Horror story...

...a story in which the focus is on creating a feeling of fear...


One defining trait of the horror genre is that it provokes an emotional, psychological, or physical response within readers that causes them to react with fear. One of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous quotes about the genre is that: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." the first sentence from his seminal essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature". Science fiction historian Darrell Schweitzer has stated "In the simplest sense, a horror story is one that scares us" and "the true horror story requires a sense of evil, not in necessarily in a theological sense; but the menaces must be truly menacing, life-destroying, and antithetical to happiness."


The horror genre has ancient origins with roots in folklore and religious traditions, and has gone through various re-awakenings from Gothic horror in the 18th century to the "religious" horror of the 1960's through to modern day masters such as Stephen King.


Now, post-millennial horror has expanded to include elements outside the genre. Everything from zombies and werewolves and Cthulhu to intense psychological and grotesque features. A fascinating genre to explore.