  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: Starr Phenix  
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When considering a topic for my first Horror/Scary newsletter, I thought it appropriate to discuss the driving force behind the genre: Fear.
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** Image ID #1298738 Unavailable **
What is fear?
Fear is one of our most basic emotions, an unsettling response to danger, pain, evil, or the mere threat of any of these. It is one of the key factors in the success of our survival as a species, given that it can act as a catalyst to fight or flee. There are many kinds of fear, ranging from mild caution to extreme phobia, and it is related to other similar emotional states, such as terror, panic, worry, anxiety, paranoia and dread. It is both innate and learned, as our life experiences can teach us to fear certain things like poverty or loss. It can be serious or trivial; singular or shared by many. It can provoke us to bravery or treachery, lead us to practical wisdom or irrational action.
Physiologically, fear produces many responses geared to prime our bodies for ‘fight or flight’. Our muscles tense. Our sensory organs modify to deal with the perceived danger. We jump, or start. Our breathing and heart rate increase, and we begin to perspire. Perhaps most importantly, we are hit with a surge of adrenaline that provides a powerful natural high geared to keep us alert and ready to strike or flee.
Fear and Fiction
Fear has long been used as a literary device to teach positive lessons. Through fairytale and folklore, countless generations have learned the dire consequences of bad behaviors and poor decisions. We learn from the mistakes of fictional characters in hopes that we will be spared their fates.
Moreover, there is a certain thrill in experiencing fear. The rush of adrenaline that accompanies the powerful emotion exhilarates us, providing a natural high that can be intoxicating. From the consistent popularity of the horror genre, it is clear that we crave this feeling and seek to fulfill it by ‘safe’ means. Whether it is driven by some primal instinct we can no longer truly grasp, or the need to escape the horrors of real life, we seek out fear and embrace it.
What frightens us?
As time passes, it seems we become desensitized to the things that scare us. What frightened our parents or grandparents often leaves us unmoved. Fear is influenced by social mores and values, and as these things change, so does our perception of what is worthy of fear. Writers and poets, filmmakers and artists, must adapt to society’s changes in order to successfully capture the imagination and strike fear in the hearts of the whimsical public.
Advancements in technology and our understanding of the world around us must also be kept in mind. Although writers and other artists do take liberties with reality quite often, it is up to the public as to whether these liberties are acceptable. It may be fine to present a story in which aliens attack Earth, but impossible for the audience to accept that the world flat, after all. Without this harmony between fantasy and reality, the story falls short of its goals to enchant and frighten the reader. There must be a basis for reasonable belief, because to fear something, one must believe in it.
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Here are a few items from around the site I’ve found quite fearful. (In the best of ways, of course!)
And one of my own scary stories for good measure:
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What scares you? How have your fears changed over the years? Are there some fears you absolutely cannot face, even in the safety of fiction?
Thank you so much for your time. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my first newsletter as much as I have enjoyed writing it. 
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Horror/Scary: August 01, 2007 Issue [#1864]
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