Horror, A Short Apologetic
"It's aliiiive!"
Well, friends, it’s spooky season again. October is here, and that means all sorts of monsters, ghouls, and goblins are afoot. Or, at least that’s what all the pop-up Spirit Halloween stores would have us believe…
As we anticipate October 31st, and all the grim trimmings and macabre trappings that now go along with it, I wanted to take some time to follow up a piece I did back in 2023 called, The Power of Ghost Stories.
While not a direct sequel to that meditation, per se, this is a continuation of the thoughts I’ve been exploring in my own work. If you’ve read my novella, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, then you’ll know that I like to delve into the otherworldly. But what might surprise some of you, dear readers, is that I consider The Beast to be a “traditional” horror story.
Let the reader understand…
Everybody has an opinion about horror.
Most people enjoy comedies. Action flicks are generally pretty popular. Other genres like romance, science-fiction/fantasy, adventure, and the Western have their own sets of fans. But, in my experience, you either love the horror genre or you hate it. Few people are indifferent. It demands an opinion, even if said opinion is a bit nuanced.
For a long time, I was in the latter camp. I thought horror movies were too grotesque. Too dark and evil. I grew up watching movies like 30 Days of Night, The Cave, and The X-Files1 far too early, and the monsters, demons, and aliens they produced haunted me for years. Even in college as a film student, I opted against taking the semester-long horror class due to my strong feelings about the genre.
But even as I couldn’t stand most horror productions, I remember my brother turning me onto one horror flick he thought I’d enjoy called The Conjuring. Based on a true story, the picture follows paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) as they help a young family escape the clutches of a demonic spirit set on tormenting them. It turns out, I was enthralled.
The Warrens’ faith in God was their only defense against the diabolical forces of evil, and it was only through the power of faith that the family was then saved. It turns out, the pair who wrote the picture were devout Baptists, and they had been inspired by the real story and hoped to bring the tale to the big screen. But what really sold me on the film was a the quote from the real Ed Warren that director James Wan leaves us with at the end…
“Diabolical forces are formidable. These forces are eternal, and they exist today. The fairy tale is true. The devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow.”
It was here that I understood, perhaps for the very first time, that the horror genre offers a unique point of view concerning our relationship to God and the nature of evil.
One doesn’t have to believe in the paranormal or the supernatural to know that evil exists. Serial killers still exist, as do rapists, thieves, murderers, terrorists, etc. There are many evils that plague our world, but the horror genre is perhaps the only genre that can explore the nature of these evils as well as the reality of the truly demonic, however you may interpret that.
Back in high school, I had been curious about reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I had picked up the book at my school library and plowed through the first few chapters before deciding that I’d pick it back up later. It took a few years, but eventually, while working on my undergrad, I revisited the iconic vampire novel. I was surprised to find that I was completely immersed in this world, and while some of the striking images were truly horrifying, there was something about the book that drew me further in: the stark contrast between good and evil.
Dracula is considered one of the most important pieces of horror literature ever created. To this day, it’s a rich wonderland of material that Hollywood (and plenty of others) mine regularly for more. While most adaptations don’t seem to have a firm grasp on the story (or it’s true meaning), it doesn’t detract from the fact that the Stoker’s novel is an excellent piece of both literature and culture worth digesting. I’m ashamed to say it took me many years to read it as I got distracted, then married, then rediscovered it yet again. Eventually, I did finish the book, and I wish I had done so sooner.
(If you’re interested in some deeper thoughts on Dracula, as well as a study guide for better digesting the material, check out
’s work here.)In addition to Dracula, I also read This Present Darkness and its sequel, Piercing the Darkness, by Frank Peretti around this time. Something of a literary hero of mine, Peretti’s distinct outlook on the battle between good and evil (one that transcends our dimensional limitations and even, to an extent, our own actions) was seriously thrilling. It completely changed the way I looked at the world.
Though marketed under the “supernatural thriller” label so as to not scare Christian audiences away with it’s clearly horror-inspired premise2, This Present Darkness is a force to be reckoned with. Though it was initially rejected by over a dozen different publishers, Peretti finally got his story out, and launched his career as a thriller novelist, whose works felt more akin to the works of Bram Stoker than Tom Clancy.
It was around this time that I began understanding that the horror genre is a much broader scope than the hack-n-slash stories like Halloween and Friday the 13th or the “torture p*rn” that is Saw. Horror, like any genre, is only limited by one’s imagination and the sort of stories one is interested in telling. With the right creatives, horror stories can be powerful tales of light in a dark world. This is precisely what Dracula and This Present Darkness aim to do. Other times, horror can reveal the dangers of sin and playing God (ala Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera, etc.).
In his book, Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre (now in its 2nd Edition on Amazon), author Mike Duran puts it this way in his introduction…
“Horror is often unfairly pigeonholed as the gore or slasher variety (which is perhaps one reason why evangelicals have such a difficult time embracing the label). Many immediately associate the mention of horror with depictions of serial killers or psychopathic rampages. Such horror should be questioned. Nevertheless, horror tales exist on a broad spectrum.”
Just a bit later in the book’s opening, he notes that “horror is a vast canon that involves incredibly diverse thematic elements.” That sounds like most genres to me.
Though it’s easy to write off the horror genre as something dark, icky, and even “satanic” (Dracula itself is no stranger to criticisms by folks believing it “glorifies evil,” despite the fact that the entire book is about vanquishing it), that’s not actually a fair assessment. Though some horror stories are admittedly darker and more thematic than others, the presence of evil doesn’t mean that said tale is inherently evil in the same way that the existence of sin in our world doesn’t make God’s degree that creation is “very good” any less accurate. Again, “viewer discretion is advised.”
As Duran says throughout his book (which I highly recommend), not all horror is good in the same way that not all romance is. Romantic stories like Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre aren’t instantly unacceptable because the romance subgenre of erotica exists. In the same way, horror isn’t inherently bad because some horror films are nothing more than torture p*rn or overindulgent blood spectaculars.
Again, this isn’t excusing excessive violence or graphic, thematic content in some horror movies. In the same way that we don’t excuse sex scenes in romances or biopics (looking at you, Oppenheimer), we don’t need that either. But if you go back and watch 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein or even this year’s ‘Salem’s Lot adaptation, you won’t find that. Instead, you’ll find thoughtful horror stories that highlight the nature of evil, the possibility of redemption, and the notion that darkness can only be overcome by light (in the case of the latter, the light of faith specifically).
For those still unconvinced, I understand. I’ve been exactly where you are. Most consider the point of the horror genre to be “fear” or some sort of exhilarating feeling of disgust or despair. I’m here to tell you that’s not true, or at least it doesn’t have to be. Of course we shouldn’t glorify evil, that goes without saying, but stories that meditate on the dark and sometimes harsh realities of our world don’t have to glorify something in order to talk about it.
If you’ve read anything in my Bear-tooth Mountain Archive, then you’ve likely read some horror without even knowing it. Yes, parts of my stories are frightening, strange, and even a bit disturbing3, but they ultimately conclude with a hopeful finish that redeems the evils our heroes encountered. The Middle-Night, my Christmas ghost story from last year, was inspired directly from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which is all about a haunting that ultimately inspires a genuine change in the leading character. Sounds a little like a horror story to me…
Of course, just because I (or anyone else) write something doesn’t make it automatically right, moral, or good. Perhaps the best apologetic for the horror genre is the Bible itself.
Scripture is full of meditations about the nature of evil. Genesis 4 covers the very first murder, and from there onward, there are countless more on display. The horrors of war, the consequences of sin, the diabolical destruction set on by the Devil and his demons, the Nephilim, and the sobering (yet no less harsh) reality of Hell itself are all prominently featured throughout God’s Word. There are whole chapters centered around death, destruction, and judgment, as there are also strange and macabre visions that foretell of further otherworldly truths.
Yes, the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to “abstain from every form of evil,” but that doesn’t mean we don’t talk about it. The Bible itself has a lot to say about evil. It also doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy stories about light overcoming that very evil. If that were true, then we couldn’t enjoy The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia either. Indeed, Signs, The Conjuring, A Quiet Place, Dracula, The Terminator, Alien, Frankenstein, The Exorcist, and so many others out there are all precisely about how light, goodness, and truth ultimately push back the powers of darkness.4 Heck, in the 2018 film, The Nun, it’s only the literal blood of Christ that can drive away the demon Valak, a powerful image to ponder.
If you’re still on the fence, I’d highly recommend Christian Horror by Mike Duran. It’s a fantastic (and more in-depth) apologetic for the genre that gets into the nitty-gritty, the nuance, and the general theology behind why one — maybe especially a Christian — might be interested in the genre. One doesn’t have to like it or watch it (not everything is everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s entirely okay), but there’s a stigma about the horror genre that ought not be. (The same was once true of rock n’ roll, and look how far we’ve come.) Any serious critic of the genre can see that, despite it’s grotesque outward appearance (ala Frankenstein’s Monster or Quasimodo), there are plenty of deep truths on the inside that can challenge, convict, or inspire the reader/viewer.
Horror may not be my favorite sort of story (I still have a serious soft spot for the Western), but it’s a type that I’ve become more comfortable with over time. After all, the darkness must flee when the light of day shines on it.
Back in early 2023, I wrote a piece called On Stories (Or, Storytelling As Education). I stand by it, and have continued to try and think about writing in this very way.
As humans, we’re formed by the narratives we hear all around us. The news informs the opinions of far too many, and it’s easy to read an article and think that one has just gotten the whole story. Stories, true or false, educate us in one direction or another. More than facts, more than opinions, stories have the ability to transform our point of view.
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of joining Coleman Barbour on his newly updated podcast, The Sword and Staff: Revenant. I’ve been a loyal listener of Sword & Staff for years, back when it was hosted by two other guys who I’ve come to know through the interwebs, but Coleman is taking the show in a bold new direction.
On his fourth episode, he was kind enough to ask me to come on and talk about how words might re-enchant our reality. I’m not sure that I had anything all too meaningful to say, but it was a good time and I wanted to share it with you all.
In addition to this podcast interview, keep your eyes peeled for some new story content from yours truly. I’ll be releasing a new short story here on my Substack pretty soon, and have another that I’m working on publishing through Amazon. Otherwise, I haven’t been writing too much lately aside from work-related pieces, but I hope to get back into it in November!
WHAT I’M READING: Keeper of the Woods by Mike Duran — The second Mike Duran book I’ve recommended here today, I’m still working my way through his latest novella. Fans of podcasts like Blurry Creatures, Haunted Cosmos, or Coast to Coast AM would like this story, which follows a Seattle-based gallery owner as she journeys to Mount Shasta to confront her strange past. There’s also a Sasquatch involved.
WHAT I’M WATCHING: ‘Salem’s Lot — I mentioned this one briefly above, and since it just hit Max at the beginning of this month, I thought it was perfect considering the topic. The latest adaptation of Stephen King’s premiere vampire novel, ‘Salem’s Lot does the basic story justice even if it fails to recapture everything that made the novel itself great. It’s a fun time, and was directed by Gary Dauberman who previously helmed the It adaptation and the first Annabelle film.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas — Honestly, I haven’t been listening to a whole lot lately other than this audiobook. I’ve wanted to read this biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer for a while, but now that the Bonhoeffer movie is coming out this Thanksgiving, I’ve resorted to the Audible version to plow through it before release day. So far, it’s an in-depth examination of Bonhoeffer’s own conversion and his opposition to the Nazi regime in 1930s Germany. Metaxas also covers Hitler’s rise to power and how he used the national church to his advantage while persecuting those voices who stood strong against him. It’s fascinating stuff.
Though I watched the show too (as well as it’s sister-series, Millennium), I’m talking specifically about the first feature film titled The X-Files. You may know it better by it’s other name, The X-Files: Fight the Future.
Peretti himself was once called a “sanctified Stephen King,” a descriptor I recently used for a buddy of mine,
, concerning his latest novella, The Curse of Church House Hollar.What the titular monster does to one of my main characters in The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain is pretty horrific, but all works out in the end.
At the very least, they offer us more than just “this evil thing kills everything and all hope is lost.” Though the Xenomorph in Alien kills just about everyone on the crew, it’s Ellen Ripley’s persistence, ingenuity, and strength that sees her through to the end. However, it’s in the broader themes of Alien that we find a truth worth meditating on. Similar to Frankenstein, Ridley Scott reminds us that man is not God, and therefore, man should not act like God. Alien offers us a picture of what could happen if man’s selfish greed and foolish pride got in the way of preserving human life itself.
Great post, Michael! You touched on so many good points. I really enjoyed the book, "Christian Horror" as well, and some of Mike's other fiction work. I love how you pointed out that horror is so much more broad and in many cases redemptive, than people might expect.
I'm always learning more about the genre and especially enjoy reading more about how it ties in with--not competes with--faith in God. Thanks for sharing your insights, this was helpful.