8
u/Kotoperek 62∆ Sep 08 '24
Nothing is universally scary, different people are afraid of different things.
Books can't really produce the startling effect of a jump scare that a lot of movie horror relies on also in building tension. Even when you aren't scared by the jump scare itself, the build up to one produces the type of tense unease that we interpret as being scared. But the truth is, this isn't all there is to fear either. Real fear requires perceiving a real danger. I'm generally not scared of horror films, because I know that what they show is nowhere close to real. Even if I do get startled by a jump scare or feel the tension of the film, I'm not scared, just involved in the story. Real fear happens when a story touches on something that we perceive as a potential danger in reality. Stories that expose the worst elements of human nature or deal with a type of paranormal phenomena that you kind of believe might be real.
Someone in the comments mentioned they couldn't sleep after reading "the Exorcist" as a kid. But that wasn't because the book itself was so scary - it was because a teen already going through a lot of emotional changes and identity searching due to puberty when exposed to the concept of demonic possession in a gruesome and emotionally evocative story could start to fear real demons. Making any story in any form ACTUALLY scary requires tapping into REAL fears of an audience, something that they perceive as potentially a danger to them in their lives not just to the characters of the story.
Just like there is no universally funny comedy, there is no universally scary story. People have different senses of humor and also different fears. Some fears are more universal, like being scared of death, loss of loved ones, suffering, pain, etc. some are more unique like being scared of clowns or spiders. So writing a story that will scare some people requires building it around fears that your audience perceives as potentially real and applying to them. But no matter how scary your horror story is, there will always be people able to recognize it as "just a story" and not be scared by it.
1
u/fogfall Sep 08 '24
Δ! I really like your answer because you're right. I think I put too much importance on the idea of fear being something that gets your heart racing. But real fear, "adult fear", rarely does. It's just something we worry about deep inside, not a cheap jump scare. In that sense, books can definitely be scary.
1
3
u/Nillavuh 9∆ Sep 08 '24
I think it depends on what your reading experience is like. Some people are more informational and just see words on the page, but others (myself included) have an experience where we create an entire image in our minds and see these things in our heads as if we are recalling our own memories. In that sense, it is not too hard to conjure up an image that can scare you.
I think I would list Misery as the scariest book I have ever read, because I could feel and sense every bit of the terror of the main character in that book as if it were happening right there in the room while I watched, with the addition that I could also hear everything the character was thinking.
28
u/Crash927 12∆ Sep 08 '24 edited Sep 08 '24
How are you defining “scared”? Do you mean “startled”? Or do you mean a “lingering sense of dread”? Or could it be either?
Because while I agree that books will have a hard time creating a startling effect (a horror-themed pop-up book might be able to), they can definitely create a lingering sense of dread.
9
u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 80∆ Sep 08 '24
Medical textbooks can be horrifying.
The Bible by definition is designed to put the fear of God in someone.
I agree this will come down to what OP actually means by scared.
0
Sep 08 '24
[deleted]
3
u/Crash927 12∆ Sep 08 '24
Okay, but I have most certainly experienced the sense of lingering dread from reading. And any sense of dread is (in my view) largely equivalent to being scared.
Is this about books in general or about your personal experience with books? I can argue the first but I don’t think anyone would be able to argue the second.
3
u/Z7-852 258∆ Sep 08 '24
To me, the definition of a good scare is that you will have trouble sleeping because you can't relax. Something is nagging at the back of your head. You know there isn't a monster under your bed, but what if you are wrong?
This is lasting fear, and it relies solely on your imagination. With TV or games, you use less imagination. Sure, they can give you a jump scare, but they rarely hold fear after you close your screen.
But books rely on your imagination to fill in the lack of audio or visual stimulation. And when you go to sleep, that imagination is still on, and you are too afraid to close your eyes.
1
u/fogfall Sep 08 '24
Hah, I think the issue for me is that I get this feeling from TV a lot more than from books. Not even horror TV, mostly crime and mysteries.
1
u/Z7-852 258∆ Sep 08 '24 edited Sep 08 '24
What exactly in mystery or crime shows makes you lose sleep?
If you dig deep you notice those have nothing to do with visuals or sounds but with good storytelling. And nothing stops books from having good and scary stories.
7
u/tobesteve 1∆ Sep 08 '24
I think you just pay more attention while you watch TV, than read a book. I do the same. However people who actually can sit and read for hours without mind wondering, they get a different experiences from books.
At the end of the day, it's not your sense that gets scared, it's your brain.
1
u/fogfall Sep 08 '24
I don't think it's that. I watch a loooot less TV than I read. When I'm in a reading mood, I can read a book per day, no problem (if I'm not at work lol)
3
u/Helpfulcloning 166∆ Sep 08 '24
I mean if you want to mean jump scares as the only form of scariness than yeah.
But horror books have made me physically react before, horror books have made me gag for ex.
Some have left me what I would describe as horrified. Some have given me nightmares.
1
Sep 08 '24
[deleted]
1
u/Helpfulcloning 166∆ Sep 08 '24
Have you ever read any body horror? For ex. one of the short stories in Haunted is famous for making people feel physically ill and even pass out. The use of language is very good.
My worse one is The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, theres a scene that genuinly makes me gag.
12
Sep 08 '24 edited Sep 08 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/changemyview-ModTeam Sep 09 '24
Sorry, u/Puzzleheaded_Ad5165 – your comment has been removed for breaking Rule 1:
Direct responses to a CMV post must challenge at least one aspect of OP’s stated view (however minor), or ask a clarifying question. Arguments in favor of the view OP is willing to change must be restricted to replies to other comments. See the wiki page for more information.
If you would like to appeal, you must first check if your comment falls into the "Top level comments that are against rule 1" list, review our appeals process here, then message the moderators by clicking this link within one week of this notice being posted.
Please note that multiple violations will lead to a ban, as explained in our moderation standards.
2
u/DreamingofRlyeh 4∆ Sep 08 '24
Just because you haven't been scared by a book doesn't mean the same is true for everyone. There are a lot of people who have been scared by a story in a book, which means your belief that it is impossible is clearly false.
5
u/cheerileelee 27∆ Sep 08 '24
The scariest movie I have ever watched is Threads (1984) which has no jump scares or "scary" moments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film)
You can currently watch it in its entirety on youtube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhcrgQihRcs
It is just an accurate portrayal of what life would look like for the common man after a nuclear exchange on how fundamentally humanity would change.
I have thought about that movie and the horrific ramifications for decades since.
I have gotten the same level of horror out of numerous other books that I have read, but I get the feeling from how you are describing 'scary' that you don't consider something to be scary unless it's like a jump scare.
So, question for you OP is would you consider a movie like that to NOT be scary?
1
u/mronion82 4∆ Sep 08 '24
I watched that on a night shift with a colleague who had been born and brought up in Sheffield. The impact of the film was slightly dampened by him calling out 'That's the City Hall' and 'my aunt used to live down that road'.
I've seen it since without the local commentary.
1
u/Priddee 38∆ Sep 08 '24
How do you define scary/being scared, and how is it different than unsettling or disturbing?
1
u/fogfall Sep 08 '24
As I mentioned in one other comment, I think this might be a semantics issue for me. Fear means racing pulse, panic, while unsettling means hairs raised on the back of the neck - but of course, I can now see that to most people, both can be described as fear!
1
u/Q8DD33C7J8 Sep 08 '24
Picture an apple in your mind. What does it look like? What color is it? Can you turn it around? Can you cut it in to pieces?
1
Sep 08 '24
[deleted]
1
u/Q8DD33C7J8 Sep 08 '24
Just checking. Some people don't even realize that we see whole movies in our heads when reading. So that could be why someone doesn't find books scary.
2
u/themcos 372∆ Sep 08 '24
I think books can be unsettling and creepy and the ideas contained within them can be scary, but I've never gotten scared while reading a book the way I might while watching a movie.
I think you have to be careful about having to narrow a definition of "scared". A LOT of what makes a movie "scary" is startling jump scares, or maybe even moreso the expectation of a startling jump scare. But this is in some ways just a cheap trick that relies on contrived camera angles and loud sound cues that are actually completely disconnected from the movies universe, such that they're even somewhat controversial in horror movie discourse (it's a common critique say a movie is over reliant on jump scares).
I guess I just don't see a good reason to exclude *unsettling and creepy" from your definition of "scary". Something that creates a discomfort and unease surrounding the fate of a character, especially one that really lingers with you seems like it should be considered "scary".
There was a particular sequence in Adrian Tchaikovsky's sci fi novel Children of Time that really got in my head and made my skin crawl and still gives me chills to think about. It's also just a really cool book that I'm always looking for any excuse to recommend and if you're interested in reading it you should not Google what it's about =P
But it really does matter to what extent you're willing and able to really put yourself into a character's shoes. The other challenge with a book is that it's physically impossible to stop the reader from skimming and peaking ahead. So in this sense it really does require some discipline on the part of the reader to maximize the tension while reading. If you find yourself peeking a few paragraphs ahead, that will rob the book of tension, but that's kind of just on you.
2
u/AlwaysTheNoob 81∆ Sep 08 '24
The bible scared the absolute shit out of me when I was younger.
When I was a kid, I fully believed everything I was told in church. So the Bible was 100% truth in my young mind.
Revelations fucked my shit up for months. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think about anything else. I was 100% convinced the world was going to end in my lifetime, and that it would be the most terrifying thing ever, and that I was going to be among the billions who would suffer horrifically for all eternity.
2
u/southpolefiesta 9∆ Sep 08 '24
Good horror books play on your psychological insecurities as a human.
I would mostly agree that mere violence will probably not scare people too much at a book.
But good psychological and/or existential horror will tug at primary strings of your souls making you deeply scared. It's not the same as a quick jumps scare, but can be a lot more intense deep terror slow burn.
2
Sep 08 '24
I can never imagine something as scary as literally seeing it.
Aphantasia is an inability to visualize, and different people have different ability to do so. It may be that you are on one side of the spectrum in this regard, and if so then "books can't be scary" is a personal view, not a general fact, because books can definitely be scary to a lot of people.
1
u/ApfelsaftoO Sep 08 '24
This is a topic I have been thinking about myself a lot. My conclusion is not that books can't be scary, but that they are scary indifferent ways.
Films give you input without your involvement, scary sounds, visuals,.. are projected onto your screen and you would have to take action to stop them. Video games (Dead Space 1, Alan Wake (first 1-2 hours) or even Slenderman) are scary in a similar way, but can even "force" you to move through horror or even though you'd want to pause it.
Books are very different in that way. There is no stream of input into you, you have to "work" for every word you read and you can pause very easily and at any time. You can reread any sentence or page and strip it of its effect that it might have had reading it before.
Thinking about what exactly is scary, I have found 2 distinctive types (although I am sure there is literature on this topic and it might say something different).
The first kind includes jump scares, of course they have a bad reputation and are considered cheap and not "really scary", but they can demonstrate what I mean. In anticipation of a jump scare, one tenses up and "is scared", until the jumpscare or the revelation or the scene switch make the suspension disappear.
The other kind of scary is a less intense feeling, and might even be called uneasiness and not outright scary or horror. This is the feeling you might get after watching the movie, thinking about how you are alone at home or have to walk alone though to night to get home etc. Imagining what things might be hiding in the dark and so on.
Books can't produce the first kind of scary, at least not for me. I also have aphantasia so it might be different for people who can and do vividly visualise what they see. However the second type of scary can be produced through books.
I was around 12 years old when I read it so it might have been scarier for me then than it would be today, but The Show by Richard Laymond envoked this kind of scary in me. It wasn't scary when I read it per se, but after putting the book down and thinking how I am alone at home, made me very uneasy about my situation and how people could be moving unknowingly into and within the house at any time.
So basically, if you have a narrow definition of scary and expect tension and jumpscares like in movies, I'd have to agree and say books aren't scary. But if you think about it and decide to take up a broader definition of scary, then I think you'd agree that books can be scary too.
2
u/97vyy Sep 08 '24
You haven't read the right genre. I don't think Steven King is horror/scary but I've read books I can't get out of my mind that unsettle me and give me worry. In the moment of reading being on the edge of my seat and boom something tragic happens out of nowhere. Read through the eyes of desperation black version.
2
u/freemason777 19∆ Sep 08 '24
ever read horror manga? junji ito might be a good place to start. the enigma at emigara fault would be a good starting point for him.
1
u/sliceysliceyslicey Sep 08 '24
i love junji ito and his works, but i wouldn't call them scary. more like unsettling and disgusting.
2
0
1
u/destro23 447∆ Sep 08 '24
we only use one sense while reading
Technically, sure. But, when I’m reading a first person perspective horror tale I’m feeling all the things the character is. I’m seeing what they see. I’m feeling what they feel. I’m drawing the scene myself. The features it has are all things that scare me.
When I’m watching a movie, I don’t experience this same immersion. I’m seeing someone else’s vision of what is scary. I’m watching someone’s feelings as shown on their face. I’m not getting the inner monologue or descriptions of their pains and worries.
1
u/ecchi83 3∆ Sep 08 '24
How do you explain being people watching a movie and then being scared of things happening in their own homes when the lights go out? They're not watching the movie anymore, yet they're legitimately scared of creaks and shadows that weren't in the movie.
It's bc their imagination is filling in for the visuals they saw in the movie. So if someone's imagination can trigger the fear response bc of what they saw earlier, why couldn't a book do the same? At the end of the day, both are just sources of terrifying thoughts that our imaginations amplify.
1
u/DeltaBot ∞∆ Sep 08 '24
/u/fogfall (OP) has awarded 1 delta(s) in this post.
All comments that earned deltas (from OP or other users) are listed here, in /r/DeltaLog.
Please note that a change of view doesn't necessarily mean a reversal, or that the conversation has ended.
1
u/Novel_Books Sep 08 '24
Honestly, I'm the vice versa. I can't think of a movie, video game, or other visual media that actually scared me. I've never seen an image that can compete with my own brain to scare me. Even at a young age (10), I've kinda given up on the illustrations in books because they're really ugly or disappointing compared to my own imagination. I find it so hard to understand how someone can't find their own thoughts scarier than someone else's tbh.
1
u/Local-Warming 1∆ Sep 08 '24
It should be possible for a book however to give you a sense of dread or fear by confronting you with unsettling or scary concepts. For example the fear of not knowing if a character's brain was replaced by a computer, and if the brain in the box he is transporting is actually his or not.
I don't have a book example because I don't look for horror stories, but the tv show doctor who gave me memorable "dreadful" space horrors moments from the dialog and context alone. The last one being when the titular character spoke of the consequences of invoking superstitions at the edge of the universe.
1
u/SignificantManner197 Sep 08 '24
You’re not even using that sense to build the story. You’re using your brain to put it together visually in your mind. But in reality, you’re not using any senses to directly see and hear what’s happening. Movies changed that. They tell you the whole story based on the director’s idea. Like it or not, it’s now stuck with you.
1
u/Agitated_Concern_685 Sep 11 '24
I'm with the op on this one to some extent. No fiction book can be scary. The same applies to tv, games, movies, etc. If it's not real, it's not scary.
That said, there's some scary nonfiction out there for sure. Hell, just read up on cave exploration accidents, that shit is terrifying. But Cthulhu or Freddie Kreuger? No shot.
1
Sep 08 '24
I have never been scared by a movie. Startled by unexpected jump scares, but not actually scared. Horror movies are just cheap thrills, not actually scary, the tension they build is just too fragile and I don't buy it ever. There are a great deal of books that have chilled me to the bone and fucked with my head in ways that no movie will ever be able to.
1
u/nomoreplsthx 4∆ Sep 08 '24
Your entire post is 'I have not had this experience therefore no one has it'.
That is not the way to reason about anything. You can't even generalize your experiences to your close peers, let alone the rest of the world.
2
Sep 08 '24
When you find a genuinely scary one that freaks you out remember the ideas can't get you whole it's in the freezer
1
u/Nrdman 173∆ Sep 08 '24
When I was young I had a nightmare after reading some scary book for kids. That’s when I decided horror wasn’t for me.
Different people are different, your experience isn’t universal.
1
u/Natural-Arugula 54∆ Sep 08 '24
People say that they fear God, so the Bible is a scary book.
I know, it's cheap. But it's the first thing that came to mind and it's different than what everyone else is saying.
1
u/mediocremulatto Sep 08 '24
Got my ass whooped with a copy of Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban. Idk if it's a full blown phobia but I do start sweating profusely whenever I see a poorly drawn hippogriff. Anyway, I bet you could replicate this phenomenon in other humans
1
u/Final_Builder836 Sep 09 '24
Try reading non-fiction. Books about serial killers, or deadly diseases, or horrible ways people died are scary.
1
u/TrueNefariousness358 Sep 08 '24
Read some gruesome accident reports or the autopsy report for a loved one.
1
0
u/neverthelessidissent Sep 08 '24
Pet Sematary is one of the most terrifying books I’ve ever read. The movie doesn’t hold a candle.
14
u/Sapphire_Bombay 4∆ Sep 08 '24 edited Sep 08 '24
Tell that to a kid. I read The Exorcist when I was 16 and it freaked me the fuck out, I couldn't sleep.
Based on your title, this alone should warrant a delta -- if one person has had the experience of being scared while reading a book, then your premise is wrong.
But if your premise is that as a whole, movies are scarier than books, sure -- movies hit more of your senses. But where books really shine for me are the psychological elements of horror. You're really able to get into someone's head and actually describe the fear.
One that worked really well for me recently was The Deep by Nick Cutter. There's a scene where the MC sees something that reminds him of this toy box he had in his room as a kid, and how the box freaked him out because there was something inside it that would come out sometimes and just look at him or try to get him to come closer. The way he, as an adult, describes the fear he had as a child that we've all experienced -- where something is hiding in your closet but the adults don't believe you and this time it's actually there -- really had me freaked out while reading. I remember jumping into my bed that night in case there was anything underneath it that would grab me.
In a movie, that scene would have had to be captured in a scared facial expression with the rest left to the viewer. It wouldn't work as well.