Vampires, Zombies et al - what's the attraction?

Discussion in 'Fantasy' started by Mike43, Dec 3, 2017.

  1. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    For me, I draw the line between 'horror' that could possibly be real, and 'scary' things we know aren't real, but are just made up for fun.

    I mean, nobody really knows if ghosts exist, do they? Or poltergeists? There are many people who believe they've seen a ghost, and many tales of people who have seen one, or strange things that occur in places that seem to be 'haunted' by something that changes things about a room, or makes noises that can't be explained, or creates a chill in a building or room that can't be explained. So yeah, nothing scares me like a good ghost story. Or a good 'sixth sense' story, or a 'forerunner' story (a vision of something that hasn't happened yet) something like that. I don't seek out scary stories—life is scary enough—but these kinds of stories do genuinely give me a chill.

    Vampires? Nope, not so much. And zombies not at all. We do know these things don't exist. So I find the current obsession with them a little bit silly, to tell the truth.

    Yeah, okay, WHAT IF sexy vampires existed? But they don't, and we know they don't. There isn't any mystery about them. We've just made them up. Like dragons that fly through the air breathing fire, or winged horses or unicorns. Good stories about these beasties might illuminate things about the human condition, but we know we made them up. They aren't real and never will be real. Nor are vampires or zombies.

    Ghosts? Who knows? After all, we don't know what happens to our 'spirits' when we die. Many of us feel strongly that our spirits don't die with our bodies. Our bodies do die—and don't come out of the grave and stomp around 'eating' people either—so dying is real. What lies beyond? Nothing? Another world? Or maybe we 'come back' to this one in a different form? Who knows? It's that fear of the Unknown but Inevitable that scares me, and many other people. How do you prepare for death, when you don't know what death actually is? That's scary, and it's something we all face.

    Being scared of something that I know doesn't exist, on the other hand, just seems ...silly.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2017
  2. Primordial Knight

    Primordial Knight Member

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    I think the biggest thing you all seem to be misunderstanding about the those that enjoy those supernatural creepy crawlies, Is the fact, we know they're fake(Well except for ghosts. Since I've had a couple encounters, So either they are real, or I've had some vivid hallucinations and need to go to the hospital.), But get immersed in the stories anyways.

    Hell, Any Futuristic, any Supernatural, any fantasy based book would not be enjoyable, if we could not be immersed in stories with Fantasy, unreal elements. Personally I find stories without these elements usually quite Dull.

    I don't think zombies really scare many people anymore(Nor vampires), I've only met one person who was scared of zombies. But seeing as it's a walking corpse I could see it bringing people fear, since corpses, are naturally in our minds to stay away from, Instinctual, thanks to Diseases and such. So watching a decaying cadaver rush towards you to eat you, could be terrifying. (That could be my personal feelings, though as Zombies have NEVER scared me. And I have seen death.)
    Again, I believe it's the mixture of the absolute freedom of an apocalypse scenario, Where anyone can become a hero(Or lunch, or villain), and they no more rules set by society to follow. Along with most of the 'bad guys' being already dead, and even somewhat easy to deal with(in most stories anyways) So they don't need to feel bad about killing them in any moral way.

    I've already said my peace about vamps fully though. It's just a power fantasy anymore.
     
  3. CoyoteKing

    CoyoteKing Good Boi Contributor

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    The idea of being relentlessly stalked by a creature that will inevitably find you scares the shit out of me.

    I think horror is really subjective. Good writing is good writing, but fear is just a feeling. It's one of those things where it has to "click" with you. I think the difference is that when you're caught up in the emotion, you never notice the silliness. It seems real to you.

    I loved Get Out. I don't think it's really a horror movie, though, is it? I'm really surprised it's listed as "horror" on Rotten Tomatoes.
     
  4. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Oh, absolutely. It's all subjective (I mean, I confessed to being a Shyamalan fan. :D) I'm just surprised about It Follows because I couldn't see anything stand out about it: but I know I'm in the minority.

    I did like the scene down by the lake.

    I see it as horror, definitely. What genre would you put it in?

    I'd be very surprised if many people think that vampire/zombie fans believe they're real! We know you know they're fictional.
     
  5. CoyoteKing

    CoyoteKing Good Boi Contributor

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    Get Out—

    I saw it as a thriller/comedy type thing. Very tense. Definitely a good movie, either way.

    Edit: the more I think about it the more I think you’re right. It is a horror movie. I don’t think it was scary, but there definitely a lot of horror type elements.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2017
  6. Averycoeworld

    Averycoeworld New Member

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    I really enjoy fantasy reads because they allow me to believe anything. Sometimes (like you implied) I just need a break from the real world. Vampires and zombies aren't usually my go to but I have enjoyed a few good books about them. I think it's just these types of read make it easier to relax with the book you are reading and really enjoy it. Also to be able to out yourself in whatever situation is going on and imagine what you would or wouldn't do without worrying that you'll ever have to actually be in that position. I'd hate to read a book where the extremely hard or dangerous choices the characters are making are ones that I would potentially have to make.
     
  7. Mike43

    Mike43 Member

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    Horror movie -- running time 44.00 minutes.
     
  8. cfalnevermore

    cfalnevermore Member

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    Personally I see Zombies as a sort of quintessential villainous force. they are mindless shambling things that endlessly seek out and destroy/devour anything that isn't them. They're typically powerful enough that in most stories the world has fallen. Then as the story goes on it typically turns out that the zombies weren't the worst monsters out there, it was the other desperate humans that were the true monsters. I hope I'm not starting a flame war or anything because that's really not my intent. But on some level I think zombies make for the perfect stand-in to "the other." Part of me wonders if perhaps on some level we like zombies because they vindicate our fears of outside forces, or because it's easier to hate them and see them as a threat because while they look human, they clearly aren't. They have no art or culture and all they do is destroy. We can safely hate zombies and nobody will judge us for that. Maybe that feels good to some of us? All we have in real life is groups of other people. They may be different, different culture, different beliefs, but it will never be as black and white as a zombie scenario. Those groups may want to kill but they are still people. Not so much with zombies. Apologies for the rambling everyone, and please please please forgive me if something I said offended. I'm not here to provoke a big arguememt, just a discussion. Personally I like the idea of zombies because I think they make great horror fodder. Good horror makes us question ourselves. What would we be like when trapped in a desperate situation like this? Hopefully we'll never have to know, but it's fascinating to think about.
     
  9. WaffleWhale

    WaffleWhale Active Member

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    I think its a mix between the adrenaline type thrill thing, and exploring what we would be without parts of ourselves. A ghost is just a soul without a body, and a zombie is arguably just a body without a soul. I think vampires are just scary because the either cause you're death, or they turn you and make do the bad things that they do.
     
  10. Legolas

    Legolas Member

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    Have you not seen a hot zombie girl? it makes me want more! If you can avoid the kissing it would be a great relationship, no talking and a lot of moaning!

    Vampires were romanticized with the beginning of Dracula. every girl wants a bad boy, and to think he's still the good guy, even though deep down they know he is not. and what guy doesn't love naughty girl in general? its soo, hot! Drink my blood, be naughty! vampires, werewolves, and thins of this nature let you become more as well as give in.

    I am not scared of much, as I like to face my fears, and over come them. So I do not write too much on the true side of horror. I mean I love things, like aliens, the unknown and giant man eating sharks, but none of that scares me. When I write about vampires, sure they are gonna make some guy wet his pants in the story, but that's not true horror IMO.

    These types of characters let you escape, and use your imagination. What if....
     

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