why do horror and terror exert such a fascination on us?

¨ Why do horror and terror exert such a fascination on us?


It is sufficient to have a look on the TV program or on the bookshelves in any library to figure out the extent to which the horror genre is appreciated by a large audience. Why is it so? What makes this genre so appreciated by a broad public? Why are we so fascinated by the horror genre? The fascination is due to several reasons that are linked to human nature.

First of all, it seems that the main function of the Horror genre is the function of gcatharsish from the ancient greek Katharsis. That is to say that by watching or reading horror pieces people aim at taking pulsions off their mind. In daily life one can have some bad ideas such as killing the unbearable waiter in the restaurant or the chauvinist and dangerous driver in his big mercedes. The horror movie watched late in the night allows people of letting those pulsions coming from their mind by seeing other fictionary characters accomplishing them.
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