To be completely honest, I read most genres. My least favorite are romance and historical fiction, but I still read them. I loved Sarah Dessen as a teen and still check regularly to see if she has a new book coming out, even though I’m past the young adult stage of life. I don’t read a lot of “spicy” books, they’re just not for me. For those of you who do, keep reading. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.
While I love reading a little bit of everything, I’m always drawn back to two genres: thriller and horror. Paranormal horror is my favorite. I like ghost stories, monsters, cryptids. Feeling the fear of the characters as they try to figure out what’s happening and how to stop it.
Where did it start?
This feels cliche, but it’s true. My love of horror started with Goosebumps and Fear Street. Basically if R.L. Stine had written it, I read it. I specifically remember reading How to Be a Vampire when I was arguably too young to read it. Then then Discovery Channel show A Haunting came out and I was hooked. My favorite genre had been chosen.
Of course I read other things. I went through a phase of only reading fantasy. Then science fiction. My husband and I are slowly collecting all of the Dungeons and Dragons novels. But I always go back to horror and thriller.
Why Horror?
I know a lot of women who love horror, thriller, and true crime. While the three genres are very different, they are also inherently similar. They all play off of fear and anxiety. But why do I want to be scared all of the time? The truth is I don’t, and I’m not.
I still remember watching The Ring for the first time. I couldn’t look at the screen whenever Samara or the dead bodies were on, and yet that is one of my favorite movies. I’m not exaggerating when I say I probably watched over a hundred times. (Yes, I can watch it without closing my eyes now).
It has become a meme now that women watch true crime (and horror) to relax. Some people think it is a red flag, but just as video games do not cause violence, horror and true crime don’t either. My theory is that consuming this content takes us through one of our most basic, primal cycles: the stress response cycle.
The Stress Response Cycle
Our ancestors developed the stress response cycle to help us survive life in the wild. Our brains release hormones to make us ultra aware of our surroundings, push adrenaline through our bodies so we can fight or flee, and the cycle only ends when the stressor (a lion for example) is gone. The problem is, that cycle starts whether we are being chased by a lion or just having to make a doctor appointment or take the lead on an important meeting.
In modern society, we don’t generally have lions chasing us. Most of us will never have to run or fight for our lives. Still, the stress response cycle gets triggered, sometimes by something as mundane as having to make a phone call. This is more extreme for some than others, but unless we are able to end the cycle, the stress stays and builds and eats away at our bodies and minds until we can’t take it anymore and the next thing we know we have some sort of chronic illness.
There are many ways to end the cycle: exercise, crying it out, breathing exercises, sex. My theory is that consuming content that generates fear, true crime and horror, also ends the cycle. Humans experience empathy and I believe that empathy causes our brains to feel we are actually in those terrifying situations, so when they finally end – you win the game, the characters in the movie survive, the book is over – our brains go “Glad that’s over, time to chill.”
I’m not saying this is true for everyone. I know some people whom this type of content adds to their anxiety and over consumption of anything is bad for everyone. I can tell when I’ve spent too much time in that space and spend a couple of weeks consuming lighter content, but I always go back to horror.
It’s All Pretend
At the end of the day, the horror content I love is just pretend. True crime is different as it’s, well, true, and thrillers are typically based in reality. They’re still fiction but could be possible. But I know I’m not really in danger. There are no monsters under my bed, no werewolves in the woods, or vampires trying to get in. My house isn’t haunted (at least I don’t think it is).
I lean toward horror because it’s impossible. There are a lot of dangerous things about our world. War, drunk drivers, homicidal maniacs, human trafficking, pandemics. The all have something in common: humans. Humans are the most dangerous animal. It’s nice to pretend that the only dangers are monsters we can fight off with magic spells or silver bullets.
My only deal breaker is pet death. Don’t ask me why, because I can’t explain it, but if there is a pet I look up if it will die, if it does, I seriously consider not watching/reading the content. Especially in movies. I’ve always been like this. So just know if you read one of my stories and it has a pet, I promise the pet will not die.
Alicia Coast 