Fifty More Horror Clichés That Should Be Left to Spoil

#7: Psychics Lacking Power Diversity

When it comes to supernatural powers in the horror genre, none is more underused than psychics. In most horror fiction, psychics are limited to the ability of only the following two talents; seeing ghosts or seeing the future. Although these abilities are pretty powerful on their own, they pale in comparison to the other talents a character can harness as a psychic. A psychic character is perhaps one of the most diverse power-wise, with various other talents packaged into the main ability.

There is of course the first most obvious underused power of a psychic; mind reading. Popularized by iconic characters such as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men comics, mind reading is an extremely useful tool that psychics naturally harness. When in a horror narrative, this ability can be the difference between catching the mysterious slasher killer or being killed by idiotic cliché means. The psychic would have the advantage of the killer not knowing anything about their mind reading ability, making it only a matter of scanning a couple of nearby minds to find the antagonist through process of elimination. Less bloodshed would be needed to deduct who was the killer, leading to a more peaceful arrest with evidence the psychic could gather by listening to the person's thoughts for a while.

However, mind reading is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to psychic powers. There are much more to psychics than just mind reading and seeing the typical ghost.

Depending on the person, they can have diverse control over the environment itself. Some psychics can have the ability of psychokinesis, or the talent of moving objects with their minds. Eleven from the critically acclaimed TV series Stranger Things is just one prime example of a psychic who can utilize this talent effectively. Other psychics have the lesser known talent of pyrokinesis; the ability to create fire from their bodies. Charlene McGee from Stephen King's novel Firestarter is such a psychic with this talent, able to create flames at will whenever she wishes. Then there are the other type of elemental abilities that although not as well known are worth mentioning; earth bending, water bending, metal bending, air bending, light manipulation, and summoning storms.

Telekinesis is an especially prominent feature that the strongest of psychics are capable of wielding. This is the ability to broadcast your voice into other people's minds, without once having to open up your mouth. Having this talent for a psychic is especially useful if the character in question cannot speak or communicate in the language of a particular person. Using telekinesis can open up various communication barriers that even the most linguistic people cannot match. Mewtwo, the legendary clone of Mew from the Pokémon franchise is a frequent user of this psychic talent, allowing humans to understand it despite the language barrier.

Psychics can be natural empaths as well. An empath is anyone who can feel the emotional spectrum of another person, which is not the same as mind reading. By being an empath, a person can understand the layers of a person's inner being, which words alone cannot express. They can even feel to an extent any pain the person they have bonded with might be experiencing physically. It is a bond that most would only feel when with their soul mate, or with a twin sibling. Arguably, it is a talent much more powerful than that of mind reading.

These abilities though are just scratching the surface layer of potential with psychics. From the power of their very own minds, they can pretty much make any happen in a moment's notice. It is only a mere matter of the power scale the character in question has, and if they are at all holding back. Psychics are far from the crystal ball viewers we typically see in a horror or fantasy narrative. They are powerful beings that should not be messed with in the very least.

With this broader version of psychics now seen, it is important to remember that even though the power dynamics these people could hold is vast, there does need to be a limit to their power level. After all, psychics in the end of the day need to stay away from the overpowered category like any other character. If not, the plot is going to get resolved a lot quicker than desired.

Even the powerful psychic Danny Torrance needed a power limit with his shining ability to keep the suspense of The Shining novel consistent. If he was just able to contact Dick Hallorann right when things started to get freaky at the Overlook hotel, then there would not be a plot. He needed the limits of his young age as well as the ghosts interfering with his powers to keep the plot rolling.

Psychics in horror media need both more diversity in power and balance in power capacity. To balance both creates a character that can be even more special to the audience.