CallMeViolet Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 Both my brother and I hate horror movies; I think it has to do with preexisting anxiety from childhood trauma. (Why would I want to chose to feel anxiety and horror after having it inflicted on me so frequently?) Can anyone else relate to that? Or have anything to say on the subject?
NotDarkYet Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 I HATE horror films. They ruin my mental peace for days after. How can anyone not be revolted by watching horrible things happening to others? When friends decide to watch a horror film, I do something else. 1
luxfelix Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 I HATE horror films. They ruin my mental peace for days after. How can anyone not be revolted by watching horrible things happening to others? When friends decide to watch a horror film, I do something else. I can relate to this...
ParaSait Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 I for one love any form of horror fiction. However, I prefer psychological horror over the bloody body horror, as the latter is usually a bit too dumb for me. I'm actually curious if I'm the only one around here.
CallMeViolet Posted October 25, 2014 Author Posted October 25, 2014 ParaSait: you don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable; what was your childhood like?
ParaSait Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 ParaSait: you don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable; what was your childhood like? See the following post! https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/41366-empathy-overload/?p=378428 I'm strangely attracted to being terrified (if I know the danger isn't real). It feels good to me in a way I can't explain. I watch mind-fucking psych horror all the time, play horror games, and I even chronicle my own disturbing dreams and nightmares so that I don't lose the great memories! I know it's kinda crazy. It's certainly a part of me that's worth inspecting.
luxfelix Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 See the following post! https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/41366-empathy-overload/?p=378428 I'm strangely attracted to being terrified (if I know the danger isn't real). It feels good to me in a way I can't explain. I watch mind-fucking psych horror all the time, play horror games, and I even chronicle my own disturbing dreams and nightmares so that I don't lose the great memories! I know it's kinda crazy. It's certainly a part of me that's worth inspecting. Would you agree with the point made in the video that you find some strength in overcoming the horrors? If you are more likely to pay attention to messages from your sub-conscious presented via terror and the resulting feeling is good, then no harm done, right? (I mean, you're here on FDR so I get that you don't initiate violence or anything like that even if the media is. )
CallMeViolet Posted October 25, 2014 Author Posted October 25, 2014 I don't think you have to be sadistic to enjoy horror/ gore, but does anyone have anything to say about traumatic experiences and horror film reactions? My head tends to twist them and freak me out after I've watched them...
J. D. Stembal Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 The reason why we generally enjoy horror films is that they help externalize the trauma we have suffered as a child, and experience in the world around us. If you are engaging your amygdala with entertainment that you know is not real, you are reliving the horror of childhood without confronting it directly. News media outlets achieve high ratings through similar inflammatory methods of presenting violent images, stories, and language. One of my favorite movies is a suspense/horror film, but in general, I've never liked the excessive blood or gore found in the B-horror film and Troma film subcultures. As a child, I was extremely terrified of the dark and slept with the light on until I was six or seven. Even as an adult, I will sometimes fall asleep more successfully reading with the light turned on. I know where my fear of blood comes from, but I'm still drawing a blank on the fear of the dark. 1
Starsky Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 I used to watch quite a lot of horror movies up to my mid twenties. I was never really into gore movies but rather stuff like Braveheart, American Werewolf and The Exorcist, all of them being quite violent and disturbing. While they used to make me laugh for being somewhat absurd and grotesk, I now refuse to watch them. Also, I could never watch crap like faces of death. That's all real, no actors, no fake blood, no make-up artists. I cannot comprehend how people can watch such horrifying scenes. Reminds me of those disgusting Romans cheering on a gladiator match. I don't think it's the fake blood/bones/brain in horror movies that put me off, it's rather the suspense that usually accompanies those stories that really stresses me out. I know it all too well. It reminds me so much of my childhood, having to expect the unexpected and impending doom out of the blue. My system is on red alert while watching and I just won't have that anymore. What also scared the shit out me was 'I Am Legend' or 'Cast Away'. In both cases the protagonist is all alone and depends solely on himself. No one there to help or comfort. Ah yes, I know that theme to an extreme from before I could talk.
cynicist Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 I used to be more able to watch gory/horror stuff when I was dissociated, but now I can't watch any of it. It feels too overwhelming. I think people who are comfortable watching that stuff have either normalized it or aren't very connected to their emotions. 2
PGP Posted October 25, 2014 Posted October 25, 2014 I avoid them and haven't watched one in a couple of years. The first horror film I saw was Salems Lot at maybe three yo. I had nightmares for years after it. The last horror film I saw was maybe Silent Hill. Around that time, maybe a little after, I saw the Road, though that's maybe not strictly a horror film. After the Road, that was it, no more. It is one of the best films in many ways I have seen but I have absolutely no desire to see it again. The gore is not the major issue for me, it is the possibility of the subject like in the road. The darkness under the hood so to speak in humanity. Also, any film where children were suffering or monstrous like Silent Hill always distressed me.
CallMeViolet Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 The road was disturbing... I really wish I didn't remember it now... The scene in the basement... I'm all uncomfortable now... My mom used to be obsessed with ghost and aliens and crazy shit... It made me paranoid for a long time and I still get anxious in the dark at times... I don't believe in ghost or other spooky things but sometimes the anxiety still creeps up on me when I can't see anything around me...
PatrickC Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Interesting question. I certainly think that some horror stories can be reflective of childhood trauma. They were probably stories that were used by adults to scare children into conformity. They were probably also used to hide the violence that was inflicted on them as children. I read somewhere, can't recall exactly now. But children's fear of the dark and nightmares can emanate from previous trauma. That said, I've also heard that this is an evolutionary fear of abandonment in a child. That if left in the woods alone at night, almost always faced certain death. All said and done, I certainly have a distaste for films by Tarrantino these days. He's less horror (in the Horror film genre) and more to do with sadism, but I think it relates.
RyanT Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Yeah I've certainly notice I have a lot less time for horror films nowadays, think the last one I seriously sat down and watched was the first 'Insidious' and that was a couple of years ago now. I think it is a very complicated part of our psychology, but has to at least fall partly into 'Simon the boxer' territory. Did used to be a massive Stephen King fan, remember watching a video of him give a talk once and quip something like, ''You know its funny, most people who've got the stuff I've got going on in there heads go out and spend thousands of dollars on therapy, I publish it and make millions in book sales!'' Of course the audience obliged this with a hearty laugh and I just felt really sorry for the bloke. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1178151/Stephen-Kings-Real-Horror-Story-How-novelists-addiction-drink-drugs-nearly-killed-him.html
MrCapitalism Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I saw just part of this movie some years ago (I think this was it) and became convinced it was about sexual assault. I agree with the others that these movies can really be understood as trauma and psychosis. 2
Alan C. Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I don't enjoy gratuitous violence and gore. However, I do enjoy some horror movies. Some of my favorites from the 80s were The Thing (1982) and Fright Night (1985). I was never a fan of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, or Friday the 13th.
RyanT Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I saw just part of this movie some years ago (I think this was it) and became convinced it was about sexual assault. I agree with the others that these movies can really be understood as trauma and psychosis. Yeah! I remember seeing a film a few years ago that actually spelled this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Haunting Betsy finally has a revelation: the attacks on her and her father are caused by a supernatural being who was born out of her innocence and the reason for them are so she can "remember". She needed to remember that the true cause of her pain was that her father has sexually abused her. Lucy, Betsy's mother, has the same revelation, as she had witnessed the assault herself. Both had apparently repressed the incident. Betsy poisons her sick bed-ridden father with medicine while her mother watches. Betsy is then seen at her father's grave, and the narrator says that Betsy was never haunted from that point forward. 1
TomK Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I see no problem with horror movies, as they are fiction. It is not real, there is no actual violence taking place. In that sense, it is a safe means through which to explore violence, pain, death, etc, without experiencing or inflicting it first-hand. Humans are more than capable of distinguishing reality from fantasy, and we explore many forms of fantasy through various art forms, such as books, pictures, movies, video games, etc, with such fantasy very rarely provoking any real-life damage or re-enactment. Does such fiction glorify violence? Rarely. In most cases horror-violence is clearly depicted as evil, with those who commit acts of aggression almost always the "bad guy", the monster, the disgusting inbred hill-billy. The protagonists of horror movies, in the majority of cases, defeat their attackers through violence in self-defence, and are celebrated for doing so. In fact, a significant part of the horror industry, at least until the last decade or so, was based around delivering simple moral lessons through the good/evil binary of horror (Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, etc). And the more gory a horror movie becomes, the clearer the consequences of violence become in tandem. A knife is wielded, and blood, gore, and mental trauma arise. Compare this, for example, to war movies up until the last two decades, which routinely showed men being shot or stabbed once, and dying instantly without a single drop of blood, or bombs that killed only the enemy, with no "collateral damage". Horror movies deter violence, as they unambiguously demonstrate the consequences of violence. The absence of gore is in many respects the real problem in violence-depicting artwork. Imagine two movies, both involving an incident of rape. Movie A shows the initiation of a rape, but pans away behind a closing door, later returning to a traumatised victim. Movie B depicts the rape in savage detail from start to finish. Which movies best delivers the true horror of rape, and strengthens human resolve against it, the one that showed it, or the one that hid it? Just some contrary thoughts...
growler76 Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I for one love any form of horror fiction. However, I prefer psychological horror over the bloody body horror, as the latter is usually a bit too dumb for me. I'm actually curious if I'm the only one around here. I don't particularly like bloody or slasher type horror movies but I do like some of the creepy ghost type ones. I particularly liked The Others and The Orphanage. The Devil's Backbone was also pretty good. All of these had pretty clever plots. Something about the concept of children being more perceptive of ghosts or supernatural beings (in a fictional world) also intrigues me.
CallMeViolet Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 I wanna make it clear I'm not saying these are bad; I'm asking if anyone else who has had a traumatic childhood has difficulty watching them. . I see no problem with horror movies, as they are fiction. It is not real, there is no actual violence taking place. In that sense, it is a safe means through which to explore violence, pain, death, etc, without experiencing or inflicting it first-hand. Humans are more than capable of distinguishing reality from fantasy, and we explore many forms of fantasy through various art forms, such as books, pictures, movies, video games, etc, with such fantasy very rarely provoking any real-life damage or re-enactment. Does such fiction glorify violence? Rarely. In most cases horror-violence is clearly depicted as evil, with those who commit acts of aggression almost always the "bad guy", the monster, the disgusting inbred hill-billy. The protagonists of horror movies, in the majority of cases, defeat their attackers through violence in self-defence, and are celebrated for doing so. In fact, a significant part of the horror industry, at least until the last decade or so, was based around delivering simple moral lessons through the good/evil binary of horror (Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, etc). And the more gory a horror movie becomes, the clearer the consequences of violence become in tandem. A knife is wielded, and blood, gore, and mental trauma arise. Compare this, for example, to war movies up until the last two decades, which routinely showed men being shot or stabbed once, and dying instantly without a single drop of blood, or bombs that killed only the enemy, with no "collateral damage". Horror movies deter violence, as they unambiguously demonstrate the consequences of violence. The absence of gore is in many respects the real problem in violence-depicting artwork. Imagine two movies, both involving an incident of rape. Movie A shows the initiation of a rape, but pans away behind a closing door, later returning to a traumatised victim. Movie B depicts the rape in savage detail from start to finish. Which movies best delivers the true horror of rape, and strengthens human resolve against it, the one that showed it, or the one that hid it? Just some contrary thoughts... What about the idea that exposure to these things in films desensitizes people?
cynicist Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Imagine two movies, both involving an incident of rape. Movie A shows the initiation of a rape, but pans away behind a closing door, later returning to a traumatised victim. Movie B depicts the rape in savage detail from start to finish. Which movies best delivers the true horror of rape, and strengthens human resolve against it, the one that showed it, or the one that hid it? Just some contrary thoughts... Yeah, I have a problem with this argument. Logically, if what you are saying is true then everyone should expose themselves to the most horrific and vile types of films to strengthen their resolve against evil. In reality, that would be traumatizing. The act of rape is hidden because people don't want to do that to themselves, and as Violet pointed out, seeing violent acts over and over is dehumanizing. (as made evident by reports on soldiers in iraq)
luxfelix Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 I'd like to connect two ideas from this thread: the idea that (1) horror films can be interpreted as subliminal metaphors for trauma, and the idea that (2) witnessing acts of violence may desensitize the viewer and potentially dehumanize the victim. I propose a key factor between the two is empathy; with self knowledge/empathy we will be more likely to recognize the otherwise subliminal similarities between the horror film and the trauma of our past, and with extended empathy towards others, witnessing such horrors and violence will be less likely to desensitize us and lead us to dehumanizing a victim.
TomK Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 I wanna make it clear I'm not saying these are bad; I'm asking if anyone else who has had a traumatic childhood has difficulty watching them. . What about the idea that exposure to these things in films desensitizes people? Yeah, I have a problem with this argument. Logically, if what you are saying is true then everyone should expose themselves to the most horrific and vile types of films to strengthen their resolve against evil. In reality, that would be traumatizing. The act of rape is hidden because people don't want to do that to themselves, and as Violet pointed out, seeing violent acts over and over is dehumanizing. (as made evident by reports on soldiers in iraq) Interesting. I guess the issue is not as clear cut as a suggested, it is closer to the proverbial "two children of an alcoholic", one becoming an alcoholic himself, the other never touching a drop, based on the same childhood exposure to parental alcoholism. To some, experiencing trauma creates a stronger resolve against such trauma; strongly rejecting any threat of a recurrence to themselves, or others, based on the experience and understanding they have gained. While others may become desensitised/dehumanised, and end up apathetic or indeed positive about evil, as it becomes normalised by repeated exposure. The former may end up resolving the cause of such trauma, the latter may exacerbate it. A positive and negative consequence from the same experience. However, is it necessarily beneficial to avoid potentially traumatic experiences in the first place (for example, by avoiding horror movies)? Is ignorance any better than experience, with the associated risk of desensitisation? Violence is going to occur in the world, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you expose yourself to it, or not. And who makes the more vociferous advocate against such violence? Someone who has experienced it, or exposed themselves it, or someone who who says "I don't want to look at that, I don't want to be traumatised"? As such, is exposure to trauma through art (horror movies) not a potentially beneficial insight into evil, and thus a positive way to understand and oppose such evil?
J. D. Stembal Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 The road was disturbing... I really wish I didn't remember it now... The scene in the basement... I'm all uncomfortable now... My mom used to be obsessed with ghost and aliens and crazy shit... It made me paranoid for a long time and I still get anxious in the dark at times... I don't believe in ghost or other spooky things but sometimes the anxiety still creeps up on me when I can't see anything around me... I'm still trying to figure out what my fear of the dark was all about.I also have had a lot of those creepy feelings while alone like someone is watching or stalking me. The bit about your mom believing in ghosts gave me a hint. I wonder if my terror of being in the dark alone as a child had something to do with radical attachment disorder. The lack of attachment I had with my parents led to me being susceptible to these fears. I thought there was a monster that slept with me under my bed. That's a common fear, isn't it? I could not sleep without a light turned on, probably until five or six. I had a series of nightmares throughout my childhood where I was chased by an invisible force that would remotely restrain me. Then, when it caught me, I would wake up in a start. The dream, I find interesting. Why is it that I would have this dream so often? Was I restrained as an infant in a device when no adult could watch me?
CallMeViolet Posted October 28, 2014 Author Posted October 28, 2014 Man... the monster thing... I had a way over active imagination with that. When I would drop something on the ground off my bed I would shake it off because I was worried there may have been tiny little monsters clinging to it; waiting to get onto my bed.... I didn't have these when I was young, or in quite sometime, but I would have similar dreams that I couldn't move. Or it I could I would just end up back where I was. Like sleep paralysis or something. It only happened a couple times bit it was really scary.
engardeknave Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I've been utterly repulsed by gore and horror since early childhood. Rand explains that people who are attracted to this genre enjoy experiencing their fear from a safe perspective. I'd be very interested to hear more about what could motivate this sort of behavior.
Naer Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 If I havent seen one in a long time span, one movie can. Be entertaining
cynicist Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 To some, experiencing trauma creates a stronger resolve against such trauma; strongly rejecting any threat of a recurrence to themselves, or others, based on the experience and understanding they have gained. Is that really what you think people are doing when they watch horror films? Building up their resolve against evil? Glancing at society now, I'd be fooled into thinking it's not working very well; More likely it's a failure to process trauma in their own lives that causes horrific 'art' to resonate for them.
CallMeViolet Posted November 2, 2014 Author Posted November 2, 2014 Well a few people I know who enjoy such films are crazy people... Some of the others just like the fear factor... On Halloween I got a bit wild and watched a Goosebumps movie. SPOOOOOOKY!!! ( The Haunted Mask) I recall when I was sixteen the adult man who was doing terrible shit to me like horror movies... Really sick stuff that lodged itself in my head... One called Martyr... If you're curious you're gonna have to look into it yourself... I don't want to talk about it... Then for some reason he felt it necessary to show me a part in some film where this guy drove a metal pipe through a woman's ankles with a chain attached to some weight and tossed her in a lake... Or something like that... I guess I don't hate all horror films... Is Jurassic Park considered horror? The others was good. So was The Thing and The Fly.... Stephan Kings IT was good but I seen it to young... I don't like clowns... Along with another film I can't remember the name of; this women was in this big haunted house where there were a bunch of child ghost... I don't remember much except little bloody footprints, a ghost brushing the woman's hair, and a scene where a bunch of faces where pressing through a door screaming... I remember the dad was just abusing the hell out of the kids... Idk if he was killing them... It gave me nightmares about being drowned in a garden as I recall there was a scene like that...
luxfelix Posted November 3, 2014 Posted November 3, 2014 A common theme in horror, haunting in particular, is that of the replaying of trauma; some of these stories feature a detective element that suggests that if the trauma can be addressed, then the ghost/spirit/tulpa can at last rest in peace. There can be something reassuring about this, that one can address past traumas (through the process of self-knowledge) and release the stress, coming to catharsis. The theory in the following video is more of the, "this person's eternal torture will serve as a lesson to others" view of horror; a consequence for heinous acts that, imagining the criminal's perspective, leaves a lingering horror:
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