Fifty More Horror Clichés That Should Be Left to Spoil

#2: A Lack of Humanism

For those who skipped World History Class in high school, humanism is the philosophical embracement of the life we are currently living. Instead of focusing on a better life after death, people following this philosophy embrace the present day, even in its darkest hours. In humanism, your individuality as a person is celebrated. Those following this philosophy will embrace their own lives, both the good and bad aspects, through the arts. Having flaws is a celebration of the human spirit, and our individuality.

Humanism is a term most associated with The Renaissance, which followed the dark period that was The Bubonic Plague in Europe. For those spared by the deathly disease, they found enlightenment in their very existences, moving past the rigid religiousness nature of The Middle Ages. Thus, literature, art, and learning evolved as a side effect. Humanism related to The Renaissance is the primary reason we are as evolved as we are in modern day, writing on our computers and tablets stories we wish to share to the world. Without humanism, the level of grace literature is currently at would not exist, and we would just be reading ancient Latin texts.

The reason I bring up the topic of humanism is its unknown importance to literature besides the vast array of story choices we have today. When crafting a story, many authors tend to forget about fleshing out characters that feel real to the audience. They fail to make them more than one note characters, easily forgotten in the slew of plot. Thus, these characters become merely laughable tropes, with no individuality or relatable flaws to help them stand out. In a swarm of literary stories, the secret important principle of humanism is forgotten. In doing this, the story more often than not falls flat.

The lack of humanism in characters is especially most apparent in the horror genre. When it comes to most stories, authors aim solely at crafting a brew of scares for the audience to sip up. They forget time and time again that horror icons like Edgar Allen Poe made horror famous for reasons besides the temporary adrenaline rush a scare can give the audience. They focused on crafting fleshed out characters with immense focus on their mental psychology and relationships with the cast. These characters were meant to lead the reader into the tough to swallow messages in these horrifying stories, being given dimension to better engrave the impact of the narrative. Humanism for these authors was as important as breathing.

Scares are not what make a horror narrative good. What makes a horror narrative good if not great is humanism in its cast and how these characters present themselves on the novel's stage. A mere jump scare will not reel audiences into the horror narrative. Allowing the structured characters to act in the environment introduced inside the narrative is the real motivator for reading these horror stories.

A strong example of a horror narrative using humanism to better develop the book's plot is in Caroline Kepnes novel You. In the narrative, Kepnes does not merely write about a stalker's negative effects on poor Guinevere Beck. She takes the audience on a psychological trip inside of the stalker Joe Goldberg's mind, depicting his conflicting feelings towards his obsession on Guinevere as he starts to take over her life. Though you know from the beginning of the novel that Joe Goldberg is not to be trusted, by looking at his perspective and feelings during the events in the story, audiences find attachment to the plot. They keep reading on to further analyze this unique look into a stalker mindset, no matter how much they may disagree highly with his actions. It is humanism expressed in a poetic melody of a novel.

Humanism is the key many writers need to unlock the barrier between themselves and the audience. You cannot introduce audiences to that frightening fictional world of yours without context into the main players of the narrative game's minds. It has to give a strong leeway into the narrative through the complex characters on the stage, giving readers that itch to keep reading page after page. Without it, authors are doomed to fall into the trap of making a horror story without enough of a bite to entice readers.

Substance cannot not exist without dimension. That is the key to cracking the formula for the perfect horror story.