Warm Up Activity

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Warm Up Activity

• What is the scariest event that has ever
  happened to you? Why was it scary? Explain in
  detail all the elements of the scare factor for
  you and anyone else involved.

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Horror Verses Gothic
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Gothic, Horror...Potato, Patato?

• While most people use Gothic and horror
  interchangeably, they actually are two separate
  genres
• Gothic is more like horror's predecessor
• Gothic was not exactly mainstream literature of
  the time, but like any genre it held tight to
  some base elements
• Huge, dark mansions or castles
• Ghosts
• Damp cellars or dungeons
• Still mostly stayed away from socially
  inappropriate behaviordrew a very clear line
  between right and wrong
• Usually had happy endings despite dark themes
• First recognized Gothic novel was The Castle of
  Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole

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Gothic
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Edgar Allan Poe

• Considered to be the father of the horror genre,
  writing during the first half of the 19th century
• Was one of the first to advocate for distinctly
  horror elements as subject matterdisease, death,
  and the disgusting
• His literary theory was what really pulled him
  from Gothic to horror though
• He truly disliked didacticism that Gothic seemed
  to hold dear and preferred to keep the meaning of
  the work as an undercurrent

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Horror Disease
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Horror!

• As mentioned earlier, horror as a genre may pull
  some ideas from Gothic but is still separate from
  its predecessor
• Elements of Horror
• Explores the dark, malevolent side of humanity
• Mood is menacing and foreboding in order to
  receive an immediate response from the reader
• Style is generally plain
• Setting (especially if only happening in one
  locale) tends to be described in great detail
• Main characters, even though the audience can
  partially relate in some way, tend to be haunted
  and estranged individuals
• The key ingredient is to provoke terror through
  the monstrous

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Horror Monstrous
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Horror!

• There are two main plot styles for horror
  stories
• Complex discovery plot (usually embracing the
  theme of knowledge of or discovery of the
  unknown)?
• Onset of a horrific event-gt discovery of its
  cause-gt confirmation of its cause-gt confrontation
  that leads to victory or defeat
• Over-reacher plot (usually embracing the theme of
  some knowledge is better left undiscovered)?
• Preparation for the experiment-gt experiment is
  conducted-gt confrontation
• These plots can be mixed to create countless
  variations!

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Horror Discover Leads to Defeat
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Lets Review Prior Knowledge
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Dramatic Irony

• In dramatic irony the reader or audience knows a
  truth that the characters do not.
• Have you ever seen a horror movie that has a
  killer on the loose? You, and the rest of the
  audience, know that the teenagers should not go
  walking in the woods late at night, but they
  think a midnight stroll would be romantic.
  Needless to say, the teens become the next
  victims.
• Give three examples of dramatic irony that you
  have seen or read.

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• Authors of scary stories often use setting
• and word choice to create a disturbing
• mood or atmosphere.

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Mood

• Definition Mood is the feeling that a work of
  literature evokes.
• As you read a short story - ask yourself
• "What feeling is the author creating through her
  choice of words?"

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Suspense

• Suspense The growing of excitement felt by an
  audience or individual while awaiting the climax
  of a movie, book, play, etc. due mainly to its
  concern for the welfare of a character they
  sympathize with or the anticipation of a violent
  act.
• As a group, discuss and give three examples of
  suspense in literature or film.

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Conflict Internal fighting within yourself.
Trying to make decisions. External
fighting with an outside source.
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Introduction
Resolution
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Monstrous Monsters
Both must be present to create a monster of HORROR

• There are two keys to the creation of a monster
• Threatening
• Must threaten physically, spiritually, socially,
  psychologically, morallyor all of the above
• This aspect stirs the emotion of FEAR
• Impure
• Must violate the generally accepted schemes of
  cultural categorization
• This aspect embraces the emotion of DISGUST

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Monstrous Monsters

• Impure aspects of a monster what does it mean
  to go against norms of cultural categorization?
• Categorically ambiguous (amphibians existing both
  in and out of water)?
• Incomplete representatives of their classes
  (things with missing parts, rotting things, or
  things not fully formed)?
• Formless things (blobs, fog, or dirt)?

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The End

• or is it?