Hi everyone,

Grades are going to be later than I'd planned and hoped because I had an injury yesterday when I fell into the river (I am fine, just in a lot of pain which makes long periods at the computer difficult).

Thanks for your patience!

Book Recommendations from Durbin

Book Recommendations

If you are interested in reading more horror novels, below are a few I recommend:

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

I am not the world's biggest Stephen King fan, simply because his writing isn't very strong at the sentence level and his story lines tend to falter into silly cliches mid-way through his books, but this book is really strong and creepy. It's a zombie story, but not your typical zombie apocalypse as it is much more intimate. If you like it, you could give The Shining a try as well. It's not as good as the film by Kubrick, which is a masterpiece, but it's still pretty fun and the first half is really, really good.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Vampire-zombie apocalypse goodness here. Last man on earth. Nothing like the film, either, so don't expect them to be the same.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

One of my favorite novels of any genre. This is a psychological horror novel that set the standard for haunted house novels. If you like it, check out her other masterpiece, We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

A great and spooky ghost story; much better than the film.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

One of my favorite novels of all time; this is an existential and gorgeous meditation on the meaning of human existence, told through the eyes of a vampire. It's scary, too.

Under the Skin by Michael Faber

There is a good film by the same name, but the novel is even better. It's a sci-fi horror narrative, about a woman who picks up hitchhikers and does something horrible to them. I don't want to tell you what because you'll want to discover it yourself. I strongly recommend NOT reading any spoilers about this book and letting yourself discover it as you read.

Battle Royale by Kousahun Takami

Also a cult classic film (that is extremely gory, so you've been forewarned) this is a tale of high schoolers who have to fight each other to the death. This book came out long before the Hunger Games, and is much more violent (also, their deaths are not televised). A classic in Japanese horror literature.

Class Survey

1)   What was your overall experience like in the course? What surprised you and what interested you?

2)   What was your favorite book we read and why?

3)   What was your least favorite book we read and why?

4)   What was your favorite film we watched and why?

5)   What was your least favorite film we watched and why?

6)   What did you learn through the process of making the Twine project? Ultimately, how did you feel about this assignment? Was it something you found worthwhile?  

7)   What were your favorite in-class activities?

8)   Anything you’d like to see more or less of? This could apply to activities, or horror sub-genres. Please keep in mind that I do teach already teach a monsters class so I don’t repeat that class here. Also keep in mind that anything “added” will necessarily “remove” something else, due to time constraints.

9)   Anything else you’d like me to know?

Twine Formatting Tips

Hello all,

Here are the promised tips. If you are re-submitting your story from Friday (today), please re-submit it no later than the start of class on Monday and send me the link via email.

As for everyone else, you are expected to have all of these formatting elements incorporated naturally into your stories prior to your presentation and will not be permitted to make any changes after.

1) As mentioned in the guidelines, typos and spelling errors need to be eliminated. Check these in advance. Then, check and double-check your story for errors before submitting.

2) When using dialogue, you need to use what are called dialogue tags. This is not net-speak; rather, a dialogue tag is simply a means of letting the reader know who is talking at a given moment. Every time a character speaks, clarify who is talking. For example:

"I am coming," yells Johnny. (The tag is "yells Johnny." Note as well the comma preceding "yells.")

You say to Johnny, "Great!"

Mom says, "Nope."

"Whatever," you say.

This is standard dialogue formatting in books. If you are confused, open the novel OUT, and look the dialogue tags. You need to do this in your story. Every time anyone talks, whether it is "you" or someone else, you need to include a dialogue tag.

3) Make sure your choices are stated as phrases, not one word choices, for the most part. I know it's sometimes hard to know when this applies and when it doesn't. The trick is to look at the question leading up to the choice. For example:

Do you run down stairs or do you go up in to the attic?

Run downstairs

Go up into the attic

In this instance, it's fine to have short phrases, because the question that leads to the choice is clear.

The following, however, doesn't work:

You walk into the living room.

Attic

Upstairs

See how in this example there is not enough information for your reader to know what is going on?

4) Make sure you have paragraph breaks in your story. These should essentially match the paragraph breaks I am making here on this blog post. I am not indenting as a standard book would do, but when I end this paragraph as I am about to do in this sentence, there will be a one space break before the next paragraph.

See, here is the beginning of the next paragraph, and above it is a space break. Notice how the space break is just one space break, not several spaces.

5) Do not bold or italicize things. If you want to clarify that something is a reader's thought, just write something like:

Damn, I thought. That's a really stupid idea.

6) I already said this, but please proofread for strange typos and be consistent in your punctuation, especially with choices. Either use periods for them, or don't.

7) Make sure your verb tense is all present tense unless you are talking about the past. Don't switch verb tenses throughout your story.

That's it. Let me know if you have any questions. Loved your stories!

Journal Make-Up

If you are unhappy with one of your journal scores, you may write a new one to replace it (but not re-write the original--pick a different film if it's a film journal, and pick another book if it's a book journal, etc).

This can only be done once throughout the term, and must be uploaded with a reference in the header that it is a "make-up" entry so I know to recognize it.

American Psycho Discussion Q's

American Psycho Discussion Questions

1) How would you describe Patrick Bateman's character? He is hyperbolic, which means he is an exaggeration of aspects of real people that already exist. What qualities of toxic masculinity does he exacerbate?

2) How is this novel a critique of Wall Street culture?

3) Analyze the title. What does it represent? What is an American Psycho?

4) While this novel was written in the 80's, many aspects of it can be linked to current problems in our world. What are those problems?

5) What role do the brand name references serve in the book? Why is there so many of them?

Dumplings and The Blair Witch Project

Hi everyone,

Just for the fun of it, I've decided that if you still have to finish any of your film journal entries and you don't want to write about The Host &/or Paranormal Activity, you are welcome to write instead about Dumplings (you'll have to watch the full film version as the shorter version doesn't have good picture quality) or The Blair Witch Project.

You could also write about one of these as an extra credit option if you like.

Best,
Prof D

In-Class Activity

Create a one paragraph plot synopsis for a found footage horror film. How does the style of filming connect to the major themes and horrors in the film? What does it have to tell us about our cultural condition?

Also Provide: characters, main plot elements, setting

Paranormal Activity Discussion Qs

1) Discuss how the surveillance style (found footage) quality of the film contributes to its horrors. How does the camera interfere with the main character's relationship in the film?

1.5) Analyze the relationship between the demon and the camera.

2) Discuss the setting for the film. What is horrifying about it? How is this a haunted house narrative?

3) We've encountered a few different paranormal stories in this course. Make any connections between the different demon narratives in particular. How can you link The Exorcist to this film? What about Jennifer's Body? You may want to think about gender issues, the symbols that occur in the film, or anything else.

4) Discuss the boyfriend in the movie. What role does he serve? Does he fit into any common "horror" tropes?

5) How does exploitation factor into the film?

6) Why do you think the found footage genre is so popular? List more than one reason.

LET ME IN DISCUSSION Q'S

1) What brings Oskar and Eli together?

2) This novel is called LET ME IN (for the film this was retitled "Let The Right One In"), whereas Kirino's novel is titled OUT. One takes place in Sweden, the other in Japan. Compare the two titles, their possible meanings, and discuss how they might interrelate. How do both novels deal with the idea of the "outsider?"

3) Who is an outsider in this book? What makes them an outsider?

4) What does this novel teach us about Swedish society in the 1980s? What was their political situation like, and what was their cultural condition like? Please look back at the first epilogue to the novel, that begins with "The Location."Also, you may want to note any reference to the Russians in the book.

5) How does Eli represent the fears and desires of this specific culture? What attributes, skills, and other aspects of this particular type of vampirism seem to represent this time and place?

THE HOST DISCUSSION Q'S

1) Discuss the monster's physical body, skills, and other attributes. Does the monster possess any contradictory or seemingly impossible attributes? What are they? Now, think of these very traits as representational of some of the cultural fears and desires the monster embodies. For example, the fact that the monster can both swim like a fish and run on land can represent a cultural fear of the US dominating and influencing Korea and being more powerful than them in a military sense.

2) Discuss the family in the story. What does the film have to say about family?

3) In general, what does this film have to say about US-Korea relations? How is it critical of the US?

4) How is the film critical of Korean bureaucracy?

5) What does the film have to say about the environment?

6) Thinking more generally, why might creature features (monster novels and films) be so popular? What unique contributions do they offer to the horror genre?

7) What is "The Host"? Discuss possible meanings for the title. (Consider, as well, the virus in the film).

Journal requirement reminder and update

 Hi everyone,

I wanted to remind you about the journal requirement. In specific, I wanted to remind you that you have to submit two entries about two of the novels, and two entries about two of the films. This is for a total of four entries.

I have decided to remove the entry about a game. If you would like to submit this for extra credit, you may. But it is no longer a requirement.

I've decided to do this for workload and reading load reasons.

Best,
Prof D

REMINDER FOR MONDAY

As we mentioned in class, on Monday please bring:

1) your laptop (if you have one)

2) bring your Twine narrative in a text document on your computer (or an online document); it should be finished or almost finished

3) decide what you you want your Twine handle to be (either your name or a handle)

Lastly, make sure you are checking Moodle for my grades and comments on your journals!

Twine Game Presentation Guidelines

Because we have such a large class, your presentations must necessarily be limited to 10 minutes. In order that they run smoothly, I ask that you please practice them in advance, with a timer (most phones have a timer on them). I will give you a two minute warning when you are presenting, and if you run up to the time limit, you will have to stop, no matter where you are at in the presentation. Please, please practice at home prior to presenting. You may want to bring notecards to ensure you hit all the points you want to hit and don't begin rambling.

The Twine project is 50 percent of your grade; this includes the game itself, the paper, and the presentation. Make sure each of these components are stellar so you can ace this assignment.

Please arrive early on the day you are to present.

Here are the two things you need to focus on for your presentation:

1) Give us the cultural context for your game. What are the cultural conditions you studied and explored, and what are the horrors that you decided to choose for your game, that you believe best represent those cultural conditions? Why are they a good fit? It is a good idea to give us some facts here, but not go overboard. Two or three key bits of information on your subject--say, key facts on climate change, or poverty and homelessness, or whatever your cultural condition is, should suffice.

2) Demonstrate your game. You can choose how you want to do this. For example, you may want to let the room pick choices, or you may want to take us down one or two particular paths. Practice this in advance, so you can make sure you have ample time to show us the key aspects of the game that you want us to see. In ten short minutes, you won't be able to show us everything, so pick what works best.

As you guide us through the game, you will want to tell us how you framed the idea of choice in the game, and how the choices you allow your reader reflect on the cultural condition and horrors. How much free will does the reader have?

You will also want to discuss your game's endings. Why did you choose the endings you did, and how do they reflect the cultural condition?

You can also choose to discuss things like character and setting, if you have time.

That's it! That's all you have to do. Stay focused, get organized, and you'll do great.

***

While your presentation cannot go over 10 minutes, it can be as short as 8 minutes, provided you cover everything you need to cover. If you leave an extra minute or two in there, we will use it to let the audience ask questions.

Twine Project Presentation Dates & Times

Friday Jan 20th

1:00--1:10 Paulina
1:10--1:20 Daisy
1:20--1:30 Julia
1:30--1:40 Stacey
1:40--1:50 Eric

1:50--2:00 Connie

2:00--2:10 Frances
2:10--2:20 Mario

Monday Jan 23rd

1:00--1:10 Sam
1:10--1:20 Ashley
1:20--1:30 Analis
1:30--1:40 Elise
1:40--1:50 Nora
1:50--2:00 Michele
2:00--2:10 Celeste
2:10--2:20 Rachael
2:20--2:30 Brian
2:40--2:50 Richard

Tuesday Jan 24th

1:00--1:10 Mikaela
1:10--1:20 Jake
1:20--1:30 Marissa
1:30--1:40 Selena
1:40--1:50 Ryan
1:50--2:00 Dolores
2:00--2:10 Brianne
2:10--2:20 Darren
2:20--2:30 BryAnna

*Dont forget that your essay is due the day you present!

Workshop Questions

Please answer the following questions for your peer in complete sentences, providing lots of examples from their work. Then give them this paper so they can use it.

Remember, you will hand in all workshop commentary to Professor D on the final day of class.

1) First, examine the map that the author provided. Do all the different "paths" through the story make sense? Are they logical? Do they lead to endings that make that sense given the choices provided?

2) Do the choices provided on the map make sense, given the context of the horror and cultural condition in the narrative? Would different choices make more sense in relationship to the cultural condition and horror?

3) Does the map seem complete enough? Are there any further narratives the author might consider? Also, are there any points of intersection between paths (cross-overs between narratives) that the author might consider?

4) Now, move from the map to the story itself. Look at the introduction first. Does it set the reader up with enough information about the cultural condition, horror, and story itself to understand what is going on? Are the characters set up clearly enough so the reader knows who is who? Give suggestions for any further information that might be required. *A good clue here as to what might be missing is to ask yourself, as a reader, what you are confused about. Any confusion on your part usually means the writer has left something out. Tell them what you are confused about.

5) Take a look at the writing itself for the narrative. Is it detailed enough so that the reader knows what is going on? Do they know who is talking at a given moment? Do they know where they are?

6) Examine the use of setting throughout the narrative. Is it descriptive and clear? Don't forget to "set the scene" early on in the story, and then to keep reminding the reader of the details in the setting throughout. You don't need a lot of details but one smart concrete detail in most narrative "chunks" will help. A concrete detail is a writing detail that appeals to one of the five senses--sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. It can be something as simple as an cold bottle of Mexican Coke (yum) or a hospital room ceiling that is peeling and mildewed.

7) Length can sometimes be an issue in Twine narratives. You don't want your narrative "chunks" to be excessively long, but they should include any necessary detail to move the reader along. Give any suggestions around this issue if needed.

8) Please point out if there are a lot of grammatical or spelling issues that the author needs to work on. Don't fix these for them, but let them know to fix them later.

9) Now, for the hardest and most important question of all: does the story really reveal and demonstrate the cultural condition and its horrors? Does it demonstrate those things effectively, through the use of setting, dialogue, choice, characterization and endings? Make any suggestions for improvement.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in class, if you are at all squeamish or easily bothered by difficult subject matter or graphic visual violence, this may not be the course for you. However, if there is one particular subject or topic that might be hard for you to read or watch for whatever reason, please let me know and I can provide alternative options for you. As I mentioned in class, this course deals with a lot of extreme subjects due to the nature of the genre: cannibalism, murder, sexual violence, pedophilia, violence toward animals, etc.

If you feel uncomfortable during a film and need to step out out of the room, feel free. I simply ask that you speak with me about it that day (through email or during break or after class) so we can arrange an alternative assignment for you.

While all the books we read deal with some intense stuff, the beginning of the chapter titled "Friday Oct 23" in Let Me In, up until the first section break (in my copy of the book it's pages 40-46) deals with pedophilia in a rather intense way. Ultimately this book deals with some of the darker sides of humanity and the things that people hide from society's eyes, and that is why this particular character is included in the book.

That said, you should feel free to skip these particular pages if you need to. You can get the gist from the rest of the book.

Any questions? Let me know.

Prof D

OUT Discussion Q's

1) Discuss the character of Kazuo. How do economics impact him throughout the story, and how are his financial problems tied to his status as an immigrant and the fact that he is mixed race (Brazilian-Japanese)? What does his character's story reveal about Japanese society?

2) Discuss Satake--what leads him to kill? What beliefs and values in the culture has he internalized that (arguably) lead him, in part, to committing his crimes?

3) One of the things Kirino does really well is create sympathy for characters who are often demonized, including killers and stalkers. She also does an excellent job of showing how socio-political conditions are directly tied to criminal activity. In what ways does she create sympathy for Kazuo and Satake?

4) What is your ultimate interpretation of the title of the novel? What does it symbolize? (There are multiple ways of looking at it; please consider at least two).

5) Now that you have finished the book, how do you feel about the women's crimes? Discuss Yayoi's murder of her husband, the cover-up, and Masako & Co's disposal of the body and business plans thereafter (perhaps you feel differently about each of these things).

6) What is the horror at the heart of the novel?

Cabin in the Woods Discussion Qs

1) What is this film attempting to say about the nature of the horror genre?

2) Who has agency (free will to make choices) in the film? How is that agency limited? Discuss both the puppeteers and the four main characters in the film.

3) How does the film implicate the viewer?

4) What role do screens play in the film? How does this reflect our cultural condition?

5) How does the game-like nature of the film reflect our cultural condition?

6) What do the ancient gods represent?

OUT Discussion Q's

1) Discuss the economic and working conditions in the novel. How do these specifically contribute to the horrors in the novel? 

2) Discuss the gendered aspect of the novel. How do these women's genders contribute to the horrors in the book? Does the fact that they are women help them in any way?

3) How does the author make her characters more than simply horror cliches? Do you relate to them? Why or why not?

4) What does this novel teach you about Japanese society? Do you see any of the horrors in the novel paralleling any horrors in US society?

Friday Workshop

For Friday please bring your narrative (story) and your map for Workshop. Please note that you may change some or all of this after the Workshop, so nothing is set in stone.

The narrative can be hand-written or typed; the map should be on the white sheet of paper I gave you (or the equivalent).

You must have at least half of the total narrative finished, and one full draft of the map with choices and endings.

Analytical Essay for Twine Game Guidelines

The 5-7 page, double-spaced  analytical essay that accompanies your Twine game should include the following:

1) A very thorough, researched discussion of the cultural conditions that your game deals with. For example, if you are writing about a post-apocalyptic, zombie-ridden world that is the result of nuclear warfare and climate change, you should include research on nuclear development (and war), and climate change. You should make sure to include any information that is current to this moment (so, it's a good idea to look at current politics). Also, you can trace the history of your subject(s) a little bit as well and discuss how the past informs the present of your story. After all, past traumas are like ghosts that live on today and create some of our current horrors.

The research should be from the library's databases, primarily, although you can use some news articles as well. Please include at least four library sources and you may include any other sources on top of that. No Wikepedia or .com sites unless approved by me.

2) How those cultural conditions contribute to the horror in the game, the setting, the choices the reader makes, and the endings that the story offers.

The horror in the game is essentially the fears (and the fears behind the fears) such as fear of cybercrime, fear of disease, fear of isolation and having to fend for oneself, fear of dependency on technology, etc. It also includes how those fears manifest (zombies, cannibalism, murder, death, mutant trees, etc).

So, say you have a fear in your game that is a fear of dependency on technology (horror), and that is a result of the current technological dependencies we experience in the US (cultural condition). This horror manifests in your zombie-ridden, tech-free world because your reader cannot rely on their tech devices to help them do things like figure out how to get places (GPS) or even look up a recipe for cooking on the internet (or use an oven, for that matter).

The setting should, of course, relate directly to the horror. For example, if you are dealing with a nuclear leak from a plant, then the setting may be the nuclear plant itself or some area nearby that has been affected. You should be able to discuss in your paper how the two relate.

The choices the reader makes have everything to do with the cultural conditions and the horrors themselves. After all, our choices in life are shaped by certain things: the family we were born into, the country and class and time we were born into, our personalities, the traumas that have happened to us, our race, gender, religion, etc. At the same time, many people believe we have some degree of free will (freedom of choice) to decide within certain limitations. Remember, you are the puppeteer who rigs the game for your player. What are the limitations and choices for your reader, and how do those relate to the cultural conditions, the setting itself, and horrors that make up your game?

For example, if your reader is from a wealthy family, then they are in a position to pay or buy their way out of certain scenarios that a poorer reader cannot. If your reader is in a lot of financial debt and can't pay their rent, and they have no family they can turn to, so they must trust a sketchy character who turns out to be a serial killer or end up on the street homeless, both choices in the game are limited by that reader's financial problems and end poorly--because of larger social problems (cultural condition) in our society where there is increasingly less social support for people in trouble, higher costs of living, more isolation, etc.

You should be able to discuss how the ending(s) of your story relate(s) to the cultural condition and horror, as well as the choices the reader makes. Do all paths lead to the same end? Obviously the endings are going to connect to the freedom of choice your reader has. For example, if you choose gun violence as your primary horror, and your narrative takes your reader into different scenarios where gun violence might occur (mass shooting at a school, a child who plays with a gun at home and accidentally shoots it, a lover's quarrel turned violent, a robbery at a grocery story, etc), then perhaps you want your reader to always end up dead in order to show that gun violence can reach anywhere. Or perhaps you want there to be a few endings where the reader escapes (say they move to a country with strict gun laws, or they hide in their house behind thick gates and fences).

*What horror sub-genre(s) your story fits under, and any common horror tropes you decided to play with in your story, and why. Do those tropes line up with the cultural condition somehow? For example, if your story is about the pressure women feel to look beautiful to succeed in Hollywood, then perhaps you will play with the "hot girl" trope in your story. Maybe the hot girl will end up dead. Or maybe you will overturn that trope, and make her kill someone else, just as Jennifer in Jennifer's Body does.

*Some discussion of how the horror works we've encountered this Jan Term, and the ideas you've learned in class, influenced your project.

*A Works Cited page with MLA formatting.

*Please carefully proofread your essay as well as your Twine game itself for any grammatical errors or spelling problems. You will be expected to have carefully polished your work prior to submitting it.

Please note that you may use the first person in this essay.

Map Examples

You definitely don't need to follow these patterns, but this will give you an idea of what your map might look like.

Class Grades

Hi everyone,

Elise pointed out that my Points Breakdown mysteriously vanished from the Syllabus. Here it is (I also added it back to the Syllabus):

Journals--25

Participation (includes Workshops, Reading Quizzes, Group Work, and Class Discussions)--25

Final Project (Essay, Game, and Presentation)--50

I'm happy to answer any questions you have about this when we meet tomorrow (or anytime).

Best,
Prof D

Concept Workshop

Please answer the following questions for your peer, about your peer's work, in complete sentences, providing plenty of examples from their work in your response. You will give this to them so they can use it to make revisions; they will then hand it in to me for credit on the final day of class.

I do not want to see yes or no answers, unless the question specifies it. Yes or no answers-unless specified-will receive no credit.

1) In your own words, and without asking the creator to help you, write three sentences summarizing the horror at the heart of their story. What is it? Then do your best to get to the fear behind the fear. (Example: fear of the witch, which is really fear of women's power or fear of family members being left alone in old folk's homes which is really fear of dying alone).

2) In the same manner, write what cultural conditions or problems (horrors) created the horror that the story deals with. Do not ask the creator what these are, but use the proposal to see what you can ascertain. Be as specific as possible. These should connect to real issues in the world today. For example, technological problems like increasing reliance on devices, economic disparity based on unfair tax laws, natural disasters due to climate change, etc. The story can absolutely have supernatural or fantastical elements to it, but these should still connect to conditions in our world. (If you are struggling with this, let Prof D know. I am good at brainstorming this stuff!)

3) Make any suggestions for how the connection to the cultural conditions can be clearer or more well-developed. Do not skip this if you think they are "good enough"--I promise they can be better (ask me if you need help).

4) What horror sub-genres does the story fit into? List them. (This can be in list form, no paragraph required).

5) Is the story contemporary? It must be. (This can be a yes or no answer, however, if it's not contemporary, brainstorm contemporary ideas bc this is a requirement of the assignment).

6) What is the setting? Can it be more specific? Ex. instead of "a corporation," what corporation? Ex. instead of "in the internet," where in the internet? Tumblr? Reddit? If the setting needs more development, now is the time to do that.

7) How might the setting contribute to the choices the character can make in the story? For example, if the setting is a cave, the character could choose to go into different chambers in the cave. If it's a haunted house, they can go into different rooms. If it's a corporation, there could be levels to the office. If it's more of a quest, or a journey, then consider "stops" along the way.

8) What is the POV, and does that POV work well? Is it too complicated? Usually a straightforward "you" works.

9) Discuss the issue of agency and free will in the story. Will the character have choices that are limited in some way? What are they limited by? Is it reasonable that these choices are offered to the character, given what the horror is? For example, if your character is a Japanese woman who works in a box lunch factory to pay her family's bills in an economically unfair soceity, it may not be reasonable that she can make choices that will lead her to becoming a millionaire or a famous actress on television.

10) Brainstorm additional choices the character/reader might have, or different ways of looking at those choices.

11) Discuss the idea of endings in the story. Are the endings reasonable, given the nature of the horror that is being dealt with? Will all paths lead to the same ending, or to different endings?

12) Who are the characters in the story? Are there too many characters? I recommend keeping it simple.

Horror Sub-Genres

Basic history:

Horror is a genre of literature, art, and film that intends to do that which it's name entails--to frighten, disgust, shock, or horrify its reader or viewer. These feelings, however, are linked to pleasure on some level (or people would not read/watch it). The pleasure might relate to any number of attendant feelings: catharsis, schadenfraude, stimulation where we may have felt under stimulated (after all, we no longer live in the wilderness, experiencing fight or flight on a daily basis), shocking us out of complacency about issues we might normally not want to face. Horror has its roots in mythology and folklore, like fairy tales, as well as religious traditions with stories of devils and hell and other terrors. More contemporary horror can be traced to the the gothic literature tradition that arose in the 18th century, and incorporated the supernatural into works of fiction. In the 19th century, horror as the genre we know it today really took off, with works like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (still the most assigned school book in the US) and Edgar Allen Poe's short stories taking off.

In this class, you are receiving a toolkit on how to dissect and understand horror as an aesthetic  category, and to understand it as a metaphor for a society's condition, a window into the human mind (and soul, if you prefer). 

Today, horror is arguably the most popular form of entertainment in the world, raking in boatloads of cash on video games, movies, and books. It's not always taken seriously by critics, but it should be, because it tells us a lot about what we fear, both individually and collectively. It can also be a lot of fun to read and watch.

Sub-genres:

Here are some horror sub-genres from Professor D's studies. You might be able to recognize works that fit into these categories, and new sub-genres are sure to arise!

These genres are not clear-cut, and often overlap with one another. Don't stress yourself out trying to figure out the best genre for a work; instead figure out which ones make the most sense to you.

Also, these aren't in any fancy type of order and are focused on contemporary horror sub-genres, since that is the focus of our class.


Techno-Horror
Often dealing with issues of surveillance, technology, the Internet, and sometimes evil governments and corporations, techno-horror often blends with science fiction to reveal the horrors embedded in our tech devices.

Examples: TV show Black Mirror, The Cabin in the Woods, Ring

Horror-Comedy
Walking the uneasy line between scary and funny, horror comedy is often raunchy, campy, and totally inappropriate. Frequently overlaps with meta-horror.

Examples: Scream, The Cabin in the Woods, Jennifer's Body, Evil Dead II, Scary Movie

Eco-Horror
Horror that deals with natural disasters, climate change, pollution, and other ecological problems. Can blend with other genres such as Illness or Survival or Creature Features. For example, the Korean film The Host is about American army officials dumping toxic chemicals in the Han River in Korea, which creates a hybrid fish-monster that terrorizes the city.

Examples: The Host, I Am Legend, The Bay

Survival Horror
Often cross-pollinates with Eco-Horror, Illness Horror, and sometimes with zombies and other Creature Features. Sometimes post-apocalyptic. Horror that deals with trying to survive in the wake of a disaster, in hostile natural environments, or after an accident. Of course, you can look at this term more broadly and see many horror narratives where someone is trying to survive a killer as also being Survival Horror. Gets at our primal flight or fight impulses like nothing else.

Examples:The Walking Dead, Open Water, I Am Legend, JAWS

Horror Romance
Often having to do with the story of misfits (who may very likely be monsters), horror romances bring together unlikely pairs for kinship.

Examples: Let Me In, Only Lovers Left Alive

Slasher Horror/Serial Killers
While you can have a slasher horror work without it being about a serial killer, you rarely have a serial killer work without it being a slasher narrative. These often cross-pollinate with Exploitation Horror, but not always. A sub-genre of this genre that perhaps should have its own category is Home Invasion horror, which deals with psychopaths breaking into ones home and trying to kill the residents (perhaps this sub-genre is a response to the housing market crash?).

Examples: American Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Purge, Hush

Exploitation Horror/Gore
AKA "Torture Porn"
You have to have a strong stomach for Exploitation Horror, which is filled with so much blood, sex, and guts that some people consider it exploitative. Franchises like SAW, or films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre fit into this category. These films are aimed at creating an intense repulsion in viewers. It's harder to create this effect in a novel or short story, but not impossible.

Examples: Human Centipede, I Spit on Your Grave, SAW, Battle Royale

Psychological Horror
Dealing with mass hysteria, madness, and sometimes physical isolation, psychological horror can often be combined with other genres to detail what happens to the mind in extreme circumstances. This is the genre most likely to create a scenario where the reader or viewer cannot tell what horrors are real and which are "imagined"--until it is too late.

Examples: The VVitch, The Shining

True Crime
Some people don't categorize True Crime as horror because it supposedly isn't as "scary," but I think the categories often blend. After all, it's about real life horrors, like serial killers and murderous cult leaders.

Examples: In Cold Blood, Helter Skelter, The Stranger Beside Me

Revenge Horror
One of the more satisfying genres of horror to watch if you've ever been wronged, Revenge Horror deals with (often brutally) killing those who have done one wrong (whether it's justified or not, is up to the viewer).

Examples: I Spit on Your Grave

Meta-Horror
A lot of horror gets meta here and there, especially with so many sequels, but truly meta-horror works reference many other horror narratives self-consciously within the narrative. Most meta-horror is also comical, making fun of the genre and it's excesses, even  as it is celebrating it.

Examples: The Cabin in the Woods, Scream, Scary Movie

Illness Horror/Body Horror
These could really be two different categories, but illness horror often deals with mass epidemics (and therefore is often combined with zombie narratives). Body horror can frequently overlap with supernatural horror that deals with things like possession and creepy pregnancies. What the two have in common, of course, are ones own body turning against one.

Examples: 28 Days Later, Rosemary's Baby, The Brood

Sci Fi Horror
Sometimes the sci-fi and horror genres blend, particularly (but not always) in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Technology and an imagined, dsytopian future come into play.

Examples: Alien, I Am Legend, Frankenstein

Monsters/Creature Features
We could create a whole host of of sub-genres within this category! From vampires to werewolves to zombies, to monsters like Bigfoot and Lochess Monster (who could possibly have their own sub-genre within this sub-genre, as they are legends believed to be real), monsters have intrigued humans for centuries. After all, as Jeffrey Jerome Cohen says, they are our children.

Examples: Dracula, Willow Creek, An American Werewolf in Paris, Night of the Living Dead

The Supernatural/Gothic
The supernatural has been a key player in horror for a long time, with its roots in the gothic literature tradition. It deals with "evil forces" and things that go bump in the dark. Common tropes include: haunted houses, possession narratives, devil/demon stories, witches, ghosts, haunted dolls and toys.

Examples: The Haunting of Hill House, The Exorcist, The VVitch, The Shining, Child's Play

The Sequel (and Sequel and Sequel and Sequel)
While not a genre unto itself, horror movies are known for their sequels which spawn further sequels which spawn even more sequels. Just like a human centipede!

Examples: Human Centipede, The Living Dead series, The Evil Dead series, Nightmare on Elm Street series, etc. etc. etc.

The Mash-Up
There are different kinds of mash-ups in the horror genre, whether it's a mash up like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies that combines something normally not considered horrifying with something horrifying, thereby tainting it, or Freddy vs. Jason or Alien vs. Predator which combines two horror fan favorite monsters into one film. Horror is not a "pure" genre (no genre really is), and it doesn't mind that! The fear can creep in anywhere.

Found Footage
While not a genre unto itself, it is worth mentioning as the premiere method of framing a horror narrative in the 21st century. With the success of The Blair Witch project in the 90s, which relied on found footage "discovered" from a missing documentary team, and then with the massive success of Paranormal Activity, which relied on the trope of home surveillance, found footage makes a lot of sense in our increasingly "surveilled" world of cell phone cameras and government surveillance. It also gives the viewer a clear sense that what they are watching is, in fact, filmed--and implicates them as voyeurs and viewers. 

Examples: VHS, The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity

Exorcist Q's

1) Discuss the role of science in the book. Is it able to help Regan with her problem? Why or why not?

2) Discuss the role of the priests. Are they able to help with her problem? Why or why not?

3) What do we know about the demon in the story? Compare and contrast his character to that of Regan's.

TWINE CONCEPT PROPOSAL

CONCEPT FOR TWINE PROJECT

On Monday, bring with you to class your concept for your Twine end-of-term project. It should essentially be a proposal that is around 1 page, double-spaced and typed. It should have numbered responses to the following questions. The proposal should include the following:

1) What is your story about? What “horrors” will it contain? Be specific. Give us the setting (time and place), main characters, and central dilemma for the story. Make sure not to copy other people's stories. You may reference other horror you have read/watched at certain points in the story, but you will be graded on how imaginative your story is.

2) How do these horrors in your story relate to real life horrors in our world today (not in the past, but today, in 2017)? Be as specific as possible. A particular problem of our world might be a good place to start. For example, the automization of workers is a specific problem. People are and will continue to lose jobs due to robots and machines taking them over. A horror story that deals with a subject like this could be about a possessed self-driving car, for example, or a serial killer Uber driver who had his job taken from him. *Please note that this is the most important aspect of your story and I will be grading you on how well-developed it is.

3) What is the basic plot idea for your story? What will happen?

4) What is the POV of the story? Is it first person? Second person ("You walk into a bar")? Third person? Since this is a Twine story, the second person, where you address the reader directly, might make the most sense.

5) Because Twine is an interactive, narrative game, you need incorporate choice into your story in a specific way. What are some of the potential directions your story might take? What are the different choices your reader might take? How do these choices relate to the horrors in the story? For example, if you made a narrative story like The Witch you could allow your reader to choose to tell their mother why they went into the forest, or to lie or keep it a secret. Both choices have consequences—if the reader “lies” then the mother is more suspicious and more likely to see her child as a witch. If the daughter tells the truth, she may be punished or get her father, who sold the mothers cup to buy traps, into trouble (which could also get her into trouble).

6) Speaking of choice, you will need to consider possible endings to your story. What possible endings might the story have? Now, here is where you should consider the horror at the heart of the story, the horror that relates to the cultural condition that produced the horror. To that end, you may want every path in your story to lead to the same ending, or you may want different endings to be possible. This will entirely depend on the horror you are dealing with. For example, to use the self-driving car example from above—it’s generally been decided that it’s inevitable that self-driving cars are coming and will replace the jobs of truckers, etc. So, in that story, you may want all endings to be the same, because that is an inevitable situation in our world (although you can still come up with another resolution in the story if you want).

Please note that you will likely change many things after your workshop on Monday, and that is totally normal and encouraged. This project is a work in process, and will require thoughtful revision throughout.

COURSE SCHEDULE *UPDATED JAN 11

COURSE SCHEDULE 
*SUBJECT TO CHANGE

WEEK 1

TUESDAY JAN 3 CLASS INTRODUCTIONS

READING DUE WEDNESDAY JAN 4 THE EXORCIST TO PAGE 75; READ/PLAY "A VERY, VERY, VERY SCARY HOUSE"

WEDNESDAY JAN 4 EXORCIST; FILM THE VVWITCH

READING DUE THURSDAY THE EXORCIST TO PAGE 150; READ HOW TO MAKE GAMES WITH TWINE 

THURSDAY JAN 5 EXORCIST; TWINE PROJECT OVERVIEW AND PLAN

READING DUE FRIDAY THE EXORCIST TO PAGE 225; READ THIS HISTORY OF "SATANIC PANIC"

FRIDAY JAN 6 EXORCIST; FILM JENNIFER'S BODY

READING DUE MONDAY FINISH THE EXORCIST; READ/PLAY "SABBAT" ; BRING FINAL PROJECT CONCEPT TO CLASS FOR WORKSHOP (SEE GUIDELINES ON BLOG)

SATURDAY JAN 7 *JOURNAL ENTRY 1 DUE BY 11 PM

WEEK 2

MONDAY JAN 9 EXORCIST; CONCEPT WORKSHOP

READING DUE TUESDAY OUT TO PAGE 100; CYBERTEXT (THIS IS A LITTLE DRY, BUT FOCUS ON THE INTERACTIVE ELEMENT OF CYBERTEXT AND HOW IT CHANGES THE PROCESS OF "READING")

TUESDAY JAN 10; OUT; FILM THE CABIN IN THE WOODS; BEGIN CONCEPT MAPPING IN CLASS

READING DUE WEDNESDAY OUT TO PAGE 200

WEDNESDAY JAN 11 OUT

READING DUE THURSDAY OUT TO PAGE 300

THURSDAY JAN 12 PROFESSOR D MEETINGS RE. TWINE PROJECT

READING DUE FRIDAY FINISH OUT; PREPARE NARRATIVE IN PROGRESS FOR WORKSHOP (GUIDELINES ON BLOG)

FRIDAY JAN 13 OUT; WORKSHOP FOR NARRATIVE IN PROGRESS; DUMPLINGS

READING DUE MONDAY LET ME IN TO PAGE 150; BRING COMPUTERS FOR SESSION WITH DIG LIB ARTS LAB

SATURDAY JAN 14 *JOURNAL ENTRY 2 DUE BY 11 PM

WEEK 3

MONDAY JAN 16 LET ME IN; DIG LIB ARTS SESSION; HORROR VIDEO GAMES

READING DUE TUESDAY LET ME IN TO PAGE 250

TUESDAY JAN 17 LET ME IN; FILM TBA

READING DUE THURSDAY FINISH LET ME IN

WEDNESDAY NO CLASS

THURSDAY JAN 19 LET ME IN; FILM PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

READING DUE FRIDAY AMERICAN PSYCHO TO PAGE 100

FRIDAY JAN 20 AMERICAN PSYCHO; PRESENT TWINE PROJECTS

READING DUE MONDAY AMERICAN PSYCHO TO PAGE 300

SATURDAY JAN 21 JOURNAL ENTRY 3 DUE BY 11 PM

(PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY FINISHED ALL OF YOUR JOURNAL ENTRIES BY THIS POINT-IF SO, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO UPDATE A THIRD ONE)

WEEK 4

MONDAY JAN 23 AMERICAN PSYCHO; PRESENT TWINE PROJECTS

READING DUE TUESDAY FINISH AMERICAN PSCYHO

TUESDAY JAN 24 AMERICAN PSYCHO; PRESENT TWINE PROJECTS; CLASS PARTY; JOURNAL ENTRY 4 DUE BY 11 PM

(PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY FINISHED ALL OF YOUR JOURNAL ENTRIES BY THIS POINT-IF SO, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO UPDATE A FOURTH ONE)