Journal Entry 69: Scary Stories

“The Tell-Tale Heart,” which we will be reading next, is a horror story. The author of the story, Edgar Allen Poe, is often given credit for inventing the modern horror genre. What elements do you think are necessary for a story to be scary, to be a horror story? What kinds of things are scary to you? Can you name other stories, movies, books, or real-life events that scare you? Why do you think some things are frightening?

I think suspension is the most important element for a story to be scary. Even if what happens isn't really that scary, the suspension can keep the audience on edge and ready to scream. A LOT of things are very, very scary to me. A lot of supernatural things like ghosts, zombies, mummies, werewolves, and so on and so on. Blood, guts, and insects also scares and disgusts me. A lot. Most of the famous horror movies are pretty scary. The ones I watched with my classmates during graduation trip were all very, very scary. The movies I thought were scary were: The Grudge, One Missed Call, The Ring, Insidious, and Hunting (or haunting, I forgot) in Connecticut. Those were really, really scary (even the guys screamed like little girls, ha ha). Books can be really scary too, but I generally avoid those kind of books, so I don't know many scary books. I think supernatural things terrify me because they are mysterious, and there are so many rumors about them that we kind of fear them even though we know nothing about them. Movies about paranormal things, however, are basically scarier because of the sound effect they use. For example, Insidious has a really good sound effect, so we were almost always screaming. Sound effects builds up the tension too. I think blood, guts, and insects are scary because I just can't stand them, especially my own blood (ugh). I guess I'm just not very used to seeing what's inside of me. Ewwww... Wait, I think maybe I'm not scared of blood, guts and insects, just disgusted by them. Oh well.