This paper is an evaluation of an article by Stephen King, titled, “Why We Crave Horror Movies.” This paper will examine the rhetorical situation of the article and attempt to break it down into its 3 main parts, the topic, the author, and the audience. The topic of the paper is fairly simple, as titled Mr. King wanted to explore why it is that people crave the Horror genre of movies. As most horror movies examine things that are frightening or gruesome, I feel that this was a fair question. To answer this question Mr. King approaches the paper from an interesting angle. At the very beginning he states, “I think that we’re all mentally ill: those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better— and maybe not all that much better, after all.” (Johnson, 641) He immediately claims we are all insane, but then goes on and explains that insanity stretches from picking ones nose to carving up bodies. (Johnson, 641)

When he wrote this article, Mr. King, was still at the beginning of his writing career. The article was written for and published in Playboy in the early 80s. (Johnson, 641) The article was intended for presumably men, as it was published in a Men’s magazine. As an early horror writer it seems that Mr. King was writing this to appeal to a new audience. By validating the need to see horror movies, it may also appeal to the desire to read horror novels.

Lastly we address how the audience is affected in the rhetorical situation. This article was written towards the readers of Playboy as it was still a slightly more taboo magazine at the time. People who read Playboy weren’t necessarily discussing it openly. That means that the article would appeal to the readers in that it validates their “taboo” behaviors. Later in the article he discusses how he believes that people use the horror medium to keep their insanity in check. They view these movies to help keep their darker side in check.

Mr. King does an excellent job writing this article and has considered the Rhetorical triangle. He knows who he is writing to, how to address them and gain their favor. Ultimately potentially gaining favor towards the horror genre and possibly his own writing.

REFERENCES

Johnson-Sheehan, Richard, & Paine Charles. (2010, 2013). Writing Today (Custom 2ne ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson