Today's the day! If you know me, you probably know I love Halloween. The disguises, the sugary snacks, and—best of all—being scared out of your wits.
I appreciate the simple escape of horror. There's something paradoxically reassuring about the performance of terror. At a scary movie, for instance, we're scared because we want to be. Sure, media can still get under our skin, but we see scary movies because they give us a sense of control. The fictional terror on the screen is a distraction from the very real fears in our day-to-day lives.
Stephen King has a wonderful essay called "Why We Crave Horror Movies." He expresses the above points better than I can, so I'll send you his way instead. You can read the essay here on the King's College website (though be aware that the link is a file download).
Thanks for reading. Eat some candy, and happy Halloween.
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