Psychological Horror

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Psychological Horror
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What is psychological horror?

• Def a subgenre of horror fiction that relies on
  character fears, guilt, beliefs and emotional
  instability to build tension and further the
  plot.
• Different from splatter fiction in that is does
  not rely on gore and violence

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Characteristics of psychological horror

• Relies on the shadowy characteristics of the
  other
• Many play on the shadowy parts of the self that
  most people repress or deny
• PH comes from within-it exposes the evil that
  hides behind normality

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Characteristics of psychological horror

• Relies on tension building up until the end while
  splatter relies on things jumping out of the
  dark
• Relies on fear of the unknown
• Plays on the anticipation of a perceived threat
• Some violence but less that what we see in
  splatter

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Examples of Psychological Horror

• Werewolves
• The Blair Witch Project
• Dracula
• Video Games Silent Hill, Condemned, Eternal
  Darkness, Penumbra, The Suffering, F.E.A.R.
• Ghosts
• Frankenstein

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Psychological horror vs. Splatter
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Literary Terms

• Mood The aymosphere or feeling that the literary
  work conveys to the reader
• Tone The writers attitude toward his or her
  subject