Why We Crave Horror Films

In his article, Stephen King is trying to persuade readers the reasons that we go to see horror films. He gives different reasons, one of which is because seeing a horror film reassures us of how normal we actually are. He goes on to say that we all have this innate cruelty within us and when we go to see a film like this we can watch that malice behavior. He says that if we share brotherhood, "we all share insanity of man." We go to the movies to watch acts that would otherwise be criticized in the real world. He talks about how at a young age we learn the different from right and wrong and how we are both positively and negatively reinforced and/or punished for bad behaviors. These horror films give into the small part of your brain that wants to do bad, cruel things. These movies are satsifying our evil side without any outward ramifications afterward. I think he has a valid argument. It makes sense that there is a part of us that craves evil or else we wouldn't enjoy watching people being cut up and murdered in scary films like these. We see these movies in the dark, not only because it intensifies the suspense factor, but because we are somewhat ashamed of finding thrill and fun out of watching other people (although obviously not real) struggle to survive.