(continued from Part I)

GOTHIC LITERATURE

Ghosts really infected our literature in the 19th and 20th centuries with the rise of gothic fiction. That’s where a lot of the classic ghost stories come from. They were often influenced by folklore and take place in creepy old mansions (that are, of course, haunted), dealing with the psychology of the characters. Ghost stories are traditionally more about the dread created by the ghost’s presence as opposed to gore and physical fear for your life.

Author M. R. James described the gothic ghost story as one of “Malevolence and terror, the glare of evil faces, ‘the stony grin of unearthly malice’, pursuing forms in darkness, and ‘long-drawn, distant screams’.”

MODERN FILM

Suddenly, horror movies pop up left and right that involve ghosts. Shirley Jackson’s novel was adapted to screen in 1963 with The Haunting. The Poltergeist movies gave us a sense of the danger and power of ghosts.

Spanish movies like The Devil’s Backbone and The Orphanage depict ghosts as otherworldly in their creepiness, and though they were once human, now they are eerie and somehow wrong in their disconnect from the living world. These movies really capture the fear of that otherness of life beyond death, of the strange and foreign nature of people that are no longer quite human.

Then we get some experimentation with the role of ghosts in movies as the classic ghost story begins to feel stale. What if the main character is a ghost? That’s explored in the cheesy romance of Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost. But horror movies started to use this idea in their arsenal of shock: what if the main character doesn’t know he/she is a ghost? Enter The Sixth Sense, which had everyone talking about the clues throughout the movie hinting that [SPOILER] Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. The Others was another one that caught people off guard; here we are, enjoying a throw-back classic ghost story, when we learn that [SPOILER] the “intruders” are really living people and Nicole Kidman smothered her children with pillows!

Haley Joel Osment sees dead people.

The “they were really ghosts all along” twist has now been done to death it seems, but it was quite fresh and innovating when it first appeared because it had the audience sympathizing with what is usually the monster in horror tales.

But people are never satisfied with seeing the same thing over and over again, so ghosts had to be reinvented again, this time on the small screen.

GHOSTLY TELEVISION

A slew of reality ghost hunting/reenactment shows now graces channels like Travel, Sci-Fi, and even Discovery. The latter has a show called A Haunting, which reenacts “true” stories of hauntings with interviews from the real people. There have been several shows that explored various creepy locations around the world and the history of their hauntings (one of which was voiced by Zelda Rubinstein), and sometimes locked families into the locations at night to complete tasks that tested their fears.

These bros just want to bro-out with some ghosts. And yell "dude" a lot.

But most popular are shows like Ghost Hunters, Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters International, etc. These shows revolve around a small team of paranormal investigators who visit haunted places and try to capture ghost footage or audio. These shows are notorious for overuse of night-vision and exaggerating their “evidence.”

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

People like the idea of ghosts. Why? Well, first of all, evidence of ghosts would be evidence of life after death, but also, a lot of people are scared by stuff that could be “real.” Reality shows that look for evidence of real ghosts and faux-documentary movies like Paranormal Activity allow audiences to really believe, rather than just suspending disbelief. And ghosts are a lot better for this because, if you believe in the afterlife, then the existence of ghosts is entirely possible (unlike, say, vampires or werewolves).

But even if they are real, we are still unable to peel back the mystery of their possible existence… and the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all. Maybe next time you hear a footstep with no one around or see a strange shadow out of the corner of your eye, you’ll think twice before you dismiss the idea that the dead might be all around us…

BOO!

I was watching Ghost Adventures the other night (the bro-version of Ghost Hunters), and was surprised by the sights and sounds they captured in an abandoned hospital/mental asylum. It’s impossible to tell if any of this stuff was faked, but all the same, the idea of it was somewhat unnerving in the midnight darkness.

The Brown Lady

I don’t believe in ghosts any more than I do demons or chupacabras, but they’re one of the best and most utilized tropes in horror. So… where did that idea come from?

ETYMOLOGY

The word ghost comes from the Old English gást, which means “human spirit” or “soul,” of both the living and the dead; it’s also a synonym of the Latin spiritus, which originally meant “breath” or “blast.” The word spook entered English in the 19th century and was a Dutch loanword similar to the Low German spôk. Then there’s the word spectre, from Latin spectrum; the Scottish wraith; phantom, which originated from Greek phantasma; and apparition.

THE ANCIENT WORLD

From all these etymological origins, it’s clear that the idea of ghosts has existed in almost every culture in history. We can go all the way back to Ancient Egypt’s obsession with the afterlife and the continued existence of the spirit, noted extensively in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Ghosts also abound in Ancient Greece as shades from the underworld, which was reached by crossing the River Styx and guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus. The 5th century BC play Oresteia is one of the first examples of ghosts in a work of fiction.

In Ancient Rome, it was believed that a ghost could be resurrected to use for revenge by scratching a curse on a piece of lead or pottery and putting it in a grave.

Judeo-Christian religions show evidence of a belief in ghosts in the Bible. Their belief in the soul as a separate spiritual entity from the body inherently suggests a belief in the possibility of a spirit that lives on after death, and there are moments of people being resurrected, most notably Jesus Christ (though it’s unclear if he was a ghost or a zombie).

THE MODERN WORLD

As new religions piled onto the ancient ones, we get some offshoots like Spiritualism, which believes that the spirit world can be contacted through “mediums” and during séances. There is widespread belief in Spiritualism in both America and Europe.

Farther east, in China, there is a strong belief in the presence of the spirits of ancestors. The annual ghost festival is when these spirits return from the lower realm.

European folklore is rife with ghostly creatures like revenants, or vengeful spirits, including the Scandinavian gjenganger, the Romanian strigoi, and the Greek vrykolakas.

In Mexico, they celebrate Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead (takes place around Halloween), where families have picnics in the cemetery and present offerings to their dead relatives, who can return to earth on this one day of the year.

So there’s a brief history of ghosts in culture and beliefs… but they really come out to play in literature, art, film, and television with the rise of horror.

Continued in Part II.

I am now officially employed: hooray! And what’s better, I got a job at Barnes and Noble, which is perfect for a book fiend such as myself. My customers will be people who like to read. I can dig that. Of course, I won’t get to just hang around soaking in the awesomeness of the written word, as I will be beind a counter making coffee, but still.

Who knows? Maybe there will be something creepy lurking among the shelves. I can only hope. I realize that a bookstore is really not a frightening place in the least, but don’t you know it, horror stories can and do take place just about anywhere.

Take Ramsey Campbell’s The Overnight, for instance.

In it, a man begins working at a bookstore in a foggy strip mall… but strange things start to happen. Books mysteriously end up on the floor, damp and damaged. The computers show only errors and glow an eerie gray. When an employee is killed in a hit-and-run in the store’s parking lot, things really start to go wrong. The security monitors are showing half-seen things that crawl between the stacks and vanish. Fed up, the staff decides to stay for an overnight inventory to see what’s going on, but there are creatures that have been lurking in the store and hiding in the fog, gray and silent.

While I’m one for horror around every corner, I certainly hope my Barnes and Noble isn’t infested with strange creatures that make my job a living hell. Mostly because that story’s been done before. Maybe a haunting? We’ll have to see. Hopefully some sort of inspiration will descend upon me from working there.

My roommate recently gave birth to a wrinkly little blob of babyness. I haven’t yet met the child, but I already know I appreciate him much more from afar, looking at pictures and videos, than I would in person. I’m just not the biggest fan of kids: they’re whiney, self-centered, and potentially evil. At least, according to the plethora of movies in the evil-kid genre. So, in honor of my roommate’s brand new little poop-machine, I thought I’d take a look at some of my favorite evil children.

Damien – The Omen (1976)

Is there a more iconic image of demon children than the famous (or infamous) Damien? Standing amid all those crosses in his little black suit, you can just tell there’s more to that black-eyed stare than a desire for candy. More like blood. This kid really just wants to kill everyone, and he does a pretty damn good job, too.

Esther – Orphan (2009)

Granted (SPOILER ALERT!) Esther’s not really a child… but I’m putting her into the demon spawn category because we believe she is one for the majority of the movie—and one creepy little girl she is. Seeing her dress like a doll and act all sweet and innocent with her Eastern European accent, it doesn’t take long to realize something’s off about our sadistic little adoptee. And it’s more than just a love of killing birds.

Lilith – Supernatural (2005)

This one takes the term ”demon spawn” literally, seeing as Lilith is, in fact, a demon. On the show she takes the form of many different little girls by possessing them, and even though she is pretty much pure evil, insists on talking like a kid and enjoys eating cake (…and babies). Look how happy she is there, with blood all over her! Also, her eyes are white and she can blow shit up with her mind.

Devil Baby – Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Not a child, just a baby—but the Devil’s baby. You know right when Rosemary started sporting the baby bump that there was something insidious percolating in there. Just look at that black crib she put it in!

The Grady Twins - The Shining (1980)

Hands-down the freakiest twins in the history of history. Danny Torrence, who, let’s not forget, is a creepy child himself (Red rum! Red rum!), is just minding his own business, wheeling down the overly-patterned halls of the Overlook Hotel, when he stumbles across these doublemint delights, who were hacked to pieces by their deranged father and just want Danny to come play with them… forever… and ever…

Regan – The Exorcist (1973)

I know, a little cliché including Regan on the list, but you really can’t make one of these without her and her pea soup projectile vomit, chain smoker’s voice, acrobatic contortions, and increasingly diseased-looking face. The Devil incarnate, she is everything you don’t want to see in a young girl, right down to the backwards spider-walking down the stairs that they wouldn’t show in theaters.

Samara – The Ring (2002)

Samara might be one of the freakiest children ever to grace our movie screens. Check 1: She has a mysterious background in which people feared her for creating horrifying pictures that then came true. Check 2: She somehow makes a home video from beyond the grave which kills people 7 days after they watch it. Check 3:  Most of the time you can’t see her face because it’s hidden entirely behind long, straggly black hair. Check 4: When you do see her face, you wish you hadn’t. Check 5: She was so evil her mother threw her down a well and then committed suicide. There is nothing remotely pleasant about this child.

So, why are we so terrified by these creepy children? I think it’s because kids are supposed to epitomize innocence and purity, so when you juxtapose that expectation with the very unchildlike traits of evil, sadism, and murder, you find yourself unnerved by the disparity that has just shattered your safe reality. I can only hope that when I do get to meet my roommate’s little addition to the world, it won’t try to kill me or start speaking in tongues.

I feel like talking about zombies. Why? Zombies are everywhere. No, don’t  go grab a shotgun to practice your headshot, I don’t mean like that—I mean they’re everywhere in the media. Books, movies, comics, TV shows. The undead are popping out of their graves in all our creative outlets.

The idea of the zombie originated in Haitian Voodoo from the word “zombi,” meaning “spirit of the dead.” In Haitian folklore, the dead can be revived by a bokor, or sorcerer. Fast forward to modern Western culture, and you get a book called The Magic Island by W.B. Seabrook (1929), about an encounter in Haiti to these creatures. This book essentially introduced the United States to the word zombie.

America was pretty into the idea of undead hordes to supplement our growing interest in mummies, werewolves, and vampires, so we started to get movies like White Zombie (which inspired the heavy metal band of the same name) and I Walked with a Zombie.

Of course, the most famous zombie movie of the 20^th Century is arguably Night of the Living Dead, featuring those slow, lumbering black-and-white zombies George A. Romero made so famous as the classic image of the undead.

They're coming to get you, Barbara!

For a while, these zombies were quite terrifying enough for us, until we decided that we wanted fast-running, raging, blood-spewing monsters to satisfy our lust for horror. Enter the New Zombie.

In our increasingly-intellectualized culture, it also wasn’t enough for magic and voodoo to be solely responsible for reviving the dead. Desire for a scientific explanation gave us the virus zombie, which may have first appeared in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, though it’s often thought of more as a vampire story, and more recently in the movie 28 Days Later. Here we see zombies that are not, actually, the undead, but rather the result of a virus gone bad. We also get the New Zombie, which is fast and agile.

Sure, it’s good fun to watch zombies run amok—eating brains, chasing our protagonists, taking over the post-apocalyptic world—but in well-made zombie stories, there’s often social commentary on our modern society. It might be serious, like 28 Days Later’s look at how chaos and violence thrive in a society without rules or authority, or it can be hilarious, like in zombie parodies.

Shaun of the Dead brings us to the zombie horror-comedy, a genre which arrived with cult classics like The Evil Dead. But rather than just giving us some utterly revolting visuals of people in a cabin becoming the very disgusting undead, we get the amusing, but also thought-provoking, idea that, in a world where people go about their mundane lives on autopilot, we may as well be zombies already.

Also, we get Simon Pegg wielding a cricket bat and a zombie-beating Queen montage.

The zombie horror-comedy seems to have become the new trend. We’ve got tongue-in-cheek zombie books like World War Z and hilarious movies like Zombieland (the rules for surviving the zombie apocalypse, a gun-toting Woody Harrelson, and a desperate quest for the last Twinkies in existence? I’d call that a win). Even getting rid of the slow, lumbering zombies of the Romero era and utilizing the quick, dangerous New Zombie apparently still wasn’t scary enough, so we decided to ditch the scare-factor almost entirely in favor of a more humorous approach to those zany undead.

But, in ditching our old versions of zombies, I fear we might forget the point of the horror in those earlier books and movies. A friend of mine pointed out that he dislikes zombies who run fast because there’s something much more sinister about the slow zombies the likes of which you find in Night of the Living Dead. What people tend to want now is gore, action, violence—and they forget the original point of zombie horror. Imagine everyone you loved has become a mindless cannibal, the world a desolate and lonely place. You are alone, or left with a motley band of surviving comrades. There is an innate sense of hopelessness in this that we don’t get from Zombieland, however gut-bustingly badass that movie may be. Some of this slow realization about the nature of life and death is lost when zombies are sprinting after you like a pack of Jamaican gold-medalists.

Am I saying that the earlier vision of the zombie trumps the newer? Not at all. In fact, all of the movies I listed in the second half of this post are some of my favorites of all time. But there is certainly a connection between the direction our culture is moving in and the way zombies are depicted. What’s great is that zombies can serve many purposes. They can give us that hopeless horror from Night of the Living Dead, they can comment on science and government as in 28 Days Later, and they can also make fun of the way society works in zombie parodies. Zombies are a surprisingly versatile genre.

And maybe that’s why we love them so much.

Let’s face it. When you flip on one of those long-ass awards shows like the Oscars, the horror genre may as well not exist. You’re never surprised when you glance through the newspaper and see the latest horror flicks getting 1½ stars. And if you’re an English major who’s supposed to be a literary snob (right here), then the other literary snobs around you will probably turn up their noses when you say you’re into horror.

Why all the hate?

A lot of it is totally legit. Hollywood churns out a bucketload of crap to rake in the brainless viewers who just want to stare at blood and guts vomiting from the screen for an hour and a half. Most American horror movies these days have an inane or nonexistent plot, wooden-as-a-board acting, laughable dialogue, and an excess of gore thrown in to try and cover it all up. And since this is what is drilled into our minds by popular media, everyone thinks this is all that horror is.

But we horrorphiles know that if you dig, you might hit the good stuff. Amid all the hackneyed slasherfest paperbacks, there are some well-written, captivating, high-quality books on the macabre. But it’s so hard to find these when we’re all knee-deep in reminders that horror, as a whole, is lowbrow and classless.

Doesn't get much classier than that

Just think of the genre’s roots: Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde. Or great movies like The Exorcist and The Shining. We’ve had Poe, Lovecraft, Straub, and King. How can someone look at a list like that and say the horror genre’s got nothing going for it?

I find that most “normal” people (who even knows what that is anymore?) think that liking horror is for the weird. For part of my childhood, I tried to let go of my obsession with horror. Even at seven, I was writing stories about ax-wielding skeletons and castle-dwelling ghosts, but it seemed this was unacceptable for a little blonde girl, so I focused my attentions elsewhere for a while. I wrote stories about cute stuffed animals who came to life. Shudder. I hope I burned those (the stories, not the stuffed animals… but those can go too).

Later, as I came to accept that darkness still lingered in the depths of my black heart like a sleeping Cthulhu in the sunken R’lyeh, I tried to hide my interests from those around me. Because, friends and readers, people look down on horror as a sort of subhuman, monstrous thing you lock away in the basement because it’s got an extra eye and webbed feet.

But I eventually gave a big screw you to “normalcy” and embraced my inner creepiness. The thing is, horror has so many flavors and spices that you can’t say it all sucks. Yeah, a lot of horror movies are in the $2 straight-to-DVD bins where they belong. But I firmly believe that horror can be great, so I’m trying to find those great things. And if I can’t, I’ll write them. Because horror deserves a little respect every now and then.

So, in this blog, we’re going to look at the things that make horror a genre worth respecting (and maybe some of the shitty things too, because bad books and movies are fun to laugh at).

...like this one

I also want to hear from readers. I want your opinions. Because I could be wrong. I could be crazy. But I’m pretty sure I’m not the only horror fiend out there wishing I could wear my Halloween skeleton earrings all year round without looking like a freak.

So let’s all be freaks together!

Here’s a great link if you want to read more about what’s happened to horror’s identity: http://www.horror.org/horror-is.htm. Check out the rest of the website, too, because the Horror Writers Association has got a lot of interesting stuff for those of us who love horror, reading, and writing.