Horror

 

8. Horror

The horror genre's purpose is to create feelings of terror and excitement in the reader. Common characteristics include:

• Explorations into the darker aspects of humanity

• Main characters who readers can identify with and who often have haunted pasts and emotional traumas

• Supernatural elements such as ghosts or demonic forces

• A goal to provoke terror in their readers

Example: Kenneth just got a job as a night nurse at Grace Gables Mental Hospital. Although he's looking forward to starting his career, he's worried his dark past will come back to haunt him, quite literally. When he begins to see things that no one else can see—ghosts that call to him in the night—he starts questioning his own sanity and begins to lose track of what's real and what isn't.