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Psychological horror

Narrative subgenre

  • 10 min read
  • 6 chapters

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Characteristics

Traditionally, psychological horror was defined by its portrayal of characters experiencing psychological instability or extreme emotional distress, where the eerie atmosphere was a direct reflection of the character's internal state. Today, however, the genre is no longer confined to a character’s psyche; for instance, Ju-On: The Grudge is frequently cited as a hallmark of psychological horror within the J-horror tradition.

Psychological horror usually aims to create discomfort or dread by exposing common or universal psychological and emotional vulnerabilities/fears and revealing the darker parts of the human psyche that most people may repress or deny. This idea is referred to in analytical psychology as the archetypal shadow characteristics: suspicion, distrust, self-doubt, and paranoia of others, themselves, and the world.

The genre sometimes seeks to challenge or confuse the audience's grasp of the narrative or plot by focusing on characters who are themselves unsure of or doubting their own perceptions of reality or questioning their own sanity. Characters' perceptions of their surroundings or situations may indeed be distorted or subject to delusions, outside manipulation or gaslighting by other characters; emotional disturbances or trauma; and even hallucinations or mental disorders. Additionally, restricting the characters' and audience's view of potential danger through strategic lighting and visual obstructions—like in Bird Box—can heighten suspense and engage the imagination, leaving much of the threat unseen.

In many cases, and in a similar way as the overlapping genre of psychological thriller, psychological horror may deploy an unreliable narrator or imply that aspects of the story are being perceived inaccurately by a protagonist, thus confusing or unsettling the audience and setting up an ominous or disturbing overarching tone. In other cases, the narrator or protagonist may be reliable or ostensibly mentally stable but is placed in a situation involving another character or characters who are psychologically, mentally, or emotionally disturbed. Thus, elements of psychological horror focus on mental conflicts. These become important as the characters face perverse situations, sometimes involving the supernatural, immorality, murder, and conspiracies. While other horror media emphasize fantastical situations such as attacks by monsters, psychological horror tends to keep the monsters hidden and to involve situations more grounded on artistic realism.

Plot twists are a frequently used device. Characters commonly face internal battles with subconscious desires such as romantic lust and the desire for petty revenge. In contrast, splatter fiction and monster movies often focuses on a bizarre, alien evil to which the average viewer cannot easily relate. However, at times, the psychological horror and splatter subgenres overlap, such as in the French horror film High Tension.

In the modern era, however, psychological horror is no longer synonymous with the absence of monsters. The source of terror can be either endogenous (internal) or exogenous (external), as seen in the Cthulhu Mythos, the SCP Foundation, and various supernatural works. Influenced by global cultural exchange and a surge in creative experimentation, the contemporary definition has shifted toward the psychological impact on the audience or player. It generally excludes subgenres that prioritize physical threats or bodily harm from tangible monsters, such as traditional creature features or slashers. Consequently, the level of dread one experiences is often deeply subjective and shaped by their own cultural background.

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