Would someone be able to assist me in this assignment?

Leah Engdahl

ENG-101 83111

Professor Hofffman

February 12, 2022

Why Do We Create Monsters?

Horror movies are filled with screams, bloody scenes, and suspenseful audio music that provide the audience with a feeling of fright, uneasiness, and sometimes panic. Exposure to intense and terrifying acts in horror movies gives the audience a stimulating experience, both mentally and physically. The simulation can be in the form of fear or anxiety or the form of excitement or joy. Watching horror movies simultaneously stimulates both negative and positive experiences keeping the audience excited and entertained. I am a fan of horror movies who watch these films to seek sensation. I tend to get highly aroused and stimulated when I watch movies because I feel less vulnerable to the experience of threat that is present in the film. Although some scenes in the movies might give me a feeling of fear and discomfort, knowing that the fear is limited to a fictional form of entertainment allows me to enjoy the film.

Watching horror movies and deriving sensational or pleasure feelings from them requires a person to possess a type of psychological protective frame from the horrifying scenes. A person watching horror movies can only connect and enjoy the film if they have a feeling of being physically safe. For instance, although the movies might contain tarrying acts such as people being killed, knowing that the evil person is fictional and cannot cause harm helps people enjoy the movies (Clasen, Jens Kjeldgaard, and John). Such a person is attracted to horror movies because they know it’s fictional; however, the stimulation and surging energy that they feel from the fear triggered in the movies gives them an intense feeling of excitement. Therefore, some people are attracted to horror movies because they can differentiate reality from fiction giving them the ability to enjoy the fright that is present in horror movies.

Another reason why people are attracted to or watch horror movies is that it allows them to achieve novel experiences. For instance, apocalypse horrors such as Zombie outbreaks or attacks allow the audience to live out an alternative reality. Watching such movies provides an individual with a sense of accomplishment that can help them face their normal fears. Such a person can gain the courage to visit a notorious haunted house and this makes them feel worldly or daring. The person can detach themselves from the fear and realities that come with such terrifying activities and this gives them an intense thrill or enjoyment. Living in an alternative reality helps a person to feel normal and connected to the world around them. The person feels confident and positive about overcoming such dangers when faced with them in reality.

Watching horror movies makes people satisfy the curiosity that they have about the dark side of the human consciousness. In reality, people might not want to experience the dark side that humans have such as the violence witnessed in many horror movies like The Purge. However, such people are fascinated by what other people with a dark side can do or are capable of doing to fellow humans (Clasen, Jens Kjeldgaard, and John). Watching movies that portray how people or characters must confront the worst side of themselves helps people learn what the dark side of humanity can look like. The feeling of learning and fulfilling such dark side curiosity can be entertaining and stimulating for many people.

The fight and excitement elicited by watching horror movies usually help some people feel more connected to their spouse, partners, or people around them. Some people are attracted to horror movies because the fear that comes from watching the horrifying scenes increases the attraction and affection they have for their spouses or partners. In essence, the fear created by the horror movies helps them to feel closely connected to others as the fear accesses the deepest of their collective consciousness (Clasen, Jens Kjeldgaard, and John). The feeling of a shared experience of fear emanating from the horrible scenes and actions in the horror movies draws people closer to each other. Thus, a person will feel much inclined to watch a horror movie with their partner as the feeling of being vulnerable together creates a sense of intimacy.

On the other hand, horror movies do not always bring a positive experience to the audience when they feel afraid or scared. Some people might experience an increase in their level of anxiety or panic after watching a horror movie. Research has shown that watching horror movies can lead to an individual having unwanted thoughts or feelings (Clasen, Jens Kjeldgaard, and John). The negative thoughts and feelings from the horror movies can cause a person to have a negative response or interpretation of the scenes of the movie as real-life threats. The misinterpretation can thus result in the individual having nightmares or night terrors hence affecting their sleep patterns and normal life.

As King says, “We also go to see horror films to establish our feeling of essential normality”, the message he is passing across is that regardless of how a person might think they are evil, their level of evilness cannot match that in the horror movies (Hoffman 16). Thus, it is normal for people to want to go to the theaters and watch horror movies that allow them to get scared, scream, or get a reaction that restores their feeling of normality in them.

In conclsion, through King’s analysis, I can state that my response to watching horror movie connect to my feelings of normality in many ways. Whenever I watch horror movies, my reaction to horrifying scenes includes screaming, shouting, and even pointing to the characters not to go in a certain direction that I deem dangerous and might put their lives in danger. The horror movie gives me a sense of normality that always keeps me at the edge of my seat. I always feel excited and stimulated after watching a horror movie, a feeling that pushes me to look for more horror movies available to keep that energy high. Horror movies always bring intense and stimulating sensations that depict the curiosity that human being has to the dark side of their consciousness that they are not able to explore in their normal life.

Works Cited

Clasen, Mathias, Jens Kjeldgaard Christiansen, and John A. Johnson. "Horror, personality, and threat simulation." Evol. Behav. Sci (2019): 17-18.

Hoffman, Andrew. Monsters: A Bedford spotlight reader. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019