"Psychological horror" is a subgenre of horror fiction that relies on character fears, guilt, beliefs, and emotional instability to build tension and further the plot.[1] Psychological horror is different from the type of horror found in "splatter films," which derive their effects from gore and violence, and from the sub-genre of horror-of-personality, in which the object of horror does not look like a monstrous other, but rather a normal human being, whose horrific identity is often not revealed until the end of the work. Well-known examples of psychological fiction include The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project. The Others is a more recent example of a psychological horror film. Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Shortcut: WP:-( Vandalism is indisputable bad-faith addition, deletion, or change to content, made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of the encyclopedia. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Blood Feast A splatter film or gore film is a type of horror film that deliberately concentrates on portrayals of gore and violence. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The horror-of-personality film is one of three sub-genres of the horror film that grew out of mid- and late-20th-Century American culture. ... For other uses of this phrase see Sixth sense (disambiguation) The Sixth Sense is a 1999 Academy Award-nominated Psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that tells the story of Cole, a troubled, isolated boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) who claims to be able to... The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 low budget independent horror film, financed and distributed by Artisan Entertainment. ... The Others is a 2001 psychological thriller film by the Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. ...

Why is it effective?

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Psychological horror tends to be subtle compared to traditional horror; typically it plays on archetypal shadow characteristics embodied by the Other [2]. In other words, it creates discomfort in the viewer by exposing common or universal psychological vulnerabilities and fears, most notably the shadowy parts of the self most people repress or deny. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Archetype is defined as the first original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated. ... Look up shadow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Psychological horror comes from within--it exposes the evil that hides behind normality, while splatter fiction focuses on bizarre, alien evil to which the average viewer can't easily relate.[3] Though Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho shocked many people with its blatant gore, much of what made the main character so frightening was how normal he seemed on the outside. Likewise, writer Thomas Harris' fictional character Hannibal Lecter from the film adaptions of his books Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising, captured moviegoers' fascination because the character in itself was pure evil, but hid behind the veneer of gentility, which was often shocking to see. Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author. ... American Psycho is a 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis. ... Thomas Harris. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar Barca, (247 BC – ca. ... Hannibal Rising is a novel written by The Silence of the Lambs author Thomas Harris. ...

Carl Jung has argued that our attraction to the uneasiness caused by the Other is an attempt to integrate the "otherness" of the shadow while others believe horror serves only to repress it. [4]

Occasionally - such as in the film Blair Witch Project - the antagonist is never revealed. With no explicitly defined threat presented on screen, the "fear of the unknown" theme becomes central and can be explored fully. The Blair Witch Project is a low budget 1999 horror film in which three young film students mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth after being stalked through the woods, lost and kept awake by an unseen antagonist. ...

Psychological horror in mass media

Psychological horror can be found in some computer and video games like Silent Hill series, Condemned: Criminal Origins and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a universal phenomenon. ... Silent Hill is the title of a survival horror video game franchise, produced by Konami and developed by Team Silent. ...

Psychological horror is frightening to some viewers because of the tension built upon throughout the story. Splatter films usually rely upon sudden "jolts" and direct physical threats to sympathetic characters, such as a monster jumping out from behind a corner. The primary effect of psychological horror is to play upon the anticipation of a perceived threat, or to confuse the viewer regarding the nature, or existence, of the threat (examples of the latter approach can be seen in the films Let's Scare Jessica to Death and Hour of the Wolf, and the games Rule of Rose and Silent Hill 2). Poster art for Blood Feast (1963) A splatter film or gore film is a type of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. ... Zohra Lampert as Jessica Lets Scare Jessica to Death was a 1971 low-budget horror film, directed by John Hancock, and starring Zohra lampert in the title role. ... This article is not about the WBAI radio show, Hour of the Wolf, which was named after this movie. ... Rule of Rose is a survival horror game for the PlayStation 2. ... For the upcoming Silent Hill film sequel see Silent Hill 2 (film) Silent Hill 2 is the second installment in the Silent Hill Survival horror series. ...

Often, psychological horror films have no recourse to the "gore" prevalent in splatter films. However, some violence may be used to reinforce the notion of possible physical danger, while still keeping true to the psychological nature (an example would be the 1999 Japanese film, Audition). Audition (オーディション; Ōdishon) is a 1999 film directed by Takashi Miike based on a Ryu Murakami novel of the same title, starring Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina. ...

See also

• Lovecraftian horror

Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror which emphasizes the psychological horror of the unknown (in some cases, unknowable) over gore or other elements of shock, which may still be present. ...

References

1 Will You Step into My Parlor? A Guide for Horror Lovers

2 The Other in Fiction - Archetype Writing

3, 4 Journal of Analytical Psychology, 48 (4), p. 407 September 2003 Psychoanalytic theory in times of terror