Writing horror?

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Chistian-ity

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Before I came back into the faith my favorite thing to do was write horror! It is so challenging to get the formula right, and you have to tap into the deepest emotions that humans face. Stripping them of everything and throwing them in the worst possible situation. As a writer I would watch the lives of these people deteriorate until they no longer even knew what was real. I really loved writing horror but have stopped this passion of mine due to being a bit apprehensive. I feel like it provided a lot of insight to me. Do you guys have any suggestions? Also I don’t do it as a job so money isn’t an issue as I am only 15 😆
 
If I’m not mistaken, you’ve mentioned that you’re thinking of becoming a priest in the future, yet at the same time, you enjoy writing horror stories. How do you manage to balance the both, as I find them quite extremely opposite to each other?
 
Well, I stopped writing horror after coming back but it makes me kind of sad to give up my mostest enjoyed hobby. Honestly I wouldn’t condone some of my old works now, some were just straight up gross. But writing psychological horror as I said shows me the depth of human knowledge and pushes my understanding of how we deal with grieving, the seemingly impossible, and other roadbumps. But I’m not sure if they can or should be balanced, hence me stopping.
 
How are they opposite? I’m a priest myself, and while horror isn’t my cup of tea, I’m not sure what about writing horror would be opposed to my life as a priest. If I’m writing things that are extremely gory or offensive, maybe. I welcome your insights.

-Fr ACEGC
 
I like horror, too. And, yes, there is actually a lot of stuff you could look into, but I’m not sure you’ll find a whole lot of sympathy from people in Catholicism, though. People in spirituality circles usually want to elevate and edify their piety; they want to remain open to the Spirit, and that is absolutely the right attitude. But then there’s a lot of scrupulosity, too.

That said, I did a lot of thinking on this prior to Halloween, while working on some music for a Halloween party. Writing scary music, I realized, there’s a lot of different horror-type stuff out there, so you have to distinguish. There’s suspense horror, comedic horror, reality/documentary horror, religious horror, and the evening news… Trying to write a scary soundtack for that guys party was kind of interesting because I had to try to balance social propriety with what everyone might actually think was scary… Generally, sneaking up behind your friend and taking them by surprise is scarier than most of what you’ll see in a movie…

From a Catholic standpoint… you could watch Exorcism movies - which are probably fictionalized, but still working along the right lines… We all know how it turns out, but The Passion of the Christ is pretty horrible, too… Stuff like The Addams Family or Scream is pretty silly, so I don’t think you would run into any problems with something that is obviously facrical… In the realms of true religion though - there are documentaries on Exorcisms, plenty of stories of Saints who died terrible deaths, and so on…

St Theresa of Avila speaks of looking at our dark side. She say it is necessary in order to confess our sins, but then she also admits the safest “horror story” is looking at Jesus on the cross. I read all her stuff years ago (literally everything she wrote), so its hard to give an exact reference at the moment, but I’ll try to find it.

One Christmas I was deeply depressed and watched the Passion of the Christ about a dozen times. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen (and still do). Other times I’d binge watch the Exorcist, and friends would ask me - Aren’t you scared?" I chuckled “No, I live only 30 mins from Georgetown.” 😉 Once I wanted to go to a church Halloween party as St Thomas More - because he was beheaded, but then the Priest felt that was going a bit too far - although I am sure St Thomas More wouldn’t part with his palm branch for anything…

But the scariest thing of all is probably the CCC… If you want to make a good confession, you could read up on it… The Vatican’s Chief Exorcist once said - I’m more afraid of saying mass than anything about the devil - because dealing with the devil is like taking out the trash, but going before the living God is for real…
 
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Most people would perceive horror as something dark, and evil at times. I just can’t imagine how one can be walking in light, and at the same time, fantasizing such a thing. Or may be it’s just me. 🤔🤔🤔

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not p(name removed by moderator)ointing at anyone here. And I’m very much aware that the OP is a great guy (no doubt about that). It’s just the concept of having these thoughts existing in one’s mind at the same time. That’s all.
 
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In the Dark Night of the Soul, St John of the Cross speaks to this… as does the New Testament…

St John of the Cross tells us - and it is accurate - when we see light, it is actually because it is diffracted after having bounced off of an object. And, philosophically, what we’re perceiving isn’t the actual object, but a representation of the object in consciousness. The object diffracting the light is something completely different. And, when light itself travels in an unobstructed and unimpeded manner, it appears dark. Hence, St John of the Cross refers to “living in the light” as the “dark night of the soul”, for true faith is ideally an unimpeded motion.

As for the New Testament, the darkness does not overcome the light; like water fills its container, so too light fills the space in which it occupies.

The notion of living in the light is a bit ambiguous when I look at the crucifix, which in its own immutable way - safely comprehends all of it, as St Theresa of Avila said. In a sense, it’s just a physical object (although blessed); but it also presents us with a horrific act upon a sacred being. The only redeeming quality to it lies in the fact that God is simply that absolutely and unconditionally loving and forgiving, even under the crushing weight of all man’s sins.

What one needs to be concerned about with most objects in general use is whether an object actually diffracting light is malevolent; otherwise you’re judging by appearances. It’s its own sort of healthy (and a good exercise) not to judge by appearances, although we all are susceptible to it.
 
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The classic 1970s film The Exorcist was inspired by true events. A real Catholic priest serve as a consultant on the film and played a secondary character. It is one of the greatest horror films of all time. It is also truly, I think, Catholic.
 
I’m just curious, that’s why I asked. Thanks for answering my question. I appreciate it! 😃😃😃
 
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I don’t know, I find myself incapable of enjoying writing anyrhing but horror. It’s like my pet genre :confused:
 
Flannery O’Connor was an author, and a devout Catholic who specialized in the “Southern Gothic” genre. She wrote about the grotesque, the effect of sin and how things aren’t always as they appear.

You may enjoy her writings.
 
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A lot of my stories don’t have excessive gore because I’m more a fan of psychological aspects of horror. Like someone’s descent into insanity after a tragic event.
 
I think ultimately I’m going to give it up. Perhaps when I’ve gained some knowledge I can try something new and write a religious text or memoir. 😀
 
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Well, my thought is that even horror can be Catholic! I’m a horror writer, and I’m making my book Catholic-themed. It is by no means a book that is about an exorcism literally, but: Aight, so basically it’s a demon, and it’s powerful and scary. But, if you keep on your toes, and keep fighting, you’ll win with a little help, of course. Sorry for the cheesy language, but that is an excerpt from my storyboard.

The book is going to show how some kids do something stupid and invite a demon into their life and home. But, if they don’t give in, and if they keep fighting (a reference to fighting temptation and how you won’t fall to sin if you fight it, with God’s grace, of course, which will be shown through encouragement from someone mentioned ahead) they won’t die. But, to truly beat it, they need the help of a person who will (hint ahead) lay down their life and beat the demon.

Can you see Catholic themes here? Fighting sin with God and family, the family (the world’s people) in a sorry state, being overcome with Jesus beating the devil by laying down his life, not being able to win against the devil without God? Also, the evil character will likely be a gruesome and horrifying character to show exactly what sin is/does: corrupting, fatal, and not good.
 
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