The setting in horror stories are everything; they set the stage for the upcoming terror, often sprinkling foreshadowing to subtly set audience members on edge and to prepare their minds for what’s to follow. These seemingly docile places with sinister undertones can become legends themselves such as the Outlook Hotel or Camp Crystal Lake. With some of that terror trapped in our collective psyche it creates the perfect atmosphere for the tales of horror that follow. But what made these legendary settings of horror stand out in the first place and what makes them so scary? As a life-long horror fan, and an imaginative gal who can easily find a reason to be afraid of nearly anything, I will explain the reasons our collective human experience has given us to be afraid of these eight ordinary settings. I’ll also give you some reading and film recommendations to keep those scares in good supply this spooky season.
An Eerie Asylum or Hospital
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
Due to their less than stellar historical association with the cruel treatment of its patients, the rampant spread of illnesses, not to mention the disproportionate rate of forced confinement of minorities, vulnerable peoples, and anyone society deemed to be “deviant”, it is no surprise that asylums are something that still strikes fear in our imagination.
Hospitals, on the other hand, are a bit more subtle. They disturb some people because they force us to confront our own vulnerability. They make us think of numerous fluids being drawn as we walk amongst the ill and dying. And while germs are continuously scrubbed away with the familiar smell of antiseptic in the air, we try to not think of our own expiration date—freaky stuff.
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
A Cabin in the Woods
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
These horror cabins aren’t usually set up in spaces that are easily accessible and with that lack of access to the outside world comes a feeling of isolation. Where would you go if something went wrong? Also, the wilderness surrounding the cabin itself can bring forth primal fears in the audience, making us think of crouching predators lurking between the trees or what the shadows beyond may conceal. And that’s just envisioning a cabin during the day—when we think of it at night with the window’s florescent glow creating viewing boxes for any curious bystanders hoping to get a peek into your midnight happenings…yeesh.
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
The Void of Space
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
There is an infinite unending blackness to outer space that we still don’t fully understand. The profound scale and all the unimaginable creatures that may be within it plays on our anxious need to recognize the unknowable. There is a long list of hostile conditions in space which we are not supposed to survive, including radiation, extreme temperatures, asteroid collisions, galaxy mergers, and events we don’t even know about yet. For the audience, these details about space create a feeling of human insignificance and lack of control in an environment that we know very little about. That’s why when all the billionaires go to Mars, I’ll gladly volunteer to stay behind (like a peasant like me would be invited in the first place).
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
A Creepy Hotel or Resort
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
Hotels, motels, and resorts are all the same; spaces where strangers go temporarily. God knows what they did while they were shut away in their room and removed from the prying eyes of society. The idea of sharing a space with countless unknown previous guests with mysterious pasts is enough to send some into a tailspin—even more so if it’s a historical building that has some unsavory events hidden in its past. If that doesn’t send shivers down your back, then let’s talk about the ick factor. How many others have stayed in that bed before you? They may have washed the sheets, but when’s the last time that comforter has been cleaned? Dear god… what about the ice machine? It’s no wonder that this place has been a popular horror setting in movies and books for decades.
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
A Ghastly Haunted House
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
I mean… Haunted is directly there in the title so there is bound to be some sort of ghost or ghoul to terrorize folks, reminding the audience of what may or may not lie beyond this mortal realm. I imagine the only thing that may be worse than dying is being trapped for eternity while having to watch family after family move in and out of your own dilapidating suburban cage. So, whether you’re putting yourself in the shoes of the unsuspecting homeowners, or the trapped spirits, try not to feel too claustrophobic or isolated as you watch their horrors unfold...
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
Spine Chilling Schools
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
With school comes the fear of failing, fear of rejection from social groups, and anxieties about being separated from families to be thrust into the unknown—and that’s all when school is in session. When audiences see schools on screens or in their books that are empty of screaming kids or a bustling herd of teens, it can feel jarring—like something isn’t right. We aren’t used to hearing the echoing acoustics in the halls or seeing shadows elongated by only the emergency lights. Truth is, there was a void that the students left but standing alone in a school will have you wondering if someone, or something, has come and filled it.
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
Snowy Mountains and the Vast Arctic
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
These are two different, but similarly extremely inhospitable environments. One has 24 hours of night half the year along with its extreme temperatures, forcing its inhabitants to stay inside day after day—possibly driving them insane. The other has steep slopes, deadly predators, hidden hollows, and quickly changing weather that can easily lead you astray. Contrasted against the audience’s day-to-day, heavily structured environment, these settings bring a sense of chaos and isolation. Plus, could you imagine trying to survive in a place colder than Fort McMurray in January?
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
Lurking on the Water
Pfft, why do people even find this frightening?
Approximately 80% of the ocean is unexplored and some of the creatures that have managed to be found are so bizarre and frightening that they have permeated our subconscious, making you feel like that piece of seaweed flicking against your leg must be an investigative nudge of a shark. This uncertainty about the environment, plus our evolutionary human response to an environment where we are severely out skilled in, permeates the audience’s mind as they experience the story, allowing us to wonder how we would fair against a creature of the deep.
Recommendations to Read or Watch:
As the genre pushes its boundaries and serves up stories with inventive new settings like organ harvesting centers, hyper-realistic digital worlds, or wellness spas for the elite, take a moment to think about what sort of deep seeded collective fears or emerging new ones may be just around the corner!
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