Horror Isn’t All About the Scares

I have a confession to make. I’m a huge fan of horror, but very little of it actually scares me. I’ve been fascinated by the genre ever since I picked up my first book on “true” paranormal encounters from the school library. I still remember reading about someone’s experience seeing a black, shadowy mass and how it intrigued and excited me.

But hundreds of stories, movies, novels, haunted houses, video games, and songs later, I can honestly say that probably 95% of horror doesn’t scare me. In the beginning, when I was younger, I’m sure I was easier to frighten. Even then, there was a lot that felt fun, thrilling, spooky, creepy, and surreal. Just not scary.

Despite this fact, I genuinely do love horror in practically all its forms. Ghost stories, slasher flicks, demonic possessions, zombie plagues, alien invasions, evil cults, psychological terrors — you name it, I like it. The weird fiction of H.P. Lovecraft is among my favorites when it comes to horror. Many of his tales are not what I’d call frightening, yet I still love them.

This speaks to one of the most frustrating criticisms of horror that I constantly hear from other people, be they layperson, fan, or critic. Recently I finished The Haunting of Bly Manor and found myself curiously perusing some reviews and opinion pieces on the show, a number of which spend a fair amount of…