fact that someone trained to understand the way our minds work is capable of committing such terrible deeds is the real horror in the four books Harris has written featuring Lector. Our brains are the blueprint of us, the reason we behave the way we do and the recorder for our memories and experiences. The idea that someone like Lector knows exactly how our minds work and which buttons to press is unpleasant - to say the least.
Psychological horror comes from within the persona. Its main effect is the anticipation built to draw the reader closer to the climax of an implied or perceived threat becoming reality. This makes “fear of the unknown” something that can be fully explored and/or exploited for maximum effect.
Many times the writer will create a character whose true personality is only revealed near the end of the story. One of the best examples is Patricia Highsmith’s creation Thomas Ripley, who appeared in the five books comprising her “Ripliad” novels. Described as “suave, agreeable and utterly immoral, Ripley appears in the first book as a man making his living as a con-man – he lies, cheats and fabricates stories about his wealthy family and well-connected friends. He falls in love with the casually wealthy lifestyle of one Dickie Greenleaf, and quickly reinvents himself to fit in with Greenleaf’s circle of spoiled, wealthy friends. When Greenleaf tires of Ripley and rejects him, Ripley kills Greenleaf and assumes his identity. So perfect is his imitation of Greenleaf that Ripley seems to become his victim. Unfortunately for Ripley his charade is threatened when Greenleaf’s friends who met Ripley begin asking questions, forcing Ripley to assume both identities… readers may recognise this information from the excellent film “The Talented Mr Ripley”, the title of the first book in the Ripliad series.
Highsmith cleverly added another dimension to her psychopath – few details of Ripley’s physical appearance are ever given in the five books. This suits his ability to fit into any group of people he encounters and any circumstances he may come across. The only thing readers ever learn about Thomas Ripley is that he has light brown hair and is pale and thin. Oh – he’s also a smoker…
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The theme of The Psychopath is the focus of these three stories:
Eternal beauty may not be as elusive as you think – but it does come at a price! Deanna makes her clients beautiful, which is one reason they never go to another hairdresser. The other reason? Read on…
Alone in a haunted house Kara makes two terrible discoveries... and one of them is looking for her.
Serial killers hunting for victims is the focus of this story, which proves just how effective and descritpive dialogue can be when applied in this genre.
Here's a sample of some items submitted to the newsletter for your reading enjoyment:
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Mavis Moog 
A great subject for a newsletter, and so well researched and presented. Thank you.
I think I’ve told you before, Mavis Moog that I find man’s attitudes and behaviour more frightening than most creatures of the horror genre. Man really is capable of causing the most terrible horror.
shenglong200x
The article on 1984 was very good, and it shows quite how dangerous Big Brother can be... I just hope that the game show never gets as controlling as the term it represents...
The game show gives me the creeps, shenglong200x, and I actually think it is pretty controlling. After all, the viewers only see the things the producers want them to see. The organisers know what the outside reaction is to the different people in the show, and so they are able to set them tasks and challenges accordingly. I always think of the “housemates” as lab rats…
drifter46
An interesting and intriguing newsletter. Reading it started me thinking about what would happen if a writer of any genre slipped into the world he was creating. For that image I thank you. But you asked about what others of us talked to imaginary people.
Let me assure you that for most of my 61 years I have been talking to imaginary people. My first love was the theater. I wanted to be on stage so I got used to being other people at a very young age. Now writing I find it very helpful to BE someone else or talk to others, especially if they're imaginary. Works great for dialogueand action/reaction conflict.
I hope this helped you some.
Thank you for your very honest response, drifter46. Imaginary friends are a feature of so many children’s lives, but as we get older many of us stop talking about or to the friends, and they fade away. I also think that a writer with a bit of an imagination can create a wonderful story; in fact I think I’d go as far to say it’s a necessity for anyone writing in the Horror, SciFi or Fantasy genres. And I’m sure it’s been a real benefit to your work in the theatre.
The Blue Dream
Again, I zipped through this newsletter, read it from beginning to end, and wished there were more! Great, great work. Fascinating - the ideas of Utopia and Dystopia. Someone should do a contest! Great work.
take care
rhi
Now that’s a great idea for a contest! It would be very interesting to read different writer’s descriptions and definitions of Utopian and Dystopian societies, The Blue Dream . Thank your for this great contribution!
CandyStaiNeCane 
 zwisis; I feel grownups fear cemeteries more than children is innocence lost. As a child myself I had fears, and nightmares like any other child, however innocence in my imagination and the shelter of parents made them bearable. However as adults our imaginations can be as "dark" as each are capable, and being responsible for ourselves and knowing these things are our own fears are intensify by our nightmares and dark thoughts. Children sees cemeteries as where dead are dead and buried with a few ghosts. Now I see cemeteries as the dead recruiting more dead. 
A sobering thought, CandyStaiNeCane . Perhaps growing awareness of our own mortality is the reason for the fear of cemeteries… combined with the slow but inevitable realisation that we will all end up there eventually! 
billwilcox
I see you are one of the members of The Ministry of Good Newsletters  This was an awesome edition and I believe you covered ground never before covered in the Horror Newsletter. Good stuff, thanks for sharing,
-Bill
Thank you, billwilcox for your very kind word. It’s an interesting and very diverse subject, and I just covered the basics.
scribbler
1984! One of the greatest novels of all time. Thank you so much for including it, although it's upsetting that you gave away the ending to those who have yet to read it.
For children's dystopian literature, don't forget "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Incredible too.
You make a very good point, scribbler . I really should have warned readers of this, and in future I shall advise that “spoilers” are ahead. I’ve also done a bit of research on the book you recommend, and am adding it to my ever growing list of books to read.
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