How Scary is Too Scary?

[Laurence]

I've written a spot of horror in to one of my tales. Do you guys have any examples of stories that went too far in regards to gore? Are there any taboos when it comes to horror writing?

I've always been interested in horror, in particular, Stephen King, however have never been truly scared by a novel. I was wondering if I'm simply desensitised to it or whether you think writers purposefully hold back from making stories too terrifying?

 

[Feo Takahari]

You're asking two very different questions, and to some degree they contradict each other. One argument for when gore becomes too much is when it's so grotesque and/or so frequent that stops being scary. This was one of the reasons Clive Barker's Jericho (by Clive Barker!) got bashed--"Oh look, here's another monster wearing some poor sod's entrails as a pull-over hoody."

 

[Laurence]

Here's a simpler question: what's the scariest book you've read and why?

 

[skip.knox]

The only taboo is to do it badly.

All the "where is the line" questions have the same answer. Too much violence, too much sex, too much swearing, too much description, too much _whatever_ is only too much when it's done badly. Alas, the writer can never know when he's done it badly (see the reference to Barker above).

 

[Philip Overby]

I personally think there's only a thin line between comedy and horror. Therefore, horror becomes less and less scary the more you're exposed to it. Gore, to me, isn't scary. I've never seen a scary, gory movie that I can recall. I've seen gory movies that were tense, but nothing that made me afraid or gave me nightmares. High Tension is probably the closest I've come to this happening. When it comes to books, I can't really think of any that employed gore that I found scary. Clive Barker's Books of Blood might have come closest.

To me, gore in movies or books is kind of schlocky. One thing that I employ often in my own work is over the top gore and violence, but it's done in mostly a satirical way. I mean having a pixie burst from a warlock's stomach and explode a lizardwoman's hand is hard to take seriously.

When reading books, I've yet to read any horror that affected me as much as Jack Ketchum's work. If you're a fan of horror and never read his books, then you should go do so. The Girl Next Door is still the most horrifying novel I've ever read, mostly because it was based on real life events. Oftentimes the only horror that is truly terrifying to me is that which is realistic or "close to home" so to speak. Sure, ghost movies and stalker films with guts splattering everywhere can give me jump scares, but I think going more into realism is the only way to truly frighten hardened horror vets.

Having said all that, I'm curious what you might consider "too scary."

 

[Laurence]

By scary, I mean reading something that matches the fright one feels when walking along a dark street and imagining somebody following you home and killing the people you love. I can't imagine any literature matching the fear of losing people you love - maybe that's why I love Frankenstein so much.

 

[Feo Takahari]

By scary, I mean reading something that matches the fright one feels when walking along a dark street and imagining somebody following you home and killing the people you love. I can't imagine any literature matching the fear of losing people you love - maybe that's why I love Frankenstein so much.

Hmm, I wonder what you'd make of Fragile Dreams. It's been classified as horror, but that's not really the best category--as horror is to fear and comedy is to humor, FD is to the feeling of being alone.

Maybe straying afield from horror might actually be appropriate. Most of the horror I've read is a bit too sadistic for loss, setting up its human bowling pins and merrily knocking them down. Something like The Book Thief or After the First Death packs more of an emotional impact.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

I would like to point out that violence and gore does not necessarily equal horror. I can play the game dead space which is very gruesome and I'm not scared but i refuse to play fatal frame again because its actually scary. It relies on the threat of danger, creepy atmosphere, and a true realistic sense of fear that makes it a terrifying game.

I can't really think of any time i was reading and was scared but i don't read horror so...

Maybe i will try and read a horror book because i can't watch horror films they are just so bad. The directors mistake jump scares and random loud noises for being scary.

 

[ChasingSuns]

I always have to point people in the same direction when discussing horror. Lovecraft. His work is really incredible. I really like the way that he utilizes the word "too". The setting isn't necessarily obviously scary. It's just a little too dark, or a little too bright, etc. Everything is just a little bit off. It creates a nice vibe for his stories. As far as the gore goes, I agree with what others have said. It's fine to push the envelope, as long as it is done well.

 

[ascanius]

I would like to point out that violence and gore does not necessarily equal horror. I can play the game dead space which is very gruesome and I'm not scared but i refuse to play fatal frame again because its actually scary. It relies on the threat of danger, creepy atmosphere, and a true realistic sense of fear that makes it a terrifying game.

I can't really think of any time i was reading and was scared but i don't read horror so...

Maybe i will try and read a horror book because i can't watch horror films they are just so bad. The directors mistake jump scares and random loud noises for being scary.

I agree with this, violence and gore are not scary. Scary is about fear and what we don't know, what we cannot see, and what we don't have control over, mixed in with the threat of a very real and tangible violence.

I thought the joker in the Dark Knight was very scary because that character was all about using fear for it's own sake. He was an unkown, for that character it wasn't about money, fame, vengance, or control, he was predictable only in being unpredictable, what made him scary was he didn't fit into any box.

 

[Terry Greer]

Violence and gore the opposite of fear.
Fear is the unknown - of might happen - the best horror films are those that don't show anything - but which imply a lot. Same goes with novels. Just check out M R James ghost stories for good examples.

 

[SeverinR]

Other then this, I don't see anything too scary.

Well, with the exception of Cujo and Old Yeller, they were sick and needed to be put down.

 

[Steerpike]

No such thing as too scary. And I agree that gore isn't scary and there are horror writers who go so far beyond the pale in terms of gore that there is really no boundary any more.