Horror Literature

Lesson 4: Religion: Salvation and Damnation

Religion: Yesterday and Today

It is obvious that religion a hundred, or even twenty years ago was seen much differently from what it is today. During the time of gothic horror, religion was very much taken as a given. God was in his heaven, and if things were not always quite in order, that was the work of those pestilent demons. But you just had to have the right equipment, and they could be easily overcome. Clemens deals with the gothic idea of demons in Chapter I of The Return of the Repressed. The individual was the object of continuous demonic onslaught. People’s attitudes to these demons also varied widely; from active horror and fear to good-natured humor. Humor was seen as an effective antidote to evil.

This corresponds to the dualistic world view of the time. Heaven was in opposition to hell as was humor to evil. These worlds were taken for granted, without question. The collision of these opposite worlds; the sacred and the profane, were then also a frequent theme in Gothic fiction.

Cosmic terror came from man’s impotence in the face of nature, whereas the Church – the human being’s connection to the sacred, protected. The Church provided a sacred space, a timeless place where the refugee could seek respite from the horrors of the world. Here protection could be found from primordial fear. Salvation could be found in the midst of demonic attack. Just think for example of the vampire who cannot enter a church.

From gothic times religion evolved to become very different. The Church no longer holds a sacred role. Instead free will is exercised in later fiction to choose between the good and the bad. Religion has become something inside, rather than outside a human being. In this way the individual evolves from someone knocked about by continuous attack to someone who reacts to the world as seen from an individualistic perspective. This translates into the views of society regarding good and evil. Horror fiction after the Gothic era ofen depicts a battle between good and evil, where good stands triumphant.

The views of society regarding good and evil relates to Chapter IV in Clemens. Public censorship relating to subjects considered “taboo” had a strong effect on horror. There were certain things you just did not let people see. Edgar Allan Poe uderstands this about the fiction of his time, and begins his “Premature Burial” (1993:270) in this way:

“There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction.”

And then he goes on to write just such an abhorrent piece of fiction. Poe is a pioneer in overstepping taboos of religion and good taste to create something shockingly irresistable.

H.P. Lovecraft is another. His “cosmic alienage” has been mentioned above. Lovecraft overthrows boundaries and taboos, especially of religion, completely overboard. In the next section we look at this.

Something to Think About:
Do you have any personal taboos? Is there anything that horror fiction can depict which is unacceptible to your sense of propriety?

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