The Essence of Horror
The first time I saw that introduction, I was thirteen. My brother was off at U.C. Santa Cruz, and I had gone to his room to watch the spare television. I sat alone, isolated from my parents by space and silence. While channel hopping I lucked into the opening sequence from Tales from the Darkside. As that creepy voice narrated over haunting images, a prickling sensation climbed between my shoulder blades and tickled my neck until I had to whip my head around, just to make sure nothing had snuck in from the garage.
That opening sequence hooked me. I caught it every chance I could. The episodes were hit-and-miss, but I didn’t care. That opening set the stage and put me in a great frame of mind for a horror story. At one point I even recorded the opening on honest-to-god videotape, just so I wouldn’t have to wait until the show aired.
Tales from the Darkside never got as big as Twilight Zone or Night Gallery, but I think the horror genre owes it a debt, if only for its opening. No host, just that critical ingredient to good horror: atmosphere.* Without making a side trip about world-building here, let me just say that atmosphere in a horror story gives it an involving sense that the world is not quite as you think you know it. It’s close enough to draw you in, but different enough that even the mundane elements get creepy. The story builds in intensity and power even when nothing overtly horrific or supernatural is happening.
Atmosphere is the reason my favorite horror writers are the likes of Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson, Edgar Allen Poe and M.R. James, and yes, H.P. Lovecraft.
Atmosphere is the reason I stick to R-rated horror films. When I see a PG-13 label these days, I know the filmmakers will rely on boo scares and sudden shocks instead of telling a story that frightens on its own merits. Not that every R-rated horror film is perfect, but some are rated R for their intensity, which often comes down to atmosphere.
I need more horror films to watch, more horror writers to read. Which ones do you think handle atmosphere the best?
* Outer Limits had a similar opening geared toward Science Fiction, but I think Tales from the Darkside was the first to do it for horror.
