Monday 27 August 2012

Creepy Crawly Jiggery Pokery



The Unfashionable Flavour of the Occult
Nowadays Occultism ( the study of the supernatural)  is a subject that is rarely seriously discussed. The horror genre has moved on - in the sense that much of the horror story telling today is set in everyday life - and the tales tend to express the fear of the unknown in ways that many of us can relate to.
The word Occult is described in the dictionary as ‘secret, mysterious and supernatural’.  A meaning that signifies to many the ‘practise of the Black Arts’. That, in itself, is a term that has fallen out of fashion nowadays.
Many believe in the power of good and evil and the eternal struggle between these two extremes of our human condition but the Devil himself and the pseudo-science of demonology have long since fallen by the wayside for most people. We no longer live in the superstitious dark ages of magic, mayhem and witchcraft.
However that does not mean that many of the paranormal aspects of the occult have disappeared. Indeed, they are alive and well in many good stories today.  For example vampires, monsters and other worldly beings are in full flavour at the minute. 
For me the use of ordinary people - rather than devilish, vampiric, evil monster/villains -  gives a much greater feel of horror. After all it could be me or you trapped in a modern horror story… (A La Mr King).
But the Occult is still very useful in a modern horror story, as there are lots of subtopics within it. The influences of things like astrology, ESP,  numerology, clairvoyance, telepathy, telemetry, premonitions, doppelgangers and hypnotism – to name but a few – are still with us and can be used to good effect in a good thriller/supernatural story. Everyone knows what these things mean even if they don’t believe in them.  But…. Haha, you say… You just never know…
That, I believe, is their power. As Shakespeare said in Hamlet:
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Do you enjoy a story with some supernatural-type elements in it?
 

11 comments:

  1. I do enjoy references to the occult in some books as long it's a segment of the story and not the entire thing. I can't think of any examples off hand but I've read some in the past where it adds a thrill.

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    1. I agree, Karen. The supernatural stuff cannot be the whole story. A good novel still needs a good believable plot - even if there are horror/supernatural elements in there!

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  2. Very much so is my answer. I enjoy anything supernatural, and earlier this year went to see The Woman in Black at the cinema, although I'm also equally entertained by vampires and demons.

    Interesting to note the TV shows, getting good audience figures here in the UK, are Supernatural,(demons) Angel, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,True Blood, Vampire Diaries,(vampires) Alphas, Teen Wolf, (werewolves) Lost Girl (succubus) and Being Human, an urban fantasy where all three vampire, ghost and wolf live happily or not in a suburban street. Which the BBC covered, and was a great hit for them. The list goes on...and the good news, they all need writers.

    I also noted only the other day, how big the Dark Fantasy section of the library has grown. Upon checking many books were thrillers.

    Its all good page turning stuff, and a lot of us love the thrill of the scare...

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    1. Good ghost stories like the woman in Black are hard to come by now as vampires etc seem to be taking over. But many of us still like a ghosty!

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  3. Yes - even though those stories scare me quite a bit. But I guess that is the idea :-)
    I still have to see The Woman in Black!

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    1. I've not seen the film but have read the story lots of times!

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  4. I love a good scary story, and I love supernatural elements in stories. Anything speculative.

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  5. Yes, I don't mind some supernatural in stories, but I'm not much of a horror reader. I'm a scaredy cat and will have nightmares for days.

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  6. Yes - the more subtle speculative stuff tends to be better than out and out horror, anyway! Sleep well!

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  7. I wouldn't say it's my usual fare, but yes, I do enjoy some supernatural elements every once in a while!

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