  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: Adriana Noir  
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Hi! I’m thrilled to be filling in as a guest editor this week! Horror has always been my favorite genre to read and watch, but I find writing it presents its own set of challenges. In this issue, I want to explore the vast difference in two leading horror cultures.
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American Horror:
Take the classic American haunting. A few well-known instances such as Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror, and The Exorcist are good examples. In most American tales, tragic circumstances or evil forces usually trigger the haunting. Things may start out small or with a bang, but they always progress, until the characters cannot handle the circumstances anymore, and the sheer horror threatens to consume them. Sounds familiar, right?
With most horror presented on the American market, there is almost always a solution. People can dig into the past and uncover the problem. Perhaps it is a demonic entity at work. In these cases, certain steps can be taken that often eliminate or ease the haunting. If it is a restless spirit, the unraveling of the murder and a proper burial of the remains usually does the trick. Sometimes the ghost is even thankful for the help. Even live villains that make our blood run cold, like the notorious St. Bernard, Cujo, can be killed. Worst case scenario, people flee. Sometimes the haunting follows them, sometimes it doesn’t . . . but, for one reason or another, it eventually stops.
This is the underling theme in most American horror. There is almost always some kind of solution, if one merely looks hard enough. Sooner or later, the tormented find their happily ever after. Or, at the very least, some relief.
Japanese Horror:
Here, there is also a very common theme, but it differs vastly from the basis of American horror. For instance, take international Japanese hits, such as The Ring or The Grudge. Yes, their creepy situations, too, often arise from tragic circumstances, such as a brutal or unexpected death. This is our common thread. The difference being, in their culture, this does not result in a mere haunting, but a perpetual curse.
In both The Ring and The Grudge, someone was murdered, resulting in what we would call a haunting. In Japanese culture, they call these spirits Yūrei, or more specifically, onryō. Onryo are particularly strong spirits consumed by vengeance, hatred, and rage. In The Ring, it was a little girl, evil in life, and worse in death after she was tossed into a well. The Grudge presents an entire family, a mother, son, father, and even the pet cat who manifest a house, haunting all who dare to enter it, hunting them down to the ends of the Earth. As seen in the two examples above, there is no solution, no end to the curse they perpetuate. The are too powerful to be banished and continue to haunt, even slay their victims, long after their killers have been brought to justice. 
There are no happy endings here. No solutions, no way to solve the problem, just relentless terror. Once you encounter an Onryo, you’re as good as gone.
So there you have it. One common thread, two different cultures, and one vast bridge in the way things end. Which do you prefer? Do you like knowing at the end of the day, there is a safe place to hide, a way to chase away the monsters hiding under your bed? Or, do you like knowing there is no redemption? What if, no matter what, only darkness and all of the horrible things lurking in it remain?
~Best wishes and happy haunting!~ 
Adriana Noir
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Some great ghostly reads, curses, and even a new contest I came across on WDC:
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A woman with an accursed surname reveals a horrible truth. Lovecraft/Poe influenced
#1140844 by Savion |
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#1166159 by Not Available. |
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Being a guest editor, I have no feedback to share. But, feel free to send your comments, submissions, and questions in. Your regular editors will be back next week and I will return next month for another dose of things that go bump in the night. 
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Horror/Scary: January 06, 2010 Issue [#3480]
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