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From SCIFIPEDIA
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Horror fiction is fiction intended to terrify. It may involve evil, depravity, or the occult.
History
Horror fiction began with the gothic novels of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, typified by Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, published in (1764).
A new form of horror--involving science rather than the supernatural--was developed by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, in her novel Frankenstein, published in 1818.
In the same era, John William Polidori returned to the occult with his short story The Vampyre. Polidori created an evil and frightening character who exuded a sinister charm.
Other early writers include Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula.
Other early exponents of horror include Algernon Blackwood, author of the The Willows, Sheridan le Fanu, and Ambrose Bierce.
Most famous of all H. P. Lovecraft, who wrote in the 1920s and 1930s.
Contemporary horror fiction
Some modern practitioners of the genre use vivid depictions of extreme violence to shock their audiences, a form of horror called splatterpunk. This sometimes involved sexual violence, a genre called erotic horror. Poppy Z. Brite and Mark Mirabello write in these styles.
Mainline horror writers, however, such as Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, and Stephen King avoid extreme horror and create atmospheric or psycholigical terror.
See also
External links
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