Stephen King Why We Crave Horror Essay

Why We Crave Horror Mothers always say, “If you have the same nightmare more than once, that means it will come true”, at least that’s what mine told me. This is what has always made horror movies difficult for me to watch due to what happens after watching a movieー due to the nightmares. Until I learned that all humans need this sort of intentional fright. This compulsion of watching scary movies is a component of the Human Condition according to what Stephen King claims in “Why We Crave Horror.” Stephen King proves that indeed people crave horror to test and overcome their fears, to be confident in their normality, and to simply just have fun in an unusual way.

Many times children have been sung lullabies to help them fall asleep for instance “Sleep, sleep, sleep, don’t lie too close to the edge, or little gray wolf will come and drag you by the flank, drag you into the wood underneath the willow root.” (Okrent, 12 Creepy Lullabies From Around the World That Will Keep You Up at Night). This creepy lullaby is a tool to

Instead of comparing themselves to people whom they think are normal, they compare themselves to people in scary movies or stories, in this case like Springheel Jack, who has “the shadow of violent death” (King, “Strawberry Spring” 1). The reason being for this is that in comparison of Springheel Jack we, as a matter of fact, do not cruise around town cutting throats “from ear to ear” murdering women and act like it is a normal thing to do (King, “Strawberry Spring” 1). Only a sick and insane person, more than who we prove not to be, would do such things and feel a reassurance when they hear that they have not been caught yet which is what Springheel Jack did. This is the sickening “check point” where we crave to see more and more aberration to verify we that are