When you think about it, when we think comfort and safety - we don’t think comfort or safety. In fact we think quite the opposite. So why is it so popular? Why do people enjoy it so much? Why do people seek something that is scary?
Grief is complex. It is multilayered, confusing and doesn’t have a fixed formula. It can come out of nowhere, and just when you think that “Oh, I think I have figured it out”, it presents itself in an entirely new and different way. Over time people have found solace and comfort in different things to support them through their journey of grief - surprisingly one of them happens to be consuming Horror.
Horror offers ways in which the experience of grief can be contained and regulated and, in doing so, may offer psychological benefits for the bereaved (Millar, B., & Lee, J. (2021).) It can be unassumingly therapeutic when it comes to grief and processing it. It creates a space that encourages us to confront fear, loss, and trauma in a controlled and safe way. Offering the viewer a way to work through their feelings. If you’re wondering how, here are a some insights
-
Externalization of grief: Using paranormal factors or mythical creatures such as ghosts or monsters - horror tends to externalize complicated inner emotions of grief and trauma. When we externalize something, we do two main things. One is we create some distance between the feeling and ourselves - which helps us approach it in a different way. Secondly, when we give something a shape, it becomes something tangible - something easier to process.
-
Safe environment to confront Fear: Grief doesn’t ever come alone, it comes hand in hand with fear as well. Often fear of death, of loss, of the unknown and oftentimes even the fear of moving on. Horror taps into those fears, but what it does simultaneously is it ensures that we don’t have to deal with real life consequences. Meaning a safe and secure environment. For example, a lot of jump scares offer us a great rush of adrenaline, but there is also the security of knowing that it isn’t real, it is momentary, and it will end once we stop watching. It also gives us a sense of control, because we also know that we can stop watching whenever we want to.
-
Catharsis and Release: Horror evokes strong emotions. Horror cinema has a tendency to build us up to an extreme peak of whatever emotion we might be feeling. Shock or fear - there is a build up or tension and then a release. This at some level mirrors the cycles of grief and the waves in which it comes.
-
Empowerment of the survivor: At the end of it, horror - whichever sub-genre it is- is about survival. It is about characters going through the most overwhelming and extreme situations. Facing the worst of odds and their fears and then coming out the victor. At some level this offers comfort and peace to a viewer - almost living vicariously.
-
Comfort in staying: Horror cinema has always been special in the way it never wants to make anyone feel better. In fact it offers viewers the space to continue being in whichever state of being they are. Both as characters and viewers - we are encouraged to feel just what we’re feeling - a comfort we’re seldom offered. Something important to note is that even when a character emerges as a survivor - they’re not scot free and untouched by everything that has happened. They carry the heaviness of everything they have been through - a reflection of how real life is.
Horror isn’t for everyone. But those who connect with it find great comfort within it. It opens up an avenue for people to get in touch with their emotions and their grief in a protected and safe way. It talks about death, loss and negativity in an unafraid manner - which invites the viewers to do the same and somehow not feel alone in the process. Let’s not underestimate the power of horror cinema and recognise the role it may play in someone’s journey of grief.