Trauma and Horror

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Re: horror, trauma, psychology

So I learned something new today I'd like to share and would love to discuss regarding horror.

So I was listening to NPR today and they were doing an interview with a man - a psychologist, writer and self-proclaimed horror "junkie" - who is writing a book that argues that people with trauma tend to really enjoy horror movies. He claims that some people who have experienced trauma can find comfort in horror movies, because it gives them a sense of control because generally what's depicted in the films is worse than what they have experienced. As a big horror fan, this is beyond fascinating to me.

Basically, he argues, that as horror fans, we prefer films that deal with topics that actually scare us personally. And different people are scared by different things. For instance, I don't find zombie or monster movies scary. Or found footage. Or flasher films even. For me, psychological horror is the scariest, closely followed by possession. I'm sure this has to do with my fears of losing control of my body and/or mind, someone I trust and love hurting me, or dying painfully. This all ties back to my trauma absolutely. So in my case, this theory fits.

Now, I have learned about how there has been research regarding what horror fans favorite sub-genre of horror says about their personalities - this I I mean, as an example, monster, found footage or zombie for instance. There was an interesting exhibit that explored this at the Pop Culture museum in Seattle. For instance, if you like psychological horror, you find movies like Get Out far scarier than say, a slasher film like Scream. You would find someone you trust trying to kill you more terrifying than a random stranger. On the flip side, if you really dislike a certain genre, like I don't care for zombie movies at all, that says something about you too.

I thought about this more and I think there could be some merit to this theory. The most well-balanced people I know, who had good childhoods, and have experienced relatively little trauma as adults seem to overall dislike horror movies. Of course there are exceptions, but this has just been my experience.

So my question is; fellow horror fans or anyone really - what do you think of this theory? What horror movies/sub genres do you like and do you think it relates to your trauma or personal fears? Sound off!

 

[NotASlayer]

I generally prefer supernatural horror films, like The Woman in Black, or indeed films like Get Out. I watch zombie films, though I am never sure why. I do not enjoy gornos like Hostel. Zombie films are more like action films to me than horror and gornos are just icky. Maybe I do find the first two scarier? I will need to have a think on that. And watch some horror films.

Or flasher films even.

We are evidently watching different kinds of horror... 🙂

 

[Miath]

Personally I can't stand horror and yeah, I've got baggage.

 

[Plasma]

I’ve got a ton of baggage but I love horror. It’s my favorite genre.

I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that in most horror, the situations are really horrible but the people still soldier on. So in that regard it’s like “wish fulfillment”.

Personally I like that it engages my creativity. It’s cool seeing all the neat ideas they have and what certain things will do. It’s why the Saw franchise is my favorite. It’s a good distraction from everything irl. 🙂

Additionally, it helps us value our own lives, I think.

 

[nightshade]

I don't like to watch horror, but I'll read it. I prefer more thrillers to horror though. No idea what that says about me!

 

[November]

think a lot of it boils down to the fact that in most horror, the situations are really horrible but the people still soldier on. So in that regard it’s like “wish fulfillment”.

Thats what Buffy is for me, pretty much. My dad was extremely concerned it was a vampire cult show, rather than a cult vampire show, and he put me in a private psych ward, but the private psych ward pretty much encouraged all us in the teen group to watch it, so that didnt go down well with Dad lol.

well-balanced people I know, who had good childhoods, and have experienced relatively little trauma as adults seem to overall dislike horror movies.

This is my experience too, but I have to point out that many of these homes are Christian. So they are not going to feed the devil by consuming sinful things, if you get the gist of that.


I used to watch a lot of horror in my teens and early 20's but now anything too jump scare or realistically gory gets stuck in my head and pops up intrusively, like a bad acid trip, so I tend to skip this now days. I dont need any more adrenaline in my life lol.

Shows like Supernatural are light enough horror genre to be enjoyable, but anything more than that now, my poor old brain doesn't enjoy.

As for horror movies that I enjoy its aliens for me 😀 I'd be interested to know what that means 😀

 

[TriBel]

So in that regard it’s like “wish fulfillment”.

Works for me. (in theory - I don't watch horror films. I used to but now (I find them kinda boring)

So I learned something new today I'd like to share and would love to discuss regarding horror.

In terms of Film Studies it's not a new idea - although a psychologist would take a different (evidence based?) approach to a Film Studies academic versed in psychoanalysis (there's a lot of them about).

"According to horror film theorist Robin Wood,* the subject of horror films is “our collective nightmares.” Just like actual dreams, they allow our unconscious to deal with powerful and repressed emotions. Isabel Pinedo thus calls horror films “exercises in coping,” where the medium of the film is used to make deep and primal fears emotionally accessible. In Freud’s theory of dreams, the content of the dream never corresponds to the actual emotional object but always stands for it.

Similarly, in horror films it’s not the demon/zombie/sadist we’re actually afraid of. The monstrous element represents fears that we aren’t able to articulate consciously. By watching, we can express these fears, or even master them." Is it Crazy to Enjoy Horror Films? — THE PAMPHLET

*Whedon knew Wood and was familiar with his work (there's an article somewhere where Whedon claims S7's Robin is named after him). S5-7 incorporate much of the above as meta. It's probably not coincidence S4 ends with the gang watching Heart of Darkness and then dreaming - and 5 begins with a fictional character that most know through film.

 

[Plasma]

Thats what Buffy is for me, pretty much. My dad was extremely concerned it was a vampire cult show, rather than a cult vampire show, and he put me in a private psych ward, but the private psych ward pretty much encouraged all us in the teen group to watch it, so that didnt go down well with Dad lol.

Always astounds me when I see this sort of thing. Like…a cursory watch of the show for 10 minutes would’ve shown “yeah the vampires are the bad guys and you really don’t want to be one”.

It’s like “video games cause violence”. Like…just actually look at a game and you’ll realize they don’t just have big flashing white text saying KILL in them.

 

[Stake fodder]

I wouldn't say that I have trauma on my past, but I do like some psychological horror movies, like Woman in Black and Get Out, as mentioned above. So, it may be more a feeling of wanting to feel more in control, which is more common?

 

[November]

"yeah the vampires are the bad guys and you really don’t want to be one”.

Buffy does bone a few, so there's that, haha.
But I get your point, its a show about rejecting the evil rather than enjoying it.

It's probably not coincidence S4 ends with the gang watching Heart of Darkness and then dreaming - and 5 begins with a fictional character that most know through film.

Thats really cool!! I love that stuff but am not smart enough to pick it up, I love learning new takes, this far out, about the show. Thanks for the post 😁




This is just my reaction to the article that TriBel linked - dont feel pressured to respond, I liked the article and how it brought out more on the topic, but I havent put any deeper thought past this first reaction so far.

people can purify themselves of negative emotions by experiencing them and thus letting them out.

universal feelings which are culturally repressed, and should now and then be let out, for the sake of the collective good.

This explains my current obsession with The OA. And why the school shooting scene makes me BAWL every single time. Im thankful for the words of understanding here 🙂

2. Playing With Horrifying Thoughts
According to this approach, people don’t watch horror films because of an emotional surplus, but rather because they lack certain emotions.

Horror films are able to stimulate uncommon, profoundly negative emotions in a ‘safe’ environment. Pinedo calls it a “bounded experience of terror.”

As Smuts puts it, if the movie theater reeked of rotting corpses we would probably leave. But because we only see images, we know there is no real threat.

Hanich adds that this can be empowering for the viewer, who can experience a transfer of identity, and put herself in shoes she never walked in (and hopefully never will). These can be the shoes of the victim in the torture room or the shoes of the maniac with the chainsaw.

“exercises in coping,” where the medium of the film is used to make deep and primal fears emotionally accessible.

These are two sides of the same coin, using media to learn how to feel that emotion and then using media in learning how to contain or control that emotion.

I think this nails what Buffy was about, for me personally, at the time I used it so heavily as a coping strategy. When things were chaotic in real life, Buffy was easy and predictable, yet also able to completely engulf the viewer into a world where one could follow the emotion and follow it back to a place of personal power.

experiencing horror in a movie theater can help us get rid of dangerous emotions.

This bit I'm not sold on. Are any emotions dangerous? Actions are dangerous, emotions are not. Perhaps I've not properly understood or taken it for a context its not intended.

the Other in horror films is finally neutralised by the world order and in the audience’s experience.

We beat the bad guys. That can be present in the hollywood and mainstream media just as effectively as it is in horror, so I dont like the dismissal of lighter entertainment here. It can serve the same purpose.

As Noel Carroll argues in his book The Philosophy of Horror, we watch horror films for the same reasons why people in the Middle Ages celebrated Carnival:

‘To see the world turned upside down, just for a day.’

Ok this explains alien movies to me 🤣

A great number of horror films clearly have conservative undertones, and aim to ‘scare’ people into accepting their pre-defined social roles.

Yes yes yes.

 

[Bop]

I don't have a clear favourite subgenre for horror but supernatural horror doesn't particularly scare me, I find zombie and creature horror movies very intense. I think it's because in those genres your chances of survival are very slim and it's hard to fight back against those creatures versus an ordinary person. I always put myself in the character's shoes so it feels like myself or my loved ones could die any second and that probably does connect to my childhood trauma.

 

[Angelkiss]

some baggage and trauma, I like horror movies but preferred I guess relate more to movies like The Equalizer, Taken and The Beekeeper. Righting the wrongs and balancing or evening the odds, helping the helpless.

 

[Tome]

Personally, I find the theory of "if you had a traumatic childhood you are more likely to be drawn to horror movies" to be underwhelming and often incorrect. I've known, and know, many people who have had bad childhoods and who avoid horror movies like the plague. Meanwhile, I know people, including myself, who had great childhoods and who dig horror movies very much.

I don't think it has to do with whether or not one had a good childhood per say, I think it has to do with how a person deals with their fears and emotions. I think that for a good number of people who watch horror movies it is a safe way to confront some of their fears without being at real risk. There are also people who just watch horror every now and then because it can be thrilling. Some other people avoid horror movies because they don't like to confront their fears, even if it is in a safer context. Then, there are people who have, or have had, plenty of terrific things happen in their lives and they don't feel the need to seek more in fictional format. Finally, you can also be watching horror films simply because you love cinema and you like to explore different genres.

The one part about childhood where I agree is that usually the genres of horror you seek or that get more to you will more likely be connected to childhood fears. For example, like Spielberg, I've always been terrified of inanimate objects coming to life (I used to have tons of nightmares about this as a boy), so I'm morbidly drawn to horror that involve such creatures. As much as it creeps me out, I'm also fascinated by the fact that I'm even fearing this. As mentioned above, I think that facing this sort of fear via media/interactive media can be cathartic. It's sort of therapeutic.

So there! Keep in mind, this is solely my opinion. I am not citing any academic paper here. Just my impression from my own experience and what I've seen from family, friends, and the world at large. 🙂 GRRRRR AAAAARGHH!

 

[Taake]

Re: horror, trauma, psychology
I thought about this more and I think there could be some merit to this theory. The most well-balanced people I know, who had good childhoods, and have experienced relatively little trauma as adults seem to overall dislike horror movies. Of course there are exceptions, but this has just been my experience.

I was gonna say that I’m an exception, because my childhood was the opposite of good and well-balanced, but I hate horror movies…

… but I do like true crime and watch a lot of genuine horror stories that way. So yeah, now I’m questioning why I dislike horror movies, since I find similar or worse horror in real stories. Hm.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Is there a link to this interview or an article? I'd be interested in reading more about it.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

John Clute wrote a dictionary of both Science Fiction and Fantasy, and a very short book on horror. A selection was published a few years ago here.

 

[hoponlilmama]

NotASlayer - There does not appear to be anything on the NPR site as yet. Maybe they update slowly?

Thanks, NAS 👍 . Hopefully they add some information up eventually.

 

[IndianaSolo221]

I find this theory interesting from a personal standpoint. I don't remember enjoying horror media until I was going through a traumatic period in my life, when shows like BtVS and AtS not only became my introduction to thrillers/horror, but also a major source of comfort during that time. I can understand the "wish fulfillment" side of things.

Aside from Buffy, Angel, and a few others, I can never really choose my favorite horror piece or genre. I love the cinema, but I also don't like to feel like I've wasted time with what I've watched, so I'm rather picky in that regard. I don't really get "scared" by scary movies now, but I still try to enjoy it for campiness and still find myself unsettled by the occassional horror story.

The angle of cults, Christianity, and religion is a whole other can of worms. I was brought up in a Christian household and still believe in those teachings, and while I have stayed away from certain media because of that, I still manage to relate to and enjoy different kinds of horror. Can only really speak for myself there.

 

[Nix]

The closest thing horror wise I get to is vampires and maybe a bit of supernatural. I can't do films like the Saw franchise etc