Horror, Fantasy, and Curiosity

Throughout human history there have been many literary genres to come and go. Some were entertained by the general public while others may have had a critical reception by a marginally smaller audience (or minority). Though what remains the same, across the board of all genres, there is the thirst for imagination as well as the fulfillment of human curiosity. Albeit relatively new, both fantasy and horror (also respectively different) are successful and popular as genres, for they are able to satisfy the basic human emotion of curiosity and are able to cater towards the human imagination. Sigmund Freud explains how children’s role-played imaginative worlds become suppressed adult fantasies and are therefore tended to go through various mediums; literary fantasy being among one of them. Horror has been able to capitalize on the human’s natural curiosity for the unknown, or death, by bringing its audience as close as possible to it. Although the horror and fantasy genres are different with respect to their content, they share many similarities as to why they (and many other genres) are so popular. Their deep psychological impact on human curiosity and imagination has been just as relevant to both sets of their audiences. Fantasy has been able to entertain a widespread area of different demographics, although still a relatively young literary genre, in comparison to others such as romance, gothic, etc. The reason for its success is partly due to its psychological impact on the human mind; specifically how it is able to play into a human’s desires to re-enact their imaginative sequences. Regardless of who the person is, they still have their own curiosities, desires, and imaginations. In Sigmund Freud’s Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, he describes how children begin to form curiosities about life, such as adulthood, sexuality, etc. He goes on to mention that for a child to explore his curiosities through imaginative role playing, such as pretending to be

References: Anonymous. (2012). Sigmund freud. Retrieved November, 12, 2012, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Sigmund_Freud.aspx Aristóteles Begley, S. (2011). Why our brains love horror movies. Retrieved November, 12, 2012, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html Brenner, A Burkeman, O. (2012). This column will change your life: Morbid curiosities. Retrieved November, 12, 2012, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jul/27/morbid-curiosity-change-life-burkeman Cleveland, K Lizotte, V. (2012). The fascination of the unknown. Retrieved November, 12, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Fascination-of-the-Unknown&id=1352550 MacDonald, G Merriam Webster Dictionary. (2012). Schadenfreude. Retrieved November, 12, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schadenfreude Science Daily Science Daily. (2012). Beauty has a darkside: Morbid curiosity explained. Retrieved November, 12, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120301083415.htm Segal, A Wilson, E. G. P. D. (2011, ). Why we love dead things. Message posted to http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/morbid-curiosities/201111/why-we-love-dead-things