Spooky music and haunting scenery typically elevate the suspense of horror movies, but according to Brian Shawver, associate professor of English at Missouri State University, the horror genre’s origination in 18th century gothic literature had other goals than just to frighten – it was designed to “prod the reader to think about memory, sorrow, conscience and the figurative meaning behind the things that frighten us,” he said.

One piece of classic American horror fiction is “The Turn of the Screw,” by Henry James, said Shawver. “The novel contains some of the familiar tropes and techniques of a typical horror story – people sitting around a fire telling eerie stories, a secret from the past, the apparition of dead children, etc. – and  it does these things really well, so that it functions as a very good traditional ghost story,” he said.

Shawver, author of two fiction novels, noted James’ novel lends itself to individual interpretation. Meanings of ghosts and “other-worldly” beings are less literal, and many situations are ambiguous and unexplained.

“The work (“The Turn of the Screw”) also implies that what is truly terrifying about life is not external – not evil spirits and monsters – but internal, what’s going on inside our heads and hearts,” he added. “When Irving, James, Hawthorne and Poe included ghosts, demons and supernatural violence in their works, they were trying to do two important things at once: create a suspenseful narrative that would entertain the audience, and comment in a figurative and allegorical way about certain aspects of humanity.”

Current horror readers have come to expect less parablistic or thematic elements in exchange for more jump-out-of-your-seat passages, according to Shawver. This trend is making horror novels more like horror movies wherein the only job of the viewer is to “sit and scream,” he said.

According to Dr. Jean Stringam, associate professor of English who specializes in children and young adult literature, the horror genre’s roots can be traced to folklore.

“Folklore is often bizarre and even gory, so we need to position them carefully for contemporary readers,” said Stringam. “Traditionally, they were culturally useful; people told them as cautionary tales around the hearth fire.”

The fairy tales of the Grimm brothers (Germany) and Charles Perrault (France) are well-known in America, but equally fascinating are the tales from other cultures, noted Stringam.

“Sometimes the values don’t translate into our culture very well, but knowing them helps us get a better perspective on what the tales being told now are actually saying,” said Stringam. “My guess is that a lot of the stories we tell ourselves now will seem equally ridiculous or obscure in a century or so.”

“I am not a fan of the horror genre. That said, we can’t afford to be blind to the fact that we live in a world where children come into the schools with many negative images in their heads and having been through tremendously difficult circumstances,” said Stringam.

Each semester Stringam focuses three to four weeks studying folklore and fairy tales with future elementary school teachers.

“These tales are a great way to inoculate young children against evil in the world,” she added. “It’s important for them to learn to fear and shun the evil around them, so they must never be de-sensitized to it by over-exposure.”

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