The ABCs of the Horror Kind

THE ABC’S OF THE HORROR KIND

Remember learning the alphabet in elementary school and having to assign words like ‘apple’ and ‘banana?’ Those were the days, but honestly I think there’s a better way to learn the ABC’s. How about the horror alphabet? It’s a much more fun and entertaining way to get educated. Take a gander and begin the learning process.

A is for alien. Who can forget Sigourney Weaver’s ‘Ripley’ versus the big, bad alien in the “Alien” franchise? Aliens may be from a different planet but Ridley Scott proved they can be creepy and blood thirsty killers.

B is for blood. This is essentially one of the main components to horror. Blood represents life. By spilling it, you are spilling out life (and guts if you’re Eli Roth).

C is for clowns. This baddie may seem cute and harmless at first, but upon further investigation it has been found to scare the crap out of people and on occasion come out of a bath tub drain. “It” anyone?

D is for death. Horror entails blood, fright, and death. There can be no horror if everyone survives.

E is for Robert Englund. Portraying Freddy Krueger was a great choice for him but not so good for us. Never sleep again is an understatement.

F is for fear. This is the whole point of horror. It instills the emotion of fear; this in turns makes you paranoid and afraid of pretty much everything. A true horror tale will always instill fear.

G is for ghosts. The noise in the attic. The cold brush of wind (in the middle of the summer). The movement from the corner of your eye. You know who the culprit is.

H is for “Halloween.” John Carpenter will forever be one of the master’s of horror. Thanks to him, Michael Myers and William Shatner’s face have permanently been burned into our brains.
I is for infection. No one wants big, red blotches oozing out blood and then having an arm fall off. It’s not attractive and it’s not cute.
J is for Jack the Ripper. What’s scarier than some guy going around turning hard core surgeries into a crime? He’s been an inspiration for many of today’s murderous characters. On top of that, no one even knows who the guy really is.

K is for killers, the human kind. Sometimes the one creating the horror is the neighbor next door. “The Strangers” did a good job of making people think twice about answering their doors. ‘Tamara’ does not live here nor will she ever.

L is for Hannibal Lecter, everyone’s favorite cannibal and serial killer. No one ever wore a jail jumpsuit as well as he did.

M is for masks. Smart killers use these to get away with their crimes. Michael Myers, the killers from “Scream,” and Jason Voorhees wore creepy masks as they committed their heinous murders.

N is for “Nosferatu.” This film showcased the first vampire on film. Edward Cullen he was not.

O is for obsession. In most horror movies and stories, the killer or monster lusts after something. It may be a person, an object, a goal or even a feeling that gives them fuel. A villain cannot be a villain without having some sort of obsession.

P is for possession. No one wants to have a demon renting out space in their bodies. “The Exorcist” is a prime example of what a possession would be like. Possessed children make for a bad night’s sleep.

Q is for quiet, the calm before the storm. You know those quiet moments in movies are only precursors to something really scary popping out right in front of you and scaring the ‘you know what’ out of you.

R is for Anne Rice. She brought vampires like Lestat and Louis to life in her “Vampire Chronicles” series. She made it cool for vampires to be deadly and sexy.

S is for Bram Stoker. He brought forth one of the most notorious blood drinkers to walk the planet. Dracula will forever be the ultimate vampire icon.
T is for torture. The hero in any story must be tortured either physically or emotionally before they can kick some serious behind. Plus it makes for great entertainment.

U is for the unknown. Knowing is the best tool in survival in any horror story. Not knowing, not so much.

V is for vampires. One minute they can be charming and sexy. The next thing you know, they are sucking the blood right out of you.

W is for werewolf. By day they are your lawyer or P.E. teacher. But by night, they transform into blood hungry monsters looking for their next meal, which could be you.

X is for xenophobia. The word simply means being afraid of outsiders and what horror story doesn’t have that. This is how our horror antagonists are usually created. They are the ones that people ignore and fear because they are ‘different.’

Y is for youth. For some odd reason, those youngins are easy victims. They are the ones running around while being chased by some maniac yielding a sharp weapon.

Z is for zombies. The undead coming back to life makes people nervous. No one wants to see their grandmother outside their window trying to get in to eat their brains. No one.