Psychological Delight of Horror Fiction

Exactly why and how the horror genre has appealed to such broad audiences, for such an extended period of time as it is, has long been the focus of much debate and speculation within the literary realm.   Why we, as readers, seek out fear-inducing works of literature and derive satisfaction from the experience of being afraid is a question with no conclusive- or, at least no singular- answer, as yet.   Scholars have formulated innumerable hypotheses in response to this seemingly psychologically backward propensity to go in search of a state of terror.   An extensive body of literature in the field indicates that the most likely explanation for our cross-cultural love affair with this literary genre is rooted in a rudimentary aversion to the mundane; a distaste for the boredom that comes on the heels of day-to-day routine.   Horror literature provides nothing less than an escape from the everyday.   We are attracted to the thrill of the adrenaline rush that accompanies a particularly terrifying plot for the same reason we might feel compelled to board a roller coaster.   Just as our heart races as we internally urge our favourite baseball player around the bases toward home plate after slamming a ball into the outfield, so does it race as we mentally mount the stairs alongside a protagonist outrunning a serial killer in a favourite horror novel.   It is the very fact that this adrenal response to the genre is accompanied by a fundamental element of safety that makes it so attractive to readers.   In the pages of a terrifying story, a reader finds herself engaged in the thrill of the chase, the shock of a gruesome kill, or in a limbo-like state of suspense, without the element of true danger that would accompany these situations in real life.   Through horror fiction, the reader is afforded a degree of excitement and pulse-elevation sufficient to decimate boredom, all the while, maintaining the knowledge that she can put the book down at any time, should fear overwhelm her,...