Continuing with the theme of horror from this week, the next assignment from this week was to find our own source of horror research and use it to connect to the readings. One of the interesting points that was made in the reading was the idea of the narrative structure of the horror film. The structure is specifically designed to be a way of creating suspense in the film to add to the emotional highs and lows of the horror story. As was stated in the reading, “Often this is achieved, as Hume says of narrative “secrets” in general, by putting off the conclusive information that the monster exists for quite a while” (Carroll p. 278, 2002). I tried to tie this idea of the psychological effects of the narrative into my research.
The first article in my search showed my that there is a certain surprise element to the horror narrative that changes the way the story is felt. The surprise, as it turns out, can be quite harmful. “This event can cause trauma for the viewer if they are not prepared for the event, something that can have lasting effects so making sure that children are not allowed to see these things is often a good piece of advice.” I chose this post as a representation of my work this term because I felt that it showed the ability to communicate the ideas of the lesson through personal research.
Link: Horror Research