Horror sub Genres

SUPERNATURAL

• can include ghosts, monsters, dark forces, zombies, or pretty much any creepy thing that can’t be found in the real world.

DARK FANTASY

• contains fantasy elements with a horror twist, or horror with a distinctly fantastical setting

SCI-FI HORROR

• mash-up of science fiction and horror, usually where the sci-fic aspects (aliens, robots, space travel) are used to precipitate the overriding horror

PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR

• driven by characters’ fears and focused more on psychological dread than on murder, mutilation, and gore. Could be supernatural, but is more often associated with those twists where the protagonist turns out to be insane.

GOTHIC

• Involves psychological terror in historically romantic settings, usually including mysteries, ghosts, castles, decay, madness, hereditary curses, and death

SPLATTERPUNK

• The horror extreme, with graphic and gory violence intended to gross you out. Includes cinema’s torture porn category.

RELIGION AND OCCULT

• horror derived from certain belief systems and the evil aspects that they fight against. Usually involves demonic possessions, exorcisms, or explorations of the darker side of pagan religions and the use of ”left hand” magic

THRILLER

• does not involve any supernatural or otherworldly aspects, instead relying on real-life situations to generate horror through serial killers, deadly situations, natural disasters, and psycopaths