Is it a sin to watch a horror movie

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My oldmummy (grandmother) said that when you watch horror movies demons jump out of the tv and stick to the walls of your home but you can’t see them and it’s a sin to watch horror movies I’ve recently watch “the nun” and honestly it was so scary and evil that I felt the need to pray the rosary when I got home I’ve never experienced a more scary movie I was the only one in the cinema that was screaming at every jump scene
 
Movies are fiction, fiction cannot hurt you. Demons do not jump out of televisions nor stick to walls.
 
Your grandma was basically right. I can’t say whether demons actually “jump out of the TV” and “stick to the walls”, but it’s true that horror movies give you demons that stay with you. (And I’m being serious. I don’t say this in jest.)

Just listen to your heart and your intuition. If horror movies scare you so bad, and you feel that you need to pray after watching them, then obviously something evil is going on. Trust your intuition. Don’t watch them. As for demons that you may have already caught, your prayers will get rid of them quickly for sure.

God bless.

P.S. To continue watching horror movies even though your intuition tells you it’s not good for you, is indeed a sin. Don’t worry about the ones you’ve already watched. Just don’t watch any other horror movies as of now.
 
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A priest I knew, retired now, was an exorcist and also celebrated healing masses. He said that a person can be cursed, even possessed through what they see on television/movies or even reading books, that demons can gain access through those medias. Don’t know if I believe it, but I wouldn’t test it. What would be different in using a Ouija board that the Church condemns the use of?
 
Roguish said:
Your grandma was basically right. I can’t say whether demons actually “jump out of the TV” and “stick to the walls”, but it’s true that horror movies give you demons that stay with you. (And I’m being serious. I don’t say this in jest.)

Just listen to your heart and your intuition. If horror movies scare you so bad, and you feel that you need to pray after watching them, then obviously something evil is going on. Trust your intuition. Don’t watch them. As for demons that you may have already caught, your prayers will get rid of them quickly for sure.

God bless.

P.S. To continue watching horror movies even though your intuition tells you it’s not good for you, is indeed a sin. Don’t worry about the ones you’ve already watched. Just don’t watch any other horror movies as of now.
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I wish I could honestly but it’s an addiction I only like 3 types of movies horrors, Romance and comedies
 
Another movie that I really wanted to watch was the Da Vinci code but my mom said that the pope said that Catholics weren’t sopose to watch it so I never did
 
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Again, The Divinci Code is a work of fiction, a particularly bad work of fiction. The Pope does not issue movie reviews, however Deacon Greydonus does The Da Vinci Code (2006) - Decent Films

“The Nun” is the latest in a series of films that began with “The Conjuring”. Here are reviews for the first two:


glorybe said:
A priest I knew, retired now, was an exorcist and also celebrated healing masses. He said that a person can be cursed, even possessed through what they see on television/movies or even reading books, that demons can gain access through those medias. Don’t know if I believe it, but I wouldn’t test it. What would be different in using a Ouija board that the Church condemns the use of?
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The good news is that as long as we stay in friendship with God (this means when we do sin we scoot to Confession!) then we cannot be possessed. We like to give demons far more power than they actually have. You might want to read Dr Peter Kreeft’s work on “Angels & Demons”
Roguish said:
it’s true that horror movies give you demons that stay with you
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Would you please provide the authoritative source (from an official Catholic teaching document) for this statement?
 
Father Rippenger thinks so. To him - it’s a no brainer. ( for a Catholic )
I have to agree with him.
 
She is totally correct. I watched “You Gotta Stay Happy” last night, and danged if Jimmy Stewart didn’t jump outta that TV, along with his monkey co-star. Now I’ve got an American hero stuck to my wall, and a stupid monkey stealing all my bananas and crapping all over the place.
 
I personally think it’s better to play it safe with that sort of thing (occult, demons) and keep a distance, especially when it is a form of entertainment or curious fascinations . The Bible recommends it.
 
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Where do we draw the line? The Church has always promoted the arts. Novels and film are a form of art. Are we obliged to shun any novel or movie or TV show that includes a character who sins in some manner for fear of being “infected” by a demon associated with that sin? Or is it only horror movies that are a danger? I’m not being sarcastic… this is honestly my issue with these sorts of warnings. What is the line?
 
There’s no sin in it- personally I prefer horror games, but you do you.

Recreation is a necessity, and movies (even horror movies) are a valid form of it. Just don’t let them consume you.
 
The DaVinci Code, like all Dan Brown’s books, stars “super nerd,” who is so so smart. And all the girls want kisses with him. Much like ANgels and Demons or Deception Point, the younger female protagonist then gives him kinky time in the last scene.

You’re reading another dude’s delusions of grandeur/ sexual fantasy when you read Dan Brown.

So, Catholics shouldn’t read it, because most Catholics are human, and human IQ drops with every page you read of Dan Brown.
 
twf said:
The Church has always promoted the arts. Novels and film are a form of art.
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The Church has always promoted the arts? That’s a pretty huge statement.

Lots of porno films to ogle…
we draw the line when we begin to become fascinated with or ogle any darkness that is being portrayed. Lust usually plays a large part in horror films. I think those emotions are related and feed off of each other. I don’t find it at all uplifting. We are told to focus on what is good in life.

But I also think it depends on the type of horror. There are some good Stephen King movies…
 
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Does a movie or book bother your own personal conscience or cause you to sin? If not, then probably not a sin, unless it’s pornography that exploits others.

Now, whether it’s just a giant waste of time is another matter.
 
twf said:
Where do we draw the line?

I’m not being sarcastic… this is honestly my issue with these sorts of warnings.

What is the line?
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You draw your own line.
You make your own decisions.
As a practicing Catholic - you - have to draw the line. Somewhere. No one else.
 
You have a point. Stephen King (who once said, “Horror is as Conservative as an Iowan farmer in a three-piece suit”) talked about his moral uncomfortability with a lot of the slasher genre.

Obviously, though, Stephen King is not opposed to horror. And I might point to the fundamentally conservative and Christian messages of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Painting of Dorian Grey, and the Exorcist.

I think like anything else, it is going to be nuanced.

This is why literary and cinematic criticism is important. Separate the wheat from the chaffe.
 
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I’d say it depends on the horror movie. Some horror flicks, for all of their blood ‘n’ guts, have a moral compass. (You can tell from my username and avatar pic that I’m a fan myself).

Personally, I prefer the older horror movies of the '30’s through to the '80’s. Most of them have a very objective view of good and evil. Even in films where the bad guys are triumphant, they rarely try to convince the audience their victory is something we should cheer over. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is one of the ghastliest films ever made, but the villains are never presented as anything besides pathetic monsters.

But modern horror movies tend to take on a more nihilistic perspective, in that they regard concepts like “good” and “evil” as mostly irrelevant - or outright laughable. “The Devil’s Rejects,” for example, actually idolizes its homicidal anti-heroes, at least to an extent. I think those are the kind of films one should be more wary of.
 
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