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Stephen King Why We Crave Horror Movies Essay

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Stephen King, a mastermind of the horror genre has taken the literature and film industry by storm from hit movies such as “The Shining” and successful novels such as “Carrie”. Stephen King has continuously illustrated that when it comes to horror there isn’t only one way to present a horrific story. In Stephen King’s essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies” he presents several rational explanations about why we love horror movies, even though it puts a peculiar fear in viewers. King utilizes persuasive techniques such as pathos and logos, as well as comparisons to real life events to draw connections between horror and other areas of entertainment which in the end illustrates why movie enthusiasts crave horror. Stephen King, born in Portland, Maine, has had to deal with change throughout his lifetime. As a young child his father, Donald King, departed the family leaving young King, brother David, and his mother Nellie Ruth behind. Soon after the departure they moved to Connecticut only to return to Maine. A traumatic event, only claimed to be true by King’s family, occurred involving a gruesome death of his friend. King doesn’t recall the train accident but it can be seen that witnessing something this gruesome can bring out a living horror in an individual. This event could be what drives …show more content…
In the text King utilizes pathos as a persuasive technique by stating “We also go to re-establish our feelings of essential normality” (King).Everything has an end but we can get caught up in everyday activities and not realize that we won’t live forever. Horror movies usually depict the undead which one day or the other will be everyone on the planet, without the need to feed on the living of course. Watching horror films effectively reminds us that essentially we live, age, and unfortunately die, but this small objective helps make watching horror films more

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