Horror is that chill in the night while you are walking to your front door. It is the fear that a hand will reach out and grab you in the dark. It is the feeling that something is not right when you are home alone. You can feel it there in the shadows, or is it just behind you? And the hair on your neck stands up. We know the feeling of horror, but what is horror? By examining the conventions and elements of the genre, we can begin to understand one of the most fascinating and entertaining genres since the dawn of time.

Horror is that chill in the night while you are walking to your front door. It is the fear that a hand will reach out and grab you in the dark. It is the feeling that something is not right when you are home alone. You can feel it there in the shadows, or is it just behind you? And the hair on your neck stands up. We know the feeling of horror, but what is horror? By examining the conventions and elements of the genre, we can begin to understand one of the most fascinating and entertaining genres since the dawn of time.