Do you like spooky stories, scary movies or haunted houses?

I am not a fan of haunted houses. Although I’ve worked several, I usually cannot handle going through them. I’ve never been to a haunted maze or spooky trail, and I’m not a big fan of horror movies. Even though I write mysteries, suspense and thrillers, and I enjoy reading about the macabre and the eerie, true horror isn’t my favorite genre. I don’t like the jump scare, but I enjoy the intense build up of suspense, the worry of danger, and the emotional payoff of facing one’s fears.

I have read and watched several Stephen King stories and loved them. I also consider them more thriller than horror, at least the ones I liked to read. I’ve read other authors who combine horror and thriller to give the reader the best of both genres.

Horror evokes dread, disgust and terror like the story It. Not one I wanted to watch or read. But in Carrie, Tommyknockers and even Jurassic Park (not a King story) there is more of the thriller elements. We constantly wonder what is going to happen next, what are the characters’ reactions to events going to be, and how they will survive. But I think the main difference between horror and thriller is that we feel the main characters will survive the harrowing events, but with horror, we’re not so certain. In horror, even if they do survive, they will be forever changed and not always in a good way.

Dean Koontz is a master of bringing thrillers to the edge of horror. His stories are often a bit bizarre. Something supernatural has happened or is happening, and the main character has to survive it. But the character proves to be up for the challenge. They are constantly threatened but they survive because of their knowledge, cunning, courage, and determination. Sometimes they get lucky, but mostly, it is due to their strength, courage, and knowledge that they are able to outwit the evil pursuing them.

In comparing horror and thrillers, Google says this:

Horror:                                                                                                                Thriller:

Goal: to evoke fear, dread, disgust   to create suspense & excitement or terror                                     

Elements: supernatural, gore and                   complex plots and high stakes disturbing themes 

Atmosphere: uses weather and setting            builds tension by asking what to create unease next?

Audience expectations: to be scared                 to be on the edge of their seat or disturbed 

Jaws is considered horror and yet we are in constant suspense to when the shark will attack. While the plot is hardly complex, the stakes are high. The atmosphere, a lovely beach shouldn’t evoke dread or fear, yet there were many of us who grew up watching jaws who were not sure if we wanted to go back into the water. The beach and the water become a place of dread and fear because we (the reader/watcher) know what is lurking under the water.

The same could be said about the Jurassic Park series. The atmosphere doesn’t evoke dread but just because everything looks pleasant and peaceful, we know it is not. Playing God with technology coupled with wild animals capable of eating you, is not a recipe for a happy story. While this has a more complex theme and plot, it still comes down to the big bad out there threatening the main characters. It is only courage, knowledge and determination that allows them to survive the horrors of dinosaurs on the loose.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris is both terrifying and thrilling. It straddles the lines and often blurs them together taking the reader on a quest between psychological thriller and horror. We are constantly in fear for our main character, but her courage and intelligence give us hope of her survival.

Misery by Stephen King is one of the best examples of a psychological thriller tiptoeing into horror. It is gruesome, intense and we fear our protagonist will not survive. Where The Silence of the Lambs leans more into thrillers despite its horrific story details, Misery, has a hopeless and dread that marks it more into horror.

In the movie Seven, which is considered a thriller with horror elements. I find it more horrific, especially the ending, because there is the loss of hope. It starts out definitely in the thriller genre as the detectives try to stop a madman, but it descends deeper into the horror genre as the movie goes on.

The Sixth Sense, a supernatural thriller with horror aspects, is more eerie than horrific. I felt it was more a thriller than horror even though there were ghosts.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn balances precariously between psychological thriller and horror. The disturbing undertones of deceit and manipulation evoke feelings of dread that gives the feel of a horror story while leaning closer to thriller.

What stories do you find difficult to put into one genre or the other? What do you like better horror or thriller? Do you like elements of horror, thrillers, and mystery in your other entertainment? One of my favorite authors, Jayne Ann Krentz, aka Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick, uses elements from horror and thriller to create her stories in the romance genre. I believe that is why she is one of my favorite authors.