The distinction between horror and terror is a standard literary and psychological concept applied especially to Gothic literature and film. Terror is usually described as the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience. By contrast, horror is the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a deeply unpleasant occurrence. In other words, horror is more related to being shocked or scared (being horrified), while terror is more related to being anxious or fearful. Horror has also been defined as a combination of terror and revulsion.
The distinction between terror and horror was first characterised by the Gothic writer Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823). Terror is characterised by "obscurity" or indeterminacy in its treatment of potentially horrible events; it is this indeterminacy which leads to the sublime. She says in the essay that it "expands the soul and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life". Horror, in contrast, "freezes and nearly annihilates them" with its unambiguous displays of atrocity. She goes on: "I apprehend that neither Shakespeare nor Milton by their fictions, nor Mr Burke by his reasoning, anywhere looked to positive horror as a source of the sublime, though they all agree that terror is a very high one; and where lies the great difference between horror and terror, but in uncertainty and obscurity, that accompany the first, respecting the dreader evil."[3]
According to Devendra Varma in The Gothic Flame (1966):
The difference between Terror and Horror is the difference between awful apprehension and sickening realization: between the smell of death and stumbling against a corpse.
Horror is also a genre of film and fiction that relies on horrifying images or situations to tell stories and prompt reactions in their audiences. In these films the moment of horrifying revelation is usually preceded by a terrifying build up, often using the medium of scary music.
My earliest memory of these two words was class in my graduation year where we were discussing Gothic literature, till date in my head both cannot remain separated they chase each other down. Yes, a good "scary" movie (for want of a better word) is the one that terrorises you as it builds up & then when the action takes place leaves you horrified. The best "Scary" movie is the one that continues to terrorize you after you have watched it, and mind you Aliens, Ghosts, Supernatural powers or Serial Killers can and have been turned into laughing stock by bad fil making, but there is hope, as there are some examples of really brilliant film making that gives you the scare that you deserve.
My plan is simple to go through as many Horror movies as possible this month - quite a change from my obsessive How I met your mother TV series. I have looked up the IMDB top 50 list and a few others and I am genuinely un-impressed. So I am going to create my own top 10- for now and may be some day top 50 .....!!!
I start of with a list in random order :-
- Omen
- The Exorcist
- Psycho
- The Blair Witch Project
- Jaws
- Pirahna
- The Haunting
- SAW
- One Missed Call
- Final Destination
More updates on the way!!
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