Реферат по английскому языку Why is horror fiction so popular and how does it influence people? Выполнила Небукина Виктория, ученица 9б класса гимназии№2 г. Нижнего Новгорода, учитель Постоева Вероника Игоревна

Муниципальное автономное образовательное учреждение

«Гимназия №2»

Канавинского района

города Нижнего Новгорода

Научное общество «ЭВРИКА»

Реферат

Why is horror fiction so popular and how does it influence people?

Выполнила: учащаяся 9 «Б» класса Небукина Виктория

Учитель: Постоева В. И.

2016 год

The table of contents

Pg.

Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 3

Chapter 1 ……………………………………………………………………….. 4

1. ……………………………………………………………………... 4

2. ………………………………………………………………………7

Chapter 2 ….......................................................................................................... 9

2.1 …………………………………………………………………...... 9

2.2 …………………………………………………………………….. 10

2.3 …………………………………………………………………….. 10

2.4 …………………………………………………………………….. 10

2.5 …………………………………………………………………….. 11

2.6 …………………………………………………………………….. 11

2.7 …………………………………………………………………….. 11

2.8 …………………………………………………………………….. 11

Chapter 3 ………………………………………………………………………. 14

3.1 …………………………………………………………………….. 14

3.2 …………………………………………………………………….. 14

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... 18

The list of literature ……………………………………………………………. 19

Supplement …………………………………………………………………….. 20

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Introduction

Fear is very old and one of the strongest human feelings. Primary instincts and feelings are generated by his response to the environment.Everyone has repeatedly experienced fears in various situations. Even the most courageous and brave man can be afraid of something. It does not mean survival anymore.

Nowadays horror fiction becomes more and more popular.Some writers glorified this genre. One of them - Stephen King.

Stephen King, inherited the tradition of writersskillfully uses techniques of fiction, projecting them on to reality. Nevertheless, the traditions of Gothic fiction goes back not only to the elements, excessive in everything, but also to fear.

The relevance of the topic chosen is due to several factors:

1) The interest of young people to horror literature;

2) Popularityof Stephen King'sworks;

3) The negative impact of horrors on people with psychopathic warehouse of personality.

The main objective of the work - establishing the occurrence of the horror genre and explain its readability.

In accordance with the purpose of the research, I identify the following work tasks:

1. Finding out the origins of horror literature andorganization of the genre;

2. Learning about most popular Stephen King's novels;

3. Making a little research on the topic "The attitude to the horrors";

4. Making conclusions about the horrors'impact into the psyche.

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Chapter 1

1.1

The origins of fiction and horror literature were found in ancient myths and legends reflecting the picture of the world existed at that time. Cosmic terror appears as an element in the earliest folklore of all nations, it is easy to see in the ancient ballads, chronicles and scriptures. It was a fixture of deliberate evocation magical rituals with demons and ghosts, flourishing since prehistoric times, and reaching its peak in Egypt and in the Semitic peoples.

However, oldest written mystical works were created at the beginning of the first millennium BC by the Chaldeans - the people who lived in Mesopotamia. On clay tablets were written incantations against evil spirits, demons, voodoo guidance and astrological calculations. In astrology, they accumulated the astronomical knowledge, which is necessary for orientation in the natural processes. At the same time it was accompanied by the most bizarre mysticism, by which they were taken to determine not only the periods of flood Tigris and Euphrates, but the fate of nations, states and individuals.

Fiction literature and the literature of horror have been existed throughout the history of humanity, but as an independent genre, took shape only in the XVIII century.

The most part of Western folklore of terror, of course, is connected with the hidden but often suspected presence of the terrible night of worship, because the strange customs of its followers have been rooted in the most repulsive rites of fertility of incredible antiquity. This secret religion, stealthily sent farmers for thousands of yearswas marked by wild "Witches Sabbath" in the remote woods and on the mountain tops, whencame Walpurgis Night and Halloween. It became a source of incalculable wealth of magical legends, not to mention the persecution of witches provoked by it, which has become the main symbol of the American

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Salem. Very similar and probably related to it was terrible secret system of inverted theology or Satan worship, which gave rise to such horrors as the famous black mass.

In the East, the story of the supernatural was based on the pomp and gaiety, which turned it into something fantastic. In the West, the story has got an incredible atmosphere of tension and seriousness that doubled the force of the horror's impact.

The beginning of the horror genre is considered the novel "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Volpola (1764), the novel "Frankenstein" (1818), Mary Shelley, and in the cinema - a film by Paul Wegener's "The Golem" (1915), "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"(1920) and others. Right from that time horror movies quickly entered the lives of ordinary spectators and began to show ordinary human fears of war, hunger, criminals, murderers, epidemics, aliens, vampires, etc.

Many publicationswere peddled and sold out by ignorant people. Judging from the Elizabethan drama with its "Doctor Faustus", the witches in "Macbeth" the ghost in "Hamlet" and the horrors of Webster, we can easily imagine the powerful effects of the demonic on human consciousness.Even more enhanced by real fear of modern witchcraft, whose terrors first declared themselves on the continent, they were responded loudly in England by witch hunt of James I.

Mysticism also had been developing in the East. Kaidan- the story of the mysterious and terrible, a traditional element of Japanese culture is based on fairytales and stories about the history of the country, the protagonist of which is the ghost of a deceased person. A tradition of "one hundred Kaidans" was borning the old days in Japan. Late in the evening, the villagers gathered in one house and lit a hundred candles. The participants took turns telling terrible stories that had happened to themselves or their ancestors, then blew a candle. With each extinguished candle tension grew among these people, in the coming dark silence it seemed particularly

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sinister and supernatural characters described in the stories took on traits of reality... Some people say that when the last candle in the house extinguished,there appeared something terrible...

In Japan horror took major development. The most famous Kaidan- a story of revenge ghost Oiwa - a woman, who was betrayed by beloved husband and died by violent death. This tragic story based on real events - the subject of numerous film adaptationsand the famous play of kabuki theatre, but some scenes and details in them may differ significantly. It was said that a long time ago Oiwa, a samurai's daughter, married a ronin, with whom later she was separated. Having lost her mind from sorrowful cries she rushed through the streets of Edo and soon disappeared... It is said that all the members of the houses involved in the unfortunate cheated woman died soon... it was a revenge of deceived and ruined Oiwa's spirit.

Spiritof person unjustly deceived in life, revenges offenders by driving them crazy, making them kill their surroundingsin the madness and then themselves. Do you think if a vengeful ghost is a deep-drawn subconscious sense of guilt or a guilty conscience of a person who has committed a crime? "Kaidan" of Hideo Nakata is not the standard j-horror in the "Ring" style, this is more a love story, which hasnot disappeared even after the death of a loving heart.It is about betrayal and revenge, the curse, the observation with violent force said before death, about the inevitability of punishment. It is a classic social drama with a universal morality that is understandable to all, regardless of religious beliefs and mentality. Kaidan Stories are always fatal, and the Japanese curse is inevitable. With a powerful force it kills the perpetrators of evil, it will completely destroy the whole race of villain, all the bystanders and even ordinary passers-by, who happened to be in his field of action. Then, obsessed with revenge, it will wander through the world, feeding its insatiable hunger, rounding the Earth like a tsunami, and will never be satisfied.

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1.2

Now I want to point some elements of horror fiction:

"• Highly improbable and unexpected sequences of events that usually begin in ordinary situations and involve supernatural elements.

• Contrast of the oddness of these events with the minutiae of daily life so readers identify with the characters.

• Exploration of the dark, malevolent side of humanity.

• Main characters are people we can understand and perhaps identify with, although often these are haunted, estranged individuals.

• Lives depends on the success of the protagonist.

• Mood is dark, foreboding, menacing, bleak and it creates an immediate response by the reader.

• Setting may be described in some details if much of the story takes place in one location.

• Plot contains frightening and unexpected incidents.

• Violence, often graphic, occurs and may be accompanied by explicit sexuality.

• Most stories are told in the third person.

• The style is plain.

• The key ingredient in horror fiction is its ability to provoke fear or terror in readers, usually via something demonic. There should be a sense of dread, unease, anxiety, or foreboding. Some critics have noted that experiencing horror fiction is like reading about your worst nightmares.

• There is some debate as to whether "horror" is a genre or, like "adventure", an aspect that may be found in several genres. Horror is a certain mood or atmosphere

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that might be found in a variety of places. Traditionally, horror was associated with certain archetypes such as demons, witches, ghosts, vampires and the like. However, this can be found in other genres, especially fantasy. If horror is a genre, then it deals with a protagonist dealing with overwhelming dark and evil forces." ¹

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Chapter 2

2.1

"Incorrigible optimists like horrors. They believe that from the very scary mystical and terrible situation you can find a way out."

Stephen King

Master of horror and nightmares, Stephen King "was not supposed to be born." These words of King's mother pursued him all his life. No, mother loved Stephen, but because of her infertility she could not understand how her child could appear.

When Stephen was two years old, his dad, saying, "I went for cigarettes" left home and never returned. Not to shockher children by the obvious truth, mother said that their father was abducted in the street at night and eatenby monsters. Since then, Stephen has become afraid of the dark and monsters.

Another nightmare happened to little Stephen King atthe age of five years old: directly in front of him a train cut to pieces hisfriend. The shock brought the child to the attic, where he found a suitcase full of fiction and editorial letters ("legacy" of his father). This discovery turned the life of the future master of horror.

Stephen King's creation is situated, of course, in the field of popular literature, with its particular characteristics and the system of relations with other types of literature. This does not cancel, and even poses the need to study books worldwide blockbuster writer and typical, but at the same time an extraordinary representative of horror and science fiction.

When you read the works in the genre of horror literature, if it is written sequentially and talented, imaginary reader fear - it is the main component of the terrible atmosphere manifests itself in various forms. Accordingly, a writer must cause fear, approached the horror category from different sides. S. King agreeswith this: "I do not think that the horror stories may impact on the reader, if not

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Heard by two voices in them one loud, that you with scary howls tell his readers about ghosts, werewolves, monsters. And other, quiet, that you whisper about real fears. Then, in the perfect case, you may be able to make sense of the nightmare that is felt in every life, you know that this is not true, but does not already matter".²

2.2 The girl who loved Tom Gordon

Going along with her mother and brother, hiking, Trisha got lost in the woods.

Trying to get out on the trail, she had chosen the wrong direction and began going farther into the forest. On the way she imagined her favorite baseball player Tom Gordon, talking to whom, Trisha whiled away the road.

Moreover, there is someone much less friendly.

2.3 Firestarter

First, a man and a woman are subjects of a top-secret government experiment designed to produce extraordinary psychic powers.

Then, they are married and have a child. A daughter.

Very early the daughter shows the signs of a wild and horrifying force growing within her. Desperately, her parents try to train her to keep that force in check, to "act normal."

Now the government wants their brainchild back - for its own insane ends.

2.4 Carrie

Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possessed... But one night at her senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many, and

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in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction...

2.5 It

The novel "It", contains a primitive human instincts and fears, forbidden desires. It is the "It" which creates horrible images of works of King, and this"It" allows readers to be afraid of these images: "The fears are born of your consciousness, always wear a shade of subjective reality.That is what awriter isachieving, healmost alwaysmatches the horror and his perception of the human psyche. Fears of heroes reflected in readers' fears, are forcing the mass consciousness to resonate".³

2.6 Salem's lot

Thousands of miles away from the small township of 'Salem's Lot, two terrified people, a man and a boy, still share the secrets of those clapboard houses and tree-lined streets. They must return to 'Salem's Lot for a final confrontation with the unspeakable evil that lives in the town.

2.7 The Long Walk

On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as "The Long Walk". If you break the rules, you will get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying...

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• "I have spent a good many years since―too many, I think―being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction or poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all."

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• "Fiction is the truth inside the lie."

• "Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well."

• "Let me say it again: You must not come lightly to the blank page."

• "The scariest moment is always just before you start."

• "You can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will."

• "Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure."

• "Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."

• "Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

• "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work."

• "The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool."

• "Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the

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web of duty."

• "The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings - words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out."

• "We make up horrors to help us deal with the real ones."

• "Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life."

• "Get busy living or get busy dying."

• "Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's." ⁴

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Chapter 3

3.1

Horror is an emotional genre; it arouses fear, bright impressions and even stress.If someone wants to experience these feelings, he can get them, reading horrors.

There is a little research in my work. I made a survey* and found outthe attitude of my coevals to horrors. Most of them like this genre and think that it is very interesting and exciting. Others are not interested in this genre or do not like it.

My friend gave me a little review about this topic: "Every person is special and everybody has different preferences in literature. Majority likes reading love stories, fantasy, non-fiction, thrillers and others. However, nowadays most of us are interested in horrors. Horror fiction is one of the most popular genres in worldwide culture. There are many horror films, but I prefer literature. Mostly I like reading novels of Stephen King, who is considered to be the most famous author of his genre. His works make me lost in thought about many things. To my mind, his best novels are "Shining", "Carrie" and "It". I recommend to check it out."

3.2

Every piece of horror fiction consists of various fears andphobias.It can be fear of heights, darkness, flood, hurricane, war, fire, manic individuals, snakes, spiders and other phobias. "Suspense is usually characterized as a "feeling of uncertainty, which can vary widely: from pleasant to painful"."⁵

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As a rule, the horror is designed to create a disturbing atmosphere. But if the mood does not leave you after viewing, so fear and stress were too strong. Because of the horror, your emotional state can change. If you take to heart events in which there are heroes, then you should not read horror books.

"… High quality horrors are a good training for human nerves. The head of research, clinical psychology professor David Rudd, says that while watching a horror movie we get a kind of pleasure, as our brain at the same time adequately assess the reality of the threat. Realizing that in reality there is no danger, the viewer experiences a disturbing feeling of adrenaline. Professor Rudd also argues that repeating the same fear causing certain "habit" in brain and it does not respond to fear as a threat. According to the Texas scientists, this fact can be an indispensable aid in the treatment of phobias and other mental disorders."⁶

People feel these fears sitting in their armchair (or else) and reading a scary book. They are in a comfortable peaceful atmosphere. They experience a variety of emotions and consider that reading horror novels is a wonderful pastime and excellent phobia cure.

Horrors also matter for gendersocialization of adolescents. In 1996 two scientists Zillmann and Weaver created a model of social motives which make teenagers read horror fiction. Particularly they have proved that teens use horrors to cope with their fears.

Stephen King in the late seventies said that the vast majority of people love to be scared. We find it hard to understand the nature of fear, even fear - is one of the first emotions that we experience. As adults, we forget much of what we were so afraid of as children. Barrier of rationalism is harder to punch. But the fear is not becoming weaker.

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Darkness

The oldest fearofpeople. They are afraid of darkness for many reasons. Firstly, nothing is visible. It is a danger on a subconscious level of many people, so they get scared. Fear of the unknown and invisible. Darkness often shows only the contours of objects, so we can see human contour, or something terrible.

Blood

Many people are afraid of blood. Red liquid gushing out of the wound may shock those ones. In general, it is not just the fear of blood, but any bloody scenes, autopsy and taking away internal organs. The sight of blood may occur such feelings as fear, dizziness, nausea, shock and other feelings.

Supernatural creation

This fear appeared not so long ago, about 20 years ago. Of course, it came to us frombooks and cinema. This fear is about something that looks like a human, but it looks like something unbelievable. This is a psychological fear and isperceived at a subconscious level. Nightmare is a part of this type.

Survival

The most natural, real, and the most frequent fear, which only happens in real life. When a critical situation occurs (terrorist attack, fire, bomb explosion, fight, offender attack, a natural disaster), any person triggers feeling of self-preservation. Usually at this moment the brain turns off, giving way to instincts and adrenaline. At this point, the human power can be doubled.

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Hopelessness

It is a strong fear too. When theperson is alone in a dangerous situation, and there is no escape for him.Novel "1408" is the brightest example. Feeling hopelessness createsreal animal fear. Moreover, we can meet it in reality. This type of fear is concerned as the fear of being buried alive or stuck somewhere below the ground.

Pain

If we compare this form of fear with other fears, it is quite common, and it can be explained by logic. In this case, the demonstration of this phobia can be a person haunted by the fear of getting hurt. We can say that there is nothing more natural than the fear of physical pain. Most of horrors are based on this fear.

Are fear and pain -the same thing? They are alike. Both of them have one purpose - survival. Fear and pain often appear together, they have a lot in common. Pain gives a signal that the there is something wrong with body, and if there was no pain, we could not survive. After all, your body is focused on the continuation of life. Pain serves as the prevention, signaling that something is wrong with the body and it saves us in most cases of life. And fear has the same protective function. It tells us that we are in danger, and makes us to respond. Fear, like pain, is designed to protect us, to make us being careful, to signal that we need to think, regroup and make some decision that will be optimal in the current situation. We can say that the pain and fear are the signals of danger that we need to recognize and act appropriately to overcome the dangerous situation.

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Conclusion

It is worth considering the desire to read books of this genre. People read books and watch movies of the genre "horror", to overcome their own fears.

Throughout the history of humanity, horror and mysticism have been an important part of the culture. The first horror stories appeared before our era. People expounded their fears and ways to overcome it as spells, amulets.

From ancient times to the present day, horror genre is one of the most popular. The most popular among teenagers who lack the thrill. Also this genre helps to overcome inner fears. The most famous writer of the genre - Stephen King. Stephen King knows very well the psychology of adolescents and young people, their fears; it is reflected in his works. In many of his works, teenagers are the protagonists or secondary heroes. His novels often help us to overcome many fears and teenage complexes, allow to feel stronger.

I hope that the main objective of my work is achieved. I have found out the origins of horrors, learned Stephen King's creation and made a research. Thank you for attention.

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The list of literature

1 - Elements of horror fiction, William C. Robinson, University of Tennessee. (www3.wayne.kyschools.us/userfiles/45/Classes/17025/ElementsofHorrorFiction.doc)

2 - Миронов, Р. Категория ужасного в произведениях Стивена Кинга [Текст] / Р. Миронов. (ivanovo.ac.ru/cyberpar/stephenking.html)

3 - Пальцев, Н. Страшные сказки Стивена Кинга. Фантазии и реальность [Текст] / Н. Пальцев. - (kingclub.narod.ru/wdove/WIN1251/terror.htm)

4 - positivewriter.com/quotes-on-writing-stephen-king/#sthash.Stlx4SUq.dpuf

5 -Zillmann, D. (1991 c). The logic of suspense and mystery. In: J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.). Responding to the screen: Reception and reaction processes (p. 281). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum Associates.

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Supplement

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