University of Stirling
Brigid S. G. Cherry
Department of Film and Media Studies
The Female Horror Film Audience: Viewing Pleasures
and Fan Practices
Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
29 March, 1999
'oo
Abstract
The Female Horror Film Audience: Viewing Pleasures and Fan
Practices
What is at stake for female fans and followers of horror cinema? This study
explores the pleasures in horror film viewing for female members of the
audience. The findings presented here confirm that female viewers of horror
do not refuse to look but actively enjoy horror films and read such films in
feminine ways.
Part 1 of this thesis suggests that questions about the female viewer and her
consumption of the horror film cannot be answered solely by a consideration
of the text-reader relationship or by theoretical models of spectatorship and
identification. A profile of female horror film fans and followers can therefore
be developed only through an audience study.
Part 2 presents a profile of female horror fans and followers. The participants
in the study were largely drawn from the memberships of horror fan groups
and from the readerships of a cross-section of professional and fan horror
magazines. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups, interviews,
open-ended questions included in the questionnaire and through the
ommunication of opinions and experiences in letters and other written
material.
Part 3 sheds light on the modes of interpretation and attempts to position the
female viewers as active consumers of horror films.
This study concludes with a model of the female horror film viewer which
points towards areas of female horror film spectatorship which require further
analysis.
The value of investigating the invisible experiences of women with popular
culture is demonstrated by the very large proportion of respondents who
expressed their delight and thanks in having an opportunity to speak about
their experiences. This study of female horror film viewers allows the voice
of an otherwise marginalised and invisible audience to be heard, their
experiences recorded, the possibilities for resistance explored, and the
potentially feminine pleasures of the horror film identified.
Contents
Acknowledgements . vi
Introduction: Overview of the study..............................................1
Part 1: Theoretical Concerns
Chapter1: The Horror Film and Its Audience...................................4
1.1 Horror film audiences
1.1.1 Composition of the horror film audience
1.1.2 Cinema audiences and the taste for horror
1.2 The feminine love of horror
I. Children's horror fiction
II. Adult horror fiction
ifi. True-life crime
IV. Something other than horror1.3 The female horror film audience
1.3.1 The horror genre
1.3.2 Researching the female audience
Chapter 2: Spectators and Viewers in the Feminist Methodology............41
2.1 Female spectators and horror cinema
2.1.1 Horror and the male gaze
2.1.2 Spectatorship and visual pleasure
2.1.3 Refusing to refuse to look
2.2 Investigating the female horror film audience
2.2.1 Negotiating the contradictions between viewers and spectators
2.3 Studying audiences
2.4 Positioning the generically competent female viewer
Part 2: Audience Research
Chapter 3: Investigating the Female Horror Film Fan......................... 58
3.1 Designing the study
3.1.1 Methodological problems and approaches
3.1.2 Locating the female horror film audience
3.1.3 Audience research: methodology, strategy and execution
3.2 Survey of mass market and fan publications
3.3 The pilot study
34 Investi gating the audience
I Recruitment
II The questionnaire
Ill Focus groups
IV Participant observation
3.4.1 Data capture
3.5 Further considerations
Chapter 4: Profile of the Female Horror Film Viewer.........................77
4.1 Demographics
4.1.1 Age of female horror film viewers
4.1.2 Background and social situation
4.13 Other tastes, leisure activities and interests
4.2 Viewing practices and preferences
4.2.1 Viewing patterns
4.2.2 Longevity of horror film viewing
4.2.3 Horror film tastes
Part 3: Analysis
Chapter 5: Viewing Pleasures and the Attraction of Horror..................94
5.1 Gender socialisation
5.2 Ori gins of the taste for horror
I The childhood taste for scary material
II Parental involvement in the viewing of horror
Ill The developing taste for horror in older children and adolescents
5.2.1 Sensation seeking and risk thresholds
5.3 Visual pleasures and modes of ph ysical and emotional affect
5.3.1 Feminine viewing responses
5.3.2 Fright, suspense and other affects
5.3.3 The continued taste for horror
5.4 The appeal of the horror genre
Chapter 6: The Interpretive Activities of Female Horror Film Fans .......133
6.1 Common patterns of receptions and readings
I General factors in the reception of horror films
II Quality and high-brow entertainment
Ill. Representations and strong female characters
IV. The problematic of violence
V. Fascination with horror and the attraction of monstrosity6.2 Erotic horror and viewing pleasures
6.2.1 Reading the horror film as romance
6.2.2 Character relationships and construction of identity
6.3 Representations and feminist discourse
6.3.1 Responding to representations of femininity in the horror film
63.2 The slasher film: contradictions and criticisms
6.3.3 Viewing violence against women
6.4 Reading strategies and resisting viewers
Chapter7: Femininity and fandom.............................................169
7.1 Horror fandom
7.1.1 Models of fan behaviour
7.2 Fan consumption: magazine and fanzine readership
7.2.1 Horror fiction fanzines
7.3 Textual poaching
7.4 Vampire fandom
7.4.1 Fans and subcultures: the female Goth and the vampire masquerade
7.5 Extra-cinematic identificatory practices
7.5.1 Fan practices
Conclusions
Chapter 8: Horror cinema and the female subject............................202
8.1 Principal findings
8.1.1 A model of horror film viewing
I. Factors in the cinematic horror film viewing process
II. Factors in the extra-cinematic horror film viewing process
ifi. Factors in the character of horror film fans and followers
8.1.2 The female horror film viewer
8.2 Gender, genre and the female gaze
8.3 Further research
8.4 Re-viewing the horror film
Appendices
AppendiX1: Data Capture.......................................................220
Al. 1 Guidelines for focused discussion
Al.2 The questionnaire
Appendix 2: Personal details of audience study participants................229
Appendix3: Data analysis and tables..........................................233
A3. 1 Analysis of qualitative data
A3.2 Analysis of quantitative data
I. Tables for chapter 1
II. Tables for chapter 4
III. Tables for chapter 5
IV. Tables for chapter 6
V. Tables for chapter 8
Appendix 4: Survey of mass market horror publications ...................248
Bibliography...................................................................260
Filmography ...................................................................274
Figures
Figure 7.1: Vampire fanzine imagery (line art from The Chronicles)......186
Figure7.2: Vampire fan costumes.............................................191
Figure 7.3: Demone mail order catalogue - sample page....................193
Figure A4. 1: Samhain cover (July/August 1995 issue).....................249
Figure A4.2: Illustration - Horror Fan (Winter 1989, p. 22)...............250
Figure A4.3: Cover of Femme Fatales (Winter 1994).......................251
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, thanks must go to all the women who contributed to this
research by sharing their love of horror and the dark side.
Debts of gratitude are owed to Robert Parkinson and Debbie Bennett,
respectively secretary and newsletter editor of the British Fantasy Society, for
circulating questionnaires to the female membership of the BFS. Similarly to
Carole Bohanan, founder, and Alice Pinder, membership secretary, of The
Vampyre Society for distributing questionnaires, and to Nikki Bull and Jon
Stone for access to Vampyre Society local groups in Glasgow and Bristol.
Thanks also to Vanda L. of The Dracula Experience Society, Phil! White of
Thee Vampire Guild, Adele Hartley, director of the Dead by Dawn horror
film festival, and John Gullidge, editor of Samhain, for recruitment assistance
and access to horror fanzines and magazines.
I would particularly like to thank Shionna Wood, Yvonne Tasker, Annette
Hill, Karin Wickoff and Mike Cormack for their advice, support and
encouragement.
An outline of the findings of this research were presented in a paper at the
Commonwealth Fund Conference in American History - Hollywood and Its
Spectators: The Reception of American Films, 1895-1995 at University
College London in February 1998 and a revised and expanded version of this
paper will appear in Hollywood Audiences and Cultural Identity, edited by
Richard Maltby and Melvin Stokes, due to be published by the BR in 1999.
Thanks are due to Melvin Stokes for his editorial comments.
Finally, this research cannot have been undertaken without the love, patience
and understanding of Brian and Cameron Robb.
vi
Introduction
Overview of the study
It is often assumed, by both the producers of horror films and the critics of
the genre, that taking pleasure in horrific or fnghtening images is a masculine
trait, not a feminine one. While women may watch horror films, they do so
only reluctantly and with displeasure, not least because of the representations
of violence against the female body they contain. However, Mark Jancovich
notes in Horror (1992, p. 18) that horror literature has a large female
readership. Women were the primary consumers of Gothic fiction and writers
such as Nancy Collins, Lisa Tuttle, Poppy Z. Brite and Anne Rice continue
the tradition of female authorship today, whilst the female readerships of
horror fiction, including that aimed at children and teenagers, are high.
Although horror literature is recognised as appealing across the sex and age
ranges, the widely-held notion, both within and without the Hollywood film
industry, is that the horror film is the preserve of the adolescent male and a
situation has created in which films are produced and marketed with a male
youth audience in mind. Some recent horror films such as Bram Stoker's
Dracula and Wolf have been marketed as Gothic romances, but as Nina
Auerbach observes in Our Vampires. Ourselves (1995, pp. 3-4), a female
exclusion zone has been constructed around horror. Most studies of the
horror film that have considered questions of gender and spectatorship have
concerned themselves with a theoretical male spectator. From such a critical
perspective, Linda Williams in When The Woman Looks (1984) does not
regard the female gaze as a pleasurable one and the female spectator's act of
looking is punished. For Williams, this explains why the female viewer of
horror films refuses to look, often physically blocking or averting her eyes
from the screen.
Whether most female spectators actually behave like this is another
question. Demographic profiles of contemporary cinema audiences suggest
that women can comprise up to 50 per cent of horror film audiences. As Carol
Clover has acknowledged in Men. Women and Chainsaws (1992, p. 54), it
seems inadequate to dismiss large numbers of women as 'male-identified' and
account for their responses only as 'an "immasculated" act of collusion with
the oppressor.' The presence of a large proportion of women in the horror
film audience raises important questions about horror film consumption,
gendered spectatorship and social models of femininity. In some segments of
the audience we might expect to find female viewers who do take pleasure in
viewing horror films and who, in what could amount to an act of defiance,
refuse to refuse to look.
This study recognises the increasing visibility of active female honor film
viewers and seeks to explore this audience segment's consumption and
appropriation of the genre. The aims and objectives of this study are
therefore:
? to investigate the viewing patterns of active female viewers (that is, the
female fans and followers) of the horror film;
? to investigate the tastes of active female viewers in order to ascertain
whether any particular forms of the horror film are popular with this
group and ascertain what factors make these films, as opposed to other
types, appealing;
? to examine the reception of honor films by active female viewers in order
to determine the reactions and interpretative strategies of horror by this
group;
? to assess the consumption and appropriation of horror films within the
context of honor fandom; and
? to establish how, if at all, active female viewers relate what they see on
the screen to social issues such as feminine sexuality, female role models,
violence against women, and other aspects of feminist discourse.
1n chapter 1, a picture of the horror film audience drawn from surveys of
cinema attendance and screen studies is presented, together with an overview
of horror cinema and potential feminine codings of the genre. Chapter 2
presents relevant theoretical research into the female horror film spectator and
explores questions which the existence of active female horror film viewers
raise about gendered spectatorship. This presents a context in which honor
film viewing by women might be understood. Such questions make an
ethnographic study of the female horror film audience crucial and chapter 3
proposes a strategy for investigating the female horror film audience.
Chapters 4 to 7 present the results and analysis of quantitative and qualitative
data collected in the study, chapter 4 providing a demographic picture of the
participating female horror film viewers and an analysis of the viewing habits
and preferences of the participants. The suggestion that gender socialisation
processes are important is investigated in chapter 5, along with an exploration
into the attraction of horror for the respondents from a very young age.
Chapter 5 also contains an analysis of the emotional affects reported by the
respondents and how these responses contribute to their enjoyment of horror
films. Chapter 6 investigates the interpretive activities of the respondents and
2
sets out a range of readings which might categorise active female horror film
spectatorship. Chapter 7 examines the position of the female horror fan in
relation to fan publishing and fan organisations. In particular, it looks at
vampire fandom and the appropriation of vampire texts; this has links to the
appropriation of texts by fans referred to by Jenkins (1992) as 'textual
poaching' (after de Certeau, 1984). In conclusion, chapter 8 considers issues
arising from this study which might necessitate a reconceptualisation of the
active female horror film audience or indicate areas of further research.
3
Chapter 1
The Horror Film and Its Audience
Only the saddest of simpletons, one feels, could ever get a really
satisfying frisson. For the rest of us [horror films] have just
become a rather eccentric and specialised form of light
entertainment, and possibly a useful means of escape for a
housewife harrowed by the shopping. (Granger, Financial Times,
6 May 1957')
In the June 1992 edition of the woman's magazine Cosmopolitan an article by
E. Lederman entitled 'The Best Places To Meet Good Men' 2 warned its
readership against starting up a conversation with a man looking for horror
films in the local videomart since such men have 'questionable feelings about
women.' Lederman goes on to state that 'Whether buried deep within him or
overtly expressed in his words and actions, his misogynistic tendencies make
him a man to avoid.' As in the above quote from Granger's review of
Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein, this attitude illustrates that the horror
film audience has always been regarded as completely Other, the fans
dismissed as 'them' in contrast to the normal 'us'. Unlike the 'saddest of
simpletons' of the SOs however, the 90s horror fan is a danger to women.
Granger's quote recognises that in the SOs women too gained gratifications
(albeit simple escapism) from the horror film, but by the 90s the horror film
represents only a threat to women, not only on the screen but in real life.
Since the rise of the slasher film in the late 70s, the horror film audience has
been regarded as consisting primarily of adolescent boys and men under the
age of twenty-five. Twitchell's observations of horror film audiences (1985,
p. 70) lead him to the conclusion that 'most of the audience are in their early
to mid-teens', whilst Clover (1992b, p. 6) claims that 'the proportions vary
somewhat from subgenre to subgenre and from movie to movie ..., but the
preponderance of young males appears constant.' This supposition is also
evident within the Hollywood industry. In part, this may be because the
Hollywood-based film industry sees its primary target audience as males
between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four and consequently aims many of
its films and much of its marketing and publicity at this demographic group
(Kramer, 1998). In this model, women may watch horror films, but only
reluctantly and with displeasure. As president of Miramax Mark Gill
(interviewed by Hindes, 1997) states when expressing surprise that women
went to see the slasher film Scream 2: 'Horror film audiences used to be
heavily male. If they could drag their girlfriends along you were lucky.' The
4
horror film audience has not always been regarded as so resolutely male; just
as in the SOs 'housewives harrowed by the shopping' may have been
recognised as an important segment of the Hammer horror film audience (at
least in the mind of the reviewer quoted above), in the 30s women were
regarded as an important audience for Dracula and other Universal horror
films. Likewise, contemporary surveys of computer games players, visitors
to Madam Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors and the readers of Goosebumps
and Point Horror pre-adolescent's and young adult's horror fiction have
revealed that women continue to be as, if not more, attracted to horrific
entertainment than men. These, and other, findings (which are given in more
detail below) are supported by demographic data of actual cinema audiences.
Recent exit polls in the USA (see Hindes, 1997) showed audiences in the
opening weekend of Scream 2 averaged 55 per cent female and 45 per cent
male. If we are to believe the accepted model of a predominantly male horror
film audience, a female audience share of over 50 per cent may seem
unusually high. The demographic profile for Scream 2 is very similar to that
for Titanic (which may be classed as a romance) where females outnumbered
males 57 per cent to 43 per cent, whereas the Bond film Tomorrow Never
jj had an audience of 60 per cent male to 40 per cent female. The fact that
Scream and its sequel are a pastiche on the original slasher films with strong
female roles may well be one reason for the high numbers of women seeing
this particular film; however, Dika (1987, p. 87) reports that 55 per cent of
the twelve to seventeen-year-old audience for films in the original slasher
cycle was female. Pinedo (1997, p. 72) concludes that Dika misread the
statistics (Dika derived the figure from data given by the 20th Century Fox
advertising and publicity department to the New York Times -see Dika, 1990,
p. 142) and that this figure is wrong. Although Pinedo may well be correct in
this, given the demographic for Scream 2, Dika's estimate may in fact be
closer to the true figure than generally believed. The Cinema Advertising
Association's audience profiles, derived from representative samples of the
British population and highlighting the age, sex and social class of British
cinema audiences for the purposes of selling cinema advertising space, also
indicate that women may make up a substantially higher segment of the horror
film audience than often acknowledged. The CAA estimate the female
audience for the films Man Bites Do g, Silence of the Lambs and Scream at
around 50 per cent, and whilst the female audience for other hormr and
honor-related films (Alien3, Reservoir Dogs and Natural Born Killers) is
5
lower, between 30 to ?40 per cent, it still represents a sizeable minority.
Overall, these figures suggest that just under half of horror film viewers are
female (and that a similar proportion are over the age of twenty-four).3
The high female audience share for Silence of the Lambs, Scream and
Alien3 may again be attributable to the strong female leads in these films. It
should be noted, however, that all the films except Man Bites Do g could be
classed as mainstream films and Clover (1992b, p.6) predicts that
mainstream horror films will have a higher female audience share (or rather,
we should assume that the audience for mainstream films will reflect a
distribution in terms of age and sex that is closer to the general population).
The high female audience for Man Bites Dog is especially interesting. Why
this should be is not entirely clear. Unlike Natural Born Killers and Reservoir
Dogs which have a much lower female audience share, there was very little
pre-publicity to link Man Bites Do with other examples of what has been
termed the New Brutalism despite it being a film in a similar vein (see Hill,
1997, for a discussion of this cycle of films). It may have been that the
publicity for the former either dissuaded women from going to see them or
persuaded more men to see them. Man Bites Do had a limited release in art
cinemas and posters highlighted the fact that the film was a black comedy that
had won awards at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals, whereas publicity
for Natural Born Killers and Reservoir Do gs played on the scenes of violence
and bloodshed, and in the case of Natural Born Killers a high body count.
Furthermore, the latter films attracted sensationalist media coverage which
labelled them as dangerous: for example, Natural Born Killers attracted
newspaper headlines such as 'Should this sicko film be shown over here?'
(The Sun), 'It's splatter that matters' (Daily Mail), 'Our worst nightmare'
(The Observer) and 'A splatter movie too far' (Today); reviews in the film
magazines Empire (March 1995) and Premiere (March 1995) describe the film
as 'an assault from start to finish' and 'as fascinating as it is repellent'
respectively. This may have served to attract viewers hoping to see a 'nasty',
more of whom might have been male (a report by the British Board of Film
Classification indicates that teenage boys are attracted to violence and macho
heroics - see section 1.1.2 below). Being a subtitled Belgian film screened in
art cinemas may also suggest that Man Bites Do attracted a more 'highbrow'
audience than Natural Born Killers or Reservoir Do gs, though the CAA film
profiles for class do not necessarily support this supposition: ABC is
composed 56 per cent of the audience for Man Bites Dog and Reservoir Does
6
and 57 per cent of the audience for Natural Born Killers. It may then be that
marketing in the form of sensationalist advertising and press coverage is a
more important factor for attracting a male audience (or dissuading a female
audience pre-disposed to other horror films such as Man Bites Doe, Bram
Stoker's Dracula and Scream). Hill's study of viewers of violent movies
suggests this to be true (pp. 20-1); she quotes four male focus group
participants who reported they were attracted to such films by the media hype
and one female participant who was initially dissuaded from seeing Reservoir
Dogs by the same media coverage.
The marketing for Bram Stoker's Dracula, by contrast, emphasised that the
film was a love story (a prologue established that Mina Harker was a re-
incarnation of Dracula's wife with whom he desired to be reunited) and pre-
publicity for the film also concentrated on the young male stars, particularly
Keanu Reeves who had a large female fan following (see Weaver, 1993).
Weaver's audience survey at the time of the film's release in the UK indicated
that at least 50 per cent of the audience were female, and this figure may
almost certainly have been higher (p. 29):
The male-female split in both Phases of the survey was exactly
50:50. Since representative sampling occurred in Phase One, this
was probably a fair reflection of Dracula's early audience profile.
Since respondents in Phase Two were selected by quota
sampling, the gender split for later audiences cannot be stated
with any accuracy. It is worth noting, however, that some
interviewers had problems in filling their quotas for male
respondents in this Phase.4
Again, these figures support the fact of a larger female audience share than
usually recognised and it seems this may be due both to film type and
marketing.
The belief that the horror film audience is young and male and the niche
marketing of horror films to this demographic undoubtedly marginalises the
genre's not insignificant female audience. The horror film is therefore not
perceived as suitable entertainment for female viewers and these women may
in turn be further marginalised. The fact that an unacknowledged female
audience segment does exist for horror cinema (even the more violent or
graphic examples) raises important questions not just about the widely
accepted classification of horror as a masculine genre but about patterns of
consumption and appropriation by female viewers of horror.
7
1.1 Horror film audiences
In addition to the marketing of horror films to a male audience, genre criticism
has also focused almost exclusively on the young, male spectator of the
horror film. Like Twitchell (see above), Deny (1987, p. 163) describes
teenagers as 'the major audience for horror films,' Dickstein (1980, p. 69)
finds that 'those who submit to (horror films) are generally young,' and
Evans (1973, p. 54, my emphasis) finds horror movies to be 'uniquely
tailored to the psyches of troubled adolescents, whatever their age.' Evans
seems to be suggesting here that some adults may like horror films, but he
implies that they do so only because they retain the psychology of
adolescence. This may well be an important reason why some older
individuals retain their liking for horror films beyond their teens, but other
factors may apply; the continued liking for horror may also be attributable to
retaining a childhood love of dark fantasy as found in fairy stories and other
children's fiction, for example, and this may have very little to do with
adolescent psychosexual issues. Although Evans does not specify either male
or female adolescents and discusses the onset of secondary sexual
characteristics in both males and females, the assumption is that young males
predominate (see also Clover's claim above). Kendrick (1991, p. 257)
defines the 'horror maven' as 'most likely to be male, to be between fifteen
and forty-five years old, and American.' These quotes reflect the perception
of the contemporary horror film spectator as a young male in his teens or
early twenties. This may in part be because the horror genre in the late-70s
and 80s was dominated by slasher films.
In this period horror film criticism was primarily concerned with the
slasher film and its audience and it is in this context that the horror film
spectator has been analysed most frequently. As Dika (1990, p. 87) states:
The audience for the stalker film, as is typical of the horror genre,
is overwhelmingly young: these R-rated films (no one under
seventeen admitted without a parent or guardian) were frequented
by adolescents between the ages of twelve and seventeen.
Dika's assumption that the slasher film audience is typical of all horror film
audiences may not be entirely correct. Niche marketing, a high body count
and high levels of blood and/or violence, peer group pressure and a
predominantly teenage cast might mean that the slasher film audience is
younger and more likely to be dominated by males than other horror film
audiences. Another important aspect of the slasher film in attracting a younger
8
audience is the representation of teenage sexuality and resultant adolescent
psychosexual and psychosocial issues that these films deal with. However,
horror films operate on many levels and not just that of adolescent sexuality.
The assumption that has been widely made that the horror film spectator is,
like the slasher film spectator, an adolescent male is undoubtedly flawed. The
CAA figures show that whilst the majority audience for many horror and
horror-related films is young and male, older and female viewers can make up
almost half or more of the audience.
It may also be that there are national or cultural differences in horror film
audiences in the USA and the UK and since much of the genre criticism is
American it may not be wholly applicable to British audiences. The Scream 2
exit polls, however, show that women can make up a large section of the
horror film audience in the USA as well as in the UK. Kendrick's claim that
the 'horror maven' is most likely to be American must also be questioned
since horror films attract large audiences internationally and many national
cinemas have their own horror film industries (notable horror cycles have
occurred in Italy, Spain, France, the UK, I-long Kong and Japan, whilst the
film industries in Canada and New Zealand have more recently produced very
suc,cessful horror film directors).
The exact make-up of the horror film audience remains unclear since very
little rigorous research has been carried out into audience demographics for a
wide range of horror film types. Some general surveys of cinema audiences
provide useful background figures, but most observations of horror film
audiences are anecdotal. Anecdotal evidence makes a convincing case that the
horror film audience is predominantly male, but it may be a mistake to believe
as Clover (1992b, p. 6) does that: 'what formal surveys and informal
accounts there are bear out with remarkable consistency ... that adolescent
males hold pride of place.' Casual observation of some horror film audiences
may confirm the impression of a male audience, but as the above figures from
the CAA and elsewhere suggest, not all horror films have a predominantly (or
even majority) male audience.
The dearth of reliable demographics for horror film audiences, in particular
into the male-female and age group ratios, has led to the assumption that the
audience is predominantly male and young (although it is recognised as
ranging across race and class). As Brunt (1992, pp. 69-76) has indicated, it is
not an easy task to undertake audience research: 'Audience studies are
9
inordinately time consuming and labour-intensive, and certainly in Britain
unlikely to attract funding unless there's an obvious social policy pay-off or
corporate enterprise function.' The study of horror film audiences especially
has problems in this respect with the genre having an aura of disreputability,
the majority of horror films being low-budget independent productions, and
the producers of horror films frequently assuming a male audience (as does
Gill when discussing Scream 2 in Varielv). Additional problems arise if video
and television audiences for horror films are to be taken into account - the
video format in particular is where profits are made on many horror films and
demographic profiles for these formats are not available. Since the male
audience model may be concealing an unrecognised female audience, it is
important to establish whether the high female viewership of contemporary
horror films such as Scream 2 represents a new phenomenon (as Gill
assumes) or whether women have always been an unacknowledged audience
for horror (horror literature has certainly not been seen as age or sex restricted
in the same way as horror cinema).
1.1.1 Composition of the horror film audience
Despite the fact that detailed and specific data have never been collected on the
make-up of horror film audiences, a number of observations have been made
of representative audiences which do support the above figures for female
viewers. For example, Twitchell (1985, p. 70, my emphasis) made personal
observations at a number of film screenings during research for his book:
The youngest viewers sit up front ... and are divided into small
groups of five or six. Often a group will surround a couple that
has managed to sit together, but usually they stay in little packs.
Sometimes these are packs of all girls, but rarely, if ever, have I
seen all boys. Behind them, another audience forms, this one
more neatly paired with partners, not necessarily older, but
certainly better organised. There are also groups within this larger
herd ... The back half of the theatre seems dormant in
comparison. For here sit disconnected young couples, intent on
cuddling, not screaming; sometimes two or three older girls sit
together; sometimes a few, sombre single boys; older, well-
dressed couples; and on the perimeter those rogue males.
It is interesting to note the rarity of all male groups in Twitchell 's observed
audience and the inference from these observations is that a fairly large
proportion of the audience is female (although Twitchell's theoretical work on
horror cinema assumes a male spectator). Broadly this observed audience
breaks down into (in approximately decreasing order):
10
front
a) mixed sex groups (usually)
b) couples (often)
c) female groups (sometimes)
d) male groups (rare)
middle
a) couples
b) groups (mixed sex?)
rear
a) couples
b) female pairs or groups
c) lone males (old)5
d) lone males (young)
Even assuming that women make up only a small proportion of the mixed sex
groups (these may well be dominated by males), anywhere between 25 and
50 per cent of Twitchell's audience could well be female.
Clover's breakdown of the audience (p. 6) offers a slightly different
picture:
At theatre screenings ... the constituencies typically breakdown,
in order of size, as follows: young men, frequently in groups but
also solo; male-female couples of various ages (though mostly
young); solo 'rogue males' (older men of ominous appearance
andlor reactions); and adolescent girls in groups.
Clover did not collect any data or make any personal observations of the
cinema audience, instead relying on data reported by Austin (1983). She did,
however, conduct a small scale survey of video rentals (p. 6-7), but these
were from a very small sample of video stores and should not be taken as
statistically significant. Clover collected rental figures for two rape-revenge
films from three rental outlets in the San Francisco area for four weeks.
Results showed that between 80 and 90 per cent of renters were male and
renters of both sexes were mostly in their early twenties. However, these
figures are unlikely to give any indication of who viewed the film once it had
left the store.
The mixed-sex group is notably absent from Clover's cinema audience.
She also maintains that young men in single sex groups make up most of the
audience, whereas Twitchell rarely or never saw such groups. Clover ranks
all female groups as the lowest proportion of the audience, yet Twitchell's
observations seem to contradict this. It may be that Clover and Twitchell are
reporting on audiences from different geographical or class backgrounds, or
different generic or historic audiences; it may also be possible that, while the
adolescent male remains the majority viewer of the 80s slasher film, Clover
11
significantly underestimates the female audience for other types and periods
of the horror film. (The neglect of the female spectator is, quite properly, a
deliberate omission in Clover's work, since she is concerned only with
identification in the adolescent male. It does however highlight the importance
of studying other groups of horror film viewers. If they do not have the same
stake in the horror film as the majority young male audience, it is important to
establish what might be at stake for them.)
Clover's audience profile, then, may differ from Twitchell's and from the
CAA figures because she primarily focused on low-budget slasher and
exploitation film audiences - these film types may be less well liked by
women and Clover herself supposes (p. 65fn) that the female audience for
occult films, for instance, is larger than that for the slasher or rape-revenge
genres: 'despite my impression that occult films have a greater share of female
viewers than other sorts of horror (there are no reliable statistics), it would
seem that the constructed viewer is also male.' Twitchell does not specify
what type of horror films he observed his audiences at, but his ad-hoc survey
may have taken in a wider range of post-slasher horror film types than
Clover. It should also be stressed that Clover and Twitchell are both
describing American audiences and their observations should not be assumed
to be directly applicable to a British audience. Cultural differences in audience
behaviour are well known. The descriptions of US audience behaviour
(including the stratification of the audience with younger people at the front
and older to the rear which Twitchell described) indicate that American horror
film viewers, especially the younger members of the audience, are particularly
active, calling out to characters in the films and passing comments on the
action. In the UK audiences generally are much more reserved, however
male/female audience splits may be similar, as the following observations of
Scottish audiences suggest.
In order to ascertain an approximate composition of the horror film
audience in the UK a survey of sex ratios in the audiences at six varied horror
film screenings at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh was carried out as part of the
design exercise for this research. 6 The results indicate that horror film
audiences contain between 28 and 36 per cent women (just under one-third of
the overall total). These figures are not as high as the CAA profiles, but this
may be because the films are older films being screened in a horror film
season at an art cinema, most of which are not mainstream. This survey also
12
indicates that mixed sex groups and all female groups make up approximately
17 per cent of the audience which might be similar to that observed by
Twitchell and is certainly more than Clover recognises. These groupings were
recorded as the audience arrived at the cinema hail entrance to have their ticket
checked and may not indicate groups meeting up inside the screening hail.
The largest proportions are lone men making up 33 per cent of the audience
(136 individuals), followed by mixed sex pairs making up 23 per cent of the
audience (96 individuals), and then two men together making up 14 per cent
of the audience (58 individuals). Other groupings are mixed sex groups at 10
per cent of the audience (43 people), then lone women at 9 per cent (37), then
groups of all women at 7 per cent (28), followed by groups of men (9) and
finally two women together (8) at around 2 per cent of the audience each.
There were 5 older rogue males and 2 rogue females counted at the screenings
(the latter was accounted for by an elderly woman at screenings of The Fly
and Dementia 13 who frequents the cinema during the winter months to save
on heating bills and was therefore discounted). In this survey, men seem
most likely to go alone or with one other man. Women are most likely to go
with one man or alone. Of other groupings, women are more likely than men
to go in groups of three or more (suggesting perhaps safety in numbers),
whilst men are more likely to go in pairs or alone than are women. (This may
be a reflection of wider issues in society, such as women preferring not to go
out alone at night because of fears about safety.) The fact that there are many
people of both sexes going to the screening alone may be due (in addition to
the possibility that they may be meeting friends inside the theatre) to the fact
that the films were screened at an art cinema. This may account for the
audience also being older than that described by Twitchell. This is to be
expected at an art cinema showing a season of older horror films and it is
assumed that many of those attending horror films in such a situation will be
individuals who are long-term habitual viewers of the horror film. 7 These
figures confirm that substantial numbers of older and female viewers of
horror films exist.
During the pilot study for this research, observation was also made of two
electronic-mailing lists for the discussion of vampires and for horror in film
and fiction and these revealed high levels of participation by women of all
ages. See chapter 3 for details.
13
1.1.2 Cinema audiences and the taste for horror
One problem with the scarcity of demographic data on the horror film
audience is that there is little historical material which could be used to track
the female horror film audience over time. This information could be
extremely important in ascertaining whether women have always been
interested in the horror genre (as they were in the gothic horror literature of
past centuries when they were regarded as the main readership - see below) or
whether this phenomenon is, in the history of cinema, a recent trend. General
surveys of cinema audiences could be useful, but the horror genre has not
been found to be widely popular, does not score highly on lists of preferred
genres and accordingly is not given much attention in any subsequent reports.
Apart from mentions of the widespread dislike of horror films, general
cinema audience surveys rarely contain any relevant demographic details on
who does view horror films. This confirms the bi-polar split in the taste for
horror observed by Wood (1979), yet horror films have proved enduringly
popular and are a lucrative source of income for film companies. (During the
late-80s and 90s the number of horror films getting a cinema release in the
UK declined, however many horror films are extremely successful in the
video market. The slasher film revival in the wake of Scream also emphasises
the enduring popularity of horror.)
A major study on cinema attendance and preferences undertaken by the
British Film Institute (Docherty et al, 1987) reinforces the fact that there is a
dislike of horror films generally, and that there is a trend for this dislike to
increase with age, but the report does not break down the genre preferences
of the survey group by sex.8 A survey undertaken by the BBC Audience
Research Department in 1965 (figures reproduced by Docherty et al., 1987)
indicates a strong liking for horror films amongst sixteen to nineteen-year-
olds (reporting that 24 per cent of this age group usually enjoy honor), but
this declines sharply with age (3 per cent of twenty to twenty-nine-year.-olds,
7 per cent of thirty to forty-nine-year-olds, and 2 per cent of those over fifty).
Of interest here is the slight rise amongst the thirty to forty-nine-year-olds.
This may possibly be explained by the fact that the this age group contains
individuals who would have been in their late-teens and early-twenties when
the Universal horror films and the early Hammer horror films were first
released. Both these cycles were extremely popular moments in the history of
the horror genre and it may simply be that individuals in this age group are
recalling (or retaining) an interest in horror they had in their youth. A 1984
14
study by the Broadcasting Research Unit showed a similar overall pattern
with 14 per cent of the sixteen to twenty-nine-year-olds placing horror as one
of their three favourite film types, falling to 5 per cent of thirty to forty-nine-
year-olds and 1 per cent of the over-fifties (reported in Docherty et al, 1987).
Once again, however, these data are not broken down by sex.
An American study undertaken in 1942 (Handel, 1976) covers a wider age
range (from twelve-years-old to forty-five and over); however, horror films
are classed together with mystery films (horror has been regarded as a generic
category only relatively recently, with what we now class as horror being
called mysteries, thrillers or chillers in the 30s). This makes comparisons
with other surveys somewhat difficult. Over the entire age range, 7 per cent
of men and 5 per cent of women chose 'mystery and horror' as one of their
two favourite film story types. Obviously, this cannot be compared with the
other studies due to differences in cultural, social and historical situations, in
question presentation and in the fact that respondents could only select two
categories, but again it illustrates the low popularity of the horror film
amongst cinema-goers as a whole. Again liking for horror decreases with age
(from 9 per cent of the twelve to sixteen-year-olds to 5 per cent of thirty to
forty-four-year-olds); the age bands not being broken down by sex.
Preferences by sex have been indicated in surveys of children and
teenagers and these are more useful to this study. Barclay (1961) presents the
results of a survey of 2,526 boys and 2,794 girls conducted by the Scottish
Educational Film Association. The data analysed in this study suggest that
younger girls seem almost as drawn to horror as boys of the same age (49 per
cent of fourteen-year-old boys and 37 per cent of girls of the same age chose
horror as one of the four film types they liked best, 41 per cent of fifteen-
year-old boys and 56 per cent of girls of the same age chose horror). Girls
increasingly professed a dislike for the genre as they matured (of sixteen-
year-olds, the number of boys liking horror remains steady at '10 per cent, for
girls the figure dropped to 25 per cent). By the age of eighteen, these figures
have fallen to 29 per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls who liked horror
films; with 30 per cent of boys and 64 per cent of girls choosing them as one
of their four most disliked genres (rising from 16 per cent of fourteen-year-
old boys and 32 per cent of fourteen-year-old girls). The reason for such a
pauern could be one of gender socialisation - the girls being discouraged from
liking honor as it is seen as unfeminine, whilst boys, who are encouraged to
15
display their fearlessness, outgrow it more gradually (this is an extremely
important issue which is followed up in depth in chapter 5). An important
factor in assessing the results of any such survey amongst children is that the
selection of horror may not be a genuine taste for the genre; the girls (and
boys) surveyed were too young in most cases to have legally seen horror
films at the cinema and, in going to see (or claiming to have seen) what were
then X-rated films, there may well be elements of bravado in breaking the
law, or of rebelliousness in being seen to be attracted to such material, or
even simply of its taboo status and content. This should be borne in mind
when assessing the value of any such surveys. Nevertheless, whether a
genuine liking for or a desire - for whatever reason - to be seen to like horror,
the apparently strong taste for horror in girls of around fifteen years of age is
striking. More than half of all the girls in the survey name horror as one of up
to four most liked film genres (out of a choice of fifteen). This result also
suggests that the liking for horror films amongst teenage girls seen in a 1995
survey by Sierra On-Line is not a recent phenomenon.
The computer games company Sierra On-Line commissioned market
research (Cumberbatch and Wood, 1995) to ascertain the attitudes of young
people between the ages of thirteen and eighteen to computer games in the
light of the company's then new game Phantasmagoria receiving an 18
classification from the BBFC. Data was also collected on the respondents
hobbies and interests, including their film viewing habits. 305 teenagers were
surveyed, 195 male and 110 female, and the responses of the female
participants confirm that girls like horror films as much as or more than boys.
It should be noted that there were forty-nine females in each of the younger
age groups (thirteen to fourteen and fifteen to sixteen-year-olds) but that there
were far fewer women (twelve) in the older age group (seventeen to eighteen-
year-olds). The reason given for this (p. 1) is because 'Young people were
surveyed primarily in or outside Computer Game shops ... In these locations
relatively few females in their late teens were available for interview.' This
could either be because they stop playing computer games or that they stop
going to computer games shops; either way, it may be another aspect of the
gender socialisation process. Girls may give up playing computer games for
the same reasons they stop watching horror films, it is seen as unfeminine.
Respondents were asked: 'What's your favourite kind of film/video?' and
could select one from: Animation, Action, Thrillers, Horror, Comedy,
16
Romance/Love Stories, Super Heroes, True Story or Other. Overall, 18 per
cent chose horror. As with previous surveys, horror was most popular with
the youngest age group and declined with age: 22 per cent of thirteen to
fourteen-year-olds, 19 per cent of fifteen to sixteen-year-olds and 13 per cent
of seventeen to eighteen-year-olds. 27 per cent of girls named horror as their
favourite film type, as opposed to 14 per cent of boys. Boys much prefer
Action films (44 per cent selecting it as their favourite type against 14 per cent
of girls). It seems that, boys do not like horror as much as action films,
whereas the reverse is true for girls. The BBFC report on screen violence (see
Cuif, 1996) confirms that boys prefer 'macho heroics' over horror.9
Cumberbatch and Wood express surprise that girls appear to like horror
films more than boys (p. 6): 'There are a number of interesting points to be
made here. Most striking is that Horror films emerge as the favourite film
genre among the female respondents.' However, such a result should not be
entirely unexpected given the film profiles quoted above and the long history
of female consumption of horror. That surprise is expressed at all (and that it
is repeated in an item on The Guardian's woman's page) underlines the fact
that ideals of femininity which depict women as disliking horror are extremely
entrenched in society.
The survey also indicates (p.7) that large numbers of teenagers are
claiming to have watched 18 certificated films and videos from as young as
thirteen or fourteen-years-oh 88 per cent of thirteen to fourteen-year-olds, 92
per cent of fifteen to sixteen-year-olds, and 100 per cent of seventeen to
eighteen-year-olds with no differences observed between boys and girls). The
viewing of adult films (including but not exclusively horror films) from early
or pre-teens does not seem to be confined to those playing computer games.
The Broadcasting Standards Council research working paper on Young
People and the Media (1996, p. 83) reports that 40 per cent of respondents
claimed that they had watched videos that had an 18 classification.
Presumably this figure does not include the viewing of 18 rated films on
television, and therefore the percentage of ten to seventeen-ycar-olds having
viewed adult material (presumably including horror) is likely to be much
higher. The BSC report (p. 84) also provides statistics for a group of
specified films including a number of horror and horror-related films (fl
Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Natural Born Killers and Reservoir Do gs). 34
per cent of ten to twelve-year-olds claim to have seen The Silence of the
17
Lambs and 13 per cent claim to have seen Seven. These figures rise to 54 per
cent and 17 per cent of thirteen to fourteen-year-olds respectively, and 67 per
cent and 34 per cent of fifteen to seventeen-year-olds. Survey respondents
may be exaggerating their claims to have seen 18 classified films' 0, especially
where they are asked about named films which have previously been given a
high profile in the media and there has been some controversy, but such
figures do suggest that high numbers of teenagers will indeed have seen some
adult films (possibly including horror films) as reported by Cumberbatch and
Wood. The BSC report (p. 85) states that there were clear gender differences
with boys 'far more likely to claim either that they had already seen a film or
that they would like to.' This difference from the report on computer games
players is likely to be due to the fact that the BSC were researching attitudes
to violent films in particular, rather than to 18 rated films or horror films, and
these may have been more attractive to the male respondents (as seen in the
CAA film profiles and BBFC research). The BSC qualitative research (p.85)
found that some male respondents were 'very keen on the straight-to-video
releases which tended to be quite violent (such as martial arts films).'
Overall, these surveys confirm the assumption that many younger viewers
watch horror films, but not necessarily that such viewers are predominantly
male. Barclay's study and Cumberbatch and Wood's market research for
Sierra On-Line in particular indicate that in some cases females might even
like horror films more than males. Historically, this does seem to have been
recognised on a number of occasions.
1.2 The feminine love of horror
Auerbach, in Our Vampires. Ourselves (1995, p. 3-4), recognises the fallacy
of the exclusively male horror film audience and puts this down to the
interpretation of horror films in adolescent psychosexual terms:
Jane Austen's Northaner Abbey reminds us that in the eighteenth
century, horror was by definition a woman's genre, but today
many women disclaim it (or try to), finding its alternative world
alien, almost insulting. Here as so often, though, women's
supposed resistance may unwittingly obey a taboo that originates
in male exclusivity.
The most sophisticated and best-known experts on American
popular horror insist that it is and always has been a boy's game.
Twitchell, Skal and Kendrick construct a compelling paradigm of
adolescent boys chafing against the smug domestication of the
1950s, but this paradigm assumes by definition that girls were
contented domesticators. What about those of us who weren't?
18
Skal, in Auerbach's words, 'quarantines' girls from 'vicarious bloodlust':
Skal (1990, p. 190) explains the late SOs interest in horror (which he calls
'monster culture') 'in a suburbanised, plasticised America' as answering 'a
need among male baby boomers for haunted houses instead of tract houses.'
This he puts down to a rite of passage in which the adolescent male is initiated
into 'the mysteries of sex, death and metaphysics.' Likewise Twitchell (1985,
p. 99-100), although acknowledging that adolescents of both sexes view
horror, puts the appeal of horror films down to their basis in the 'Ur-myth of
adolescence' derived from a Freudian view of an initiation into sexuality
based on a patriarchal system and dealing almost exclusively with the
fantasies of boys. Auerbach reminds us of the recent construction of a female
exclusion zone around horror which may explain the marketing of horror and
horror-related films almost entirely to male audiences and the gender
socialisation which makes horror films unacceptable entertainment for
women. It is interesting to note that in commenting on the high numbers of
women going to see Scream 2 in the Variety article referred to above, Gill
attempted to explain away this female audience by classifying the film as
some other genre, saying:
Humour plays a big part in it, because it breaks up the tension.
Also, it plays closer to a thriller than a gore-fest. Most of the
terror is suspense. It also helps that it has a young sexy cast of
women they want to be and guys they want to date.
A number of points should be noted here: i) slasher films, and other types of
horror films, often contain high levels of comedy to relieve the tension; ii) the
thriller and horror genres have always been closely linked and up until the 30s
horror films were frequently typed as thrillers and mysteries )furthennore, fan
discourse requires a fluid definition of the genre); and iii) the casting of
'women they want to be and guys they want to date' is hardly unusual in
Hollywood cinema and horror films have been no exception to that. Scream 2
is not a typical horror film, nevertheless it plays on the conventions of the
genre and relies on an audience with generic competencies. Gill's comment
may illustrate the fact that when horror films attract a large female audience,
they are often classified as something other than horror - see section IV
below.
Jancovich (1992, p. 18), however, acknowledges that horror has a long
tradition of female consumption: 'Despite claims that horror is primarily
produced and consumed by men, and that it promotes patriarchal values, there
19
has been an important and enduring tradition of horror produced and
consumed by women'. It has long been recognised that there exists a literary
tradition of what Moers (1977, pp. 90-110) identified as 'female gothic.'
Women were the primary consumers of this fiction, 'the willing audience of
the literature of horror' as Halberstam says (1995, p. 165). Jackson (1981, p.
103) asserts that this tradition fantasises 'a violent attack upon the symbolic
order and it is no accident that so many writers of a Gothic tradition are
women.' This tradition continues to the present day, with a large proportion
of horror fiction being written by female authors (for example, Nancy
Collins, Lisa Tuttle, Anne Rice, Poppy Z. Brite, Storm Constantine, among
many others). Even the female hero who emerged into contemporary horror
in the slasher film, Clover's Final Girl, is recognised as having her roots in
the Gothic tradition, specifically the female hero of the nineteenth century
Gothic novel. (That some forms of horror represent a violent attack upon the
symbolic order may remain a key to women's enjoyment of contemporary
horror, some of which may form a kind of revenge fantasy for the female
viewer - this is explored further in chapter 6.) There is evidence to suggest
that, firstly, women have always enjoyed horror and continue to do so and,
secondly, that women's consumption of horror may have been forced
'underground' or into other areas. The four points outlined below give
evidence for this.
I. Children's horror fiction
Girls make up a large proportion of the readership of the young adult Point
Horror books and Goosebumps horror fiction aimed at pre-teens. The
publisher of Goosebumps and Point Horror, Scholastic Children's Fiction,
could not supply a breakdown of the readerships of these titles by age and
sex, but Red House Book Clubs who run the Point Horror club claim that in
the younger age groups (ten to eleven-years-old) the numbers of girls and
boys in the club is evenly split, whilst in the older age groups there are more
girls in the club.'1 Red House assume this is due to the fact that boys tend to
read less as they get older. This is confirmed by a survey undertaken by the
Children's Literature Research Centre (Reynolds, 1996) which reveals that
boys read far less (and less widely) than girls as they progress through
primary education. R. L. Stine, the writer of many Point Horror and
Goosebumps titles, is named as a favourite author by far more girls aged
eleven to sixteen-years-old than boys (332 mentions by girls compared to
seventy-eight by boys); Stine is less popular with younger age groups but still
20
more popular amongst girls and is named by fifty-four seven to eleven-years-
old girls compared with thirty-six boys (figures derived from favourite
authors of 8,834 children between the ages of four and sixteen participating in
the study). Even taking into account the fact that girls do read more than
boys, the liking for horror as a fiction of choice is significant. The following
examples are representative of this trend:
I am twelve and I live in Douglas in the Isle of Man. ... My
favourite [television] programmes are Are You Afraid of the
Dark?, Clarissa Explains It All, Dracula, Real Monsters, Rugrats,
Sister, Sister. Outside of school my main interests are soccer,
playing the guitar, ... reading. My favourite books are
Goosebumps, Point Crime and Point Horror. I love dogs!
(phOOl)
I'm fourteen years old and I live in Ireland. ... My hobbies are
horse-riding, cycling and reading. ... I read The Saddle Club,
Point Horrors and Point Fantasy. (phOO2)
I will soon be twelve. ... I enjoy reading horror books (Point
Horror) and horror films. My favourites are Candvman, Night of
the Living Dead. When I'm not being scared stiff I enjoy
swimming and netball. ... I really like Lee in 211, 1 also like
Boyzone a wee bit and I used to like Take That. (ph003)
I'm a horse crazy thirteen-year-old Orcadian. I own a
Hackney/Shetland mare called The Polka Pony or Tarn to her
friends. ... I'm in the Pony Club ... I enjoy reading Saddle club
books, Point Horrors and Crimes and the Pullen-Tompson sisters
books. I also enjoy cycling and swimming. (phOO4)
These examples illustrate that reading horror fiction is a normal pastime for
many girls in their pre- and early-teens, along with cycling, horses, pop
music, swimming, netball and reading - these last all socially acceptable
activities for girls in this age group (eleven to fourteen-year-olds). For some
girls liking horror fiction may go hand in hand with watching horror films (as
indicated by ph003 above); even though horror films may not be seen as
suitable entertainment for children, evidence does suggest young people do
watch many 18 certificated films (as the market research for the BSC and
Sierra On-Line indicates). It is also possible that for many girls who like
reading horror, the taste spills over not into watching horror films (which is
discouraged for girls especially) but into other related film or television
genres.
II. Adult horror fiction
Further evidence of women's enjoyment of horror as a hidden taste or
pastime is evident in the large numbers of female readers of horror fiction
who never watch horror films. Could it be that women who have been
21
socialised into not enjoying horror in the form of the visual images contained
in these films, who have learnt to flinch or look away (as may well be the
case with many female Point Horror readers as they mature), prefer to
consume horror in the rather more private act of reading? An editorial in a
special edition of the horror magazine Fan goria on 'Women and Horror'
(Timpone, p. 6) indicates that this might be the case (my emphasis):
Several years ago, I bought this girlfriend, Christine, a
videocassette of Night of the Living Dead for Christmas. Since
she read Stephen King and Dean Koontz voraciously, I figured
that the Romero flick would be a good introduction to celluloid
terror for her. I couldn't have been more wrong. I later found out
that Christine hates horror movies. She scares easily. She can't
bear to watch any fright flicks. She even threw out my gift! I was
really shocked over her actions; there is certainly more disturbing
imagery in most of King's books than in some old black-and-
white zombie film, I reasoned.
This typifies the stereotypical feminine response to horror. Telotte (1980, p.
22) states that 'the most effective horror films operate from a distinctly visual
bias ..., and that this visual participation best explains why we find this
particular genre so satisfying - in short, why we enjoy being scared by such
films.' Obviously, some successfully socialised women who 'scare easily'
and 'can't bear to watch any fright flicks' cannot deal with this visual
participation but still retain an interest in horror entertainment by reading
horror fiction (which they can more easily self-censor and thereby control the
visualisation). Timpone's anecdotes of women in his own experience who
have liked horror is also illuminating:
Most of the opposite sex that I grew up around liked horror and
things macabre and unusual. At home, my mom introduced me to
Dark Shadows, while my older sister turned me on to Godzilla
movies, Spiderman comics and dinosaur toys. In the third grade,
I would pal around with the class tomboy, Patricia Kelly. Pat
shared my passion for Aurora monster model kits and 'spooky
movies', and teachers frequently reprimanded us in class for
talking about what Channel 9 would be showing that afternoon on
Thriller Theatre.
This would seem to confirm the picture of women of widely differing ages
liking horror as much as men, but the examples Timpone uses fit certain
stereotypes which may be regarded in some ways as asexual, androgynous or
otherwise sexually unavailable: female family members (mothers and sisters)
and tomboys (pre-adolescent girls or, possibly, lesbians). Thus
(hetero)sexual and feminine women are excluded (by this writer) from the
group of females recognised as liking horror films. And even having known
22
several female horror film viewers, Timpone regards such women as
exceptions:
Most of the women I know today, like Christine, don't enjoy
watching horror but read lots of it. Reportedly, most of the horror
fiction sold is bought by women customers. Some savour every
page of Clive Barker's Heilbound Heart novella, but will race for
the lobby in disgust during the movie adaptation, Heliraiser.
This denial of a female love of horror is typical of horror fandoms and fan
publishing, and is investigated in chapter 7. Timpone does question why this
might be:
Why can some women stomach the gore on the printed page but
not on the silver screen? One female horror editor explained this
contradiction to me as the Flinch Factor: a person reading a horror
novel allows their mind to act as a gatekeeper, and will only 'let
in' or visualise what is essentially safe and non-threatening to
them, regardless of what appears on the page.
Timpone's (and the unnamed editor's) assumptions that women only
visualise 'safe' horrors (a form of self-censorship) must be questioned and,
although it would need to be investigated further in a study of female horror
fiction readers, women are recognised as being interested in real events which
might be termed horrific and enjoy visual reconstructions of such events as
well as reading about them.
III. True life crime
Recent market research into the popularity of Madam Tussaud's Chamber of
Horrors when investigating the Chamber's re-development (Saw Associates
& Cantor, 1996, p. 13) is interesting in this context since it 'showed it to be
more popular with women than men, with over twice as many women than
men liking it'. Again, this reinforces the supposition that women are as, if not
more, attracted to horrific images as men:
A quarter of women (vs. a fifth of men) said that it 'wasn't
horrible enough', nearly a quarter said it was 'too tame' and one
in ten said it wasn't gory enough. Those women who were
satisfied with the gore content actually said they enjoyed it
because it was gory and many thought it was better than they had
expected because it had 'stories of murders'. No men made
mention of either of these two dimensions, instead talking about
liking the realism, sound and light effects.
In a follow-up survey (ibid., p. 13) researching opinions of the re-developed
Chamber of Horrors, more women than men thought 'the scene of prisoners
being tortured was especially good'.
23
The report expresses surprise that women like horror - stating (p. 13) that
'the image of women as "shrinking violets" is certainly not supported' and
'this apparent steely female ability to cope with blood and gore better than
men'. This mirrors the surprise expressed in the Sierra On-Line study (see
section 1.1.2). That women might like horror does appear to be a constant
source of amazement, however frequently research reveals it, and again
illustrates just how pervasive is the idea that an interest in horror is
unfeminine.
An important aspect of women's enjoyment of the Chamber of Honors is
that it depicts real-life murders, serial or mass killers and other horrific
events. Recognition is widespread that true-life crime books have a majority
female readership and there are large numbers of women who read magazines
such as True Life Crimes (see Smith, 1994, p. 25), indicating that women in
particular might be fascinated by violent events or psychopathologies. Very
little demographic data on the readerships of such books is available, however
a staff representative at Waterstone's bookshop in Edinburgh confirmed that
the majority of customers purchasing true-life crime books are female and a
male crime writer responding to a query in The Guardian's 23 April 1997
'Notes and Queries' column about female readership of masculine fiction
stated that his books had a large female readership. An American author of
true crime books states in an article in the woman's magazine Options (Rule,
1997, pp. 46): 'I can't count the number of times that someone - usually a
young mother with a toddler and a baby in a stroller - has come up to me at a
bookshop signing and said "I'm fascinated by your books".' It should be
noted however that there is not a large overlap between the female horror film
viewers taking part in this study and the readerships of true-life crime books -
only 25 per cent of the survey respondents state they are regular readers of
such material. Again, this suggests that women socialised out of horror film
viewing might be indulging their taste for horror in other areas.
IV. Something other than horror
It may also be that horror fiction is more widely consumed by women than
recognised since much of it has been classified as fantasy or a related genre
other than horror (as illustrated by the reactions to Scream 2 noted above).
For example, Jancovich (1993, p. 109) claims that honor fiction written by
women 'does not fit the limited definition of horror which prevails in this
country ..., nor does it fit the kinds of literature associated with women's, or
even feminist, writing.' Women then have become a hidden readership of
24
horror, instead being labelled as readers of other types of fiction. A similar
process can be seen within cinema where images, narratives and affects
similar, if not identical, to those contained in horror films have been
incorporated into other genres such as domestic and maternal melodramas and
thus not recognised as horror, especially since such films do not contain the
more typical representation of the monstrous as a supernatural and physically
frightening figure (see, for instance, Fischer writing on the thriller in
Cinematernitv, 1996, pp. 131-61). As Doane (1985, p. 68, my emphasis)
wrote when describing the woman's film:
The 'woman's film' is not a 'pure' genre ... . It is crossed and
informed by a number of other genres or types - melodrama, film
noir, the gothic or horror film - and finds its point of unification
ultimately in the fact of its address.
Women's films closely related to the horror film may include The Hand That
Rocks The Cradle, Misery, The Accused and Mortal Thoughts - see Fischer
and also Clover (1992a). The satellite and cable channel UK Living which is
aimed at women with a mix of soaps, talk shows and cookery, fashion and
home craft programs (its advertising claims it is 'the UK's only dedicated
women's channel') also frequently screens films with horror content. During
the summer months of 1996 these included David Cronenberg's Dead
Ringers, films from The Stepford Wives series, a large number of thrillers
about women being stalked (including more mainstream rape-revenge films),
and many true-life dramas with Grand Guignol touches (one of which, Ih
Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom, even has a title which echoes that of the
infamous 'nasty' Texas Chain Saw Massacre). Strictly speaking, these are
not horror films, but many of them do fit into Clover's and Fischer's
classifications.
In addition, gothic horror continues to be recognised as having a female
audience, and recent examples have been marketed as romance, whilst some
criticism of the films has centred on them not being true horror films or being
ineffectual horror films (such criticism centres on a definition of horror in its
post-70s 'gore' format rather than the more atmospheric earlier horror films -
see below for a closer examination of genre definitions and boundaries). The
advertising campaigns for the neo-Gothic horror films are markedly different
to the campaigns for films such as Natural Born Killers and Reservoir Dogs;
furthermore, several of the recent gothic cycle are either not acknowledged as
horror films (for example, Wolf) or seen as unsuccessful (that is, not
25
frightening) horror by writers in the horror fan press (this has been
particularly true of Bram Stoker's Dracula). The campaigns for Bram
Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Wolf and Interview With the
Vampire all played up the gothic romance. Notable among such examples are
posters for Bram Stoker's Dracula with the line 'Love Never Dies', a soft
focus portrait of the stars of Interview With The Vampire under the phrase
'The sexiest bloodsuckers in town' and Wolf's moody sepia-toned poster
(with the exception of Nicholson's glowing yellow eye, not unlike a
photographic image from a Haagan-Daz advertisement) of lead actors Jack
Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer which hints at the sexual overtones to the
werewolf transformation with the line 'The Animal Is Out.' On the other
hand, many recent films with strong female leads which have proved popular
with women are not often marketed specifically with the female audience in
mind. Films such as Aliens, Terminator 2 and The Silence of the Lambs with
large production budgets have a correspondingly high advertising budget to
attract as large an audience as possible (see Tasker, 1993, p. 3). Some media
coverage does, however, highlight the female lead, and although this may be
designed to attract male viewers, it also emphasises a strong or active female
character. The advertising for Aliens, for example, proclaimed 'The bitch is
back' (referring both to the alien creature and to Ripley). Posters for Ib
Silence of the Lambs depicted a soft focus close up of Jodie Foster, her
mouth covered by a death's head moth, and the tag line 'Clarice Starling,
FBI, Brilliant, Vulnerable, Alone, She must trust him to stop the killer'
(although this emphasises that the female lead must rely on a man to carry out
her job, it also indicates that the character is an independent professional).
And while the poster for Terminator 2 sold the film on the star presence of
Arnold Schwarzenegger, many of the publicity stills used in press and
magazine coverage of the film depicted Linda Hamilton dressed in a singlet
which exposed her muscled arms and canying a large machine gun.
The marketing of horror to women is not a new phenomenon, although in
the past publicity focused as much on the horror as on the romance. Publicity
surrounding Universal's Dracula emphasised the appeal of horror to female
viewers. An interview with Bela Lugosi in the film magazine Motion Picture
Classic entitled 'The Feminine Love of Horror' at the time of the release of
Dracula (text reproduced in Skal, 1990, p. 149) quotes Lugosi12 as saying:
But it is women who love horror. Gloat over it. Feed on it. Are
nourished by it. Shudder and cling and cry out - and come back
26
for more. Women have a predestination to suffering. It is women
who bear the race in bloody agony. Suffering is a kind of horror.
Blood is a kind of horror. Therefore women are born with a
predestination to horror in their very bloodstream. It is a
biological thing.
Taken as an example of publicity encouraging women to see the film, it
illustrates the attraction of horror to a female audience as well as a male one.
The interview also quotes Lugosi on the audience for the stage version of
Dracula:
When I was playing Dracula on the stage, my audiences were
women. Women. There were men, too. Escorts the women had
brought with them. For reasons only their dark subconscious
knew. In order to establish a subtle sex intimacy. Contact. In
order to cling and to feel the sensuous thrill of protection. Men
did not come of their own volition. Women did. Came - and
knew an ecstasy dragged from the depths of unspeakable things.
Came - and then came back again. And again.
This material is sensationalist in nature, but Lugosi certainly received large
amounts of fan mail from women who had seen him play Dracula both on the
stage and in the film (Skal, 1990, p. 149). A more recent example of this
phenomenon is reported in an interview with Anthony Hopkins in the film
magazine Neon (March 1998, p. 9); talking about his role as Hannibal Lecter
in The Silence of the Lambs he says: 'People ask me to do the fava bean
speech. Women particularly like that sort of thing.' The sexual appeal of the
character Hannibal Lecter was also the subject of much debate by members of
the Horror in Films and Fiction e-mail list service during a period of
observation of Internet-based horror fan discussion.
The belief that women might enjoy blood and gore as a result of their
biological femininity also occurs in the Tussaud's report (p. 13):
Women tend to be more tolerant about visceral things because
they have more direct personal experience of them. They cope
with periods once a month, they go through childbirth and they
are usually the ones who look after the bleeding and battered
limbs when the kids take a tumble. They can put blood and gore
in context and generally cope better than men.
It is simplistic to suggest that women enjoy horror solely or mainly because
of their biology (though it might suggest a social tension in that women are
socialised into finding fictional blood and gore displeasurable, yet expected to
deal with it on an almost daily basis in social situations such as child care and
'female' careers such as nursing), nevertheless it illustrates the point that
women enjoy horror and continue to view horror films for more complex
27
reasons than that they are attending the screening with their teenage date who
can demonstrate his manliness by protecting them from the horrific images on
the screen. Clover acknowledges this (p. 23): 'girls too went to slasher
movies, usually in the company of boyfriends but sometimes in same-sex
groups (my impression is that the Nightmare on Elm Street series in particular
attracted girls in groups).'
Together, these factors raise a number of important issues about female
consumption of horror and in particular the female viewers of honor films.
There is little indication of what allows some women to be able to watch or
visualise horror films while others seem unable to do so. Are they adopting a
male position vis-?-vis the horror film gaze (Mulvey, 1975) or do they simply
possess some mechanism (innate or learnt) which makes them better able to
deal with being scared than some other women are? Are those women who
obviously enjoy horror fiction but cannot deal with film images of (fictional)
honor adopting expected feminine reactions only superficially because they
have been socialised into so doing? In public, women might make a pretence
of being frightened or have learnt habitually to flinch at horror. Reading is
private and horror fiction can therefore be consumed 'legitimately' or at least
without attracting negative comment (this response may be related to the way
in which female fans of soap opera and romance fiction hide their
consumption from men for fear of being derided for it, thought to be one
reason why women watch or read such genres alone or only in the company
of other women). True-life horror and crime is similarly derided as low-brow
or unhealthy and it too may be a hidden taste. This is not to say that women's
consumption of such material is unhealthy; indeed women's consumption and
appropriation of such texts is often active and enjoyable for these women
(see, for instance, Radway on romance fiction readers, Ang on Dallas
viewers or Penley on Star Trek fans). These issues, particularly relating to
socialisation and the idea of being able to handle horror, are developed further
in chapters 4 through 6.
1.3 The female horror film audience
Women then, do go to honor films, often in large numbers, and enjoy them.
Even though, like many other writers on the genre, Clover continues the
tradition of concentrating on the male horror film spectator, she at least
recognises the failing of such a bias (1992b, p. 7): 'My interest in the male
viewer's stake in horror spectatorship is such that I have consigned to virtual
28
invisibility all other members of the audience, despite the fact that their loyalty
and engagement can be just as ardent and their stake in the genre just as
deserving of attention.' This, and the fact that theoretically the female horror
film spectator raises several problematical issues (as explored in the next
chapter), suggest that the female horror film audience is an important subject
for study. By focusing on female viewers of horror cinema, it is hoped to
ascertain what is at stake for women in the audience, especially those who -
contrary to popular perceptions - may enjoy the images of horror and violence
that are on view.
1.3.1 The horror genre
Given that the recent preoccupation with the slasher film and the heavy bias
towards psychoanalytically-based textual analysis may be limiting the
understanding of the female horror film audience in terms of numbers and
responses, and that women's consumption of horror may be diverted into
other areas (due to socialisation and other factors), it is important to establish
what films are of interest here. What are the parameters of the horror genre in
this context?
As is widely recognised there are difficulties with definitions of any genre,
both in outlining the generic boundaries and in classifying individual films
which very often defy categorisation. Horror in itself is a very diverse genre
with its origins in a number of different production styles, as well as in
several national film industries outside America. In recognition of the fact that
genres are not discrete, fixed or strictly differentiated (Neale, 1980), this
study will not set out to define horror cinema (or a subset thereof); such an
endeavour is not relevant to this project and puts restrictions in advance on the
specific styles and films the research subjects (that is, members of the female
audience) might consider to be horror. As Jancovich (1996, p. 10) has
established, 'the differential distribution of cultural competencies and
dispositions means that different audiences have different senses of how
genres are defined and where the boundaries between them lie.' Since genre
categories as defined by fans and different sections of the audience can be
loose and indefinite, it is superfluous to define the horror genre; as Jancovich
(p. 11) states 'the genre distinctions which usually dominate within film
studies seem almost irrelevant.' In a study such as this one which focuses on
the audience rather than the text, any definition of the genre is bound to be
irrelevant since the individual viewers taking part in study will undoubtedly
29
hold their own ideas of what films constitute the boundaries of honor (or,
indeed, what is horrific). Nonetheless, it is important to clarify what, in the
context of this study, is meant by the term horror in order to ascertain: a) the
range of emotional and physical affects which might be deemed part of the
horror film viewing experience; b) any possibility that certain types or forms
of horror are preferred by the female viewers (within their own definitions of
what they accept as honor films); and c) whether female viewers might be
reading honor films in particular ways. Since this study is concerned with
one audience segment not usually taken into account in honor genre criticism,
it is also useful to examine what might be meant by references to 'the honor
genre' or 'honor films' by this audience. In calling for 'an altered research
practice which would focus on the complexities of everyday cultural use',
Radway (1988, p. 362-3) points out the danger of setting audiences 'in
relation to a single set of isolated texts which qualify already as categorically
distinct objects.' Rather, we should consider the nomadic character of the
subjects, and indeed the subjects under study here are cultural users of a wide
range of generic material (including science fiction, fantasy and historical
costume drama) and make use of the cultural products in a number of ways in
their everyday lives. It is proposed, therefore, whilst still attempting to keep
focused on the fans and followers of a particular group of cultural texts, to
take a broad view of the genre and for this reason films (and other cultural
products) only marginally related to the honor genre must be taken into
consideration.
Firstly, some definition is required in order to establish the parameters of
the different types or styles of film classed as honor by the participants. As
stated above, horror cinema is composed of a large number of heterogeneous
film styles and narrative structures taking in atmospheric chillers,
psychological thrillers, the various kinds of occult or supernatural films and
the special effects-driven splatter and gore films, as well as the classic Gothic
honors and monster movies. Many subsets of the honor film are,
theoretically, classifiable as quasi-generic groups in their own right, often
sharing few characteristics with other horror subgroups. In addition, the
horror film, although most often thought of as a low budget genre, is spread
across a wide scale of financing from major Hollywood studio films through
to B-movies or independent self-financed productions and this is often
obvious in the differing production qualities of such extremes of budget as
well as the marketing and distribution of the film and the stars or actors
30
associated with the different types or periods of horror films. As Wailer
(1987, p. 1) states: 'The modern horror film is an extraordinarily diverse
group of texts.' This means that defining the horror genre as a whole, rather
than focusing on smaller distinct sub-sets of films within the genre, is
extremely difficult from a theoretical perspective. Furthermore, the genre has
evolved substantially over time taking in, amongst others, German
Expressionist cinema, Italian and British horror cycles, the films of the
American studio Universal in the 30s, the SOs alien invasion and monster
movies and American International Pictures' Edgar Allen Poe cycle. Although
the most recent forms of horror are important in considering the contemporary
audience, repeat screenings on television channels, the prevalence of the VCR
and the large numbers of older horror films available on video mean that all
forms and eras of the horror film have continuing relevance to the fan
audience.
Definitions of the horror genre used in many theoretical studies are
deliberately narrow, yet they raise important issues for this work. For
example, Carroll (1990) takes as a starting point for his philosophical analysis
of the pleasures of the horror film the concept of art horror which he defines
as films in which the human characters within the diegesis of the film regard
the monster as abnormal (p. 16), physically repulsive (p. 18) and frightening
(p. 19). The problem with such a definition is that it potentially excludes what
the audience considers to be frightening (indeed, Carroll's definition excludes
with what he terms 'tales of dread' (p. 42) - films which contain a monster
which is not abnormal, repulsive and frightening). Carroll excludes The Fly
(1986) from his study, for example, because the heroine acts sympathetically
towards the monster. This sympathetic response may be important in the
context of readings of the horror film made by female viewers.' 3 Certainly,
there are elements other than the monster within horror films which are
abnormal, repulsive or frightening and the existence of a repulsive
'supernatural or sci-fi monster' (p. 15) is by no means guaranteed. In the case
of The Fly the heroine fears, not the monster, but the embryo conceived with
the man before or during his metamorphosis, and she is desperate to have the
pregnancy aborted. It is this unborn child which is abject, appearing in her
dream as a huge maggot, and she is unable to consider carrying it to full term
even though it may be the monster's last hope of humanity. In other words,
feminine aspects of horror may be elsewhere, but no less present, in the text
of films with a sympathetic and human monster. (Carroll's thesis on the
31
paradox of horror - that is, why some people find enjoyment in the negative
emotions the honor film causes - is nevertheless pertinent to this study.)
Many theories of honor and horror film spectatorship similarly limit
themselves, but to specific subgroups or quasi-genres: Clover's study in
Men, Women and Chainsaws (1992b) concentrates on post-60s examples of
the genre including the slasher film, the rape-revenge movie, occult films and
the city-country boundary film; Dika (1990) focuses solely on a core set of
slasher films from 1978-8 1 in her consideration of cinema and the socio-
political situation in Reagan's America; Creed (1993) is concerned with
representations of the monstrous femininity within the horror genre and her
selection of honor films containing feminine monsters includes a science
fiction horror film, a psychological thriller and the rape-revenge cycle. These
quite necessary restrictions are appropriate in works based on textual analysis
which consider the theoretical masculine spectator, but do mean that theories
of horror from recent research are not particularly pertinent in the context of
the female audience. Creed's selection of films, however, emphasises the
problem of keeping the definition of horror within its boundaries, as do
Clover's (who examines low-budget exploitation cinema as well as honor).
Accordingly, a fluid definition of the honor genre is required. Tudor
(1989, p. 6) proposes a 'catholic definition of the genre.' This allows
consideration of many films which might be overlooked in a more specific
study and is appropriate when considering how actual viewers might define
the boundaries of the genre. In particular, it helps deal with problematical
films on the genre boundaries or which are only peripherally horror films.
Tudor (p. 17) performed a content analysis of 990 films released in the UK
between 1931 and 1984 and found that: 'Almost 80 per cent of them fall quite
unproblematically within the genre. The remaining 20 per cent occupy the
genre boundaries in a variety of ways.' The 20 per cent of films on the
boundaries of the genre are usually either films whose content is
predominantly horror but which also contain elements shared with other
genres (these are primarily science fiction films) or belong to other genres but
contain major elements derived from the horror film (psychological thrillers,
for example). This is clearly an unwieldy and over inclusive definition of
honor for an textual study, though suitable for Tudor's content analysis and a
similarly inclusive definition will, through necessity and practicality, be
required in this work.
32
Despite the difficulties with genre classification (and the problems with
genre theory itself), the horror film is one of the few generic types widely
regarded, by audiences, the industry and the popular media, as a distinctive,
if not easily definable, film genre. The horror genre is seen in a unique light,
as Wood (1979, p. 173) states:
The horror film has consistently been one of the most popular
and, at the same time, the most disreputable of Hollywood
genres. The popularity itself has a peculiar characteristic that sets
the horror film apart from other genres: it is resiricted to
aficionados and complemented by total rejection, people tending
to go to horror films either obsessively or not at all.
The horror film, then, is expected to have a discrete and strongly loyal
audience, the vast majority of film viewers either showing a strong liking for
the genre or a total dislike, with little feeling in between these extremes.
Barclay (1961), for example, reports that teenagers had strong feelings about
horror films with 98 per cent of the sample selecting horror as either a most
liked or a most disliked genre. Furthermore, as Newman (1992, p. 16)
recognises, this audience tends to have a high level of generic competence:
'Few areas of cinema depend so much on the loyalty and inside knowledge of
their audiences.' The industry markets the films accordingly, horror films are
written about and reviewed in specialist magazines (many published and/or
written by fans), while press reviews often apply the term horror to films in a
pejorative manner in order to pass over a film or depict it as low-brow
entertainment (as in the opening example from The Financial Times).
The notion of horror being easily definable may be a misconception (the
horror genre being a collection of several different types of films); however in
examining real audiences, it is important to consider populist or fan
definitions of the genre since it is these, or similar, which the horror film
audience are likely to use for their own concept of horror and to some extent -
since fan participation is high in horror publishing - the popular definition of
horror is audience led. A catholic definition of horror is therefore important in
the context of this study since the audience members studied may be expected
to have a similar, and similarly broad, definition of horror - even if they like
horror films for different reasons. Within horror fandom the boundaries of
the genre are extremely fluid as evidenced by the following examples:
? the Aurum Encyclopaedia of Horror includes mainstream thrillers such as
Fatal Attraction, Blue Steel and Basic Instinct,'4 other forms of the fright
film such as Jaws and melodramas like What Ever Happened To Baby
33
Jane?, as well as avant garde, surrealist or otherwise difficult to classify
films such as Picnic At Hanging Rock and Eraserhead;
horror is closely associated with other genres in most horror magazines
which cover a range of related film types: science fiction, fantasy, action
adventures (including the James Bond films), animation, exploitation
cinema and rape-revenge films;
? honor/science-fiction/fantasy magazines such as Cinefantastigue use
similarly broad classifications of horror - the latter's annual box office
statistics regularly include a number of mainstream films. Almost 50 per
cent of these films for 1991-2 could be classified as thrillers or comedies
rather than honor (far more than suggested by Tudor's 4:1 split; although
the very small sample size from a limited time period renders this
statistically insignificant it does illustrate that fan definitions can be
extremely dispersed);
? honor magazines often include features and coverage on a wide range of
art films and filmmakers (including Jan Svankmajer, Peter Greenaway
and David Lynch in recent issues of horror fanzines).
These examples may reflect the horror fan's nomadic interests rather than
their classifications of the genre, nevertheless they illustrate the difficulties
with keeping honor confined within distinct genre boundaries especially
where fan discourse is concerned.
Whilst the falling number of honor films being produced is a major reason
why the honor magazines are covering mainstream films (as well as the need
to maximise sales by attracting the widest audience possible), it may also be a
result of the movement of horror's generic conventions into mainstream
American cinema, as argued by Clover (1992a). This needs to be related back
to Clover's own hypothesis in Men. Women and Chainsaws that the audience
for mainstream honor films contain a larger proportion of women. It may be
important in writing about the female audience to argue that these films are a
kind of honor film, albeit in diluted form, which are marketed differently
from other examples of honor-related films (as outlined above). Horror
retains the public image of a disreputable genre, and labelling a film horror
may mean it is less acceptable to a mainstream audience. Further evidence is
found for this in the horror press where film-makers are quoted as saying that
their latest film is 'not a horror film' (for example, Wes Craven with Jk
Serpent and the Rainbow, Cronenberg with Dead Rin gers). The economics of
the American film industry makes a necessity of maximising audiences,
whilst the political climate (see, for example, Medved's attack on the film
industry in Hollywood vs. America, 1992) has led to increasing
unacceptability of more extreme forms of horror and violence in the media.
These factors may play an important part in the kinds of films made in the
34
USA and the marketing strategies outlined above. However, the use of horror
film conventions outside the genre has a long history. Prawer, in his account
of horror cinema in Caligan's Children (1980, p. 38), traces a line of works
which 'as a whole clearly do not belong to the genre in question but which
embody references to that genre, or contain sequences that derive from, allude
to, or influence it.' Examples of such films are, he says, Ingmar Bergman's
Wild Strawberries and The Face, Citizen Kane, Rebecca and Sunset Blvd.
The overlap of horror with other genres is important in a study of the
female audience since many of the horror-related films popular with women
can be classified as forms of the woman's film (as thrillers or melodramas,
for example). This should not be taken as a case for the existence of a
feminine form of the contemporary horror film, but it does illustrate the
difficulties of generic classification of possibly feminine forms of horror.
This is a crucial point in the study of how female audiences respond to
horror, since women reacting in pleasurable ways to images of horror or
terror may - because the horror film is not regarded as suitable viewing for
women - seek them out in various related film forms or genres such as
psychological thrillers, true-life melodramas, fantasies or other similar film
types (see section 1.2 above). If Clover's supposition in Men. Women and
Chainsaws that the more mainstream a horror film then the larger the
proportion of the audience is female is true, it may simply be that it is more
socially acceptable for women to consume films categorised as mainstream.
In this respect, a potentially useful aspect of the classification of films as
horror (and one which seems to be used by many of the fans) is where
emotional affect rather than generic characteristics become the focal point of
the definition. As Twitchell (1985, p. 8) states: 'Horror art is not, strictly
speaking, a genre: it is rather a collection of motifs in a usually predictable
sequence that gives us a specific physiological effect - the shivers.' Twitchell
(p. 11) describes what he calls the shiver sensation as first and foremost a
physiological response - for example, getting the goosebumps (hompilation).
The fantastic terrorfilm, a term used by Prawer (1980), is defined within a
model of genre which is extremely fluid (p. 17) and is closely tied to
'sensations of safely terrifying shock' (p. 9). As already shown, the horror
film does not have sole ownership of images or narratives that inspire or are
centred on horripilation and other related emotions. According to Prawer, for
example, the works of the surrealists and their successors are closely related
35
to the horror film in their intent to create displeasure in the audience. As vill
be shown, horror fans and viewers frequently rely on such affect in their own
categorisation of films as horror and, although a reliance solely on emotional
responses to films as a basis for the classification of honor can be
misleading, this should not be a problem in the context of this study. (It might
be that the viewers are responding to what they as individuals find horrific,
but they are in the most part aware of this - see chapter 5.) Whilst it might be
theoretically advisable to take into account, as Twitchell indicates, the
narrative and generic motifs employed as well as affect when defining such a
popular genre as honor, it is also necessary to listen and be led by the
audience. As Jancovich maintains, such an approach is bona fide. In addition,
Tudor (1989, pp. 3-6) states that: 'a popular genre is significantly constituted
by the conceptions of it held by its audience as well as by the texts that
instantiate it' and 'a genre is a special kind of subculture, a set of conventions
of narrative, setting, characterisation, motive, imagery, iconography and so
on, which exists in the practical consciousness of those fluent in its
"language".'
A study of women's tastes within honor cinema has to recognise that their
preferences will take in a whole variety of forms of the honor film and related
genres. As Tudor (p. 6) states, a genre is a social construction; it is subject to
'variable understanding by different users at different times and in different
contexts.' It is therefore not intended to provide a strict definition of the
honor genre, which may well be a meaningless task in any case, as Wailer
(1987, p. 6) observed: '... given the diversity of the genre since 1968, it is
impossible, I think, to define once and for all the essence of modern honor.'
At this stage, then, it is proposed that a loose definition of horror should
suffice; this is both useful in designing the audience research and also in
locating the female audience with respect to the genre. Narrower definitions
of categories of horror were nevertheless appropriate during the audience
research, particularly in the design of the questionnaire and focus groups and
during the analysis of results. This categorisation of honor was necessary
only to help focus the study and enable the exploration of the specific tastes of
the female audience and these are considered further in chapter 4.
1.3.2 Researching the female audience
Having established that a sometimes substantial female audience exists for
some horror films, and having ascertained that the honor genre can be
36
defined in a loose fashion which includes forms of the horror film which
women enjoy, something should be said here about the decisions which led to
the original choice of the female horror film audience as a subject for study.
As noted above, individuals either love or loath the genre and regard
themselves as being able or not able to view horror films. In terms of
conducting an audience study, then, the horror film is an ideal choice because
it has a readily identifiable core audience consisting of large numbers of fans
who might be expected to read specialist or fan publications and participate in
fan groups and events, making it potentially straightforward to locate those
people who repeatedly watch (and therefore it is assumed enjoy) the genre.
As the subject of such avid fandom, horror has generated its own publishing
industry with a large number of magazines and fanzines dedicated only to
horror films and related material, horror film festivals and conventions (often
in conjunction with other genre fandoms such as science fiction - these
fandoms often overlap quite significantly) are held frequently and a large
number of societies and fan groups (again there is some overlap with science
fiction fandom) exist which publish newsletters and hold meetings around the
country. All these offer a means of making contact with fans and followers.
As a genre, horror is also widely despised: it is often considered as a low-
brow form of entertainment (along with science fiction, comics, and computer
games) and is frequently referred to in pejorative terms. Horror films are
frequently cast as scapegoats, being blamed in the UK press for a range of
social problems as evidenced by the outcry over Child's Play 3 after the
murder of James Bulger, the banning or delaying of films such as fl,
Exorcist, Natural Born Killers and Crash at the cinema or on video, the
continuing debates about video nasties and snuff movies (which have never
been proven to exist) and the linking of crimes, particularly murder, with
films such as Scream and Natural Born Killers (often unsubstantiated). This
evokes strong feelings in those people who do have a liking for horror (and
who might regard themselves as well-balanced and normal members of
society), and many are undoubtedly used to defending their tastes. Many
horror film fans and viewers are thus likely to have thought about issues
arising from the viewing of horror films and it was assumed a large enough
number would be willing to make their views known in an academic study.
This does have drawbacks since the participants may have read quite widely
on the subject and be aware of at least some of the academic debate
37
surrounding the genre and in focus groups and interviews they may simply
repeat what they think a researcher wants to hear or to re-state opinions
widely disseminated in fandom. However, it is not felt that this should
unduly impede this work as long as such biases are recognised and accounted
for. Further consideration of the problems of conducting an audience study of
this kind is given in chapter 3.
A further reason for the choice of the horror film audience as the subject of
study is my own interest in horror and related genres (science fiction and
fantasy) dating back to childhood. This provides a level of proximate
knowledge advantageous in directing discussion during focus groups and
interviews and is also useful in allaying fears concerning 'exploitation' or not
being taken seriously when recruiting subjects. I am not the first to admit to
such tastes. Other female academics and critics have described their liking for
horror influencing their choice of research topic (in a similar way to that in
which feminist critics admitted to their own pleasurable consumption of
romance fiction and soap operas in the 80s - see Penley (1991b), for
example). My own reactions and responses to horror films have also led me
to question some of the academic canon of horror film spectatorship, just as
Auerbach does in Our Vampires. Ourselves (1995, p. 3-4):
When I was twelve or thirteen, some enterprising ghoul began to
televise 1930s horror movies on Saturday nights. These shadowy
monsters were a revelation to my best friend and me. Trying to
make us popular, our worried parents forced us away from
Transylvania to dances and parties, where we spent most of the
evening making vampire faces at each other with horrible
contortions. We weren't popular (that beatifying condition of the
mid-1950s); the monster-loving boys now supposed to have been
prevalent in those years never showed up at our parties; but we
did feel we had found a secret talisman against a nice girl's life.
Vampires were supposed to menace women, but to me at least,
they promised protection against a destiny of girdles, spike heels,
and approval. I am writing in part to reclaim them for a female
tradition, one that has not always known its allies.
For this reason, Auerbach questions the male-bias of much of the work on
horror film spectators (see section 1.2. above). Similarly, Kryszynska tells of
her own rather more specific liking for lesbian vampire films and it enabling
her to explore her emerging sexuality (1995, p. 99):
Early in my teens, along with my best friend, I was seduced by
the beautiful vampire who went by the name of Carmilla (Ingrid
Pitt in The Vampire Lovers...). This vampire fed our growing
curiosity about our bodies and presented us with the beginnings
of a shared fantasy in whose anns we could begin to explore our
38
sexualities. The vampire offered an articulation for our fantasies,
and as a result my fantasy life has been imbued by the icon of the
'Hammer Horror' female vampire of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Such examples (Pinado, 1997, is another) illustrate the very different (and
pleasurable) reactions women have to horror films and especially the vampire
film. For the lesbian viewer, these films open up avenues for the exploration
of lesbian sexuality, whilst for the heterosexual viewer, the films offer an
alternative form of desirable femininity, one at odds with accepted social
norms. By and large, though, women's pleasurable responses to the horror
film have been ignored in the research, marginalising the horror film
spectatrix. Examining the responses of the female horror film fan, then, may
provide an understanding of the horror genre beyond the theoretical and
textual readings associated with male spectatorship, and explore what is at
stake for the female viewer. It is also possible that such research can
contribute to the reconceptualisation of an active female horror film spectator.
The following chapter provides such a theoretical context for this study.
Reproduced in Hutchings, 1993, pp. 7-8.
2	 in Crane, 1994, p. 18fn5.
3 Figures were supplied in a memo from the CAA. The selection of films was determined
by those profiles available for recent mainstream films. Figures were requested for a number
of other horror films (including the Hellraiser series, Henr y: Portrait of a Serial Killer,
Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview With the Vam pire but these were unavailable. It
would have been interesting to compare figures for a lower budget, less mainstream horror
film, but again figures were not available. Several of the films are borderline horror or
generic hybrids but have been included since they are often discussed in horror fandom.
One of Weaver's survey took place during the film's opening weekend and Phase
Two after the film had been on general release for two weeks.
'rogue males' are, according to Twitchell (p. 69): 'older men (never women)...,
usually sitting separately, often by themselves.' Twitchell goes on to say that: 'If you
watch these men closely, you see that they do not act in step with the rest of the audience.'
He claims that they are there to witness (and vicariously participate in) the violence against
women portrayed in the films, whereas the adolescents are involved in cheering the heroine
on.
UCI multiplex cinema was also approached but would not give permission to carry
out a similar survey. The reason given was that they were unwilling to reveal numbers of
viewers in individual film screenings.
term 'fan' has many negative connotations and some women in the study dislike the
term or do not see themselves as fans (see chapter 7). The term 'habitual viewer' also
implies that the viewer has little or no control over their consumption of horror films. This
is not the case and many of the women in the focus groups objected to the idea that they
were addicted to horror films. These viewers do watch a wide selection of films and their
viewing of horror films is not always their first choice. The term 'follower' (as used in
many fan studies including Tulloch & Jenkins, 1995) is therefore used in preference to
'habitual viewer' throughout the text.
this was a large scale and comprehensive survey undertaken for a major film
institution it was hoped that the raw data might still be available, however neither the BFI
nor the authors were able to provide access.
9 This may be worth further consideration in the light of Carol Clover's model of the
theoretical young male spectator's identification with the 'final girl' of the slasher film,
though there may be cultural differences at work here. Further research is needed in this area,
39
in particular an audience study of the male viewer and a comparative analysis between UK
and US audiences.
film Natural Born Killers for example had not received a television screening nor was
it available on video at the time of the report, but it is of course possible that teenagers
could have seen the film illegally at the cinema or watched bootleg video copies of the film.
"Information supplied by Magdalena Homer, editor of the Point Horror Book Club
magazine.
12 Skal, making reference to this interview in The Monster Show (1993), believes it to have
been Tod Browning who was being quoted and not Lugosi (p. 126-7).
13 Such a response is captured in the film The Seven Year Itch in a scene which takes place
moments before Marilyn Monroe's iconic pose over the subway vent. The lead characters
have just seen The Creature From the Black La2oon:
F: Didn't you just love the picture? I did. But I just felt so sorry for the creature. At the
end.
M: Sorry for the creature? Why, d'you want him to marry the girl?
F: He was kinda scary looking. But he wasn't really all bad. I think he just craved a little
affection. You know. Being loved and needed and wanted.
One focus group participant gave a similar response when commenting on the sequel
Revenge of the Creature: 'I was so sorry for the poor monster, oh just put him back, leave
him alone, stop poking him with that horrible electric thing, just put him back where he
was.' (fglO2)
'4 1t is also interesting to note that most of the films mentioned in this context, as well as
many other marginal entries, are all concerned with women depicted as action heroine and/or
psycho-bitch (see Yvonne Tasker, 1993). Images of strong, sexual or predatory females are
often to be found in the horror genres - in the role of the predatory female vampire
especially. This is often attributed to male fears of women, and may partially explain these
films inclusion in this encyclopaedia.
40
Chapter 2
Spectators and Viewers in the Feminist Methodology
2.1 Female spectators and horror cinema
As the demographic profiles of contemporary cinema audiences - as
established in chapter 1 - suggest, women can comprise up to 50 per cent of
horror film audiences. Given, then, that active female horror film viewers do
exist and may constitute a sizeable proportion of the total audience, and
recognising that these female viewers may experience a multiplicity of
pleasures in viewing horror, problems emerge in relation to established theory
in the areas of spectatorship and identification. In particular, the findings of
chapter 1 look to be at odds with the positioning of the theoretical horror film
spectatrix as reluctant or immasculated and, at the very least, alternative
models of generic and gendered spectatorship must be considered. This is not
to dispute existing theoretical scholarship in this area, but does demand that
further questions must be addressed if female audiences are to be positioned
with respect to the theoretical subject. Not least amongst these questions is
how any findings from the audience research reported here can be located
within existing bodies of screen theory pertaining to the horror film and its
spectators.
At least since the rise of the slasher film in the late-70s, the horror film
audience has been regarded as consisting primarily of adolescent and young
males under the age of twenty-five (see chapter 1) and, accordingly, the
horror genre has been subject to psychoanalytic textual analysis focusing on
adolescent male psychosexual processes. The work on gendered
spectatorship and the horror film has associated the (male) gaze with the
monster, the heroine-victim being the subject of both the monster's gaze and
that of the male spectator. This led to a model in which female spectators
watch horror films only reluctantly and with displeasure. If the horror film
spectator is almost exclusively framed in these terms, what does this say
about the large numbers of female viewers who find pleasure in horror film
spectatorship? It is not altogether certain that feminist film theones can
adequately explain such a phenomenon.
2.1.1 Horror and the male gaze
Whenever the movie screen holds a particularly effective image of
terror, little boys and grown men make it a point of honour to
look, while little girls and grown women cover their eyes or hide
behind the shoulders of their dates. (Williams, 1984, p. 83)
41
The marginalisation of the female horror film spectator's pleasure arose in no
small part because much of the body of work on the honor film focused
exclusively on the male spectator's stake in the genre (reflecting industrial and
popular perceptions of the audience as set out in chapter 1). In particular,
since much of the work from the 80s onwards locates horror film spectators
with respect to the slasher film, generic spectatorship is linked both to the
extremes of violence against women perceived to play a major part in such
films and to the acceptance of the adolescent male audience at which these
films are aimed. Given that the honor film audience is widely believed to
respond in ways similar to those summarised by Williams, it has been the
constructed male spectator that has been the focus of debate about the
pleasures of honor and this bias has been replicated both in the work of
social-psychologists and in the popular media. Such analyses typically led to
the assumption that horror is a problematical genre for female spectators (as
set out by Williams). And since the female spectator's enjoyment of honor is
thus rendered problematical, the existence of an active female spectator has
been largely denied with the implication that active female spectatorship must
be a form of immasculation. This has led to the marginalisation of female
honor film spectators. (One important exception in this is the lesbian
spectator of female vampire films; such films have been recognised as
providing a route to identification for the lesbian viewer who reads against the
grain in order to lay claim to images of sexuality unavailable elsewhere in the
cinema - see, for example, Weiss, 1992, and Krzywinska, 1995.)
Wood (1979) linked the horror film to aspects of repression (derived from
the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Lacan), in particular the return of the
repressed and the monstrous Other. This is important since Wood's work
exposes ideological questions about the representation of gender power
relations and of violence against women; in Beauty Bests the Beast (1983, p.
81) he concludes that 'women have always been the main focus of threat and
assault in the honor film.' This approach reflects populist and feminist
arguments against the honor genre as epitomised by Ebert (1981) in his
article for American Film. Elsewhere the female body itself has been rendered
problematical; Neale (1980, p. 44) considers the 'problematic of castration,'
noting that the monster represents the lack that is inherent in the female,
namely that she is castrated (though this was later disputed by Williams).
Neale goes on to note that the monster 'functions so as to disturb the
boundaries of sexual identity and difference,' but points out that the monster
42
is almost always male and that the object of its desire is almost always female
(p. 61). He asserts (p. 39) that the monster of the horror film entertains the
male spectator by disavowing castration, but this is at the expense of the
female characters who are portrayed as victims. Questions of gendered
spectatorship and pleasure are thus based on the assumption of masculine
spectatorial pleasure. Evans (1973, P. 54) characterises the monstrous figure
as representing the onset of secondary sexual characteristics and 'aggressive
erotic behaviour,' and although he does make reference to female sexual
characteristics, he refers to male adolescent spectators throughout Twitchell
(1985), while he recognises a fair proportion of the audience are female, does
not differentiate between male and female responses and makes no allowance
for a feminine response to the horror film.
For many feminist critics of the horror film it is the representation of
woman as victim which leads to female displeasure, as Williams (p. 83)
acknowledges: 'There are excellent reasons for this refusal to look, not the
least of which is that she is often asked to bear witness to her own
powerlessness in the face or rape, mutilation and murder.' Critics of the genre
such as Halberstam (1995, p. 165) have continued to assume that:
Women watch horror films with reluctance and with fear,
reluctant to engage with their everyday nightmares of rape and
violation, fearful that the screen is only a mirror and that the
monster may be sitting next to them as they watch.
Although the fact that the horror film portrays violence, particularly violence
against women as Wood notes, means that it continues - quite rightly - to be
the subject of much feminist and media debate, Clover (1992b) has refuted
such straightforward simplistic links between on-screen representation and
gendered spectator pleasure. Moreover, the fact that the primary analytical
methodology for the analysis of horror cinema has been psychoanalytically
based has also rendered actual horror film viewers' responses problematical,
as Jancovich (1992, p. 12) states:
Psychoanalytic interpretations ... must be opposed to most
people's experience of the texts which they seek to analyse. They
define that which is conscious as inadequate or even downright
deceptive. Consequently, any attempt to counter critically these
interpretations with references to one's own experience of a text
can be dismissed too easily as the product of repression or
resistance. Psychoanalysis has a built in tendency to produce
interpretations which not only have little or no relation to one's
actual experiences of a text, but actively contradict those
experiences.
43
In addition, the idea of female spectatorship itself is not unproblematical;
Brown (1990, p. 201) points out that: 'when the tables are turned, when
women derive pleasure from popular narrative forms, the process is viewed
as a problem.' Contradictions of this nature emerge from Williams'
description of female spectatorship of the horror film, and ultimately her
argument denies that women can find pleasure in horror. In particular,
Williams (p. 89) describes the female gaze at the monster as representing 'a
surprising (and at times subversive) affinity between monster and woman'
that acknowledges their 'similar status within patriarchal structures of seeing'.
Thus, female spectator and monster are linked, but the former is 'given
little to identify with on the screen' (p. 83) and the response is not, therefore,
a pleasurable one. Furthermore, the woman's act of looking is punished, not
least by having to gaze on the monstrous (feminised) body itself; female
spectators have an affinity with, but do not find pleasure in the figure of the
monster. For Williams' spectatrix, the horror film leaves 'no place for the
woman's own pleasure in seeing' (p. 83). Although Williams offers an
important insight into female horror film spectatorship, her analysis is
couched in terms of a mastering male gaze which, despite the spectatrix's
affinity with the monster, can lead only to a reluctant female spectator. How
then are we to account for the large numbers of women who enjoy watching
horror films?
Williams' horror film spectatrix, furthermore, refuses to look, often
physically blocking her view or averting her eyes from the screen. Indeed,
Creed (1993, p. 29) constructs an additional look (to complement the three
looks described by Mulvey in 1975) which is a 'looking away' whilst
viewing horror films; however, for Creed this look is not gendered since she
notes that male and female spectators alike may avert their gaze. However,
such acts of looking away are not universal and for many horror film viewers
(as for Williams' 'little boys and grown men') continuing to look is an act of
bravado or, more importantly, fascination, and this has become accepted as
conventional horror fan behaviour (see Ziliman and Weaver, 1996). Acts of
self-censorship such as looking away clearly do occur amongst horror film
spectators, but the assumption that the female spectator has to forego any
enjoyment in the subversive act of looking may not always hold.
Furthermore, the act of looking away need not in itself be a signifier of
displeasure - as Pinedo (1997, p. 70) states: 'Williams fails to recognise the
pleasure of not-seeing.' Clover has observed (1992b, p. 23) that: 'girls too
44
went to slasher movies ... sometimes in same-sex groups.' The question this
raises, then, is: what, if the viewing of horror for the spectatrix is ultimately
unpleasant, is the appeal of horror cinema, especially for those girls not
seeking the comfort of the protecting ann or shoulder of a male date? Female
spectators do take pleasure in viewing horror cinema, as has been noted
elsewhere in the literature, particularly in relation to lesbian viewers of the
female vampire film. The fallacy of Williams' assumption for some female
horror film viewers is similarly underscored by audience research which
suggests that female horror film viewers in the company of males often fake
their refusal to look (Ziliman and Weaver, p. 86).
Work such as that by Williams, based on feminist psychoanalytic criticism
of the text, are predicated upon a masculine model of horror film
spectatorship: when considering female spectators it is to privilege passivity -
typically female spectators are depicted as being afraid to look, and this is
taken to represent displeasure. This allows the female spectator little access to
pleasurable responses to horror film viewing apart from that which comes
from adopting the masculine spectatorial position. It is hard, as Clover
declares, to accept such large numbers of immasculated viewers colluding
with the oppressor.
2.1.2 Spectatorship and visual pleasure
As outlined in chapter 1, evidence points towards women having always
reacted in pleasurable ways to some types of horror film and in recent years
there has been an acknowledgment of that within the literature. Auerbach's
and Kryszynska's responses to the horror films of their youth (see chapter 1)
led them to question the academic canon of horror film spectatorship. Pinedo
(1997, pp. 1-2), who declares herself 'a feminist and an avid horror fan,'
states that horror films provided her with opportunities to overtly express
forbidden feelings such as terror and rage, emotions that 'were otherwise
denied legitimate expression.' Such examples (which indicate resistance to the
social situation of women living in a heterosexual, monogamous and
patriarchal culture) illustrate the potentially pleasurable (and gender-specific)
reactions female viewers may have to horror films and especially to the
vampire film.
It may be that in recent decades the peer group pressure (and hence the
processes of gender socialisation) which coerced female viewers into reacting
with fear and trepidation at horror film screenings may have lessened
45
somewhat and it may have become more acceptable for women to admit to or
be seen to enjoy horror. Ziliman and Weaver (1996, p. 86) suggest that as
regular honor film viewers become habituated (in that the emotional intensity
of the initial distress reaction decreases with repeated viewing), play-acting or
pretence plays a large part in their responses to horror films, and this may be
especially problematical for the female viewers who may be required by peer
pressure to continue to exhibit fear. It may then be that habituated female
viewers have simply become less inclined to play-act feminine responses to
honor, especially when they are not dating, and they have thus become more
visible consumers of honor. In respect of theories of feminine spectatorship
(as described, for example, by Williams) it remains problematical to continue
to deny the experiences of such women - as Clover acknowledges (1992b, p.
54). Entrenched models of female honor film spectatorship further
problematise these viewers through the suggestion that female viewers, as has
continued to be implied from Mulvey's thesis on gendered spectatorship
(1975), adopt a masculine spectatorial position. Rather, we might ask
whether female subjectivity in the viewing of honor films is possible?
Certainly, Pinedo (1997, pp. 3-4) believes it is not just possible, but a
recurring experience, and she calls for a focus on 'representation and
reception as sites of multiple and shifting identifications.'
Clover's examination of gender roles and cross-gender identification in the
slasher film and other forms of honor and exploitation cinema addresses this
issue to some extent. The crux of Clover's argument rests on the assumption
of the adolescent male honor film spectator identifying, across the gender
boundary, with the female victim-hero of the genre. Clover looks beyond the
'sadistic-voyeuristic' male gaze (see Mulvey, 1975) and argues that honor,
because it is far less static in terms of position and character sympathy than
many film genres, is 'far more victim-identified than the standard view would
have it' (p. 8) and also challenges the assumption that there exists a
mastering, voyeuristic gaze (p. 9). Thus, because the roles of (feminine)
victim and (masculine) hero are conflated in the figure of the Final Girl, 'the
male viewer gives up the last pretence of male identification' (p. 60).
Although Clover does not theorise what happens for the female spectator of
such films, this approach does open up spaces for female spectators of the
honor film, as Clover herself recognises (p. 54):
[W]hat about the women in [the audience]? Do we dismiss them
as male-identified and account for their experience as an
46
'immasculated' act of collusion with the oppressor? This is a
strong judgment to apply to large numbers of women ... . These
facts alone oblige us at least to consider the possibility that female
fans find a meaning in the text and image of these films that is less
inimical to their own interests than the figurative analysis would
have us believe.
However, Clover's preoccupation with the male spectator leads her to
masculinise the surviving female - 'those who save themselves are male' (p.
59) - and to leave unquestioned a gender order that assigns activity to males
and passivity to females. Pinedo (p. 83) rejects this approach since it is
grounded in 'feminist film theory's slavish devotion to the heterosexual
binary' in which 'active female desire can only be defined as a masculinised
position.' In its place she proposes (p. 84) that: 'by breaking down binary
notions of gender, the horror genre opens up a space for feminist discourse
and constructs a subject position for female viewers.' Such thinking has
begun to overturn previous theoretical approaches to gendered spectatorship
of the horror film which have tended to render female spectators as unwilling
viewers, and victims, of the horror film. The problematic of horror and the
male gaze has not been entirely resolved, but gendered spectatorship has been
shown not to be as monolithic and concrete as might once have been
suggested. In exploring the notion of cross-gender identification as a fluid-
process, Clover recognises that female spectators of the horror film exist, that
they 'actively like such films' (p. 54) and that, whilst still a minority, they
may exist in greater numbers for certain types of horror film - in particular,
for occult films (p. 66) and the more mainstream horror films (p. 6). Clover's
question about the women in the audience, however, remains to be adequately
answered, particularly in respect of the pleasures of the horror film for female
spectators.
2.1.3 Refusing to refuse to look
The body of work on spectatorship and the horror film, then, by and large
constructs the spectatnx as refusing to look, implying that female pleasure is
an immasculated collusion with the oppressive male gaze and male violence
towards women - and this has only recently begun to be challenged. In
addition, the female spectator is frequently discussed as the partner of a male
viewer on whom she can rely for protection from the frightening images on
the screen. In considering female spectators of the horror film, it must be
borne in mind that there is a 'tendency for audiences to be constructed as
"imagined communities" rather than "actual beings living in a material world"
47
(Brunt, 1992, p. 69'). The accepted picture of male and female horror film
spectators, as described by Williams, is centred on the idea that spectator
responses are strongly divided along gender lines. This may well be the case;
however, as Pinedo asserts, multiple gender positions, which include both
lesbian and other active female subjects, must be considered. In doing so, the
research presented here seeks to challenge the assumption that female horror
film viewers refuse to look and do not find pleasure in viewing horror.
The spectatrix's extreme emotional displeasure is often little more than
anecdotal and fulfils the writer's (and the viewer's) expectations of female
responses (that is, a learnt or innate feminine inability to look). Derry (1987,
p. 168), for example, chooses to highlight one female student's response to
The Hills Have Eyes in a seminar on horror film: 'one woman retreated after
the screening to the corner of the room, where she began sobbing quietly, "I
don't understand these things," she said to me later, "I'm only a housewife."
Arguments such as those by Deny and Halberstam, whilst correct in linking
everyday fears with images and ideologies contained in horror films, fail to
acknowledge other modes of affect that horror films may have on viewers.
Furthermore, such criticism also fails to acknowledge that horror films tend to
divide potential viewers along taste lines regardless of gender (in my own
experience of teaching classes on the horror film, men seem just as likely to
have a response similar to that of Derry's housewife). The intended mode of
affect of the horror film, it should not be forgotten, is to create displeasurable
feelings and emotions in its audience and, paradoxically, this displeasure is,
for fans and other viewers of the genre, in itself pleasurable (see Carroll,
1990). Critics such as Williams and Deny who observe displeasure in the
female viewer may be underestimating or misinterpreting the pleasure of
terror for fans and followers of the genre.
In one important respect, Williams and Clover underline the fluidity of
identification. Critics of lesbian cinema, however, do allow the female
spectator to experience identification and desire in the horror film. Amongst
the lesbian horror film audience, female spectators can find pleasure in the
horror film and do - in what amounts to an act of defiance - refuse to refuse to
look. The female vampire is one of the few overtly lesbian characters
available in the cinema and, as Krzywinska asserts of Carmilla in the Hammer
film The Vampire Lovers when writing about her own discovery and
exploration of her lesbian sexuality during her adolescence, the female
48
vampire offers an articulation for lesbian fantasies (p. 99). It seems illogical
to suppose that such identificatory processes are available only to lesbian
spectators. Might not, as Pinedo proposes, similar fantasies or other
identificatory pleasures be articulated by heterosexual female spectators of
vampire and other horror film types? Stacey (1994a, p. 28) has already
argued for a position which takes into account: 'a fascination with an idealised
other which could not be reduced to male desire or female identification
within the available psychoanalytic dichotomies, but rather necessitated a
rethinking of the specifIcities of forms of feminine attachment.'
In literary criticism, and other areas, horror has frequently been recognised
as having appeal across the sex and age ranges. As Twitchell (p. 22) states,
historically 'horror is not just an aspect of human experience, but a central
part of it.' Furthermore, social-psychology research in the USA which has
focused on the horror film audience and its behaviour (see, for example,
Weaver, 1991 and Oliver, 1993a and 1994) suggests alternative models of
spectatorship based on cultural and social issues. In linking adolescent horror
film spectatorship with rites of passage, Zillman and Weaver (1996) conclude
that horror films socialise teenage spectators into gender roles. They observe
that rather than gendered responses being innate, teenage boys learn mastery
over the affects of horror, whereas teenage girls learn to cower or cringe at
horror film images - at least in front of their peers. This might explain why
women are generally thought not to like horror; however, as Ziliman and
Weaver point out, for many girls and women this traditional feminine
response amounts to little more than pretence or playacting.
It may then be that men and women respond differently to horror because
of peer-group pressure, with gender representations in the films themselves
depicting similar stereotypes - points which psychoanalytically-based textual
analysis fail to account for. In particular, women who like horror may hide or
repress their liking for it because they see such a response as unfeminine, and
socially unacceptable in women. This may help to explain the contradiction
between women's actual enjoyment of horror and the theoretical and popular
perceptions that they are unable to enjoy horror films.
In practice, then, members of an audience seldom behave as the theoretical
models expect them to; their viewing patterns and behaviour, responses to or
readings of a film may deviate from those described by formal textual
analysis. Many female horror film fans and followers claim they only rarely
49
or never refuse to look (67 per cent of participants in this study, as compared
with only 19 per cent who claim to frequently avert their gaze in some way -
see chapter 5 for more details). In some segments of the audience, then, we
might expect to find female viewers who do take pleasure in viewing horror
films and do refuse to refuse to look. It is important, therefore, to determine
what is at stake for the female fans and followers of the horror film and
whether the refusal to refuse to look should be taken as a sign of
immasculation or as some form of feminine identification - an act of defiance
or rejection of social ideals of femininity, for example (although the
spectatrix's immasculation should not be rejected entirely). In particular, it is
important to identify the pleasures inherent in the genre for the female
spectator. Critics like Williams and Halberstam who observe female spectator
displeasure may be underestimating the pleasures for generically competent
female viewers (that is, the fans and followers). What are these pleasures and
are they to be found in all horror films or only in particular examples of the
genre; and if this is the case, what are these particular (feminine) forms of the
horror film? In order to begin to answer these questions and build up a profile
of female horror film fans and followers, the decision was taken to conduct
research via an audience study, rather than approach these questions from a
theoretical perspective.
2.2 Investi2atin2 the female horror film audience
There remain important issues to be addressed concerning the female
spectator and her stake in the horror film and it is hoped that research into the
real audience can shed light on these problems and suggest areas in which
further theoretical work might be undertaken. In raising a number of
questions about the problematical female spectator who enjoys the horror
film, Clover (p. 54) also questions whether the female spectator reads horror
films in a fundamentally different sense to the male. For Stacey (1987, pp.
53), however, difference between women can be the site of production of
desire and this has implications for the pleasures of female spectatorship. It is
important then to focus, not just as Clover attests, on to sexual difference, but
on to difference between women. Stacey proposes that a more complex model
of spectatorship can separate gender identification from sexuality and allow
multiple and dispersed differences to open up the possibilities of pleasure.
Such a model could be extremely important for horror film spectatorship. Of
particular interest here are aspects of the horror genre which generically
50
competent female spectators might be responding to and the implications these
have for female spectatorship and identification. Other important questions are
how viewing preferences construct a gendered identity and what the
consumption of horror films by women might mean in this context. It is
proposed that these questions should be addressed via an investigation of
actual viewers, rather than the construction of a new model of female horror
film spectatorship through a textual analysis of horror films. The range of
female horror film fans responses might then be interpreted and understood in
terms of different gendered spectator positions, and this will be revisited in
chapter 8.
2.2.1 Negotiating the contradictions between viewers and
spectators
Why choose to conduct audience research as opposed to performing textual
analysis? Whilst the psychoanalytic methodology behind the work of Mulvey
(Visual Pleasure, 1975/1989), Doane (The Desire to Desire, 1987), Dc
Lauretis (Technologies of Gender, 1987) and others on which the bulk of
feminist film criticism relies seldom deals with actual viewers, Stacey (1993)
has highlighted the need to explore methodological practices other than textual
analysis. Stacey's study of female film goers of the 40s and 50s (1994a)
interpreted generic cinema (specifically, the woman's film) in relation to its
audience. As Brunt (p. 70) has pointed out:
The sheer productivity of textual analysis often rendered any
reference to actual audiences redundant as the audience-text
relationship became unproblematically inferred from a particular
'reading' of the by now extremely problematised text.
Interpreted only as 'textual subjects', audiences become primarily
positioned, produced by, inscribed in, the text.
However, the female horror film viewer who refuses to refuse to look opens
a Pandora's Box of problems with respect to the spectatrix who is
monolithically positioned by the horror film text. As Fischer and Landy
(1982, p. 63) state:
[The textual methodologies] have not taken into account film's
impact on audience or the stylistic devices through which the text
is materialised. Furthermore, they do not place their analyses
within a broader consideration of the film's existence as a product
in the marketplace, its relationship to film traditions and genres,
and its interaction with other cultural practices.
Clover's study of the primary audience of the slasher film also highlighted
the need to interpret generic films in relation to their audience. As Clover
51
demonstrated with cross-gender identification of the adolescent male viewer
with the heroine of the slasher film, audience response may not always match
the expected responses inferred from the use of theoretical spectatorship
methodologies. Studies of actual audiences have been given more importance
as these problems have emerged. Furthermore, Staiger (1992a, p.3) argues
that
Whether you take the position of Richards, that a hierarchy of
appropriate interpretive activities exists, or that of Barthes, that a
celebration 'restor[ing] the place of the reader' is due, hardly
anyone familiar with twentieth-century scholarly trends doubts the
considerable theoretical implications of 'reader-response' or
'reception studies' work.
In addition, an investigation of the female horror film audience must not limit
itself solely to viewer-responses; the consumption of the horror film is not
solely explained by the text-reader relationship as the genre has become the
subject of fan appropriation and discourse. The intention, therefore, is to also
investigate female participation in fan practices, drawing in particular on the
work of Jenkins (1992). As Freyling states (1981, p. xiii): any 'adequate
assessment of "formula cinema" must not be reduced to any simple
ideological or theoretic grid' which excludes questions about reception
including: 'Why did audiences choose this film or this genre as opposed to
that one?' This question is particularly apposite when considering female
viewers who choose to consume a genre deemed to be masculine in both
textual content and audience over other genres, either those deemed to be
feminine, or indeed - if they are immasculated viewers - other masculine
genres.
As Doane points out (1987, pp. 7-8), the 'discursively constructed female
subject cannot be conflated with actual viewers.' This should not mean,
however, that we should never consider real viewers in relation to
theoretically constructed audiences. Stacey has already eloquently argued the
case in Star Gazing (1993), where she has challenged psychoanalytical
explanations of the text as privileging textual analysis over audience studies.
As Stacey reiterates in Desperatel y Seeking Difference (1987, p. 51), whilst
feminist film criticism based on the work of Mulvey, Doane and others has
continued to address the problematic of female spectatorship, there is still a
need to 'account for diversity, contradiction or resistance within this category
of feminine spectatorship.' Important questions which Stacey poses in
Textual Obsessions (1993, p. 263) concern a) 'the areas of overlap or
52
divergence ... between the textual analysis of films and of audiences'
accounts of the cinema'; and b) 'whether it is possible (or desirable) to
theorise the unconscious pleasures of the cinema through audience studies.'
The audience study undertaken here is located within the areas indicated in the
former, and may also shed light on the possibilities, if any, of the latter.
2.3 Stud ying audiences
The focus on actual viewers is long established in the field of media studies,2
and there have been several recent investigations of cinema audiences; studies
which have relevance to an analysis of female viewers include Stacey's
Gazing which examined the responses of women to female stars of the 40s
and '50s and Hill's Shocking Entertainment (1997), an examination of viewer
responses to violent movies.3 What place, however, does a study of a
minority audience segment have? Kuhn (1994, p. 202) has claimed that 'the
future for feminist work on film would appear to lie in micronarratives and
microhistories of the fragmented female spectator rather than in any totalising
metapsychology of the subject of the cinematic apparatus.' Audiences are
increasingly recognised as heterogeneous and the danger of talking about the
female horror film audience as a discrete and self-contained category must be
considered - as Steiger (1992, p. 13) has warned, there are problems with
'idealising' still smaller audience segments. Steiger considers that, although
still inadequate, it is useful to recognise that 'each spectator is a complex and
contradictory construction of such self-identities as gender, sexual preference,
class, race and ethnicity.' In particular, her statement that 'the pertinence of
each self-identity might at times dominate the others, perhaps overdetermine
or contradict as well' could help in exploring the contradictions of women's
responses to the horror film.
A number of avenues are available for the study of audience responses to
cultural and media artifacts (see van Zoonen, 1994), but these methodological
approaches have only recently begun to become established (or popular)
within screen studies. It should be possible to investigate the responses of
actual female viewers and seek, where possible, to relocate these in relation to
theoretically constructed (gendered) spectator responses. This approach,
however, is fraught with difficulties. Mayne (1993, p. 157) points out that
there are problems associated with the 'rush to criticise apparatus theory,'
notably that reception study does not give any more direct access to the
spectator than does analysis of the text. According to Mayne (p. 158) many
53
reception studies attempt to discredit or problematise textual studies and
instead she asserts that there must exist a middle course:
Between the notion that the textual system of the individual film is
all, and the argument that exclusive attention to textuality is at best
an academic view of the real, complicated, heterogeneous
business of viewing, there must be alternatives.
The possibilities of audience research have been explored by Staiger in her
work on the historical reception of American film, in Jenkins' aforementioned
study of science fiction fan cultures, and in Stacey's work on British female
audiences of the 40s and 50s. Staiger, in proposing a research methodology
based on reception studies which examine what actual spectators say about
the films they view (1992a), moves away from the 'idealised' spectator
toward what she calls the 'historical' spectator who seldom behaves as she or
he is 'supposed' to.4 She suggests that it makes more sense to look at what
actual viewers say about their movie experiences than to conjecture about the
probable responses of theoretical spectators. Jenkins draws on the European
and American traditions of reader-response criticism in his study of fans and
fandom (see Textual Poachers, 1992, and, with Tulloch, Science Fiction
Audiences, 1995). Jenkins' core theoretical propositions are derived from de
Certeau's description (1984) of reading as 'poaching,' an active process of
appropriating and reworking found materials for the reader's personal and
cultural needs. Jenkins applies this model to talk about the range of cultural
productivity of media fans, particularly science fiction fans, drawing on
empirical and ethnographic materials to examine reading as an active process.
His work has shed much light on the consumption practices of particular
audiences and is especially relevant in considering the female horror film
viewer's participation in horror fandom.
In Star Gazing (1994a, p. 23-24), Stacey positions the actual viewer in the
centre of the debate and attempts to draw in ethnographic approaches from the
area of media studies into female spectatorship theory: whilst 'acknowledging
the significant differences between these two bodies of work', she
endeavours to 'highlight the increasing importance of areas of overlap and
exchange within feminist cultural criticism in the 1990s.' If the
methodological problems involved in such a multi-disciplined approach can
be overcome, and Stacey (1994a, chapter 2) suggests they can, then a study
of real viewers should be able to inform the debate on theoretical horror film
spectatorship. Problems with qualitative or interpretative methodologies and
54
data analysis aside (these are dealt with in chapter 3), there are specific
problematical aspects of such research strategies with regard to the female
audience that are of concern here. As Stacey has outlined (1993), feminist
film criticism has marginalised the investigation of female audiences when
compared to analysis of the text and there is minimal consideration of the
subject beyond textual positioning. One problem for a feminist research
methodology is that using women's own accounts might illustrate how easily
women have assimilated the very same patriarchal attitudes which feminist
film criticism has sought to condemn. A strategy must therefore be found
which enables the audience study which this research demands to avoid, or at
the vely least acknowledge, the ethical and political problems of this situation.
In recognising that increasing numbers of audience studies are now being
undertaken, Brunt addresses the issue of 'what cultural studies does or could
do in this area - including rendering the notion of "audience" itself more
problematic.' Brunt (1992, p. 73) criticises the cyclical methodology of
research where a return to the audience becomes a return to the text (taking
preferred readings, studying audience response, and then checking back
against the textual readings); but neither should an approach which privileges
or counterposes audience studies to textual studies be adopted. Brunt
advocates 'thinking of the text-audience relationship in a less self-enclosing
way' and proposes a theoretical understanding of the relationship between
text and audience that must be above the level of description and concern
groups and/or discussion.
One aspect of feminist research which must be considered is the
acknowledgment by Dervin (1987) and other feminist scholars of the desire to
allow women a voice in areas of society and culture which render them
voiceless. In conducting a study of actual female horror film viewers the
voice of an otherwise marginal ised audience can be heard. Whilst heeding
Modleski's (1991) warning that such an approach holds the danger of giving
a celebratory and uncritical account of popular culture and pleasure, we
should not underestimate the value of 'demonstrating the invisible experiences
of women with popular culture' (van Zoonen, 1994, pp. 128-9). Indeed, a
very large proportion of the respondents in this study expressed their delight
and thanks in having an opportunity to speak about their experiences. It is,
therefore, considered appropriate (whatever the limitations of the survey
method explored in chapter 3) to undertake a study of active female horror
film viewers in order to begin to determine the tange of experiences of the
55
respondents, to explore the possibilities for resistance (if any) and to seek to
identify any potentially feminine pleasures of the horror film. The results of
this study acknowledge the experiences of an otherwise invisible audience
and indicate areas where further investigation is required.
Finally, Brunt (p. 69) has stated that media audience studies must deal with
issues concerning 'the relationship of the researcher to various fonnulations
of "the people" researched upon.' It is in recognition of the female horror film
viewers themselves that this study should, ultimately, be positioned.
2.4 Positionin! the genericall y competent female viewer
The models of spectatorship described above, whilst they may be adequate in
describing an idealised textual subject, do not take account of the generically
competent female spectator who takes pleasure in looking. In particular they
imply that female horror film spectators collude with male violence against
women, accept their own bodies as monstrous and see themselves as victims.
It is therefore important to consider actual female viewers in conjunction with,
rather than separate from, the horror film spectatrix when analysing women's
consumption and enjoyment of horror films. This audience study seeks, then,
to illuminate issues raised by spectatorship theoiy by focusing on actual
viewers, what and how they watch, and how they respond to horror films,
particularly to films they find pleasurable. It will then attempt to position the
female viewer, in the context of women's increasing visibility as consumers
of horror films and poachers of the text, in relation both to populist
conceptions of horror film viewers and to the theoretical spectatrix. This is
with the aim of re-establishing the horror genre as having feminine aspects
which have been denied by studies of gendered spectatorship and to set out
how this impacts upon theoretical considerations of the female spectator.
This is not to say that theories of the male gaze and other important
psychoanalytically based analyses of the horror film text are invalid or
inappropriate. The processes of spectatorship remain crucial to debates about
the horror film and they have major implications for an examination of the
female viewer of the horror film. However, since real and constructed female
spectators do look, their position as consumers of popular culture is of equal
importance. The reception of genre films by real viewers may result in acts of
resistance or reading against the grain - as many feminist critics have
attempted to explore (Kuhn, 1982; Basinger, 1993) - and this form of
response to the horror film may be particularly important. Whilst this project,
56
then, takes the form of audience research, it aims to remain grounded in
theoretical analyses of the horror film and its spectators and there is no
intention to supplant such theories, rather this work seeks to shed new light
on the theoretical. Following Stacey's guidance on interdisciplinary research
(1994a, p. 19), this study makes an attempt to combine 'theories of
spectatorship within feminist film criticism, and work on gender and
audiences in cultural studies.' Stacey (p. 47) asserts that 'theories of
spectatorship need to begin to produce analyses of female spectators situated
within particular viewing contexts.' This study is one such context and
chapter 8 deals with the context of this analysis of female horror film
spectators within theories of female horror film spectatorship. In particular,
this work will attempt to position the female viewer who refuses to refuse to
look in terms of the feminine subject and women's spectatorship.
'Quoting from Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Orinin and
Spread of Nationalism (London, Verso: 1983).
2	 of the work on female audiences has concentrated on feminine genres - soap opera,
romance fiction, the filmed melodrama. See, for example, Hobson (1982) on Crossroads
viewers, Radway (1984) on the readers of romance fiction and Ang (1985) on Dallas
viewers.
3 Also of interest here is Women Viewing Violence by Schlesinger et al. (1992).
Staiger's work relies on historical records (principally, film reviews, publicity
material and oral accounts) of audiences responses it cannot hope to achieve the depth and
understanding of contemporary audiences using ethnographic methodologies. Nevertheless,
Staiger's sociology of the audience makes the important step from merely hypothesizing
spectator responses to examining how actual viewers have described their responses to
movies.
57
Chapter 3
Investigating the Female Horror Film Fan
Why do women choose to watch horror films? If horror films make for such
unpleasant viewing (especially for women), what does this say about women
who not only enjoy horror films but enjoy looking at horrific, terrifying,
violent or gory images in these films? And what light does this shed on the
theoretical debates which maintain that the constructed female spectator's
response is to refuse to look? Are those women who enjoy horror adopting a
male spectatorial position, are they immasculated viewers, or are there
particularly feminine responses and reactions to horror? Do female viewers
chose to watch particular kinds of horror and, if so, could these be said to
constitute a feminine form of the genre? If this is not the case, what do
'masculine' viewing choices say about female spectatorship, especially if the
female viewers respond in ways which do not show evidence of
immasculation? Such questions can best be addressed through reception
studies and research into actual, as opposed to theoretical, audiences. As Hill
(1997, p. 7) states of the viewers of violent films: 'Unless researchers
actually talk to consumers ... they will not be able to explain the appeal of
such movies.' The same must be said of horror, an equally paradoxical
viewing experience. Moreover, very little work has been undertaken into
establishing the actual demographics of the horror film audience, particularly
those audience segments not conforming to the accepted model of young male
viewers, and both quantitative and qualitative data are required in order to
establish both the demographic profile and the range of tastes and responses
of the female audience.
This study is designed to gauge women's level of participation within the
horror genre and whether there is any tendency for women to interpret films
differently in key areas (gender representation and female sexuality) than their
male counterparts. A question which must be addressed in this respect is
whether the female audience can be considered as a distinct entity within the
horror film audience as a whole and, more importantly, whether they watch
horror films differently than male viewers. The object, then, is to ascertain i)
who the women are who watch horror films, ii) why they are attracted to the
genre and whether there are particular types, aspects or elements of horror
they find pleasurable, and iii) their responses to horror films and the debates
surrounding horror, particularly with respect to representations of violence
58
against women. It is hoped that any findings can then be used to re-examine
and reposition the horror film spectatrix.
3.1 Designin! the study
Three principal areas were considered in designing the study: assessing
research strategies and feminist approaches in ethnographic and sociological
research, locating the female horror film audience as a step towards recruiting
female fans and habitual viewers, and determining a methodology suitable for
studying an audience of this kind. Once such strategies had been assessed, a
number of hypotheses were considered to determine the specific questions
and areas of interest to be explored in the data gathering stages of the
research. These hypotheses were modified during initial data collection from
secondary sources and a pilot study. Much of this secondary data did not
prove useful for the study undertaken here, just as Stacey's initial avenues of
research for Star Gazing (1994a) resulted in dead-ends and U-turns, but
nevertheless shed light on fan discourse. In common with many other
research projects of this nature (see, for instance, Hill, p. 7), data collected
during the study suggested as many new hypotheses as they proved or
disproved, and the results of the qualitative research resulted in an extremely
varied and productive data set.
3.1.1 Methodolo2ical problems and approaches
For sociological studies such as the one undertaken here a triangulation of
methods for collecting qualitative data is often recommended (see Denzin,
1970). This system of using individual interviews, questionnaires and focus
groups in combination theoretically provides a link between structure
(quantitative) and meaning (qualitative) (Fielding and Fielding, 1986),
although in practice divisions between the two are often not straightforward
(see, for example, Mason, 1994). In practice, the use of triangulation often
employs the quantitative survey as the primary method, adding qualitative
data from interviews, focus groups and open-ended questions tacked on to
the end of the questionnaire as illustration or explanation of the statistical
results or to provide a 'human face' to the findings (Gunderson and
Muszynski, 1990, p. 4). In effect, this leads to the use of secondary
qualitative data to justify the results of the primary quantitative method.
Although reversing this (using quantitative data in support of the qualitative)
is no less problematical, such an approach leads to a more exploratory form
of research (Porter, p. 70), and this is what is proposed here.
59
In this way it is hoped not to overemphasise the quantitative data, rather to
make use of it in ways which will complement the findings of the qualitative
data. Criticisms of quantitative data have also been raised by many feminist
researchers (and others), such attacks often linked to the social relations that
embody traditional quantitative methods and their association with patriarchal
scientific method (Smith, 1987). As a result, feminist research has been
linked with qualitative methods alone. Although this practice has an
established record it has not been without its critics, but as Brunt (1992, p.
73) points out: 'There is ... no shortage of audience studies which ignore the
text but also eschew mean-minded empiricism, proclaim the benefits of
"qualitative research", and adopt the "unfocused discussion group" as a major
technique.' Brunt (p. 69), in advising against constructing audiences as
imagined communities, sees one aim of media audience studies as 'rendering
the notion of "audience" itself more problematic.' She proposes that what is
needed is a theoretical understanding of the relationship between text and
audience that must be above the level of description and be about groups
and/or discussion. As Brunt states (p. 74): 'The absence of statistics [is itself]
no guarantee that the formalism of a survey approach has been replaced with
the materialist analysis.' The use of quantitative methods in synthesis with
qualitative methods, as would be the case using triangulation, is defensible
then and is all the more necessary in research such as that undertaken here
where little demographic or other data on the population under study is
available.
The methodological pluralism that triangulation entails demands some
comment on the problems which might arise from integrating two methods
previously regarded as incompatible, although it should be possible to apply
quantitative methods in a way that makes them more compatible with
subjectivity as Stanley (1991) and others have suggested. Of particular
interest here is what should be done if the different methods turn up
contradictory evidence. There has been little discussion of such problems in
the literature, although Porter (1994, p. 71) recognises that any contradictions
must be acknowledged in the findings and suggests that these may provide
particular information on the group as a whole rather than the individuals. As
in Ang's study of Dallas viewers (1985) the aim of this research is to explore
the diversity and contradictions of women's consumption of horror and,
rather than being a problem, conflicting information turned up by the different
methods may be just as much signs of negotiations with dominant ideology as
60
the contradictions and gaps within the qualitative data are (see also Stacey,
pp. 44-5).
It was therefore proposed that a mix of methodologies would be used, with
concentration on the collection of qualitative data via focus groups and
interviews. However, since the practical and financial limitations of this study
meant that a large number of individual interviews or focus groups was not
possible, it was hoped that many of the participants would be prepared to
answer a number of open-ended questions included in the questionnaire
and/or communicate their opinions and experiences in letters. Rather than
append the open ended questions to the end of the questionnaire (possibly
giving the impression that this data was less important, as well as increasing
the chance the questions would not be answered due to questionnaire
'fatigue'), it was decided to position them at relevant points throughout and
relate the questions asked to the quantitative questions where possible, in this
way, making the information seem more relevant and valuable. It was hoped
that together the focus groups, interviews, letters and replies to open ended
questions would provide a rich source of qualitative data. Although written
data are perhaps not as comprehensive or as directed as may have been
obtained with interviews, nor are they as informal or interactive as data
obtained from focus groups, it was nevertheless thought to be the best
proposal given the circumstances of the research. This approach to data
gathering provides information on the tastes and responses of the female fan
with which to test the various hypotheses about female horror film viewers,
together with a demographic profile produced from the quantitative data
provided by the questionnaire results and statistical findings with which to
support or expose contradictions in the qualitative data. Whilst the
demographic profile of the female fans and followers this provides may not
be statistically significant and thus not representative of the female horror film
audience as a whole, it does for the first time provide a profile of female
horror film fans.
A number of issues relating to the study of fans and followers, groups of
individuals which might be expected to have detailed knowledge of a
particular subject, also require some comment at this point. Olesen et al
(1994, p. 111) point out that 'the need for researchers in certain contexts to
have technical knowledge in order to grasp specific issues and to frame or
modify the findings' is an under-discussed area of qualitative research. Whilst
61
the study being undertaken here does not require technical expertise (such as
would be required in clinical, scientific or social policy areas for instance),
proximate knowledge of the subject is advantageous for the collection and
interpretation of data from knowledgeable and opinionated groups of fans and
followers. It has also been deemed important from a feminist research
perspective for the researcher to be able to develop an affinity with her
subjects, whilst ethnographers have come to recognise that the researchers
pre-existing knowledge, understanding and cultural commitments have
become central components of the research process. Tulloch and Jenkins
(1995, pp. 20-2) have acknowledged the value of proximate knowledge in
studying fan culture, whilst other researchers such as Penley (1991b) admit to
having become deeply involved in the fandoms they are researching.
Modleski (1986, p. xi), warns against such involvement: 'critics today seem
immersed in their culture, half in love with their subject, they sometimes
seem unable to achieve the proper critical distance from it.' Whilst such a
warning is not to be taken lightly, a knowledge of and liking for the subject
one is investigating allows the researcher, according to Giddens (1984), to
recognise the pleasures and meanings inherent in the fans' cultural
experiences. Furthermore, it proved an advantage having a personal liking for
the horror genre when recruiting participants; since horror fans can be subject
to ridicule and misunderstanding, and since many female fans recognised that
they were marginalised, the knowledge that the researcher did not hold low
opinions of the genre helped put many potential participants at ease.
However, the question of how the researcher deals with (and writes about)
her own feelings can be problematical and it was decided that whilst making
my liking for the genre explicit, this was not to be overplayed, nor would it
be discussed in detail with respondents prior to participation in the survey.
3.1.2 Locating the femaie horror film audience
The major problem for the research, given that the audience under study is a
largely marginalised and hidden one, was identifying female horror fans and
followers for recruitment purposes. Attendance at horror film screenings
would be one means of identifying potential recruits, but this does raise a
number of problems. Although film audience profiles do indicate large
numbers of women attending some horror films screenings, there is no
guarantee that a sample taken from audiences of horror films recruited outside
cinemas would contain sufficient numbers of female horror fans for this
62
study. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the tastes and responses of
horror fans and followers, and not a cross-section of the general public. In
addition, this method of recruitment was not promising for this study since
access to screenings would be restricted to a few cinemas in small areas of the
country for a short period of time. Similar constraints also applied to
recruitment through video rental stores, with the additional problem here that
the renter may not be representative of all the people watching the video once
it had left the video store.
Aside from attendance at horror film screenings (or rental/purchase of
video cassettes), the horror film audience might also be identifiable through
fandom, that is, via fan and professional horror and horror-related publishing
and through membership of horror fan societies and organisations and/or
attendance at horror film festivals and conventions. One potential problem
with both methods of identifying female horror fans and viewers is that since
horror films are widely regarded as a male preserve women may be less likely
both to attend cinema screenings of horror films and to participate in
organised fandom. It was therefore decided to recruit via as many and varied
areas of fandom as possible and these included fan clubs and societies,
fanzines and horror magazines, fan conventions and film festivals, and
electronic fan groups on the Internet.
It was envisaged that the majority of participants would be recruited
primarily from the memberships of horror fan groups (including the loose
network of university science fiction and fantasy societies, as well as large
fan-organised societies) and from the readerships of a cross-section of
professional and fan horror magazines, with additional participants being
drawn from attendees at horror film festivals and conventions. In the case of
fan clubs and societies, these were approached to either circulate their female
membership with the questionnaires or with leaflets explaining the research,
or, with smaller groups, to pass on details at meetings. Flyers explaining the
research and calling for participants were circulated at conventions and film
festivals and the magazine recruitment was via letters published on the letters
page, small ads, or, in one case, in an editorial column. A number of local
and word-of-mouth contacts from further afield were also included in the
study, as were a few respondents contacted via newsgroups and electronic
mailing lists (although since these tend to be dominated by American
participants, these were fewer than initially hoped).
63
This mix of recruitment methods seemed to be the best strategy to achieve a
mix of dedicated horror fans, more casual followers and those whose liking
for horror is part of a wider range of genre and media tastes. Recruitment via
letters and small ads in horror magazines and at conventions or film festivals
does lead to a self-selected sample, but since the audience being researched is
(or was expected to be) a highly motivated and opinionated one, having a
preponderance of such self-selected recruits is not as problematical as it might
otherwise be. This problem was also mitigated somewhat by the participation
of the fan societies who circulated their entire female memberships with
questionnaires.
3.1.3 Audience research: methodolog y strategy and execution
The questionnaire which was to be the main source of data from participants
outside central Scotland was designed to include a number of open-ended
questions and topics on which the respondents were invited to write at length.
Since this questionnaire was substantial (twenty-four questions, including
nine open ended questions, spread over ten pages), it was proposed that the
responses to the open-ended questions would be assessed (using the
computer package NTJDIST for the analysis of the qualitative data) as the
completed questionnaires were returned and if it was found that frequent
repetitions were occurring in the data received, further questionnaires
containing only one open ended question (inviting any other comments) and
slightly fewer quantitative questions were to be sent out. See appendix 1 for
reproductions of the questionnaires used. Follow up discussion on an
individual basis with selected respondents was a subsequent option used in a
some cases.
Whilst this method of data collection is not an ideal substitute for data
acquired through face to face interview (the potential exists for the respondent
to more easily falsify or embroider information given in a questionnaire), all
but eight respondents declined to give a full name and address for further
contact, and it can be assumed from this that the bulk of the data thus
collected was as reliable as possible under the circumstances (or, at the very
least, was not substantially falsified). The quality of many of the open-ended
question responses was also such that it is undoubtedly written as 'stream-of-
consciousness' and not as pre-ordered or 'cleaned-up' material. A high
proportion of participants also wrote at great length in reply to the questions
and this provided large quantities of data.
64
Focus groups discussed the same set of open-ended questions as included
in the questionnaire, and both were designed around a set of hypotheses
about female horror film viewing. The qualitative analysis was aimed at
investigating the following set of hypotheses:
1 That female horror fans make up a 'hidden', yet often substantial, portion
of the horror film audience. (Since horror has always been a literary genre
which women have participated in, both as readers and writers, the
question must be why is it that women have been rendered invisible as
participants in horror cinema?)
la That female viewing takes place in isolation, i.e. in the home, films
viewed on television or video. (Women's consumption of other despised
genres such as soap opera and romance fiction have previously been
recognised as being consumed in private.)
lb That female horror fans do not participate widely in organised horror
fandom (since horror fandom, too, is largely male-dominated).
2 That female viewers of the horror genre prefer feminine forms of the
genre. (Women's horror literature has often explored feminist themes and
there are some similarities between women's horror fiction and the
contemporary horror film which are explored elsewhere.)
2a That they derive greater pleasure from viewing films with an erotic
element between monster and victim, principally vampire films. (In
addition to films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula being marketed to
women, large numbers of vampire novels have been written by women.)
2b That, as part of what they regard as their horror film consumption, they
view mainstream films not always classified as horror but which contain
elements or plot devices similar to horror. (As has been discussed by
Doane (1985, p68) horror has aspects which may link it to the woman's
film: 'The "woman's film" is not a "pure" genre ... . It is crossed and
informed by a number of other genres or types - melodrama, film noir,
the gothic or horror film - and finds its point of unification ultimately in
the fact of its address.')
3 That female horror film fans might enjoy the horrific images and elements
in horror films (i.e. they refuse to refuse to look).
3a That they do not exhibit viewing practices observed in adolescent female
horror film viewers (showing fear or fright at horrific images and relying
on a boyfriend for comfort).
4 That female horror film fans do not consider the horror genre to be
misogynist or disregard the fact that it is.
The scope of this study does not include an investigation of the behavioural
effects of viewing horror films since these would be self-reported and could
not be confirmed by large-scale observation and, since the sample is self-
selecting, would not necessarily be representative of the whole female
audience.
The initial set of hypotheses on which focus groups and open-ended
questions were based were first tested against a number of secondary data
65
sources in order to determine their acceptability as the basis for research. As
with other qualitative research projects, the wealth of information obtained -
from both the primary and secondary data sources - provided other avenues
of investigation and generated as many hypotheses as they proved or
disproved (see Hill, for example).
At this stage of the research, participant observation of two electronic mailing
lists was also undertaken and, although less useful than initially hoped
because membership is mostly American, is worth mentioning briefly here.
An area of fan culture which has emerged (and grown enormously) in recent
years is electronic communication between fans via the Internet. Fans and
followers of particular programmes, stars and genres now participate in a
large number of discussion groups and mailing lists and/or create sites on the
World Wide Web (see, for instance, Clerc on The X-Files on-line fandom in
Laveryetal., 1996).
There are a number of public discussion groups (news groups) on the
Usenet system which are related to horror films, including alt.horror,
alt.vampyres and alt.cult-movies. Private electronic mailing lists also exist: in
particular, on the subject of horror films and fiction, on all subjects related to
vampirism, one devoted to horror fiction alone and one on
supernatural/Gothic fiction. Newsgroups are open to all-comers and anyone
(with access to the Internet) may read or post messages, whereas mailing lists
must be subscribed to and all communications are sent via private electronic-
mail. Any person with an electronic mail address may join mailing lists on
various topics (hundreds of these lists exist with subjects ranging from
to particle physics). Mail sent by individual members to the list is
circulated to all members on the list. (It was decided to observe the e-mail lists
rather than the relevant news groups since the former have a formal
membership list which is more likely to give representative and verifiable
data.)
Observation was made of two electronic-mailing lists: a list for discussion
of vampires (VAMPYRES-L) and one for the discussion of horror in film and
fiction (HORROR). Women participated actively and in large numbers on
both lists. Of the registered users on the horror list 31 per cent were female. It
was much harder to ascertain the sex of members on the vampyre list since
many adopted aliases (referred to as 'vampire personas') under which they
registered and posted messages and these aliases were not necessarily of the
66
same sex as the writer. Thus, it is not always possible to establish the sex of
individual members and posts from individuals are often difficult to validate.
Discussion on both lists was wide-ranging, but whereas that on the horror
list was largely debate about films, books and (rather less often) real-life
horror, the vast majority of material on the vampyre list was 'fluff' (messages
in the form of fiction or poetry), much of it concerning the invented life-
stories and adventures of the vampire personas the members adopted. It was
not felt productive to follow up discussions on the vampyre list, but
observation of the horror list was continued for several months and the
discussion proved useful in gauging the discourses common among horror
fans.
The horror list discussion consisted mainly of debate on horror generally,
reviews and recommendations for films and books, and sometimes heated
debates on these topics. The members participate in group views (members
take turns to choose a horror film which is viewed over a weekend and then
discussed over the following week), group reads (members choose a horror
novel which they read by a certain deadline and then discuss, these rather less
frequent than the fortnightly group views), discuss new horror films and
novels, and discuss the genre more generally (common subjects are what
particular books/authors/films are liked, debates about whether gore or
atmospheric horror is better, personal experiences such as how they came to
be attracted to horror and discussions of real-life horror and serial killers).
Participation in this list by women reflects the male-female ratio of World
Wide Web users generally and is slightly higher than that found elsewhere on
Internet discussion groups: of 433 non-concealed members (there were seven
concealed members at the time the membership list was output), 122 were
female, 276 male and thirty-five of unknown sex 1 - that is, 31 per cent of list
participants where the sex is known are female. This is very close to the
figure given by Georgia Institute of Technology Graphics, Visualisation and
Usability Centre survey which identifies 31.4 per cent of the World Wide
Web population as being female.2 Since the vast majority of Internet users are
American, both these figures are indicative of US trends. (The WWW
population may also be quite different from the population participating in
news groups and mailing lists since the latter involves potentially more active
involvement than 'surfing' the Web.) Women also contributed at least 31 per
cent of the postings to the horror list (397 mail messages can be positively
67
attributed to women out of a total of 1,220 messages during the period
January 1995 to November 1996 inclusive). This is a higher active female
involvement than in other similar mailing lists and newsgroups (or at least, in
mixed sex lists; some electronic fan groups - for example, Star Trek and Iii
X-Files - have all or mostly female lists, see Clerc for details). In Clerc's
analysis of X-Files fans (of which she considers female participation to be
high), she states (p. 48): 'On average, 25 per cent of the posts to alt.tv.x-files
were from women (45 per cent men, 30 per cent of unknown sex) compared
to 14 per cent of the posters on rec.arts.startrek.current (66 per cent men, 20
per cent unknown) and 16 per cent on rec.arts.sf.tv .babylon5 (69 per cent
men, 15 per cent unknown).' One possible reason for higher involvement in
mailing lists, as suggested by Clerc, may be that the sense of community -
desired by women and unavailable on news groups due to their open nature
and higher level of flaming, trolls and spamming3 - is obtainable to a greater
extent in closed mailing lists. Several female members of the horror list have
been participating for several years, and strong friendships have been forged
between members and there is a strong sense of community amongst regular
posters. Obviously, there may well be bias in the Internet population (and the
figures above) since a large proportion of people will be young and/or come
from a student or academic background. However, the female members of the
horror list do seem to be fairly representative of the population at large and,
whilst a higher proportion than the population at large are university staff or
students, as a group they range across a wide age range and job profile.
Although useful information was collected on horror fan discourse from
this source and the high level of female participation offered a potential wealth
of material, since the list members were almost exclusively American, it was
not felt that it was an appropriate arena either for data collection (since cultural
and national differences would make such data inappropriate to a study of the
UK horror film audience) or recruitment (although direct contact was made
with members from the UK who went on to participate in the study).
3.2 Survey of Mass Market and Fan Publications
One method of assessing both the constituency of horror fandom and the
responses and opinions of fans is via a survey of specialist publications aimed
at the horror film viewer. The first stage in the research, therefore, was a
magazine survey which examined both the content and the readers responses
in a number of titles. This was undertaken as a first step towards designing
68
the study and assessing the possibilities for recruiting participants. Secondary
data were collected from various fan sources; firstly, material written by
horror film fans and published in amateur or semi-professional fanzines, and
secondly, material in professional specialist horror magazines. The intention
here was to provide a comparison with the collected data (principally to
ascertain whether the respondents reproduce widespread or common fan
discourses in their responses or whether there are points of divergence
between the group studied and accepted fan opinion as recorded in the
publications) as well as to incorporate fan discourses and published readings
of horror films in the press and fan media into the focus group and face-to-
face interview discussions. Since very little of the published material studied
was produced or written by female fans, horror fanzines and magazines did
not provide a good source of primary data on women's opinions of the genre.
However, a number of interesting findings emerged from this study which
impacted upon the research. Most important was the extreme sexism of the
vast majority of titles in the horror market and overall it was found that
women did not generally actively participate in this area of fandom to any
great extent. Since the results of this survey are relevant to discussion of
horror fandom in chapter 7 they ar&presented in full in appendix 4.
Much of the information gathered from the magazine survey fitted into the
areas covered by the hypotheses. An additional hypothesis concerning horror
magazine consumption by female fans was devised:
ic That female horror fans are excluded from fandom largely because of the
sexism inherent in fan publishing and fan culture.
3.3 The pilot study
A pilot study was first undertaken to test out the focus group and
questionnaire formats and to perform an initial test of the hypotheses. This
pilot study consisted of a questionnaire containing open-ended questions
based around the hypotheses; this was completed by twenty-one test subjects.
A focus group was set up to test similar topics. Although seven participants
had been recruited to the focus group from amongst female horror film
viewers and fans from Queen Margaret College, the University of Edinburgh
Science Fiction and Fantasy Society and students from an adult education
course on the horror film at Edinburgh Filmhouse (regional film theatre), only
three attended (the low turnout was attributed to the exceptionally sunny
weather on that day). The discussion was split into two sections: the first
69
being a focused discussion of the participants' horror film tastes, their
viewing habits, their views on the genre and the part it played in their lives,
and how they felt and reacted when watching horror films; the second was a
more open discussion on particular films that they liked or remembered well.
The good responses to the questionnaire and the level of discussion in the
focus group despite the small turnout was promising. The focus group
discussion was kept informal in order to try to replicate, as far as possible
under the conditions of observation and recording, a situation which might
occur naturally. One thing mentioned by a number of questionnaire
respondents was their feeling of isolation in not knowing any or few other
women who liked horror films and it was felt that the focus groups would
enable women to meet others with similar tastes. One participant was thankful
for the opportunity to explore her liking for horror rather than having to
defend it. The chosen format was considered successful, very little
intervention had to occur and the participants appeared relaxed and spoke
freely. Much of the discussion matched the data collected from the open-
ended questions on the pilot questionnaire as well as observation of fan
discourse in the magazines and Internet groups. However, the participants
had very nomadic tastes and had a tendency to wander off the subject into
discussions of other related genres and fiction. Much of this discussion,
whilst interesting, was not of direct relevance to this research and it was felt
that in the main study, especially with larger focus groups, discussion would
need to be more directed in order to keep participants on the subject.
However, attempts were made to preserve the informal atmosphere of the
group, since this was felt to work very well. It was also felt that since all
indications were that participants were likely to have a lot to say on the
subject, focus group size should be kept fairly small.
Several points emerged from the pilot study data:
? There was some dislike of watching horror films in a cinema because of
the behaviour of other viewers, although it was also felt important to view
in a cinema because of the institutional processes involved.
? There was a feeling that many male horror fans were juvenile in mentality
and had never grown up. There was a problem of being perceived as
'nerdy' and the opinion that there was no female fan equivalent of the 'fan
boy'.4 On this subject, the participants were all in agreement that women
did not become as obsessive about the subject as the male fans did. This
was why two of the focus group participants would not consider or
describe themselves as fans but would happily admit to liking horror. One
considered that this might be the reason the female horror fan existed in
isolation.
70
? Participants who were active in horror fandom reported instances of open
antagonism from male fans at conventions and film festivals. One was
called a 'bint,' another was asked what she was doing there and told this
was not a place for women, and another was told in an informal
discussion to refrain from offering an opinion since women didn't know
anything about horror. Whilst acknowledging that such antagonism may
exist in some cases, others thought it might be fairly isolated incidents
reserved for the extreme edges of fandom (and they were not as heavily
involved in fandom).
? There was general agreement over the types of horror preferred, films
with haunting or tense atmospheres were preferred to those with explicit
gore and violence.
? The discussion had a tendency to broaden out into SF and mainstream
films and this led to some discussion of what the participants perceived
the horror genre to be. The general consensus was for a very broad
definition of what films could be considered horror.
Horror fiction was brought up frequently as this was read widely. It was
thought there was very little horror fiction written by women and even
some dislike of the female horror authors currently published. The lack of
female horror writers was questioned: was it because women weren't
writing horror fiction or because they could not get published? There was
a feeling that male readers did not accept horror written by a female
author.
? There was some debate on what women would do if they made horror
films - but depressingly found it very unlikely that women's horror would
be acceptable to the industry because it would not attract the male horror
fans.
? Science fiction was brought up on several occasions, in particular in
discussing how science fiction and horror merged in several films, and in
discussing fandom and female writing. Some debate took place on
whether it was more acceptable for women to read science fiction and to
participate in science fiction fandom.
? The best horror was felt to be that which tapped into childhood fears such
as fear of the dark, of something under the bed, of bad dreams. Much
mentioned was made of various triggers which gave the participants the
chills or particularly horrified them (these were often considered to be
personal and unique to themselves). It was important for horror films to
be scaiy and there was widespread enjoyment of being scared when
watching horror films; one participant said she didn't think she would
enjoy horror if it stopped scaring her, though some did not find horror
films scaly. Several reported that they watched without taking their eyes
off the screen.
Portrayals of women in horror films had much to offer. Though female
characters who screamed or got killed in their underwear were disliked
(some rather enjoyed it when the screaming girls were killed), there was
enjoyment of seeing women defeating the monster. Images of female
monsters were enjoyed because they were deemed subversive; and there
was enjoyment when they killed their male victims who asked for it or
wanted it (this was especially true in the context of vampire film).
71
In particular, the final point about enjoying seeing men killed by female
monsters led to the following addition to the hypotheses:
4a That the enjoyment of horror films by female viewers includes a form of
feminist revenge fantasy on men.
3.4 Investi2atin2 the audience
I Recruitment
Despite having statistics on female attendance at a small number of horror
films, and being able to infer a female audience of between 25 and 50 per cent
depending on horror film type, it is not possible to determine (or even
approximate) the numbers of female horror fans and habitual viewers in the
UK and thus the population size from which the sample was drawn is
unclear. It was therefore extremely difficult to ascertain how large a sample
was required in order for the data to be representative (or indeed whether the
respondents even constituted a sample). Stacey received 350 letters in reply to
her request for information in two women's magazines and subsequently
collected 238 questionnaires; Hill used thirty-six focus group participants.
Since the female film-going population of the 40s and SOs from which Stacey
drew her sample was much larger than the female horror fan population, it
was felt unlikely that this level of participation could be achieved. Hill's
research into the audience of New Brutalist films included both male and
female viewers, so again the population from which the sample was drawn
was much larger, and she also records (p. 13) that whilst the female audience
for these films was theoretically quite large, there were difficulties in
recruiting women to the study. The main reason given for this is that women
were not prepared to participate in mixed sex focus groups. Since this
investigation is concerned only with women, this was not a problem;
however, as Hill experienced, it was often difficult to persuade women to join
the focus groups and turn out was lower than hoped on several occasions.
Since it had been decided to collect qualitative data via open-ended questions
in the questionnaire and invitations to write letters, it was felt that this would
adequately supplement the focus group data. It was decided early on to aim
for at least 100 questionnaires and fifteen to twenty focus group participants.
The final result was 109 completed questionnaires, additional written material
(letters, electronic mail messages) from a further sixteen women, and fifteen
women attended five focus groups held in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling.
Two potential candidates were rejected since they were film studies graduates
with an interest in women and horror. An additional five questionnaires were
72
from individuals who read horror fiction but hardly ever watched horror
films. These participants were not included in the final analyses since the
research was concerned only with horror film viewers. A follow-up study to
ascertain why some women read but do not view horror would be
appropriate. As data collection progressed it also became clear that the amount
and quality of the qualitative data was such that it went a long way towards
compensating for the low level of focus group participation.
Focus group participants were recruited from the science fiction and
fantasy societies at the universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow, from
attendees at the Dead By Dawn horror film festival held annually at Edinburgh
Filmhouse, from members of the Glasgow local group of the Vampyre
Society, from attendees at a convention in Glasgow and from 'snowball'
contacts. For the questionnaires, letters were printed in Hammer Horror and
small ads were placed in three consecutive issues each of Shivers and fl
Dark Side, the editor of the fanzine Samhain wrote about the research in his
editorial column, and a flyer was circulated with several smaller fanzines,
including Demeter and Crimson. The British Fantasy Society and the
Vampyre Society circulated their female memberships with copies of the
questionnaire.
II The ciuestionnaire
The open-ended parts of the questionnaire and the focus groups were both
designed to collect similar data. A number of hypotheses were set up (see
above), the aims of the study having been modified and expanded in the light
of data collected during the pilot study, and questions oriented around these.
The participants provided such diverse and large quantities of data that the
hypotheses continued to expand as the research progressed. In addition,
despite fears that the data collected via letter and open-ended questions might
be a poor substitute for interviews and a greater level of focus group
participation, the two data sets combined were not found to be lacking either
in detailed information on specific issues or in the breadth and variety of
information across the subject.
III Focus groups
Focus groups were conducted in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling (a pilot
study focus group having been previously held in Edinburgh). People had
been invited from the SF/Fantasy/Horror societies at the Universities in each
city, from the local group of The Vampyre Society in Glasgow, and contacts
made through Intersection - a science fiction/horror convention with several
73
panels about vampires on the programme. It should be noted that horror and
science fiction tend to be common interests for many people. Each group
consisted of betsveen two and six people and discussion lasted around one to
one and a half hours. The turnout was low in some cases and there were
several possible reasons for recruits dropping out. Ascertainable reasons for
non-attendance ranged from not feeling like attending a focus group (although
questionnaires were completed) to claiming to not be very interested in horror
films any more; illness and being too busy were also cited. The low turnouts
did not affect discussion adversely since participants were very vocal and
more than willing to talk at length on the subject.
IV Participant observation
During the data gathering period of the research, participant observation of the
Glasgow local group of the Vampyre Society was also conducted. This group
met fortnightly in a Glasgow public house and consisted of between fifteen to
twenty members at each group. Meetings were informal and socially oriented;
many members dressed as vampires.
The observation of these meetings was of relevance in the area of women's
participation in organised fandom and is discussed further in chapter 6.
3.4.1 Data Capture
Focus groups were moderated with the assistance of a student from Queen
Margaret College, with the moderators adopting a neutral role and a
standardised set of questions and topics. Focus groups were taped,
transcribed, read through for preliminary assessment of themes and
identification of analytical categories, and finally imported into the NUDIST
qualitative data analysis package to aid in the interpretation and analysis of the
data. The transcription and coding process was repeated for the replies to the
open-ended questions from the questionnaire.
Quantitative data were imported into the SPSS statistical analysis package
for analysis. The results of this analysis are presented as a demographic
profile of female horror fans in the following chapter, whilst other results are
used in support of or to expose contradictions in the results of the qualitative
analysis. Further details of the statistical techniques used, the focus group
format and the questionnaire can be found in the appendices.
74
3.5 Further considerations
Given that female horror film viewers might be a largely hidden audience
segment, a major research problem was to identify female horror fans and
followers for recruitment purposes. Recruiting participants from those
attending film screenings, whilst providing opportunities for the selection of a
representative cross-section of the cinema audience, would not necessarily
provide a representative sample of female fans and followers since it would
exclude those who view films on video cassette or television broadcast.
Identifying fans and followers through the institutions of organised or casual
fandom, however, was just as likely to be skewed since it would exclude
those who are unable or unwilling to join societies or buy magazines (because
of time or financial constraints, for example), as well as those who are
unaware that such societies or magazines exist. It should therefore be noted
that although the profile of female horror fans and followers in subsequent
chapters is of an active audience segment, it cannot be determined how
representative this is. The diversity of recruitment methods provided a mix of
dedicated horror fans and more casual followers (some of whom did not even
consider themselves to be fans), but since it is impossible to determine the
size or spread of the population from which they were drawn it cannot be
called a sample. The participants were also inevitably self-selected; however,
they do represent a wide cross section of the population in terms of age,
education, employment, marital status and geographical location. They were
predominantly white and middle-class and, therefore, differences of race and
class have not been examined.5
This study, therefore, obtained information exclusively from self-selected
British female horror film fans and followers and its results cannot be taken to
apply to casual horror film audiences. However, since the topics that
concerned the respondents in this survey broadly reflected those within the
wider arenas of horror fan discourse (in magazines, fanzines and Internet
groups), it can be assumed that the responses reported on here can be taken as
fairly typical of female horror film fans and followers in general.
'Lists membership and statistics on postings to the list were provided by the HORROR
listowner for the period of observation. Aliases are uncommon on the Horror list, most
members of unknown sex are due to ambiguous names or giving initials only. This also
indicates that the Horror list might be more reliable as a source of data than VAMPYRES-L
or the news groups and thereby perhaps a better reflection of the horror fihn audience
overall. It may be that women feel more comfortable in participating in such a list and
indeed many women are active members on this lisi The list owner is female.
75
2 Sjstics given on www.cc.gatech.edulgvuluser_surveys/survey-1O-1996/ during October
1996. The WWTW is a more recent development on the Internet and since men may lead
usage of new technological developments, participation by women may lag behind men.
However, according to the G.I.T. this sex split has been stable for some time.
3 In Internet jargon 'flames' are personal insults or attacks on the poster of a message,
'trolls' are deliberately provocative spoof messages and 'spamming' is the posting of
irrelevant messages, often in large quantities.
'fan boy' is a fan (often adolescent) obsessed not just with the text but with trivial
details about the subject of their fandom and with collecting associated merchandise and
other spin-offs.
5 Observation at fan events suggests that there is little involvement in science fiction and
horror fandom amongst ethnic populations in the UK.
76
Chapter 4
Profile of the Female Horror Film Viewer
The accepted profile of the horror film viewer, as described in chapter 1, is an
adolescent male and it may be assumed from the social psychology research
outlined in chapter 2 that the majority of the female horror film viewers, like
their male counterparts, would be in their early to mid-teens. However, where
demographic profiles of the horror film audience are available, they show that
the audience does contains a high percentage of female and older viewers (see
chapter 1). It might be expected that these viewers are individuals who have
developed a strong liking for the horror genre and become fans or followers.
This group might be expected to continue watching horror films through their
twenties and thirties and possibly longer and may account for the older
sections of the audience observed by Twitchell (1985). Indeed, the liking for
horror is long lived amongst the survey respondents and persists well into
middle age and beyond. However, these women may not appear in the
profiles of cinema audiences because they mainly view horror films in the
home, either on television or video. This may indicate that whilst the primary
cinema audience for horror films is young and male, the secondary video and
television audience contains higher numbers of female viewers (possibly
because horror film viewing is socially unacceptable for women, but also
because older individuals might have less opportunity or disposable income
for visits to the cinema).
4.1 Demographics
Since demographics of the female horror film audience do not exist, it is
important to first establish a profile of the respondents. Whilst this research is
concerned mainly with the responses of the female horror film viewers and
their participation in fan culture, a demographic profile is presented here in
order to provide a background to the audience study. Although the
respondents could not be described as a valid sample, they do represent a
cross-section of female horror film fans. It should also be noted that since the
population size is unknown, this does not constitute a profile of the entire
female horror film audience.
4.1.1 Age of female horror film viewers
An initial hypothesis to be considered is that the majonty of the female horror
fans would be aged in their teens and early twenties (as might be expected
77
from a lingering adolescent taste for horror). The literature suggests that very
few individuals keep watching horror films through their thirties and beyond
(the existing audience statistics show the liking for horror declining sharply
with age). There might be a possibility, however, that some middle-aged
women might be more open about liking horror films: Cline (1992, p. 70),
writing about rock music fans, claims that it is not socially acceptable for
women to have fan obsessions except during 'two periods of hormonal
lunacy (adolescence and menopause)' when it becomes excusable if not
permissible. Cline supposes that fan behaviour is viewed as immature in adult
women, but forgivable around middle-age when eccentric behaviour can be
blamed on hormonal fluctuations. The age bands for analysis were selected
on the basis of a teenage interest in horror declining in the early twenties and
possibly being admitted to again during or after the forties.
The age profile of the respondents in this survey is much more evenly
spread than might be expected. 34 per cent of participants are of the age that
might be expected for horror film viewers (that is, twenty-four-years-old and
under), it being assumed that an adolescent liking for horror films might
stretch into the early-twenties. It is important to note that whilst few
respondents are under eighteen-years-old, this is most probably due to
limitations in the survey method and should not be taken as an indication that
this age group does not like horror films. They do in fact seem to like the
genre as evidenced by previous surveys particularly Cumberbatch and
Wood's (1995) market research for Sierra On-Line (see chapter 1); however,
it may be socially difficult for them to admit to such a liking, both because
they are female and because they are under age. In part for this reason, but
also for financial and other reasons (for example, not being aware of their
existence), it is assumed that teenage girls are less likely to belong to the
organisations and societies participating in the survey and less likely to read
the magazines containing calls for participants. 1 Otherwise the respondents
are spread across all age bands, although this might be less balanced if the
teenage audience were to be included.
68 per cent of respondents are over the expected age; 30 per cent being
over thirty-five, 15 percent in their forties or older. Few respondents are
over-fifty but the oldest person in the study is in her sixties. The fact that few
respondents are in their fifties and sixties may again be a result of the survey
method with few in these groups being expected to read the magazines
78
concerned or belong to the societies (in fact, the oldest respondents came as
'snowball' recruits). There are some indications that larger numbers of older
women like horror films than is normally supposed; several respondents
mention their mothers also being fans of the horror film, as do non-horror
fans and male horror fans who have offered information or opinions in the
course of this research. One response to a call for participants was from a
male fan requesting a questionnaire for his mother 'who is sixty-seven this
month.'
Even given the absence of teenagers in the survey, it was not expected that
the ages of horror film viewers be so spread across such a wide age band. It
does confirm that the total horror film audience is much less age and sex
skewed than usually assumed.
4.1.2 Background and social situation
Respondents are almost equally split between those who live with a partner
(married or cohabiting) and those who live alone (single, divorced or
widowed). However, the majority do not have children -73 per cent without
to 27 percent with. This skew is undoubtedly related to the age profile of the
subjects, but is also likely to be due to the fact that women with children have
less time and money for hobbies (possibly having less disposable income for
books, magazines and hobbies or going to the cinema/renting videos, having
less time generally to view films and little time or pre-disposition to
completing questionnaires). Docherty et al's survey of cinema going (1987)
suggests that people go to the cinema most frequently when young and
single, stop going regularly when they marry, have children or buy a house,
and then go back to the cinema when their children are approaching school
age (at which time they see family films).
Overall the respondents appear to be well-educated or trained for a career.
54 per cent have university or college degrees, 10 per cent of these having
post-graduate degree or diploma qualifications. A further 25 per cent have
been educated to English A-level or Scottish Higher level, and 11 per cent
have undertaken vocational or other training. Only 10 per cent have not
undertaken any education above English 0-level or Scottish Ordinary level.
The respondents also work in a wide range of occupations, although many
of these are in areas of traditional female employment A number of
respondents gave multiple employment with most of those so doing
79
specifying writer in addition to a day job; in these cases the day job was
considered to be their main form of employment. The largest group consists
of students (22 per cent) and this is to be expected - they are mainly in the
expected age range for horror fans (late teens to early twenties), and are also
in the age group expected to go to the cinema most. For those in employment,
the largest grouping (15 per cent) are in secretarial and administrative work, 8
per cent work in higher education or research and the rest are spread between
a wide range of professions and jobs, many of which are traditional female
jobs. These are computing, retail, librarianship, banking and finance, the civil
service, education and child care, publishing, work with animals or
agriculture, the health service and factory work. The large numbers in
traditional female jobs in sub-professional categories is to be expected with a
female sample and minors the results of Penley's study (1991a) of female
Star Trek fans and 'slash' fiction writers.2 9 per cent of the respondents
describe themselves solely as writers, artists, or working in an area of arts
and crafts (for example, landscape painting or pottery). The large number of
writers (including those specifying writer as a second occupation) is a
reflection of the numbers of respondents active in fan cultures; many of these
are members of the British Fantasy Society which is heavily involved with
publishing and encouraging fan fiction. A further 9 per cent have no current
employment outside the home and this figure includes those who are
unemployed, disabled, and full-time mothers or housewives.
39 per cent are owner-occupiers, whilst 37 per cent live in rented
accommodation. 16 per cent are still living in the parental home. Despite 22
per cent being students, only 8 per cent are living in student accommodation
(the rest are in private rented accommodation or living in the parental home).
This pattern reflects the age profile and the fact that many are still students,
not having entered the housing ladder.
The picture of the female honor film fan or follower from these results is
that she could be any age, but most likely somewhere between the eighteen
and twenty-four-years of age, equally likely to be married or single, but less
likely to have children. She is well-educated, having been to or currently
attending university and, if employed, working in traditional female sub-
professional employment. However, since the respondents are self-selected
and may not constitute a sample, it cannot be ascertained whether this profile
80
is representative. What is clear, is that women who enjoy horror films are
from a much wider age range than might be expected.
4.1.3 Other tastes, leisure activities and interests
There is also evidence that the respondents are nomadic viewers and readers
in that they have wide interests other than horror. Interest in film and the
cinema generally is high, with all respondents stating that they like at least one
other unrelated film genre, though unsurprisingly the most liked genres other
than horror fall into related categories with 85 per cent of respondents liking
thrillers, 76 per cent liking science fiction and 61 per cent action films. All
three genres (thrillers, science fiction and action) can be classified as
masculine, but a liking for other masculine genres is not present with less
than one-third of the respondents naming war films, westerns or cop films as
favourite types. Traditional feminine genres are generally not liked, especially
romances which are liked by only 16 per cent of the participants. There is,
however, a relatively high liking for historical and costume dramas (47 per
cent), and participants often relate a liking for this type of film to their liking
for vampire films and Gothic horror. It seems that female horror film fans and
followers do show some preference for masculine genres, but this is not
always clear cut; principally they like those films which have some similarities
to the horror film (often in emotional affect).
Interest in traditional female television programming is not high. Soap
operas, talk shows, chat shows and games shows are not viewed regularly by
large numbers of respondents. Rather, a preference for drama, comedy and
factual programming is indicated. These figures may reflect the more high-
brow tastes observed amongst ABC is but consideration should also be given
to the possibility that the results may be skewed because programming such
as talk shows and soap operas (and their viewers) are denigrated and
participants may not readily admit to being viewers (if this were the case, it
would be ironic that whilst admitting to a liking for one 'low' genre, the
respondents were hiding a liking for another). Although participants seem not
to prefer feminine television genres, very few participants regularly watch
traditionally masculine genres, particularly sports programmes.
Reading is an extremely popular pastime with 47 per cent of the
participants listing reading amongst their hobbies and interests. Not
surprisingly, horror is the most popular genre, read by 86 per cent of the
sample, with fantasy and science fiction the next most preferred genres
81
(although few read only horror, fantasy and science fiction). Most of the
participants read widely, although again the traditional female genre of
romance fiction is read regularly by only 7 per cent of the respondents. True-
life crime, which also has a predominantly female readership (see chapter 1),
is read on a regular basis by 27 per cent of the participants. This does suggest
that horror fans are not as interested in true crime or real-life horrific events as
might be supposed. However, the low readership of this and romance fiction
may reflect other skews in the sample, such as a higher proportion of ABC1s,
which may not reflect the general readership profiles of these genres.
Magazine readership reflects the fact that the participants' primary interests
are in film and television with film magazines and television listings titles
being the most regularly read magazines. There is a broad spread of interest in
other subjects, including one-third of participants regularly reading comics
and graphic novels (which is undoubtedly related to the general interest in
horror and science fiction). Again there is some bias against traditionally
female titles though overall this is less than in other areas of consumption.
However, other traditional male titles are not widely popular.
Participants have an extremely varied pattern of hobbies and interests
outside horror. Reading is by far the most popular hobby, but writing, sports
and other physical activities, additional areas of fandom, cinema, crafts of
various kinds and art and music are all named as hobbies and interests, some
participants naming up to ten unrelated interests and all having some hobbies
other than horror or horror fandom. These fans and followers, then, do not
conform to the stereotype of the obsessed or single-minded fan.
Finally, it has been noted that women are particularly interested in the
paranormal (clairvoyance, the occult and other similar interests). Blackmore
(1997, p. 683) found that 70 per cent of female respondents in her newspaper
survey were believers in the paranormal. There is a similar high interest in the
paranormal amongst the horror film fans. Interest in these and other
alternative subjects is high; 67 per cent of the respondents having an interest
in the supernatural (though some emphasise that this is a sceptical interest). In
particular, there is a strong interest in ghosts, pagan subjects including Wicca
(witchcraft) and clairvoyance. However, it should be noted that some
participants stated that although they had an interest, for instance reading their
horoscope daily, it did not necessarily mean that they took it seriously.
82
Overall, this group of horror film fans and followers demonstrate a wide-
range of interests, hobbies and pastimes, but with some clear and very
specific patterns:
an interest in some male film and television genres, accompanied by low
interest in many feminine genres; and
a lack of interest in real life horror in the form of mass or serial killers or
other atrocities, but an interest in unexplai?ed or paranormal phenomena
closely related to horror narratives.
The tastes in films, television programmes, reading material and alternative
subjects do not indicate a strong level of immasculation and, although in some
cases the viewing and reading patterns of the respondents tend towards what
have been defined as masculine genres, the supposition that female horror
film viewing is part of a range of feminine consumption is supported.
4.2 Viewing practices and preferences
Finally, it is important to establish the patterns of consumption of horror
cinema exhibited by the respondents, including the viewing preferences.
These are varied but do reveal some clear trends.
4.2.1 Viewin2 patterns
Nearly all the respondents watch horror films on all formats - under 3 per cent
never watch horror on television or on video, 11 per cent do not watch horror
films at the cinema. Cinema viewing is the most infrequent format for
viewing horror films, but is partly explained by the low numbers of horror
films released. Many horror films are released straight to video; these include
films by well known Hollywood horror film directors - for example, John
Carpenter's Village of the Damned and In the Mouth of Madness - as well as
low budget horror films traditionally released straight to video (the survey
was conducted before the recent cycles of slasher and vampire films). It may
also reflect the fact that some respondents dislike the behaviour of cinema
audiences or feel uncomfortable viewing horror films in public (see also
chapter 7). Overall, the 11 per cent who never watch horror films at the
cinema, together with the 67 per cent who watch at the cinema less than once
a month, does confirm the hypothesis of an invisible female horror film
audience.
83
The female horror film viewer predominantly watches horror films in the
home, either on broadcast television channels or, more frequently, on video
cassette. 31 per cent of the subjects watch a horror film on video at least once
a week, another 25 per cent watch a horror video two or three times a month
and a further 16 per cent once a month (72 per cent of the sample therefore
watch a horror video at least monthly, while 56 per cent watch several times a
month). Respondents view horror films slightly less often on television,
though the distribution of frequencies is different. 17 per cent watch a horror
film on television at least once a week, 37 per cent two or three times a month
and 19 per cent once a month; overall, slightly more respondents (73 per cent)
watch at least one horror film a month on television than on video. However,
there are relatively few horror films broadcast on the terrestrial networks
(although there are more on cable and satellite networks), and this may
explain the different pattern of frequency of horror film viewing on television
as compared to video. In each format (video and television), around one-
quarter of respondents watch horror films less than once a month. This, as
stated, may be due to relatively few horror films transmitted, but also to the
particular horror films shown which may be older films seen before or of little
interest.
The frequency of the subjects' total horror film viewing appears then to be
high - 12 per cent watch a horror film two or more times per week, 34 per
cent once or twice a week and 41 per cent two or three times a month. Thus
just under half of the subjects (45 per cent) watch a horror film at least once a
week. 14 per cent view fairly infrequently, although only 1 per cent watch
less than one horror film a month. Cinema goers in general tend to be young,
and may reduce their visits to the cinema once they marry and have families
(due to the financial constraints of mortgages and young children - see
Docherty Ct al's study of cinema audiences). However, a low rate of cinema
attendance does not necessarily mean that the respondents stop watching
horror films as the television and video viewing patterns confirm.
The respondents' viewing companions in the cinema are most likely to be
an opposite sex partner (33 per cent) or a group of friends of both sexes (22
per cent). This reflects the patterns found in the audience breakdown at six
horror films in Edinburgh (see chapter 1); however, the respondents do not
seem to be going to the cinema in all female groups as observed in
Edinburgh. 13 per cent, though, are going to see horror films at the cinema
84
with a same sex companion. When viewing honor films in the home, the
most frequent viewing partner is an opposite sex companion (30 per cent),
but 26 per cent view alone. Many of the subjects have boyfriends or
husbands who also like honor films, but some of the married subjects state
that their husband or partner does not like horror and they are forced to watch
on their own. Many of the subjects who view alone are doing so because they
live alone or are the only person in shared or family accommodation who
likes horror. 13 per cent watch in the home in a mixed sex group, the majority
of these are younger subjects (mostly students) for whom viewing horror
films on video is a social activity.
The specific viewing choices and preferences of the female honor fans and
followers are explored further in section 4.2.3.
4.2.2 Longevity of horror film viewing
It is clear, that for most respondents, the liking for horror is a not a short term
phenomenon restricted to adolescence; in fact, the taste for horror persists
throughout their lives. 79 per cent of the respondents have been watching
honor films for more than ten years, 35 per cent for more than twenty years.
Even the younger respondents consider their liking for horror to be long-lived
(one eighteen-year-old considers herself to have been a fan for more than ten
years). Unsurprisingly then, the length of time the participants have been
watching horror films is strongly dependent upon age (x 2 = 121.98, p =
0.00). The common pattern is for participants to have started watching in
early childhood and remained consistent viewers throughout their lives,
indicating that a liking for honor is stable over the respondent's lifetime. For
these fans and followers, the taste for honor is not an adolescent phase,
begins well before adolescence and persists long after. Even amongst those
participants who did not start viewing honor films prior to their late teens
(often because of parental prohibitions), a liking for honor is dated from early
childhood with these participants having developed their taste through reading
honor fiction and then catching up with the films when they were considered
old enough by their parents or were no longer subject to parental control.
Although the actual population size of female honor fans and followers may
be small, this does indicate that they comprise a audience segment distinct
from that of the intended adolescent and young adult viewers. Since the oldest
participants in the study show a similar pattern to the youngest, it can also be
presumed that (although actual cinema going and viewing habits have
85
undoubtedly changed, with the advent of VCRs and the availability of films
on video tape, for example) female horror film viewing practices and
pleasures may have remained relatively stable at least since the late- 1940s and
1950s when the oldest members of the study developed a liking for horror.3
In many respects, the female horror film audience might then be generic rather
than historic. A study of this audience segment may then be an important
contribution to horror film spectatorship theory.
The age profile is also confirmation that horror film fans and followers are
a distinct audience segment separate from the majority teenage audience
(although it is not known how many of the teen audience in the surveys or
social psychology research reviewed in chapters 1 and 2 liked horror before
or after adolescence4). The impression of the horror film viewer given in the
literature is that they lose interest in horror as they mature. A core audience
segment of fans and followers may remain, explaining the older segments of
the audience (as seen by Twitchell). Even so, it is thought odd to like horror
as an adult, especially for women, and this may be one reason why female
viewers remain hidden. One proposition which this study illustrates is that
women who like horror films keep their liking private and view alone or with
one or two people close to them who also like the genre - as indicated above.
The liking for horror from a very early age is also important. As
Cumberbatch and Wood (1995) point out, the majority of teenagers have
viewed 18 certificated films. It is not impossible for underage viewers in the
UK to gain entry to 18 rated films in the cinema and many more teenagers
will have seen such films either on video or when broadcast on television.
Video and television screenings may be the primary source for viewing 18
certificate films (including horror films). According to Cumberbatch and
Wood (p. 7), 88 per cent of thirteen to fourteen-year-olds claim to have seen
18 certificated films or videos, rising to 92 per cent of fifteen to sixteen-year-
olds and 100 per cent of seventeen to eighteen-year-olds. There are no
differences in these figures between males and females.
The experience of women in this study echoes these figures. 50 per cent of
participants claim to have viewed horror films before the age of twelve, rising
to 80 per cent before the age of fifteen, and to 97 per cent before eighteen.
Thus, the age at which the respondents first watched horror films may not be
unusual when compared with the age at which the general population first
view 18 certificate films. Nonetheless, it might appear worrying that 50 per
86
cent claim to have seen a horror film when they were eleven or even younger.
Some individuals do claim to have been watching honor films from the age of
five or younger. However, the films they claim to have seen at this age are
either films which would not normally be labelled horror or are films suitable
for children. In the main, the respondents named Walt Disney animated films
and other children's fantasy films based on fairy tales as their first experience
of honor. This is not all that odd: fairy stories have elements in common with
traditional horror literature and many nursery tales are contain horrific
sequences. Schechter (1984, p. 69) argues that a common source - 'that
"symbol-inventing" level of the mind, that reservoir of primordial images,
which is the matrix of all folk-dream and myth' - links folk tales and horror.
The experiences the respondents report are of being enjoyably frightened by
such stories or films based on them, a similar affect they obtain from honor
films when they were older.
Many respondents' early viewing of horror also consisted of television
screenings of Hammer honor films or older American horror films (often the
Universal monster films, but also films such as 50s science-fiction B-movies,
haunted house films or atmospheric chillers like Cat People). There does not
seem to be any cause for concern that as pre-teens they were watching violent
or hard-core honor films (although fg302 stated that her grandmother
possessed several video nasties which she allowed her to watch in her early
teens despite parental disapproval and exOOl tells how she illicitly watched
her uncle's copy of A Clockwork Orange when twelve-years-old).
4.2.3 Horror film tastes
Clover (1992b, p. 66fn) notes that there might be a larger female audience for
certain horror film types than others (she asserts the occult film as one
subgenre popular with women), suggesting that female viewers might prefer
particular types of honor. Indeed, clear trends do emerge in the preferences
of the respondents. Choices offered in the questionnaire (see appendix 2)
consisted of recent horror film cycles (for example, vampire films, slasher
films, gore films) as well as classic horror film types (occult films, monster
movies) and honor films from particular time periods or studios (for
example, Universal, Hammer). Also included were some genres or generic
hybrids often classed with honor by association (SF-horror, psychological
thrillers and serial killer films).5 This gives an indication of viewing
87
preferences with respect to contemporary and older horror film types and to
horror-related genres as well as popular contemporary cycles.
By far the most popular type of horror film is the vampire film: 92 per cent
of the respondents liked all or most vampire films. This is followed in
popularity by occultJsupernatural films which are liked by 86 per cent
(confirming Clover's assumption), psychological thrillers at 81 per cent,
Hammer horror films at 76 per cent, and science-fictionlhorror crossover
films at 74 per cent. The liking of psychological thrillers also supports
Clover's assertion that female viewers prefer more mainstream horror films.
It may also be that it is more socially acceptable for women to like genres
such as science fiction and other films which blur genre boundaries. By far,
the least well liked horror film type is the slasher film, which is liked by 25
per cent of the subjects.
Correspondingly, the most disliked horror film type is the slasher film of
which 54 per cent of the respondents who express a preference dislike all or
most examples of the type. The second and third most disliked types are the
serial killer film at 25 per cent and horror-comedies at 22 per cent, but
conversely these types are liked by 53 per cent and 59 per cent of the subjects
respectively. So it would seem that there are very few types of horror films
which some members of the female audience do not enjoy. The slasher film
would appear to be unique in its low appeal to female viewers. It should be
considered, however, that the reported dislike of slasher films may well be
because this type of film is heavily criticised (particularly for their
representations of violence against women) and some respondents may
simply be reflecting this bias. Other similar types of films (serial killer films,
for instance) are not disliked to the same extent. Furthermore, many of the
reasons given for disliking slasher films acknowledge but do not give great
importance to this criticism, and the main reasons given for disliking slasher
films are shallow characters and the formulaic nature of the narrative.
Very few subjects actively dislike the most popular types of horror film,
whereas the disliked types manage to achieve a fair proportion of proponents
who do enjoy them. So whereas only 1 per cent actively dislike the most
popular type (vampire films), the most disliked type (the slasher film) is
actively disliked by just over half the respondents and actively liked by just
under one-quarter. The participants who like slasher films have very specific
88
reasons for this (these are explored further in chapter 7 which deals with
reading strategies and opinions on horror films).
Some categories of horror film are neither highly disliked nor particularly
well liked with a substantial proportion of the participants not being fussed
either way about the type of film (silent films), or do not stand out because
large numbers of participants have not seen many examples of the type
(gore/body horror). In the case of silent horror films, this may simply be an
indication that the respondents are unfamiliar with the conventions of silent
cinema (respondent fglO3 said that she did not like the acting style in
Nosferatu, although she liked the look of the film). Similarly, many
participants may not have seen many of the more extreme versions of gore
and body horror due to their more limited availability in this countly (for
example, films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Last House
On The Left are still banned on video in the UK).
Supplementary information about the types or styles of horror film liked
and disliked by the participants was derived from rankings of the three most
liked and disliked horror film types specified by the participants. (Scores
were based on the most liked choice being awarded three points, the second
choice two points and the third choice one point. The same scoring was
applied to the most disliked types: that is, three points for most disliked, two
for second most disliked and one for the third.) A higher mean score therefore
indicates that though fewer subjects like or dislike that film type as one of
their three most liked or disliked types, those that do like or dislike that type
tend to have stronger feelings about it. In other words, certain horror film
types might be strongly liked (or disliked) by few individuals (but this should
not be taken as absolute - these rankings are a guideline only to the strengths
of feelings of the subjects about some horror film types). Thus vampire films
are strongly liked and so are Hammer horror films (but by fewer subjects).
The most liked horror film types are vampire films, supernatural films and
psychological thrillers, followed closely by SF-horror hybrids and Hammer
films. This reinforces the viewing preferences of the respondents. However,
when the mean scores are examined, the top three horror film types are
Hammer films, vampire films and films produced by Roger Corman at
American International Pictures. This gives some indication of strength of
feeling about the different film types by individuals. A few subjects do rank
films by Roger Corman very highly, but in the overall preferences over half
89
the subjects are either not fussed (33 per cent) about this film type or have not
seen this type (28 per cent). At this point it seems pertinent to note that since
this study is of British horror fans and followers, a tendency to like Hammer
horror films would be expected (these films are a part of British popular
culture of the 60s and 70s, have been frequently screened by the television
networks in the UK up to the present day and would therefore have been for
many subjects their first introduction to horror films). The strong liking yet
low score for CormanIAIP films may be due to the fact that Corman is
American. Although some of Corman's films are regularly screened in the
UK - for example, Masque of the Red Death (which was made in the UK),
House of Usher, other Edgar Allen Poe adaptations and The Abominable Dr
Phibes - they do not have as high a profile in British popular culture as
Hammer. Where participants are aware of these films, they may express a
stronger preference for them due to the star presence of Vincent Price, who
appeared in many Corman films; Price is mentioned by several respondents as
a favourite horror film actor. (An American audience might like AlP films for
similar reasons to the British audience liking for Hammer films, but not be as
aware of the latter; this seems to be the strongest indication of a possible
cultural difference in horror film tastes in this study.)
The least liked and the most disliked type was the slasher film, again
confirming the overall preferences of the respondents. The top 3 most
disliked film types were slasher films, serial killer films and silent horror
films. The slasher film was disliked much more than other film types, scoring
147 against the next nearest placing of fifty-three points for the serial killer
film. The dislike for silent horror films is a strong profession of dislike by
relatively few participants; it is possible, given that very few specify a general
dislike for this type of horror film, that the dislike for silent horror films is
simply due to difficulties with viewing films from early silent cinema (as
suggested above).
Participants were also invited to name up to ten of their favourite horror
films. Not all participants named ten films and a few named more. In
addition, some participants named categories or directors: these included
'giant bug movies' (1), 'Night of the Living Dead films' (1), 'all the Scanners
films' (1), Hammer Horror films (2), David Cronenberg films (2), 'anything
directed by Sam Raimi' (1), 'anything starring Vincent Price' (1), and
'Abbott and Costello Meet (any of the monsters)' (1). In 2 cases the film was
90
not identifiable: 'Nosferatu (this version although modem was shot in black
and white)', 'Vampvre (Mumau)'. 6 In a number of cases where films have
been remade on one or more occasions the version was unspecified, these
included: The Blob (1), Cape Fear (2), Dracula (6), Frankenstein (2),
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (2), Nosferatu (6). In total, 336 individual
films were named by 107 of the participants. The most popular (i.e. the most
frequently named) are: Heliraiser (which was named by thirty-three
respondents as one of their favourites), Alien and Interview With the Vampire
(both named by thirty respondents), followed by The Lost Boys, Aliens,
Bram Stoker's Dracula, Evil Dead, The Hunger, the 1982 remake of Ih
Thing, Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs,
Nightbreed, The Haunting, Hellraiser 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Psycho,
An American Werewolf in London, Army of Darkness - Evil Dead 3, ji
Dead 2 and The Omen which all named by between twenty-two and ten
respondents. In addition, three films (Halloween, the remake of Nosferatu,
Salem's Lot) received nine mentions; two films (Hellraiser 3, The Shining)
received eight, five films (Alien3, Near Dark, Nosferatu (original), The Pit
and the Pendulum, Warlock) were listed seven times, and a further ten
(Candyman, Company of Wolves, Day of the Dead, The Devil Rides Out,
Dracula - Prince of Darkness, Manhunter, Mar y Shelley's Frankenstein,
Misery, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The Wicker Man) six times. A further
twelve films received five mentions, seventeen films four, twenty-six films
three, sixty-six films two and 174 films one mention each. 7 This is not meant
to imply that female horror film viewers generally will be expected to like
Hellraiser, for example, more than other horror films, simply to provide some
guidelines as to what the respondents look for in their horror film viewing
(analysis of this is provided in chapter 7).
Films which are not horror or closely related to horror8 account for
approximately 24 per cent (eighty-two out of 344 including the named groups
of films) of all the favourite horror films named by the respondents. This is
only slightly higher than the 20 per cent of films which Tudor (1989, p. 17)
claims are problematically classified on the fringes of the genre and
demonstrates, particularly considering the strangeness of certain films some
respondents classify as horror, that this segment of the audience at least
conceives a broad definition of the horror genre and classifies films as horror
based solely on emotional and/or psychological affect. Among the films
which might not properly be called horror films were:
91
? comedies and fantasy-comedies
e.g. Beetlejuice, Carry on Screaming, Ghostbusters, The Witches of
Eastwick
? fantasies and dark fantasies (including sword & sorcery)
e.g. The Beastmaster, Edward Scissorhands, Legend, Highlander
? science fiction
e.g. The Thing (From Another World), Robocop, Total Recall, The War
of the Worlds
? thrillers, psychological thrillers, maternal melodramas and psychological
dramas
e.g. Cape Fear, Sister, My Sister, Spellbound, The Tenant
? avant garde, foreign
e.g. Blue Velvet, Onibaba, Orph?e, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
? other (war, western, action, crime, rape-revenge)
e.g. First Blood, Jaws, Mad Max, Rasputin: The Mad Monk
Among those films which are not usually classified as horror films are:
Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Brimstone and Treacle, Field of Dreams,
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, High Plains Drifter, The Hand that Rocks
the Cradle, Jagged Edge, Jason and the Argonauts, The Kra ys, What Ever
Happened to Baby Jane, Play Misty For Me, Marathon Man, The Name of
the Rose and Salo: 120 Days of Sodom. Some of these films do have a high
horror content and all illustrate the difficulties with drawing boundaries to the
horror genre and with classifying some art or avant garde films altogether (see
chapter 1). They also illustrate the fact that mainstream films can contain
material which would be at home in a horror film. The selection of Laurence
Olivier's Richard III by one respondent is a case in point.
The twenty most frequently selected films confirm the favourite film type
selections with four vampire films (Interview with the Vampire, The Lost
Boys, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Hunger), three supernatural/occult films
(The Exorcist, The Omen, The Haunting), two psychological thrillers (Ijj
Silence of the Lambs, Psycho) and three SF-horror films (Alien, Aliens, L
Thing) in the list. The list also contains three films by Clive Barker
(Hellraiser, Hellraiser 2, Nightbreed), and all three of the Evil Dead series
(Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness). The latter indicate that
certain films within otherwise not widely liked horror film types (gore and
horror-comedies respectively) can appeal to female fans and followers for
very specific reasons (see chapter 5).
Some films are undoubtedly named by respondents because they are in
recent memory, there being several examples in the list released shortly before
92
the survey was conducted (for example Interview with the Vampire, Brain
Stoker's Dracula), but the majority of named films are older. Most are
economically successful or widely popular horror films which would be
expected to be liked by large numbers of horror film fans (for example Alien,
The Exorcist and The Omen). More significantly, a number of the films on
the most frequently selected list, whilst also being popular films, are notable
for having major female characters. This and other issues with respect to the
attraction of horror films for female viewers are reflected in the statements by
subjects when asked why they chose particular films. These are explored in
the following chapters.
'Further research into the viewing practices of this age group is indicated.
2 Slash fiction is the writing of stories (almost exclusively by female fans) based on the
romantic and sexual relationships between two male characters, for example Captain Kirk
and Mr. Spock from Star Trek. It is often accompanied by explicit artwork of the sexual
encounter.
3 This position is supported by several anecdotal stories relayed during the data collection
period of the study about people's mothers or other female relatives who liked hormr from
the 20s onwards.
4 1t has proved extremely difficult to find any women who liked horror as teenagers but then
lost interest in the genre to talk about their changes in taste. A small number of word-of-
mouth contacts were approached to take part in a focus group but all pulled out at the last
minute citing reasons related to wanting to forget about it or not wanting to talk about it
any more. (This may indicate successful gender socialisation in these individuals.)
5 Recent descriptive categories applied to groups of horror-related films such as the term
New Brutalism (applied by the press to films such as Reservoir Do gs, Man Bites Dog,
Killing Zoe and Pulp Fiction) were not included since they did not seem to have entered
common usage and may have confused some respondents.
6	 Herzog's 1979 remake of Nosferatu was in colour, although the first respondent
might have meant this film other versions exist with different titles; the second respondent
may be referring to Murnau's Nosferatu or Vampyr directed by Carl Dryer.
7 Ilad the selections of unspecified versions of Dracula and Nosferatu been specific, a
version of these films may have appeared in the twenty most frequently selected films (the
original Nosferatu might have had up to thirteen votes, the remake up to fifteen;
Universal's Dracula might have had a maximum of ten votes, the Hammer version eleven).
8 This figure does not include a small number of SF-horror hybrids which locate a horror
film narrative in a science fiction setting (for example, Alien).
93
Chapter 5
Viewing Pleasures and the Attraction of Horror
My sister and I try to scare each other as much as possible, we
usually turn out the lights just to prove we're not scared. As soon
as the film starts, I concentrate totally on that. It is only horror
films that can focus my attention like that. I am not bothered by
noises in the house while the film is on, but afterwards the
slightest creak will make me nervous.
As shown by the range of horror films liked by the respondents and their
frequency of viewing as set out in chapter 4, female horror film viewers
exhibit a strong attraction to macabre, frightening and horrific material. Like
respondent hhl 16 quoted above, they experience pleasurable responses to
and become engrossed in films designed to scare them. Furthermore, this
respondent and her sister try to heighten the experience by scaring each other
but also feel the need to show that they are not really frightened. It is
important, therefore, to establish how the paradoxical liking for being
frightened originated and developed. The work of social psychologists into
audience behaviour and the emotional affects of viewing horror films is
relevant here. In particular, research carried out into horror film viewers'
reasons for attendance, including sensation seeking and the practice of gender
roles, is especially relevant, as is research into what elements of horror films
are thought to frighten young children, older children and young adults.
5.1 Gender soclalisation
It was established in chapter 1 that, whilst the typical horror film viewer is
thought to be an adolescent male, the audience does contain many females.
An important aspect of the appeal of horror films for the adolescent audience
is, according to Ziliman and Weaver (1996), that the films represent a safe
means for adolescents to learn and practice the gender roles that they will
shortly be expected to portray as adults. In Ziliman and Weaver's model,
adolescent males can demonstrate to their peers that they can stand up to the
frights and shocks offered by horror films and offer comfort and protection to
their girlfriends, whilst adolescent females can demonstrate their sensitivity
and need for protection. Attendance at horror films for adolescent females is
thus part of the teenage dating ritual. Ziliman and Weaver (p. 82) maintain
that this process derives from ancient rites of passage characterised by 'strong
gender segregation along protector-protectee lines.' In contemporary society,
attendance at the cinema provides a social context which stands in for formal
rituals which mark the passage into adulthood. Horror films are particularly
94
appropriate for this ritual since they allow males to demonstrate their
fearlessness, bravado and protectiveness towards woman, whilst females are
able to show their dependence on men and demonstrate their emotional
reactions.
Comments by the respondents suggest that the female fan audience, being
mostly outside the age group described by Ziliman and Weaver, do not fit this
pattern. The respondents enjoy horror films, watch frequently and habitually,
and have done so throughout their lifetimes. Since they have been viewing
horror films and other horrific material from early childhood, it is likely that
they will have become habituated (the intensity of the initial distress reaction
will have decreased with repeated viewing) by the time they reach their teens -
the age of typical horror film attendance. They might not, then, be expected to
fit the behaviour pattern of protectee described by Zillman and Weaver.
Ziliman and Weaver (p. 86) recognise, however, that since frequent horror
film viewers become habituated, play-acting or pretence may fonn a large part
of these displays, especially for adolescent females:
With repeated consumption of horror films ... even squeamish
boys should soon be able not to express any residual distress.
Eventually, they should not experience distress and be at ease
signalling protective competence. Girls should analogously
experience a lessening of distress reactions. Their task of
exhibiting dismay and helplessness may prove difficult after
habituation, and demands on play-acting may ultimately be greater
on them than on boys.
If adolescent girls are to have a successful date in these circumstances, they
will have to hide their enjoyment. This pattern does not seem to have occurred
amongst the respondents. In fact, many of the respondents stated that they
rarely dated at all. Several respondents stated that they did not have
boyfriends whilst at school - fg2Ol typically states 'I never went out with
anyone when I was at school, so...' - and certainly many admitted to not
being part of their peer group or see themselves as being loners or outsiders at
that age. It is not possible, then, to ascertain whether these women might
have put their partners off by openly enjoying horror films. It may have been
that either as loners or as girls who had revealed their liking for horror they
were not seen as suitable 'dates' and therefore did not have as easy access to
the dating experiences of their peers. Cultural differences may apply here, but
a few respondents do report having problems with adopting the requisite
gender role, as the following example reveals:
95
I've seen quite a few horror films at the cinema with boys and
because I didn't find many frightening I didn't have the typical
girl reaction of cringing and allowing them to put their arms round
me to comfort me - so they didn't get the chance! But if there's a
big bang or loud noise and I jump, they're there as soon as it
happens with their arm around me, assuming that I need it, that
I'll be scared and they'll take advantage of it. Of course, I'm
aware of them doing that, but can sometimes use their stereotypes
to my advantage -jump three foot in the air in mock fear during a
film to encourage them to iniliate something on the date if I want
them to. It's easier than swallowing hard and plucking up the
courage myself! (exOO4)
It is also possible, of course, that in adolescence some respondents hid their
liking for horror films and viewed alone, just as they do now. Respondent
bfs 159 has always watched alone, whilst hhl 19 'used to watch alone' but
now has a boyfriend who also likes horror. A few state that they were only
able to admit to a liking for horror when they were older; em 103 says she
'used to watch them alone (or with my little brother) because I didn't want
people to know I watched them; now I watch as many as possible and don't
care who knows.'
One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that, whilst for many
adolescent horror female viewers - including some long-term female fans - the
gender roles displayed at horror films are a pretence (as Zillman and Weaver
indicate), there may also be female fans who do not take part in the dating
situation described by Ziliman and Weaver, and thus are not subject to this
form of gender socialisation. These women would not therefore be observed
by researchers such as Zillman and Weaver who concentrate on adolescent
cinema audiences. This is not to say that the respondents are not gender
socialised in other ways, gender socialisation may be a reason why they keep
their taste for horror private and view alone. Many do, for instance, seem to
regard their liking for horror as odd. Nevertheless, their horror film viewing
is well established. Given, then, that the respondents do not fit the accepted
pattern of adolescent horror film viewing, are there other models which might
explain the viewing patterns observed in this group of female fans?
5.2 OrigIns of the taste for horror
As noted in chapter 4, a pattern exists among the respondents: the taste for
horror films is frequently dated to a very young age and almost always pre-
dates the accepted age for horror film viewing (middle to late adolescence).
As pointed out, the films which viewers (occasionally as young as 5 or 6, but
96
more commonly as older children and young teenagers) are naming as
formative in developing a taste for horror are not often (or indeed ever) hard-
core, graphic or violent horror films or even films classified as horror. Rather
they are films (and sometimes television programmes) which provide a scary
experience or present a fantastic or grotesque view of the world. For the
respondents who first saw horror films in their pre-adolescent years, such
early viewing was of horror films broadcast on terrestrial television channels
and most of the films viewed in this way are considered to be relatively
innocuous (low-budget and often laughable 'B' monster movies or comedies)
or no longer thought to be as frightening or intense as when first made
(Universal and Hammer horror films). Frequently they were not horror films
at all, but television programmes (often episodic series such as The Twilight
Zone or Doctor Who) which contain horrific or scaiy material. It should be
noted that Carroll (1990, p.3) links the increased markets for horror and
horror-related material to the 'affection for horror ... nurtured and deepened
by the endless re-runs of the earlier horror and sci-fi cycles that provided the
repertoire of the afternoon and late-night television of their youth.' This
supposition might be broadened out to include horror-related television
programmes; current equivalents would be episodic series such as
Goosebumps or Eerie. Indiana which are aimed at a pre-teen audience.
Cantor and Oliver (1996) describe the kinds of material which frightens or
otherwise affects children as varying with age. Young children, they suggest,
are affected by monsters, whilst older children and adolescents respond to
endangerment and physical injury, with adolescents and adults also
responding to social, political, economic and global fears. They categorise
(pp. 64-9) the major causes of fright responses to horror films to be:
? the prevalence of dangers and injuries;
? distortions of natural forms;
? focus on the fear and endangerment of major characters; and
? arousal-enhancing stylistic techniques'.
By and large, this model supports the pattern among the respondents who
started viewing scary material at an early age.
I The childhood taste for scary material
Becoming interested in and subsequently developing a liking for hornfic or
frightening material generally (as opposed to horror films specifically) during
childhood is often dated to a specific viewing experience. Typically, this is a
97
film or television programme which initially induced an extreme fright
response but which was later dealt with by the child in such a way that she
wanted to repeat the experience. The film or programme causing such a
reaction may have been one aimed at an adult audience but was just as likely
to have been a children's film or programme. Some respondents can name the
programmes that scared them or attracted them to honific material and the
majority of these are Disney films, children's science fiction serials or adult
science fiction films or television programmes. There is a sense in which
these examples are taken as cannon within fan discourse, as when respondent
bfsl44 says that the origins of her taste for horror arose through 'the usual -
Doctor Who, the original television version of 1984.' Other respondents who
are not so involved in fandom cannot always name the programmes or films
they regard as formative:
I can't remember what they're called. There was one where the
statues came to life and there were people walking around with
masks and I thought that was so scary. Things like that you don't
really think of as horror but... (fg2Ol)
What this respondent remembers more than the programme itself is the feeling
of being scared. For most of the respondents, being scared was not an
entirely negative experience and they enjoyed the emotional affects. For some
a liking for being scared arose gradually, as for stiOl: 'Even though I was
terrified in the first instance I gradually found that I liked this feeling.' Liking
being scared in this way is often put down to the fact that the material was
known to be fictional, respondent hhlO4 says: 'I liked the feeling of being
scared, but knew it was 'safe scary' if it was on television.' This accords
with Carroll's (1990) theory of art horror. There is also a strong fascination
for the characters which they were scared by, respondent ed101 states: 'When
I was very young (about 5 or 6) I was scared by the cybermen on Doctor
but I liked it. I was also scared by the witch in Snow White, but later
became fascinated by her.' The fact that the formative viewing experiences
took place within the family is also important for many of the respondents;
hhll3 is typical: 'It started when! was very young with Hammer films on
television (my mother was quite lenient as to what I could watch).' These
comments raise a number of points:
? that scary material is not always that designated as horror (or, indeed, that
designated as adult);
? that children may have a fascination with (fictional) images, characters or
stones that scare them;
98
? that they may like the scary feelings induced by these images or stones;
? that the memories of the emotion itself may be stronger than the memories
of the material that scared them;
? that being scared may involve some level of pretence, or at least the
acknowledgement that the scares are safe because they are fictional; and
? that parents may condone the watching of scary material.
As illustrated by fg2Ol above, it seems to be generally recognised by the
respondents themselves that the material they found scary as children would
not normally be classified as horror (the BBC version of 1984, for example).
Nevertheless, for many respondents it does mark the start of their liking for
horror and emotional affect would appear to be a crucial aspect of this. Some
respondents clearly remember the emotion (fg2Ol, stiOl) but have forgotten
the specific film or programme which caused it (although they may remember
the specific image or story element). This would seem to suggest that being
scared is in itself the main pleasure, not the particular programme, film or
genre. This would explain the broad definition of what constitutes the genre
as seen in chapter 4. It also underlines the argument that being scared and
learning to deal with fictional scares can be a part of a normal childhood,
although it is perhaps difficult for some parents to see and deal with a child
frightened by fictional material, as illustrated by the following response:
My liking for horror films developed from an early age by
watching programmes such as Doctor Who, The Prisoner, Outer
Limits, The Twili ght Zone, etc. The Daleks scared me so much I
used to hide behind chairs, but used also to create a fuss if my
dad went to turn it off. (hhlO4)
This participant reports feeling scared - enough to make her hide behind a
chair - but does not appear to want that feeling to end - she will not let her
father turn the television off. This would seem to imply that she enjoys the
feeling in some way and in the above statement links this to her continuing
liking for scary material. It also suggests that despite physically acting out her
fear she knew that she was safe because what was scaring her was a
television programme (and obviously fictional) and that the source of her
fright did not therefore need to be removed. Many participants report similar
responses (including watching from under tables and from behind cushions).2
The liking for horror, even as a young child, does involve an element of play
acting at being scared, possibly because it elided the real fear, as is suggested
by the following participant whose comment implies a confusion or
contradiction as to whether her feelings were real or pretend or both:
99
I remember watching Doctor Who when I was small, that was
playing at being scared, sitting behind the couch because I knew I
was supposed to be frightened and I was frightened and I was
like 'aaaagh' every time the Daleks did something or whatever.
That's probably the first thing I can remember watching in that
sort of way. (fg2Ol)
Despite this evidence being based on adult memories of childhood (and,
therefore, spoken with hindsight or filtered through other discourses such as,
in this case, Doctor Who fandom and media representations of fans), these
examples support the argument that children are by and large fully aware of
the difference between real life and fictional material, are aware of how they
should behave when watching such material, and know that they cannot really
be harmed by what they see on television.3 Although such material did scare
them (sometimes quite severely), many respondents mention the dual feelings
of fear and fascination and the paradoxical enjoyment of being scared. In
addition, the majority of respondents have been drawn to the horrific for as
long as they can remember, saying, for example: 'I've always been attracted
to horror' (emi 10); 'I can only remember a vague sense of fear and
fascination [which has] been with me forever' (exOO4); or 'I have always
been interested in horror and the supernatural - even as a small child my
favourite books, comics, films and cartoons involved witches, ghosts,
vampires and so on.' (hhlO6). Many do not know how or why this
developed, as em 106 says: 'I'd say that the attraction to creepiness and horror
is something I was born with or learned by the age of 4,' but most feel it is a
natural part of their personality. This early liking for horror is also mentioned
as having developed through reading as well as films and television, bfs 132
says: 'It grew from an interest in horror/supernatural fiction which I'd had
since I learned to read at age 5.'
The taste for fictional horror developing at such an early age does raise
questions (whether it is possible to be born with a liking for horror and to
what extent parental influence accounts for the taste) which it is not possible
to investigate further here. However, the majority of participants assume that
an attraction to the dark side or a macabre streak is, and always has been, a
large part of their personality. Respondent em126 assumes 'it's just a
macabre personality I have... I remember reading Poe when I was six and
loving it because it made me feel chilled inside.' It seems that a taste for such
material can be instilled and fostered during the pre-school years possibly by
100
the behaviour of close relatives who also enjoy horror and related material
(this is explored further in point II below).
The films that the respondents mention viewing as children are mainly
older honor films containing supernatural monsters rather than that human
slashers and stalkers of more recent horror cycles. Many respondents mention
the supernatural generally as being attractive to them as children and the types
of material mentioned as being frightening at an early age often involve fairy
tale-like monsters or grotesque creatures (witches and Daleks being the most
frequently named). The common childhood fear of the dark is also linked by
some respondents in this study to the beginnings of their liking for horror:
I was afraid of the dark and had to sleep with lights on until I was
about 11 or 12. One night I just told my mom to turn off the
lights. Now I love the darkness. (em122)
Interestingly, this respondent notes a reversal from being afraid of the dark to
loving darkness in much the same way as a fright response to a horror film or
television programme is later reversed into a fascination with the genre. This
might indicate that the propensity to develop a liking for horror is linked to the
ability to overcome personal phobias.
Of Cantor and Oliver's categories, the second (distortions of natural forms)
seems to be most crucial in the respondents' experiences in early childhood.
Most of the examples the respondents' name as frightening fall into this
category and take in the ghosts, witches and Doctor Who monsters mentioned
above. Cantor and Oliver (p. 69) found that children up to the age of eight
were frightened by the fantastic (for example, the dark, or supernatural
occurrences and beings) and grotesque monsters (animals, mythological
creatures, monsters, witches, etc.). Many films and other fictional material
aimed at young children employ such elements (for example, The Wizard of
Q, Roald Dahi's fiction, traditional fairy stories and Disney films) and are
widely thought to help children learn to deal with real life situations (see
Betteiheim, 1988).
Disturbing, although otherwise unhorrific, instances in mainstream films or
television programmes are also mentioned as being part of the childhood
experiences with horror.
The thing that gave me the most nightmares when I was growing
up was watching The Tale of Two Cities, there were aristocrats in
a carriage and the horses ran over a small child and that gave me
nightmares for years. (fg2Ol)
101
I can remember having this dream about Battleship Potemkin. It's
the first dream I remember having. I must have watched it when I
was 6,1 remember dreaming of that scene with the people coming
down the stairs and being shot, that was horrible for me. It
doesn't appear very scary now, but it was then. Big staring
eyes... Maybe because it was black and white. (fg202)
The fact that a classic BBC serial and a silent film (as well as other children's
films and programmes) can scare children suggests that parents cannot
entirely protect their children from being frightened simply by restricting their
viewing to non-honor films and television programmes. Instances of fright
are just as likely to be found in mainstream programming and Cantor and
Oliver's triggers of fright for younger children (those under 8 years of age),
particularly the first - the prevalence of dangers and injuries, should be taken
in a wider context, and not restricted solely to horror films. Cantor and Oliver
(p. 70) also suggest that the younger children will be more responsive to 'the
visually grotesque aspects of horror film stimuli.' This may help to explain
the example given by fg202 above of being scared by the Odessa Steps
sequence of Battleship Potemkin - the element she vividly recalls is the staring
eyes which may have seemed grotesque to a child. The comment from fg2Ol
also suggests that younger children can be disturbed by threats of danger and
injury particularly, as is the case here, if the threatened character is a child of
similar age.
As noted above, a large part of dealing with fright for children in many
cases seems to be the reactions of parents or other responsible adults either to
the material itself or to the reactions of the child. This study does not intend to
investigate whether nurture or nature is the cause of a liking for horror, but it
does seem that in many cases it can be passed on from parent, other close
relative or older sibling. Having an adult help the respondent through a
frightening fictional experience as a child seems to be an important element of
developing a taste for horror films and fiction, but there are also indications
that the acceptability of allowing children to view frightening material is
another factor. The latter is an extremely important issue in contemporary
British society which seeks to censor the media and prevent children from
gaining access to violent or horrific material.
II Parental involvement in the viewing of horror
Cantor and Oliver (1996, p. 75) state that 'research on coping with media-
induced fears indicates that the presence of a caring adult and discussion with
a parent are potent fear reducers for children.' This may explain the high
102
incidence among the female horror fans of respondents who mention having a
horror or science fiction fan for a parent (this is just as likely to be a mother as
a father, thus providing a female role model). Since these parents could
presumably deal with their own fear, they were in a position to help their
children deal with theirs when it occurred and they may well have fostered or
encouraged the child's fascination for horror. A parent who cannot
themselves deal with frightening material is less likely to have the ability to
relieve their child's fears. The child may also be imitating the parent, both in
its own emotional responses to fictional material and in liking or disliking
similar types of film, books or television programmes. Undoubtedly, some
children like being frightened and this may be a learnt response (an imitation
of one or more of their close relatives - who may equally be an elder sibling -
who were seen to enjoy horror). Several respondents mention their parents or
other close relatives introducing them to horror at an early age, hh003 says
that 'since the age of 5, at which time my mother took me to see Jason and the
Argonauts, I have been firmly plugged in to the Horror/Fantasy screen scene'
and exOO4 remembers that
When I was 61 was allowed to stay up late and watch television
with my mother from time to time. Films like The Medusa Touch,
Rosemary's Baby, The Amityville Horror and the looming figure
of Vincent Price are veiy vivid memories. (exOO4)
This example could be considered bad parenting, but it seems that the
parent concerned - although perhaps unusually lenient by conservative socio-
political standards - thought such material acceptable childhood viewing and,
more importantly, supervised their child during viewing. Given a situation
where parents are condoning, or at least not forbidding, the viewing of horror
and other horrific material, how much does the parent influence the child in its
likes or dislikes? There may, of course, be many cases of children whose
parents introduce them to scary material who do not go on to become long
term fans of the horror genre. One possibility is that the preponderance of
such material available in the home (especially on television) and its
acceptance as part of popular culture reinforces the taste for horror. The
situation of viewing honor-related material on television at an early age, often
instigated or condoned by parents, reinforces Carroll's supposition (1990, p.
3) that large audiences for the horror film from the 70s onwards had their
origins in changes within society and entertainment in the 60s. He
hypothesises that the 'affection for horror' amongst the baby-boom audience,
'the first post-war generation raised by television', was:
103
nurtured and deepened by the endless reruns of the earlier horror
and sci-fi cycles that provided the repertoire of the ... television of
their youth. This generation has, in turn, raised the next on a diet
of horror entertainments whose imagely suffuses the culture.
Whilst there are some women in this study who are in their fifties or older, a
high percentage (85 per cent) of respondents are under forty-years-old,
making them children during the 60s and subsequent decades and putting
them into the television generations Carroll describes. 4 Although Carroll is
writing about the situation in the US, British television channels have adopted
similar patterns - although in the UK the relevant material tends to include
Hammer horror films, as well as US imports including low budget SF/horror
films, series such as The Twilight Zone and the Universal horror films. The
current preponderance of horror-related programming for children (especially
on the burgeoning satellite and cable networks) continues the trend noted by
Carroll. Such programmes include Goosebumps (based on the pre-teen
fiction series), Alone in the Dark (a Goosebumps-like anthology series),
Eerie. Indiana (an X-Files-style programme for children) and Big Bad
Beetleborgs (featuring classic horror monsters), as well as animated cartoons
based on films such as Ghostbusters, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and
Toxic Avenger. In addition, horror film merchandise, including a series of
figures based on the creature from the Alien films and Freddy Kruger (A
Ni ghtmare on Elm Street) gloves and Halloween costumes, is available to
children. The environment of horror which Carroll describes is even more
relevant today. The frequent viewing of horror, science fiction and fantasy
television programmes or consumption of associated merchandise in
childhood, supported by parental approval, would seem to be a strong
indicator of a subsequent liking for horror.
Even where a parent is not mentioned specifically as liking horror
themselves, their method for dealing with a child's fright is important. The
response of the parent in a case where a child has been frightened by
something she watched is, according to Cantor and Oliver, crucially important
to how well the child learns to deal with her fears. In the following example,
the respondent experienced an extreme fright reaction but was eventually able
to deal with it through the actions of close family members. This example also
illustrates that an adverse emotional affect - in this case to a frightening
depiction of an insect infestation - may be extreme but not long term. The
experience occurred at around eight-years-old (an age at which the child is
104
still susceptible to fears caused by monsters but perhaps also becoming
subject to fears about danger and injury):
I joke about the Night Gallery earwig episode giving me a
nightmare but it was really nightmares, a whole summers worth.
It didn't matter that I was no longer allowed to watch the show, I
wouldn't have anyway. I was a wreck. My grandmother and
mother finally had me watch from the door to my room while they
sprayed insecticide everywhere. That seemed to do the trick.
(exOOl)
This respondent, although initially very frightened, having dealt with the
fright then became very taken with the programme that had frightened her
(she also states that she now jokes about it and thus makes light of its effect
on her):
I didn't watch Night Gallery again until the following year, and
loved it. I even remember that first return episode. Something
about a little girl and her monster friend (who looked like the nice
monster from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters) and how the
townspeople wall up the monster in a stone mound. The last
scene has the girl talking to the mound.
The episode which this respondent remembers liking is about a non-human
but friendly monster and was not frightening in the same way that the
depiction of all too real insects was; this concurs with Cantor and Oliver's
description of what frightens seven to nine-year-olds. It is also worth noting
that the respondent's family helped her to deal with her initial fears by
pretending to get rid of the source of the fright. This respondent's fascination
for the genre continued and she also relates her experience of watching her
first adult horror films at twelve-years-old (at which age, in Cantor and
Oliver's model, the child is more likely to be frightened by instances of
physical danger and death):
I saw Clockwork Orange at age twelve which was certainly too
young for me. I was watching something I knew I shouldn't be.
My cousin wanted to see it and knew my uncle had it on video.
So John and I hid in the back room at Uncle Gary's house
worried that we would get caught and watched the movie. I was
not happy by the end. I started crying and couldn't stop. My
uncle was so upset, he finally calmed me down by distracting me
with another movie. It turned out to be Notorious which started
my love of Hitchcock. (exOOl)
Whilst Clockwork Orange is not specifically a horror film and does not
contain any instances of monsters or grotesque creatures, it contains many
scenes of extreme violence and is a film which a 12-year-old might have great
105
difficulty dealing with. A number of points relevant to this study should be
noted here:
? The respondent links her liking for one form of horror-related material
(Hitchcock films) to this experience, just as she links her earlier liking for
Night Gallery to a distressing experience. This indicates that a liking for
horror may be inextricably linked to being frightened, and later realising
that the fright can be controlled and enjoyed.
? The respondent's uncle showed her another film to alleviate her distress
(perhaps, reinforcing the fact that she was only watching fictional
movies). This undoubtedly helped her deal with her fright.
? One of the main reasons given for watching the frightening material was
that it was forbidden. In this case, the respondent notes that she was
sheltered as a child, but children and teenagers are often drawn to taboo
material.
? This example also illustrates a problem with having 18 certificated videos
in the home. The banning or restriction of videos does not necessarily
mean that children will never gain access to them - as this case illustrates
(Clockwork Orange not being available legally in the UK, although copies
can be imported from the Continent).
The penultimate point is supported by the fact that many horror films are
designed for the adolescent audience and often appear to be widely
condemned by adults, especially authority figures. The liking of horror is
thus taboo and linked to rebellion. Getting into a cinema to see an 18 film
when underage is a large part of the appeal of these films, as shown by
respondent fg405's comment that: 'it was a great experience getting in to see
an 18 film.' This factor does not apply only to horror films, as respondent
fg403 explains: 'I remember going to see Fatal Attraction and our faces were
plastered in make-up. We were so chuffed to have got in to see this film when
we weren't 18 and it was wonderful.' This factor must not be underestimated
as one reason why older children and teenagers want to see horror films (and
other 18 certificated material) at the cinema. It might be expected, however,
that since many of the respondents were encouraged by their parents or had
parents who themselves liked horror, they were less likely to employ horror
film viewing in adolescence as a form of rebellion and this may be another
reason why they did not take part in adolescent horror film viewing rituals.
On the other hand, those respondents whose parents did not condone the
viewing of horror became attracted to the genre as forbidden fruit and their
horror film viewing was often illicit. Parental rules against viewing horror
films as reported by the respondents varied in their intensity, some parents
permitting such activities to continue whilst not openly condoning it, others
106
making their dislike for horror explicit and forcing the child into more devious
means of viewing. Respondent fg302 said:
My mum was really religious and she was totally against it. I'd go
to my grandmother's house, she had all these video nasties,
Driller Killer and Evil Dead, she'd had these videos before they
were banned, and she'd let me watch them. I watched Driller
Killer at my grandmother's house in Glasgow.
It is usually older children - since they will be allowed more freedoms - who
gain pleasure from such illicit activities, although the respondent below claims
to have been seven-years-old when she first started to watch Hammer films at
her best friend's house:
Once a week I stopped over at her house, she had a television in
her room and we would diligently remain awake to discover the
latest mummy's curse, Frankenstein's latest plot and last but not
least what the enchanting Count was up to. I don't ever remember
feeling frightened, only excited. [We] thought ourselves so
clever, never being caught watching these films and from the
reaction of our contemporaries at the time thought we'd be in deep
trouble. Years later we realised that a vent connecting [my
friend]'s room with her mother's meant that her mum must have
known all along. To this day I still think 'cool mum.' Those films
certainly never did me any harm. (hhlO2)
As pointed out in chapter 4, many of the respondents who did not watch
horror films prior to their middle to late teens because of parental prohibitions
still dated their liking for horror from early childhood. They made up for not
watching horror films by reading horror fiction and then catching up with the
films when they were considered old enough by their parents or were no
longer subject to parental control (see below for more details).
III The developing taste for horror in older children and adolescents
Older children are thought by Cantor and Oliver (1996) to be scared by
situations of physical danger and death. They state (p. 73) that the fantastic
elements of horror films 'should diminish in their ability to frighten as
children mature,' with the other elements taking over. Given this model (that
older children and teenagers are not frightened so much by the supernatural
and grotesque as by injury, destruction or death), the typical adolescent
preference for slasher or gore films is underlined. It seems that the
respondents, however, remain fascinated by monstrosity and the supernatural
throughout childhood and adolescence and into adulthood, although the fear
induced by such elements does diminish. The main trends among the
respondents in factors which fascinated them or drew them to honor as older
children and adolescents, and continue to fascinate them as adults, include a
107
strong interest in an area which can be related to horror in some way.
Frequently mentioned in this context are mythology and archaeology
(particularly, in both cases, Egyptian); paganism, witchcraft or Wicca; and
vampirism. For some respondents, as for hhlO2, this interest mixes fact and
fiction:
I began to watch horror partly because as a child I wasn't
supposed to, but mainly because I had started to enjoy reading
literature related to horror: ghost stories, books on hauntings and
books of a historical nature - for example, books on Egypt, which
led inevitably to the legends of mummies. Upon reading of
curses, like Tutankhamun, and of ghosts, vampires and
werewolves, watching the films was a natural progression. As a
child I found these stories, legends and myths exciting and more
than a little intriguing. That excitement has always stayed with
me. That such tales are still told and re-told today with such
enthusiasm by film makers and writers reflects my own
enthusiasm for the unknown. (hhlO2)
For others, as for em235, there can be an interest in a factual subject: 'I've
been into horror since I was eleven-years-old, and checked out all kinds of
books on witchcraft from the library. My mother sat me down and had a
serious talk about messing with that stuff.'
Other reasons given for watching horror films in adolescence include:
? moving on from science fiction or fantasy to horror;
? the continued enjoyment of Hammer horror films (possibly related to
sexuality);
? the chance to indulge an interest they had previously had in horror but
which they were not allowed to indulge because of parental disapproval;
and, to a lesser extent,
? peer pressure.
Many respondents state that an interest in a genre closely related to horror,
usually science fiction or fantasy (although respondent hhl 12 also names
disaster films in this context), eventually led them on to horror. They see this,
in respondent hhl 12's words, as 'a natural progression.' Frequently, this
progression starts with their reading material as the following comments
indicate:
I graduated to films after reading C. S. Lewis and then all the
yellow (3ollancz SF books in the school library when I was about
eleven. Horror was a natural adjunct to that. Part of the appeal of
Gollancz was that their covers were very distinctive and easy to
find, I distinctly remember that. That was how I first came across
John Wyndham, whom I suppose is a cross between SF and
horror. I still remember The Chrvsalids which made a major
108
impact on me for its imaginative strangeness, but I've never re-
read it so as not to break that spell. (in 101)
Respondent bfsl36 started reading her older brother's Edgar Allan Poe
collection when she was 12: 'This was followed by Dracula and then
anything "spooky" I could lay my hands on. Obviously, I longed to see it all
on screen, so as soon as I could pass for ... 161 began movie going.' Those
respondents who were forbidden by parents to watch horror films as children
had, as here, a fascination with horror which pre-dated their being able to
view horror films. Their attraction to the genre seems to be very similar to that
of the respondents who watched horror in early childhood, as shown by the
following comment:
My parents did not allow me to watch until I was sixteen but after
that I was allowed to decide for myself. I have always enjoyed
ghost stories and horror stories and I collected books about
ghosts and vampires years before I was allowed to watch horror
films. (hhll6)
In addition, one factor which a small number of respondents mention as a
causative factor in liking horror are friends or boyfriends who introduced
them to the genre. Respondent bfs 102 is one of the few subjects who
developed a liking for horror at a relatively older age: 'As a student, my best
friend enjoyed horror films, so I started going with her.' However, it is more
common for such peer pressure to work on those with who already have an
interest in horror, as with respondent bfs101:
I started reading writers like James Herbert when I was about
fourteen but I couldn't go to the cinema then (I looked young for
my age so I couldn't 'sneak' in). I also had a school friend whose
parents let her watch horror films on television and she used to
tell me about them. Then my first boyfriend came along when I
was 16 and it was he who introduced me to horror films.
The accepted pattern of adolescent horror film viewing driven by peer
pressure is much rarer than other reasons given by the respondents, and
where peer pressure is a factor it does not rule out expressions of mastery
over horror. The model of gender socialisation set out above, in particular
teenage girls being expected to show a dislike of horror, does not
accommodate viewers who have a taste for horror predating their teens and
are unwilling to play the protectee. Whilst this may indicate immasculation, it
is just as likely that there is a failure to recognise that girls can have a liking
for horror (even though other evidence, as presented in chapter 1, suggests
they are). There may be other explanations for this situation, not least that
109
since many recent horror film cycles (including slasher and other films
associated with teenage audiences) depict women as victims, the young
female horror fan may choose not to watch such films, preferring to watch
other types of horror film (such as Hammer) on television or video. There is
no evidence that the younger respondents (closer in age to the intended
slasher film audience) like slasher films more than older respondents.
Certainly, there are no significant differences between the age groups in
preferences for slasher films (x2 = 11.73175, ns) or Hammer films (x 2 =
4.12047, ns); slasher films are liked least even amongst the younger subjects
and there are no significant variations across the age groups for any other type
of horror film.
What remains clear is that the vast majority of respondents, regardless of
the age at which they first started viewing horror films, are fascinated by
horror and fantasy themes and this is linked to an interest in related historical,
New Age or paranormal subjects. It does not seem either that their
preferences for particular types of horror change with age. However, there do
seem to be crucial differences, which arise during childhood, between the
female horror fans and followers studied here and the accepted model of
adolescent horror film viewers.
5.2.1 Sensation seekin g and risk thresholds
Since the respondents have liked horror from an early age and have learnt to
deal with (and enjoy) their fear, aspects of horror films which are expected to
frighten them as older children, adolescents and adults may be less likely to
be sources of extreme fright. As bfs101 says, part of the attraction of
watching horror films was 'getting inured to the goriness, toughening up.'
Although as children the survey participants were in most cases not watching
hard core horror films, they were viewing material which induced fright
responses and they accept this as an enjoyable childhood experience. These
respondents appear to have developed a liking for the fright response itself as
well as the films (or television programmes) which generated this emotion.
These experiences, which are for many extremely memorable, were
pleasurable and may be the origination of what Carroll (p.8) calls the
'paradox of horror' - the enjoyment of watching something which is not in
itself pleasurable. It may be that the respondents were able to deal with their
emotions in a way that other children (who did not subsequently become
horror fans) did not. The research into sensation seeking and risk thresholds
110
could offer one explanation for this. Sensation seeking is defined by
Zuckerman (1996, p. 148) as 'a trait defined by the seeking of varied, novel,
complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take
physical, social, legal and financial risks for the sake of such experience'.
Zuckerman defines four factors on his sensation seeking scale (SSS): (i) thrill
and adventure seeking (TAS), (ii) experience seeking (ES), (iii) disinhibition
(Dis) and (iv) boredom susceptibility (BS) (see also Zuckerman et al., 1964,
Zuckerman, 1971 & Zuckerman et al., 1978). In many studies that have been
undertaken, women tended to score lower than men on the SSS total -
possibly explaining why women are more inclined to like certain types of
supernatural or psychological horror film rather than violent and graphic
examples of the genre. Men in the same studies scored higher overall on the
TAS, Dis and BS scales, but scored equally with women on the ES scale.
Experience seeking, defined as 'the desire to seek experience through the
mind and senses and through an unconventional lifestyle shared with
unconventional persons' (Zuckerman, 1996, p. 148), may thus be a more
likely factor in women's liking for horror, particularly in light of their
preferences for vampire, supernatural and psychological horror films and for
their high levels of participation in vampire fandom and Goth subculture (see
chapter 7).
Zuckerman (p. 152), drawing on evidence from Tamborini and Stiff
(1987) and Tamborini et al. (1987), concludes that (among college students)
'interest in horror films correlated significantly with all of the SSS scales,
with the Dis scale having the strongest relationship.' Attendance at horror
films correlated most strongly with the Dis and TAS scales in both men and
women. What is not clear from these studies is whether the Dis and TAS
scores are higher for women who reported attendance at horror films than for
those who expressed a dislike of such films. The results may also be flawed
in that slasher films were still the most prevalent form of horror at the time
Edward's study was carried out and, as has been shown, female viewers may
be less likely to enjoy this type of horror film. It was outside the scope of this
study to determine the sensation seeking scores of the participants, however
many respondents' comments are typical of sensation seeking. An adrenaline
rush is frequently mentioned as one reason why they watch horror films,
which would possibly indicate thrill and adventure seeking (which
Zuckerman defines as 'a desire to engage in certain kinds of risky sports or
activities involving speed, defiance of gravity and exploration of novel
111
environments', physical engagement in such activities not actually having to
take place). This behaviour may be behind comments such as respondent
emi 15's that honor films 'excite me, much as very violent movies like
Reservoir Does do - a real adrenaline rush' and bfs 101 who says 'I found
that I enjoyed the sensations - the tension, being made to jump.' The
respondents also relate these sensations to being both sale and a safety valve:
The pulse races, the heartbeat increases - a definite adrenaline
rush. Honor films are an adrenaline buzz without leaving the
annchair, and they present us with nasty things we never ever
expect to see in real life without the guilt of mentally 'passing by
on the other side.' (bfs 123)
Serial killer/psychological films I find most exciting; the biggest
adrenaline rush. Usually I'm excited and elated, if it's been a
good film. If it's been a particularly good film, the adrenaline
rush usually leaves one feeling happy, excited and conversely
helps relieve the daily stresses and tensions helping to sublimate
tensions and anger in a positive harmless fashion. (hhlO4)
The hobbies and pastimes that the respondents participate in do not
otherwise indicate any great level of thrill and adventure seeking (though this
is recognised by Zuckerman as often being the case), however, a degree of
disinhibition (that is 'a social-hedonistic philosophy ... seeking pleasure
through partying, sex, gambling, and social drinking'; again either
participation in the actual activities or an unfulfilled desire indicates
disinhibition) is indicated for some. These respondents mention activities
such as 'socialising' (vs204), 'getting drunk' (hhlO2) and 'bar drinking and
clubbing' (vs2lO) among their pastimes and hobbies. Sports or physical
activities which some respondents take part in and which may be deemed
risky (at least for women) are rugby, football, judo and other martial arts, and
snowboarding (see chapter 4 for more details on the respondents' hobbies).
However, overall, few of the participants (approximately 11 per cent) regard
themselves as athletic and a similar number (12 per cent) participate in team or
competitive sports such as those listed above.
The link between boredom susceptibility ('an aversion to boredom
produced by sameness or routine whether in work or in personal relationships
and a restlessness when experience is constant' (Zuckerman, p. 149)) and
attendance at honor films may be related to the finding from the BR survey
(Docherty et al, 1987) which established a link between having a bonng job
and a liking for honor films. This link is confirmed by the 48 per cent of
respondents in this study who agree or agree strongly with the statement
112
'horror films relieve the tedium of my everyday life' (against 32 per cent who
disagreed or disagreed strongly and 18 per cent who had no opinion one way
or the other).
The sensation seeking research also determined (Zuckerman, p. 158) that
individuals who achieve low scores on the SSS who do expose themselves to
horror films may learn to enjoy them once they have become desensitised to
them. This does not seem to be a key factor for any of the women
contributing to this study (such women are unlikely to have been recniited),
almost all having had a prior taste for horror. Habituation would not explain
the change from extreme fright into fascination for horror reported by many
of the respondents in early childhood, especially since for many of these
women the change occurred over one or two occasions and the individuals
concerned state that it was the fact that they realised they liked being
frightened which was the key for them. This accords with Zuckerman's
supposition (p. 157) that sensation seekers 'might react to brief arousal
spurts, even to points above the optimal level, as fun, whereas the low
sensation seeker might react to any increase above the optimal level as
unpleasant.' It would seem, then, that many of the respondents are likely to
be sensation seekers.
Though there are indications that the participants may be sensation seekers,
discrepancies remain between the findings of this study and research into
sensation seeking, most importantly Zuckerman's assertion that sensation
seekers seem to quickly tire of horror films. However, the groups studied by
Zuckerman and others were college students viewing slasher and gore films
and therefore likely to come from the typical horror film audience, which
might be expected to lose interest in horror films once they are in their
twenties rather than the group of long-term horror fans which the respondents
fall into. Desensitisation could however explain the liking for many of the
women for more imaginative and unusual horror films, and the fact that some
seek out more explicit or hard-core films which will allow them to experience
the extreme fright they felt as children (see the discussion on emotional affects
below). Sensation seeking then, may be a factor in the respondents' taste for
horror, but is unlikely to be the only one. As respondent bfs101's quote
(above) indicates, one reason for watching horror is to stretch one's own
boundaries. This relates to theories of risk and viewers' testing of their
personal risk thresholds (see Hill, 1998). In Hill's model, viewers test their
113
limits as to what and how much they can subject themselves to by watching
violent films. This seems to be a factor for some of the respondents, as this
quotes from respondent em 121 illustrates:
If I think a movie will have scenes which I may not be able to
handle (forget Reservoir Dogs - big shudder) I do one of three
things - watch it with someone who has seen it and will warn me,
send a friend to see it first and then watch it with that friend, or
wait for the video and fast forward through the stuff I can't deal
with.
The viewing practice described by eml2l conforms to Hill's findings on risk
thresholds and viewing choices; despite stating that there are very few films
which she cannot watch (and the one film she mentions in this context is an
example of Hill's New Brutalist films), she nevertheless chooses to view
those films, albeit under special circumstances which offer her some
protection from images which are beyond her threshold. This is not the case
however for many of the respondents. Respondent em 105 says: 'I ... like to
figure out why something is frightening to me. And I like to think about
frightening scenes; it's like toying with those dark, dangerous recesses of the
mind.' This example suggests that some respondents confront and explore
what frightens them rather than self-censoring in the way eml2l does. Again,
this emphasises variations from the models of horror film spectatorship
offered elsewhere and indicates that fascination with horror might be a
foundation of the profile of horror film fans and followers.
Other recognised factors in a liking for horror are curiosity about morbid
events (CAME) and curiosity about sexual events (CASE) and these can both
be observed amongst the respondents. However, Zuckerman and Litle (1986)
found that women achieved lower scores on both CAME and CASE. For
women, CAME correlated with horror film attendance and CASE with sex
film attendance (for males, CAME and CASE both correlated with both types
of films). Again, this may be explained by the fact that the studies were
concerned with slasher and gore films (specifically, Halloween and Ib
Texas Chain Saw Massacre) which the respondents like less than other types
of horror films and suggests that the results obtained by Zuckerman and Litle
may be skewed. Their results suggest that women who like horror films will
be attracted to them more out of morbid curiosity, but less out of sexual
curiosity. In fact, both factors seem to be high for the women taking part in
this study and for many respondents sexual curiosity seems to play a major
part in their liking for vampire films and Gothic horror films in particular.
114
Some respondents indicated high levels of morbid curiosity in childhood to
which they attributed their liking for horron
I became obsessed with all kinds of morbidity. I became well-
versed in the old witch persecutions and methods of torture and
execution, and investigated a career in mortuary science! Along
with this came an interest in horror, especially vampire films. I
recovered from my morbid adolescence, but I'm still pretty
enamoured of the dark side and squeamish about very little.
(em122)
I used to hold funerals for my dolls and later made coffins for the
dolls I considered vampires. Many of my favourite children's
books were about Halloween or witches. I had a wild imagination
as a child and would imagine the most hideous things happened to
my parents if they were even five minutes late. My love of horror
was always a two-edged knife when I was young. I tended to be
a bit morbid and very fascinated with the supernatural and occult
and UFOs. (em 106)
It may be that the attraction of many of the participants to the Goth subculture
and vampire fandom is related to high levels of CAME. The sexual or erotic
aspects of horror films are also an attraction of the genre: respondent em 122
likes 'the erotic in horror films, whether it involves specifically sex or simply
sensuality;' bfs 159 finds some horror films 'sexually arousing;' and fgL101
thinks that the appeal of vampire films in particular 'must be sexual - it's not
something you actually think about - why you like them, but I think it
probably is the erotic side of them.' As evidenced by the high proportion of
females in the audience for films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, it might be
concluded that sex, eroticism and romance were the most important factors.
However, for many respondents these elements must be mixed with other
generic conventions of horror, as for respondent em 123: 'I like a decent mix
of bloodshed, suspense, sex, sensuality and a really good bad guy.'
It appears likely then that the respondents have high levels of both CAME
and CASE and watch horror to see sexual or erotic events as well as morbid
events. This may not necessarily imply immasculation, but may indicate a
feminine form of horror film spectatorship. The attraction of horror for female
viewers seems to be related to a particular form of feminine consumption,
namely that of Gothic romance fiction. The viewing patterns and preferences
of the respondents tend to be closer to other female viewing or reading
strategies than might be expected. Gender roles may thus play a large part in
the liking for horror, though not necessarily in ways previously suggested by
the theoretical research.
115
5.3 Visual pleasures and modes of physical and emotional affect
How then do the female fans and followers respond to horror? Are their
responses similar to those attributed to female spectators; do they show
evidence of a male spectatorial position; or are there any patterns which can be
identified as active female horror film spectatorship? The modes of affect of
horror are wide ranging and include affects associated with other genres -
namely, suspense (or the 'thrilling of intelligibility', as Barthes, 1978, termed
it) and laughter, but are generally accepted to principally take the form of
fright or terror (being made to jump or otherwise physically respond, or
experiencing horripilation, the shiver sensation). In certain groups of horror
film, notably examples of the gore film, body horror or other horror films
with detailed and graphic special effects, the mode of affect may be revulsion
or nausea. With all types of horror film, one of the most frequently
acknowledged responses to horror is the blocking of vision or turning away
from the images on the screen. Horror films are also thought to be
emotionally cathartic and their role as a form of escapism or phantasy must be
considered. A morbid fascination with the elements of horror may also be
present. Carroll (1990, p. 27) describes the emotional affect of fictional
horror as 'art horror', that is 'some state of abnormal, physically felt
agitation' caused by the thought that the monster is 'a possible being' with the
property of 'being impure' accompanied by the 'desire to avoid the touch of
things like' the monster, whilst Twitchell (1985, p. 8) uses the term 'artificial
horror' which he describes as 'what an audience searches for in a verbal or
visual text when it wants a particular kind of frisson without much intellectual
explanation or sophistication.' There are problems with both these positions.
Carroll's definition, which requires that the monster is both threatening and
disgusting (p. 28), excludes emotional affects which many of the respondents
report as part of their responses to horror which they find pleasurable, not
least the sympathetic appeal of the monster, whilst many (as shown above)
also state that they look for far more than a simple frisson as Twitchell claims.
Whilst fear, physical revulsion and the shiver sensation are undoubtedly
major elements of art honor, they are not the only modes of affect this group
of horror film viewers seek; other responses which are present primarily
include erotic arousal and inspiration for the imagination or fantasy life.
A further important feature which must be addressed is that the supposedly
unpleasant emotional responses to horror cinema are pleasurable for the
horror aficionados; this is what Carroll ( p. 8) has termed 'paradoxes of the
116
heart' and in his discussion of this he poses the questions 'how can anyone
be frightened by what they know does not exist?' and 'why would anyone
ever be interested in horror, since being horrified is so unpleasant?' The
paradox of horror must include the problematic female viewer who - in
contrast to the responses of the theoretical spectatrix - experiences pleasure in
looking at the monstrous body or at the violated body of the victim.
5.3.1 Feminine viewing responses
The accepted responses of the horror film spectatrix (see chapters 2) are
extreme fear and a blocking or averting of the gaze. Neither of these
responses seem to be common amongst the respondents. Refusing to look is
clearly not the case amongst this group of viewers (assuming that they are not
attempting to appear braver than might be the case in reality - however, this is
not borne out by their comments on their viewing practices and responses). It
may be, though, that since this is a group of desensitised viewers (as shown
in chapter 4 and explored further above, most respondents have been
watching horror since childhood) they would not be expected to flinch at
horrific or terrifying images in horror films. Whilst bearing the desensitisation
factor in mind, it is significant that two-thirds of the respondents claim not to
shut their eyes or look away during horror film viewing, with over 41 per
cent stating that they rarely or never look away. Certainly, most enjoy horrific
or terrifying images and, as shown above, there is a strong fascination with
images of monstrosity.
Refusing to look and other self-censorship devices are mentioned by a
small number of the respondents, but these are not always an unambiguous
looking away or blocking of sight. Some respondents adopt particular
strategies for self-protection; respondent em 112 says 'I'll spend most of the
scarier parts watching through my fingers on really scary movies, then I'll
laugh my head off almost as soon as it's over' and hhl 18 says 'most horror
films scare me silly, I watch them from behind a pillow when they get too
gory.' These coniments are revealing because although the respondents
employ some form of blocked gaze as a method for self-censorship, they both
state that they 'watch' through or from behind the protecting object (here,
fingers or cushion). This indicates a form of potential rather than actual visual
blockage, to be used only should the images become too disturbing to them,
as though an easily accessible barrier offers comfort here rather than an actual
blocking of sight. Other respondents employ comforting strategies which do
117
not involve the potential blocking of vision: hhl 16 says 'I sit on the floor,
because otherwise I start worrying about things under the chairs.' This
particular strategy of sitting on the floor might be related to fears of monsters
under the bed or similar childhood phobias.
Any analysis of the respondents' refusal to refuse to look, however, is
mitigated by their viewing preferences, and chosen films are generally not the
type of horror film with excessive gore or special effects sequences which
might cause many viewers to avert their gaze. Gore generally is not enjoyed
(over 60 per cent disagree with the statement 'I enjoy gore', compared with
22 per cent who agree), whilst an interest in or a desire to watch special
effects is not a primary concern (just over 29 per cent agree with the statement
'I watch horror films for the special effects,' whereas almost 35 per cent
disagree). It does not seem, then, that the respondents are primarily interested
in what Boss (1986, p. 18) calls 'the genuinely horrific features of the genre.'
It may be that a form of self-censorship is taking place in the respondents'
choices of viewing material in that they are avoiding films containing more
horrifically disturbing images and thus they need not refuse to look. This
would, for example, explain the preference for vampire films, classic horror
films and psychological horror films and the dislike of slasher and gore films.
On the other hand, the range of horror films liked by the respondents and
their comments on what they enjoy about the films do not lead to a definite
conclusion in this direction and some respondents do like more hard core
films. Rather, it seems that the impression many respondents wish to give is
that they find special effects or gore for its own sake pointless and boring
(though again this may indicate disavowal). And whilst there does not appear
to be widespread interest in gore and special effects in general, there is a
strong interest in the figure of the monster (which many respondents are
fascinated by): there is a desire to look at the monster, and in some cases an
interest in the special effects and make-up that are used to create the monster.
The following comment illustrates the dichotomy between liking atmospheric
horror but also wanting to see the monster clearly:
I like seeing the monsters in the films. There are some films (like
The Haunting) where the evil is unseen and the characters let you
feel their terror. Normally I prefer daylight and if someone is
going to the expense and trouble to create a great monster (Alien),
what good is it in the dark. Fog and darkness are great for a good
Sherlock Holmes story. If there has to be fog and darkness let the
monster finally attack under a streetlight or headlights. (em231)
118
Whilst a substantial minority (42 per cent) of respondents prefer to see the
monster, over a quarter (28 per cent) prefer the monster to be hidden, though
73 per cent of respondents claim that they prefer films which allow them to
use their imaginations to fill in the gaps rather than watch elaborate make-up
or special effects sequences. Respondent em 107 is typical in not needing to
see everything: 'Good storylines are most important - there has to be reason
for the seemingly mindless killing. I don't have to see the actual murder,
sometimes you can get a better response if you leave some things to the
imagination.' Concern is also expressed that if the effects are done badly, the
horror may not live up to their expectations, as respondent em 107 says: 'If
the special effects don't seem real, monster movies just fall flat regardless of
the story - I can't take a polystyrene alligator as a scary thing.' This may be
another factor in the preference for atmosphere rather than special effects in
the viewing preferences.
Overall, however, the respondents do not have strong preferences in these
three areas (gore, special effects and the monster), indicating that these are not
the most important conventions of horror cinema for this group of viewers.
There is a much stronger preference for the psychological effects of horror
cinema, as em 106 demonstrates:
I like the creepy hidden horrors, the horror from oneself, not
necessarily from outside terrors. I like the unexplained
supernatural movies for their 'theologic' theories. The 'what if'
aspect. ... Less gore and more mind games are what I like.
Horror films allow the respondents to think about real life issues; em23 1 likes
'the questions that horror movies raise' and goes on to say: 'They seem to
take the known and turn it into just enough of a question to make you a little
more cautious going around the next corner or opening that closet door a little
slower.' Others use horror films to spark their imaginations in creative areas,
often related to fan activities, such as hhl 16's writing of fan horror fiction:
'My writing seems to improve in the days after a horror film, it kick-starts my
imagination.'
These responses suggest a contradiction with Twitchell's assumption that
the fnsson of viewing horror is more important than the intellectual elements.
Again, though, this may be a reflection of the particular types of horror films
which the respondents prefer or that they do not wish to be seen as low-brow
consumers.
119
Further comment needs to be made about those respondents who enjoy
gore, special effects and watching violence or killing. Over a quarter of the
respondents (29 per cent) claim that they like watching killings in horror
films. These tend to be the respondents who like slasher films - there is a
strong correlation between agreement with the statement 'I like watching
killings' and liking all or most slasher films (x2 = 21.72573, p = .00023).
Unsurprisingly, there is also a very strong correlation (x2 = 29.23033, p =
0.00001) between those respondents who like all or most slasher films and
those who agree with the statements 'I enjoy gore.' There is also a correlation
between liking serial killer films and enjoyment of gore (x 2 = 17.73624, p =
0.00 139) . It was predicted that younger respondents might prefer slasher
films, given that these films are aimed at a younger audience, but, as already
seen, age does not appear to be a significant factor in liking slasher films.
Neither is there any strong correlation between age and agreement with the
statement 'I like watching killings' (x2 8.61446, ns). There is however a
weak correlation between considering oneself a fan and agreeing with the
statement 'I like watching killings' (x 2 = 8.16567, p = 0.01686). It may be
that this is evidence of immasculated viewing with these respondents adopting
a masculine gaze, and this possibility is explored further in chapter 8. Overall,
however, the responses of this group of viewers do not seem to conform to
that of Williams' feminine spectator who refuses to look or Zillman and
Weaver's learnt gender responses, but do fit the model of enjoyment of fear
and fascination put forward by Carroll. They also follow the pattern Cantor
and Oliver observed in what scares viewers of various ages, although there is
a tendency to remain fascinated by monstrous and grotesque creatures into
adulthood.
5.3.2 Fright, suspense and other affects
A number of suggestions have been made in the literature as to the
connections between the appeal of horror and the modes of affect which
originate from horror film spectatorship. Carroll (p. 206) claims that fictional
examples of violence or terror represent safe forms of entertainment which
can command the audience's 'attention, curiosity and fascination,' but which
might also allow the viewer to vicariously experience dangerous or disturbing
events. Many respondents indicate that this is an important attraction of horror
and horror film viewing is often compared to an emotional roller-coaster ride
which offers vicarious excitement or thrills not available in real life (Brophy
120
[1986, p. 5] describes it as 'not unlike a death-defying carnival ride' in which
the pleasure is 'getting the shit scared out of you - and loving it'). Being
frightened would appear to be the most significant of the emotional affects of
horror, and one of the most important defining features of the genre.
However, the scares generated by horror cinema are recognised as not being
the same as the negative emotional experiences of real life scares or frights;
'the horror genre gives every evidence of being pleasurable to its audience,
but it does so by means of trafficking in the very sorts of things that cause
disquiet, distress, and displeasure' as Carroll says of his second paradox of
horror. The question which remains is why some viewers enjoy fictional
material which induces uncomfortable or unpleasant emotional responses.
This paradox may be related to risk thresholds, which are individual and
change over time, since different types of material or images seem to frighten
individuals at different times in their childhood and adolescent (as discussed
above), and trigger a developing taste for horror in different ways. However,
some patterns do emerge. Whilst many of the respondents find horror films
scary and many do admit to being frightened when they watch horror films,
this is an enjoyable experience for them and does not take the form of the
extreme fear (and hence dislike) that Williams, Halberstam and others expect
to see in female viewers. As with the childhood love of horror demonstrated
above, respondent emi 16 says that she has 'always liked being scared,'
whilst emlO5 implies that her liking for being scared might be
psychologically healthy:
I guess it's an emotional extreme that I enjoy. I also like to figure
out why something is frightening to me. And I like to think about
frightening scenes; it's like toying with those dark, dangerous
recesses of the mind.
For others, being scared is associated with a personal phobia or
psychological triggen
Supernatural horrors ... I find most scary, particularly if
understated. They play on the deep seated fears, almost race
memory, we have had at least since childhood (the boogie man,
haunted house, etc. etc.) and also about things we have all had
contact with (religion, ouija boards, etc.). (hhlO4)
Respondent hhl 17 highlights the fact that the scares generated by horror films
are controllable and this may be why they are so enjoyable: 'When I watch
them they make me feel excited, scared, a little nervous. Afterwards I calm
down very quickly. It is rare that I feel scared for long after a film.' The
majority of respondents in the study (over 73%) claim to like being frightened
121
when watching horror films and this is related by respondent em230 to
emotional catharsis:
Horror movies offer audiences the deepest, most powerful
moviegoing experience, reaching beyond the scope of drama or
romance to the true cathartic blow-out that only being scared
nearly to death can achieve.
These responses (all forms of enjoyment of being scared) seem to
encapsulate Carroll's paradox of honor. There does seem to be an ideal
balance - though this level may be unique for each respondent - between
being scared and knowing that the honor is fictional and therefore safe.
Respondent bfs 130 says: 'Not many honor films scare me as I know that
they are fantasy and can detect the special effects.' This is related to age by
respondent em 111 when she says: 'At this age, I know they are not real, so I
do not get 'scared'. It's more entertainment, pure fun.' For some
respondents, including em23 1 quoted below, the perfect honor film should
have a level of fright which outweighs the sense of fictional safety, but not by
too much:
The reason I like monster and 'the unknown' movies is because
they let me get away from reality for a short while. I like the
feeling of dread and being afraid, but I like the knowledge that it
is going to end with the movie. However, if a movie can make me
scared even after I leave the theatre, I feel I've got my money's
worth.
As this group of viewers have been watching scary material, if not honor
films, since childhood, it might be expected that they have become
desensitised and able to deal, as Ziliman and Weaver's adolescents do, with
the frights of honor films. This does seem to be the case for a good many of
the respondents; respondent exOO4 'can't remember feeling afraid by
watching a honor film since I was a child.' Although many respondents are
desensitised, it is not often so complete. Respondents describe their liking for
honor films in terms of the scares which the films provide, though few seem
to experience this as strongly as they did in childhood and there is a tendency
to compare their feelings with those they experienced when they were
younger - as with respondent stiOl: 'I now find that it takes a lot for horror
films to scare me, so the films I watched when I was younger would
probably not bother me at all now.' This might indicate that some honor fans
might seek out more extreme or hard-core examples of the genre in order to
be scared and this might explain the minority taste for gore and slasher films.
Although respondent em234 reports a similar experience, she questions
122
whether this is due to her own feelings or the horror films themselves: 'My
biggest problem is that as I get older I find it harder and harder to get scared at
anything. Are horror movies just not as scary as they used to be or am I just
desensitised?' One solution for bfs 130 is in the viewing situation: 'I am more
likely to feel scared if I am watching a horror film alone.' Although this may
be one reason why some respondents might view alone, it is felt unlikely that
this is the sole cause for the isolation of some female viewers and female fans
are more likely to keep their taste for horror private because of social
pressures. Other respondents find desensitisation to be useful, allowing them
to watch horror films without experiencing too many difficult emotional
responses. For example em 115 finds that horror films 'used to really scare
me too much, but now they scare me just enough.' Other respondents also
indicate that they might not like to be scared in the way they were in
childhood, em 109 says 'I can't say any movie has scared the bejeezus out of
me since I was a kid - I don't know if I'd like that or not.' Undoubtedly
desensitisation has occurred but it seems to affect respondents in different
ways, some attempting to recapture the level of fright they experienced in
childhood, others regarding the desensitisation as something which allows
them to enjoy horror without being too scared.
A few respondents claim never to have been frightened by horror films,
even as children, although this seems to be an unusual response even
amongst a group of fans and followers. Respondent hhlO4 claims 'I am
never frightened, I hardly ever jump, I have never had to stop watching a film
for any reason other than it being boring.' Respondent hhlO2 states that she
does not 'ever remember feeling frightened, only excited. I have always
found the leaps of imagination and logic that horror invites to be most
stimulating.' Respondent edlO3 says 'I rarely get frightened by horror
movies - I can watch most films on my own, and prefer to do so.' This may
simply be a case of bravado similar to that identified by Ziliman and Weaver
as the adolescent male's response to horror - in this case, female fans (like
adolescent males) might wish to demonstrate that they can stand up to the
frights and shocks offered by horror films (if only for the researcher) - or
they may be performing the role (again, attributed mostly to male fans) of
horror fan laughing in the face of gore, terror or shocks (see Sanjek, 1990). It
may also reflect the fact that the female fan or follower became accustomed to
the emotional responses generated by horrific material at a very early age and
can no longer recall them. Again, this indicates desensitisation which does not
123
match the expected reactions of constructed viewers described in much of the
literature.
Some doubts might be raised by the 19 per cent of respondents who state
that they do not like being frightened, particularly as to why they might
continue to watch horror films at all. In some cases, it is certain types of
horror - namely contemporary horror, such as slasher films and gore films,
which are heavy on violence - which scare them. Their viewing choices tend
to be restricted to atmospheric and classic films. A major reason given for this
is that slasher and gore films are too closely linked to real life fears, as
expressed in the following comments
Previously films left me with a 'shudder' or 'shiver' which could
be laughed off or dismissed. Today's films tend to either leave me
sickened because of the excessive amounts of violence, blood and
guts, or give me a feeling of unease which cannot be completely
ignored. Many are a little too close to normal life to be enjoyable.
(bfs 104)
I watch the older horror films for entertainment. I cannot watch
new horror, they appall and sicken me and I'm left wondering
what kind of people enjoy all this carnage and what needs do
these fulfil or indeed wake up in some? (bfs 151)
Respondent cml 12 feels these films are too close to reality: 'I don't like serial
killer films because they actually scare me. I don't mean "Oh, a monster is
going to get that girl" scared, I mean terrified because it could actually
happen.' Another respondent, bfs 123, suggests that this is a reflection on
contemporary society and this leaves her feeling uncomfortable: 'Since drama
reflects reality, I believe this to be the attitude of people that whatever they
want they have a right to, irrespective of cost. A means-to-an-end society,
which has lost all its consideration for others.'
Whilst those respondents who state that they do not enjoy being scared are
in a minority, there does seem to be a consensus amongst the majority of the
respondents that events in horror films which are associated with real life
fears are disturbing. These examples are similar to those which Cantor and
Oliver suggest older adolescents and adults may experience. Respondent
em 109 demonstrates maternal feelings when she says: 'I do not like films that
make me worry about my children, films in which children are threatened or
in which children are evil.' More often reported are concerns about social
violence, particularly women's issues; respondent bfsl23 spoke at length
about this:
124
I do not enjoy films that make me feel vulnerable to rape or serial
killers. I am left with an irritating sense of disquiet. I'm left with
all the symptoms of fear: racing pulse, thumping heartbeat, cold
sweats, and the feeling of vulnerability - almost of paranoia.
With real life horrors of the Holocaust, Vietnam, famine and so
forth I will usually ciy. And these images stay with me for some
time. Often reappearing months later.
The fears expressed here are ones related to perceived dangers in society and
current political and social problems (the issue most frequently mentioned is
that of fear or rape and violence against women). Respondents commonly
state that events (particularly natural and man-made disasters involving large
numbers of people and/or children) on news programmes upset them much
more than fictional events in films. As fg4Ol states 'People getting killed in
horror films don't upset me, but I feel terrible seeing starving children in
Africa or people dying in accidents on the news.' There are also strong
feelings that watching horror films does not automatically indicate an
acceptance of actual violence, respondent hhlO6 saying: 'Many people don't
understand that just because I am interested in watching murder and monsters
and gore on screen doesn't mean that I don't deplore real-life violence.'
This would seem to raise doubts about the arguments that viewing horror
films desensitises the viewer to real-life violence or horror. Remarks by many
of the female viewers in this study indicate that they feel they are desensitised
only to fictional material and they react antagonistically towards media and
social commentaries which imply otherwise. Respondent bfs101 says 'I
couldn't watch a reenacted documentary. I once saw a programme about the
Donner party and it made me feel uneasy all night.' There is little evidence
here to suggest that horror film viewing is likely to desensitise the well-
balanced viewer to social violence and other violent events in real life
(although what this might contribute to the media violence debate is not
considered here).
Although most respondents report that they are no longer frightened by
grotesque monsters as they were in childhood and many claim not to be
overly upset or frightened by danger, death or other events thought by Cantor
and Oliver to affect adults, all seem to remain fascinated by horror. Many
respondents watch horror films not only in order to be scared, but to
experience other enjoyable emotions. Several respondents report a pattern of
emotional affects other than fright contributing to their continued taste for
horror. In these cases being frightened is linked to horripilation or other
125
mental forms of fright, what might be called the chills or shivers, rather than
more physical forms of fright, such as revulsion, nausea or the jump effect.
Respondent em 109, for example, likes films 'that haunts me long after with
wistful sentimental feelings, or eerie feelings or both.' In many cases, being
scared is linked to suspense and thrilling of intelligibility (these are explored
further below), as in this quote from em 124: 'I love suspense and enjoy the
thrill of being scared.' Regardless of whether they find horror films
frightening or scary as adults, many respondents talk about the excitement of
watching horror films, frequently referring to the 'adrenaline rush' that comes
from viewing such films, as typified by respondents bfs 123: 'The pulse
races, the heartbeat increases - a definite adrenaline rush.' and hhl 13: 'It is
exciting and makes me react in such a way that the adrenaline is really
flowing.' Again, these feelings are enjoyed by the respondents, as by hhll6
who is keen to differentiate between similar feelings in real life and the
experience of watching horror films: 'During the film I feel very tense, but I
love it. It's not like the sick tension before an interview or exam, it's more
like the build-up before a storm - electrifying.' The excitement for some is
linked to other risk behaviours, as typified by, for example, respondent
em 122's association of horror film viewing with fairground rides: 'sometimes
I feel a little breathless, like you do after a roller-coaster ride' or bfs 159's link
to gambling: 'if it's psychologically scary, my heart will beat fast (almost
excitement - like watching a race when you've got a stake on).' This would
seem to confirm Zuckerman's (1996) findings with regard to sensation
seeking and the liking for horror. Respondent em 126's comment also
suggests that at least part of the enjoyment of horror films is the anticipation
of what will be shown in the film and viewer expectations would seem to be
an important part of genre spectatorship for the respondents:
I ... love that feeling, that dread that something's going to
happen, something horrible, and I'm going to be right there to
experience it. ... It's a sort of dark rush, a knowledge of the
hideous in a way that we don't have to feel guilty about.
The excitement and thrills mentioned above are related in many cases to
suspense. Suspense seems to be another important element of horror film
viewing in that 92 per cent of the respondents like horror films which are
suspenseful. Definitions of the horror genre, such as Carroll's, are often
based on the emotional affects of revulsion and terror and this also highlights
the problems with fan-based genre definitions. The fact that respondents
frequently classify mainstream thrillers or other types of films as horror
126
seems to be because they are using the feelings of tension and suspense in
their definitions of the horror genre.
Nevertheless, some of the respondents do report that the jumps or shocks
offered by many horror films, including slasher, horror-comedy and gore
films, are an important part of their liking for horror; respondent bfs 101 for
example likes 'to be made to jump.' Again, there is reported enjoyment of this
form of response:
I like horror films that are shocking, but not necessarily very
scary. Gore-fests ... are often the most fun horrors to watch. I
don't know why seeing someone being mutilated or attacked
should be entertaining, but it's usually not too realistic, so I try
not to analyse myself about it. Horror comedies are great because
they can scare you but, as some funny moments are included you
generally don't end up too mentally disturbed. (stiOl)
Horror films, at least many recent forms of the genre, are also designed to
elicit a response verging on nausea or revulsion. According to Arnzen (1994),
this seems to be associated in particular with recent forms of the genre and
with the adolescent male fan. Respondents do find that some horror films
have this affect on them, bfsl59 says that 'Sometimes! feel sick - if there's a
lot of gore.' Very few respondents find this an enjoyable prospect. Overall,
the viewing preferences of the respondents indicate that they do not choose to
view horror films which are mainly based around this type of affect. Several
respondents state that they do not like being made to feel sick in this way - 'I
like to be frightened without having the need to vomit!' (bfsl5l) - and it is
something that they see as manipulation by the film-makers. Respondent
bfs 132 finds these films offer an inferior experience to suspense or
horripilation: 'At best [I feel] intrigued and fascinated by the strangeness of
the universe, worn out by the suspense, exhilarated. At worst, degraded,
sick.' The opinions offered on the various responses to horror seem to
suggest that the respondents are looking for (what they see as) emotionally
positive responses to horror. Respondent hhlO4's comment typifies the
majority dislike of special effects and gore: 'I really dislike ... excessive
effects or gross out. The first is boring and the second laughable.' Revulsion
is thought by many not to be scary, as bfsl59's comment suggests: 'The sort
of horror that relies on lots of blood and gore for its shock does not appeal to
me at all - it just makes me sick (literally) - psychological horror is much
scarier.' This suggests a particular position with respect to what can be
defined as 'good' horror (and this exposes a crucial difference in what the
127
film industry currently markets as horror) and this exposes a difference from
the adolescent male fan. Respondent em 111 suggests that some respondents
perceive male fans behaving differently from female fans:
The other females that I watch movies with usually do not like the
gore. Instead we turn away and talk or go get something to drink.
The guys really like these parts and often tease us for being
squeamish. It does not sicken me to see these scenes, but it adds
nothing to the movie for me. Seeing someone being stabbed is not
the scary part, the stalking is.
This suggests another reason for the isolation and marginalisation of female
fans. Some simply do not enjoy other viewers responses to the films, as
edlO3 states: 'Sometimes going to the cinema, or watching a horror video
with a large group of people, ruins the film - a tense moment may be lost due
to someone talking/laughing during it.' Some respondents do seem to take
horror very seriously and do not like the way in which some forms of the
genre illicit laughter or the way some audiences respond to horror films.
Laughter is, however, a common reaction to horror. The shocks or frights
of several types of horror film are often accompanied or followed by jokes
and this filmic technique is often thought to provoke laughter in order to
relieve the tension of the film. Respondent emi 12's reaction suggests this
might be true with respect to films as a whole: 'I'll spend most of the scarier
parts watching through my fingers on really scary movies, then I'll laugh my
head off almost as soon as it's over.' For many other respondents laughter
helps them to deal with their emotional reactions: bfs 101 questions why
'grossing out' makes her laugh and then suggests that 'there is a lot of relief
that it's not real.' Respondent bfs 159 thinks that 'laughing at what should
really be terrifying is a good way of coping with the nastier side of life' and
bfs 123 considers that 'laughing in the face of horror makes one feel
dreadfully brave.' This reaction, however, is not universal. Just over '40 per
cent of respondents admit that horror films make them laugh, but as with
other reported affects, this may well be a factor of the respondents horror film
preferences and viewing choices. In particular, horror-comedies are not
amongst the most well-liked examples of the genre and this could in part
account for the low rates of reported laughter, other than specific examples of
laughing as a way of dealing with fright. Otherwise, respondents laugh at
badly made films or films which are deliberately over-the-top in their use of
the effects and conventions of the genre. Many respondents will occasionally
watch 'poorly done' films 'for a laugh' (this quote from respondent em 101).
128
Respondent emi 12 states that although 'poorly done horror movies just make
me laugh,' they are 'still fun to watch.' For some this might be a way of
showing that a horror film does not work, em 124 says that 'if it is a poor
film, I sometimes laugh at how ridiculous it is, in a very critical manner.'
Respondents who report enjoyment of jumps and revulsion and the types
of films based on these affects are in the minority and also tend to be those
who like slasher films (see the strong statistical correlation between liking
slasher films and enjoying watching killings and violence reported above).
Although the analysis above does not reveal age as a factor in liking gory or
violent films, age does seem to be a factor in the choices of honor film
viewing based on emotional affects for some respondents who report that
their tastes and preferences have changed as they have grown older. This
takes various forms ranging from preferring 'the scary over the bloody' as
she gets older (em 116) to loosing the juvenile taste for gore - as shown by
bfsl54 who says 'I've lost my taste for cheapo splatter movies and prefer
something classier.' Respondent em 120's remark that 'at first it was the thrill
of being scared silly, but later I grew to love the conventions and the
campiness of the whole genre' also suggests that honor film viewing can
become a comfortable habit
5.3.3 The continued taste for horror
If the emotional affects of honor films diminish with prolonged exposure and
honor becomes a more comfortable viewing experience, what then keeps the
respondents interested in the genre well into adulthood and for some middle-
and old-age? Is it - as they think - a macabre personality or an attraction to the
dark side, or are other reasons evident?
Docherty et al. (1987) identified a connection between liking honor films
and having a boring or tedious occupation. The occupations of the
respondents are extremely varied (see chapter 4), but it was not thought
possible to clearly categorise the respondents occupations into tedious or not
tedious since this may be a subjective opinion. There is correlation between
job and agreement with the statement 'honor films relieve the tedium of my
everyday life' (x2 = 12.88887, p = 0.00488): those more likely to agree with
the statement work in healthcare and nursing, finance and banking, work in a
secretarial or aiministrative position, or are in full time education or have no
employment (the latter including full-time mothers and housewives as well as
the unemployed). Overall, though, there are too few respondents in the
129
factory and retail work categories for any statistical result to be taken as
conclusive. However, this in itself is a not unimportant detail since the fact
that many of the respondents are in professional or sub-professional
occupations and have undertaken higher education itself suggests that
Docherty et al's conclusion may not be valid for this audience segment and
amongst this group the attraction to horror does not seem as clearly related to
job as they claimed. The fact that women tend to be employed in traditional
sub-professional categories may also skew any evidence here. Overall,
however, slightly more respondents agree with the statement (48 per cent)
than disagree (32 per cent). Some respondents simply do not see their lives as
tedious - one respondent adding the comment 'what tedium?' on her
questionnaire, and this is often attributed to the fact that respondents take part
in fan activities such as writing fiction or simply see their horror film viewing
as evidence that they lead imaginative private lives.
There may though be other connections between continued enjoyment of
horror films and real life in that horror may offer a form of escapism from
other pressures or boredom of everyday life unrelated to job. In particular, it
may be a form of escape from women's social situation, particularly
involving domestic activities. It may be that 'housewives harried by the
shopping' (see chapter 1) continue to find enjoyment in the frisson of horror
films - a form of escapism from the pressures of family or childcare
experienced even by those in full-time employment (several recent surveys
having indicated that women continue to do most household chores). Just
over half (54 per cent) agree with the statement 'I watch horror films for
escapism' (28 per cent disagree). There are strong similarities indicated in this
to the romance fiction readers studies by Radway (1988) and this connection
is explored further in chapter 6.
5.4 The appeal of the horror genre
Several very clear and important trends emerge from this analysis: 1) a long-
term taste for horror dating from a very early age; 2) clear trends in viewing
preferences, generally Gothic style horror films including vampires, dark
fantasies, psychological horror and the supernatural are preferred over
graphic or violent horror films, particular slasher films; 3) a strong fascination
with horror and in particular monsters which in its most extreme form
becomes an erotic fascination with the vampire. It can be hypothesised then
that predictors of a strong liking for horror in later life are likely to be an
130
enjoyment of being scared, the ability to deal with fright by direct
confrontation with such material on a continuing basis and a fascination with
supernatural and/or grotesque characters. It seems likely that repeated viewing
of horrific material at an early age (and approximately 50 per cent of this
group claim to have first viewed when under the age of 12) may allow
habituation to horrific images to occur more easily than in adulthood, this
being because the elements which frighten younger viewers are fantastical in
nature, less likely to reflect dangers experienced in real life and likely to have
a strong impact on the imagination. This is borne out by the types of horror
which the respondents enjoy as adults, favourite themes concerning
supernatural or monstrous entities, particularly vampires, and films based on
classic or literary, and in particular Gothic, horror texts. Other indicators are
also present amongst the participants: principally, parents with a taste for
horror, fantasy or science fiction; a tendency to be 'bookish'; and a feeling
that one has a morbid personality or natural love of horror. There is a strong
trend towards a preference for horror films which create emotional affects
related to the shiver sensation, and a tendency to dislike films which aim to
revolt the viewer.
Since no comparison study was undertaken, these factors do not
necessarily suggest differences between male and female fans and followers
and are not necessarily related to any biological or developmental differences
between male and female children. Nevertheless, these factors may explain
the occurrence of female fans and followers (those who date their liking for
horror to a very young age and have a long-term taste for the genre) as a
distinct audience segment, separate from those adolescent females who
participate in horror film viewing as part of a rite-of-passage (although some
of the former group may well have been part of the latter, albeit as a pretence,
and it is also a possibility that some of the latter group may learn to enjoy
horror films). Furthermore, the adolescent horror fan who participated in the
viewing process as part of the rite-of-passage is expected to grow out of their
taste for the genre, horror films having served their purpose as vehicles of
gender socialisation, sensation seeking and, possibly, teenage rebellion. The
female fans taking part in this study, however, have not grown out of it,
although their tastes have frequently changed as they have matured. Again,
the same may be true of long-term male horror fans. What remains, is the
proposition that female horror film fans and followers are not immasculated
131
spectators but are participating in a form of feminine consumption. This
subject is dealt with further in the next chapter.
In conclusion, therefore, it is proposed that female horror film viewers
might not conform to the accepted profiles of genre fans. We might call this
group of viewers 'experienced' fans and followers - they have a long-
standing taste for the genre, prefer classic rather than contemporary forms of
the genre and their tastes and responses do not vary across the age ranges -
indicating perhaps that this particular audience segment is generic rather than
historic.
Very few respondents mentioned such affects in their accounts of viewing as children,
perhaps being too young to recognise or appreciate cinematic or televisual techniques of
this kind, although there were occasional mentions of theme tunes in this respect.
2	 frequent references to Doctor Who should be noted. Although now a media clich?,
stories about hiding behind the sofa to watch the Daleks or Cybermen are frequent and
accepted by the respondents as a part of British popular cultural history - as demonstrated by
bfsl44's comment that her earliest horror viewing was 'the usual.' Doctor Who formed part
of the entertainment of British children for decades and for many of the respondents this
programme appears to have been formative in their liking for horror. Although it may be a
possibility that the respondents frequently mention this programme simply because it is a
widely talked about example of popular culture, it should certainly be taken here as an
important example of early horror experiences. Although Doctor Who is widely regarded as
science fiction, it frequently contained monsters which were a source of fright for young
viewers. Reports of being scared and hiding behind the sofa - especially when linked to
watching Doctor Who - are part of the fan and media discourses around the programme.
There is a possibility that participants report such responses because it is typical or
expected of fans. However, this does not detract from the importance of these responses in
chikthoorL
debate on the long term psychological effects on children (and adults) of viewing
horror films - particularly those containing high levels of violence - is a separate issue and
not dealt with here.
4 This is not to imply that there are not more women over the age of forty who like horror
films, it may just be harder to recruit such women to a study such as this.
132
Chapter 6
The Interpretive Activities of Female Horror Film Fans
Having established the range of tastes and viewing preferences of the
respondents, as well as their emotional and physical responses to horror
films, it must next be determined how this audience segment interprets
different types of horror films and what they think about the representations
(in particular, of women, monstrosity and sexuality) or depictions of violence
(especially violence towards women) in such films. An answer is sought to
the question of what women who watch and enjoy films which are frequently
thought to be misogynist or sexist and which are generally considered
masculine entertainment get out of such films. What is at stake for the female
viewer of the horror film? In answering this question, both the respondents
opinions of the horror genre generally and their comments on particular
horror films are analysed with the aim of ascertaining the range of interpretive
activities and reading strategies of this group of viewers.
As shown in chapter 1, female viewers are not the intended audience of
many horror films, nevertheless this research has established that women do
seek out horror films for entertainment. There is a need, then, to explore the
interactions between audience and text, especially in the light of feminist
readings critical of the genre, 'people's lived relationships with popular
texts,' as Nightingale (1996, p. ix) suggests. Work by Radway (1984), Ang
(1985) and others on the interpretive activities of audiences has played an
important part in changing the focus in feminist cultural studies. Radway's
analysis of romance fiction readers remains important because it explored the
meaning of cultural products in the context of everyday life. Her work
demonstrated that women used cultural forms to actively react to and shape
their own personal pleasures and desires and to make do with their social
situation. This finding is important in understanding the interpretive activities
of the respondents both as individual viewers and as a fan community.
6.1 Common patterns of receptions and readings
Although some recent horror films, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, are
marketed with a female audience in mind (see chapter 1), it is not possible to
determine specific horror films which have greater appeal for women
generally. Patterns of horror film preferences have been observed amongst
the respondents (as set out in chapter 4). However, many different types and
styles of horror are enjoyed whilst a minority have a strong liking for slasher
133
films, gore films and other violent examples of horror. In line with this, a
very wide range of horror films and horror film types were mentioned and
discussed by the respondents. In addition, at least for some respondents, the
expectation that honor films should horrify, shock or scare them on an
emotional level may be absent, these affects often being elided by more
complex emotional pleasures. Furthermore, and more importantly, certain
representations of monstrosity do not always appear to be frightening to
women particularly because of the sexual attraction of those characters, but
also because some monsters are seen in a sympathetic light. However, several
clear trends do emerge from this discussion as to what makes particular films
or film types appealing or pleasurable. Analysis of this discussion reveals
particular aspects of honor which appeal to the respondents, including
common patterns of reception and readings of honor films.
I General factors in the reception of honor films
Honor film reception is linked to the emotional affects and responses
discussed in chapter 5 (with tension and horripilation preferred over shocks
and revulsion) and these often form the basis of the respondents'
interpretations of films. Subtlety of horror (by which the respondents mean a
scary atmosphere) was also mentioned as a reason for rating particular films
or types of films highly (The Haunting is commonly praised as an archetypal
example in this respect). Low opinions are often stated for films which
revolve around excessive or gratuitous displays of violence, gore or other
techniques used to evoke revulsion in the audience. Respondent bfsl23
dislikes 'gore for gore's sake' and bfslS9 does not find 'the sort of honor
that relies on lots of blood and gore for its shock' appealing and thinks that
'psychological honor is much scarier.' The lack of interest in gore and
violence explains the preferences of the respondents for particular types of
honor and this pattern is attributed by the respondents to being allowed to use
their imaginations or to play with their fantasies.
I like horror for the scariness, not the violence. I have never liked
movies like Friday the 13th, but always more mental honor like
Nightmare On Elm Street or The Serpent and the Rainbow. I
don't like honor like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle because
it's not scary enough. (em 105)
There is an attempt here to define honor and the trait of scariness as part of
a cerebral process and it is films which make the viewer think which the
respondents consider to be most scary. Respondent bfs 136 says that although
honor films often make her laugh and that sometimes she will 'sit and pick
134
holes in the plot,' she finds that it is 'not so funny when I'm alone in the
dark!' This suggests that even when the film is seen to have flaws, thinking
about the material after viewing (and this in itself might have the desired
emotional affect) is an important part of the experience for some viewers.
The following comment from eml2l attempts to explain the role of the
imagination in this process in terms of a difference between horror and terror
There is a difference between being horrified and terrified. I like
to be terrified. ... To horrify is easy, it's things popping out from
behind a door, it's gore and blood and seeing the knife held by
Jason stabbing deep into that gorgeous young football hero.
Terror is another story, it's the knife and the blood running down
the drain as Janet Leigh screams and your imagination does the
rest, it's the blood seeping under the door as you hear the girl
being attacked in The Leopard Man, it's the dark shadows which
trail Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder. The unknown is terrifying,
the known is horrifying.
Whether such a difference between horror and terror is valid is irrelevant here;
this example illustrates a process that seems to be at work amongst the
respondents. Horripilation, which is more closely related to terror as em 121
terms it than revulsion, is much preferred because the respondents allow their
imaginations to dwell and embroider on what they find scary. This facility
(being allowed to indulge the imagination) is not dependent upon horror film
type, rather the respondents find examples of films which can provide this
experience across the whole range of horror films. Respondent em 120 goes
on to say:
[T]hose movies that allow me to use my imagination and offer the
frame and some atmosphere are more scary to me than any other
horror film and, for the most part, you'll find some in almost
every category of horror film.
This would explain why some respondents who otherwise dislike a particular
type of film in general name a gory or violent example of that type as a
favourite. If they consider a film to have a good story with interesting
characters which they consider to be well made and imaginative it does not
concern them that it is an example of a film cycle they otherwise dislike. In
other words, the respondents are open-minded about all horror films and do
not automatically dismiss all examples of a horror film type they usually
dislike; this also illustrates that female horror film viewers do not necessarily
have weak stomachs or are squeamish (as female spectators are often
depicted) when it comes to gory and violent films. It is not the gore or
violence per se which the respondents say they dislike, rather they state that
135
they dislike the unimaginative way these elements are often used in the film
and that this does not provide them with much opportunity to dwell on the
horror. Certainly, many respondents like to think about the horror films they
see and like to discuss them afterwards (though only with someone they trust
- many respondents feel uncomfortable with the reactions of many male
acquaintances). Respondent bfs101 says 'I like to go back over bits, which is
why it's good to go with a friend.' Other respondents use their horror film
viewing in their imaginative and fantasy lives, some using the experience to
help them in creative pastimes. Respondent hhl 16 said:
When a film is over I am so keyed up that I nearly have a heart
attack on my way to bed. I hate the feeling I always get that
someone or something is hiding in the shadows. The apparently
endless time before I go to sleep is so horrible that I start to regret
watching the film.
When I get to sleep, I feel entirely different. I usually have vivid
nightmares, but I count that as a bonus. It's just like having more
horror films to enjoy. My writing seems to improve in the days
after a horror film. I think it kick-starts my imagination.
The range of films labelled by the respondents as horror is very fluid in this
respect. Again, there is a preference for films which make them think about or
dwell on the horror but it is not always necessary for a film to be horror in
order for them to do this; respondent bfslO5 says that she has: 'always
enjoyed tense, thought-provoking films on what may be regarded as the edge
of horror' and names Alien and Jaws as good examples of this. How much a
film makes them think seems to be as important as other elements in the
horror film viewing experience and this is related to how they see their horror
film viewing in the context of their overall consumption of films and other
media, and it is also related to their self-image. When respondent bfs 159 says
'I think, ... I like "thinking" films,' she is implying that a liking for horror
films is not a measure of (a lack of) intelligence or education. This
classification of 'thinking films' is for many respondents related to their
enjoyment of the film and the level to which they are drawn into the narrative.
Respondent hhl 19 describes the process thus:
I get totally engrossed when I watch them - nothing else exists. I
do get scared and feel relieved at the end. I often think about what
it would be like to be in a situation that is happening in the film.
This quote also suggests that there is a cathartic element to the viewing of
horror for this viewer in that she can confront her emotions and possibly
situations which might reflect social problems such as violence against
women. Undoubtedly, the fact that female spectators are often expected to be
136
emotional when viewing horror films (as they are with classic women's
pictures and weepies) plays a part here and links back to the models of gender
socialisation discussed in chapter 5. Williams (1991) provides a useful link to
the emotional affects of cinema in relation to pornography, horror cinema and
the woman's film or weepie. She posits (p. 3) that these 'gross' genres, all
three being linked by the ecstatic excess of the spectator's response, have a
similar anatomy. Most importantly, whilst pornography is gendered as active
masculine with respect to its target audience and melodramatic weepies as
passive feminine, the horror film spectator (albeit an adolescent male) is seen
as 'careening wildly between the two masculine and feminine poles.' This
link is extremely important in the discussion of the respondents' interpretive
activities which follows.
There is also evidence that respondents are using horror films as boundary
testing (see Hill, 1997) but again this is linked by the respondents to what is
left to the imagination. Respondent bfs 123 says:
I like to try and push out the boundaries of my particular phobias,
in order to deal with them, but there are definite limits. I can just
about handle Clive Barker's Hellraiser films, although some
scenes sicken me. ... I like a little more left to my extremely fertile
imagination - [some] films are too sudden and explicit. There's no
time to tone down the shock.
Films like Heliraiser do prove problematical for some viewers because the
levels of violence and the number of special effects threaten to spill over into
excess. This indicates that some respondents are self-censoring by choosing
to watch less graphic or explicit films or more atmospheric films with less
special effects. There seems to be a link here to the fan discourse that reading
horror fiction is a safer pursuit than viewing honor films because of the
greater level of self-censorship available to the reader (see chapter 1). The
contemporary horror genre has been defined by Carroll (1990) and others as
dependent upon shocks and revulsion, but such a definition is rendered
problematical when considered alongside the respondents' own uses of
horror outlined above.
The concept of a category of 'thinking films' (however the individual
respondent subjectively defines this concept) would then appear to be one of
the primary reasons why the female fans and followers make the viewing
choices they do and would explain why, in general, atmospheric horror films
(the supernatural, vampire films, psychological horror) are preferred over
gore films or violent films (slasher films, serial killer films, body honor).
137
Thus, the respondents seem to prefer the 'mode of telling' as opposed to the
'mode of showing' in interpreting horror films (see Brophy, 1986, p. 8). In
some cases, the definition of horror itself is linked to similar opinions about
'thinking films' as evidenced by the respondents naming films such as Ib
Krays, Richard III and Blue Velvet as horror (see chapter 4).
ii. quality and hi gh-brow entertainment
Issues of 'quality' arise from the respondents' comments analysed above and
films are frequently judged by the respondents on whether they are good or
bad horror, regardless of subgenre or film type. Respondent bfs 138 says:
'When deciding what to view I look at all that is available and choose what
looks to be the most interesting or entertaining regardless of the genre.' In
general, slasher and gore films are frequently regarded as being boring and
predictable and therefore of low quality, whereas many of the respondents
preferred to watch films they took to be imaginative, intelligent, literary or
thought-provoking and thus regarded as high quality. Quality in an individual
film was given as a reason for liking that film when the type was disliked as a
whole. Lack of quality, defined in terms of weak or formulaic plots and
stereotypical characters, was often cited as the main reason for not liking
films and this tends to be one of the main reasons given for disliking slasher
films, which were regarded as formulaic, badly written or made and thus
boring and predictable. The preference for 'thinking films' and the mode of
telling is linked by the respondents to notions of excellence and contributes to
much discussion of what makes a 'good' horror film. Literary adaptations -
the horror classics such as Frankenstein and Dracula and other films based on
them, as well as more recent novels such as those by Anne Rice - were often
cited as examples of 'quality' horror, along with historical or costume-drama
films reflecting Gothic or Romantic themes in their design and narrative.
Quality for the respondents signified several aspects of cinema, including
high production values in art direction, special effects and costumes. The
quality of costumes and sets is rated highly amongst the respondents who
also enjoy historical and costume dramas; respondent bfs 136 picks out
Interview with the Vampire because it is a 'very attractive film, visually' and
generally likes horror films which she finds 'visually beautiful.' Respondent
hhl 13 particularly likes the look of Interview with the Vampire, Bram
Stoker's Dracula and The Pit and The Pendulum because 'they are bright and
colour is important, they almost seem luxuriant and decadent.' Special effects
also have to be effective and well-produced, bfs 123 stating: 'I find it all very
138
silly, and the effects have to be very good before I feel any sense of horror.'
Believability, whether of special effects, story or characterisation, is deemed
to be important - respondent hhl 17 saying that a horror film has to be
'realistic enough to believe even when it's ridiculous.' Acting was frequently
mentioned as being crucial in this respect, with individual actors (in particular
Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Vincent Price) singled out as giving
convincing performances or having star appeal.
In the main, however, the elements judged most important to the quality of
a film were plot and character development, respondent em122 for example
says that 'if a film doesn't leave me with a sense of satisfaction for a story
well told, or catch at my imagination in some way, I don't bother with it.'
Respondent hhlO2 names the Clive Barker films Nightbreed and Hellraiser as
two particularly good examples of quality and, in addition to the 'stylish
special effects,' picks out the 'stunningly new types of monsters' as the
elements of the film which interest her, saying '[Barker's] plots have always
twisted and turned forcing the reader/viewer to follow him further and further
into the myths he creates.' Like respondent bfs 136, many find horror films to
be 'most absorbing'. Respondent bfs 101 says that:
A good horror film draws you in, makes you forget time, place
and self to an extent. A part of me is detached, observing effects,
techniques, and part of me gets carried along, especially if it's a
good story.
Respondent bfs 154 also judges films on how much they respect the viewer's
intelligence:
I like a plot that keeps me guessing and is intelligent. I hate the
lack of cause and effect in badly made films. I hate having
everything explained too much as if I can't work it out for myself.
I hate it when plot and tension deteriorate into blood and guts or
obvious violence and abuse - usually of a woman victim. I prefer
subtlety to in-your-face nastiness. I also like sensuality as
opposed to obvious nudity. Too many films cop-out about three-
quarters of the way through and go out on a whimper. I like to be
surprised, even shocked, but so much stuff is too predictable.
Several respondents, who regard themselves as intelligent and responsible
individuals, also express dislike of the way horror fans are depicted.
Respondent sh2Ol considers it 'most unfair' that 'people seem to find an
interest in horror more disturbing in a woman.' Many respondents do
emphasise that their liking for horror is not a problem, but are concerned
about others thinking it is. Respondent hhl 14 says:
139
It has pained me to hear how intellectuals and highbrows have
dismissed horror and SF, how programmes like The Late Show
tell me 'It's something one grows out of.' 'When?' is the
question I would like to ask them. I am an intelligent woman who
has held down responsible jobs all my life.
Generally, these viewers' discourses about horror films seemed to be at
odds with the fact that horror films are widely regarded as low culture and
viewed, as Crane (1994, p. vii) observes, as 'the entertainment of the young,
minorities, the working class, or the disenfranchised', and frequently
criticised by mainstream critics and moral guardians. In common with
Radway's romance fiction readers, these women cannot easily be viewed as
ignorant, dull, or misguided consumers of mass culture, nor can they be
viewed as the impressionable, bloodthirsty viewers which the moral
guardians of society associate with horror cinema. The respondents express
choices and tastes (preferring quality and intelligence) in horror films which
make them seem similar to a high-brow or film buff audience - despite the fact
that horror films are widely regarded as low-brow entertainment.
III. Representations and strong female characters
A number of the films most frequently selected by the respondents as
favourites have major female characters, a point that respondents drew
attention to when asked to explain their choices. The most mentioned feature
in the appeal of Alien (one of the most frequently named favourite films - see
chapter 4) and its sequels was the enjoyment viewers obtained from watching
a strong woman taking an active role. Many respondents felt that the
representation of a strong, intelligent, and resilient female was a major change
from the vast majority of female roles they had previously seen. In particular
respondents like the fact that the character is intelligent and does not resort to
screaming when menaced by the monster. Respondent bfs 136 likes the
'strength and resilience of the female lead' whom she says is: 'surely the first
non-shrieking horror heroine' and em 125 says that she likes this character
because 'she's the only one smart enough to survive and she's a woman.'
Thus, for many of the respondents, it is the representation of a strong
female (and possibly the star performance, in this case that given by
Sigoumey Weaver - see below for more on the viewing pleasures associated
with stars and star performance) which is the most important element of the
film's appeal. Even though respondent bfs 138 does not particular like SF-
horror films, it is chosen as a favourite purely because of this charactec
140
I enjoyed it, but my main reason for including it is that it is the
only film I've seen - or that I can recall seeing - that has a strong,
competent and assertive heroine in it.
It has frequently been pointed out that the role was originally written as a male
character and several respondents point out that Ripley is stereotypically
masculine. For some, watching heroines who behave like heroes, in a
masculine fashion, was itself attractive. Other respondents, however, enjoyed
seeing feminine traits which they read as strength in the character.
Respondent emi 15 likes the fact that even strong female characters behave in
feminine ways:
Movies like Alien and Nightmare on Elm Street have very good
female roles. The women are strong, but usually show some
typical female reactions. Ripley's strength in Alien is very female
- a female level of practicality that movies like Predator don't
have. The female lead in Nightmare On Elm Street knows what is
going on and doesn't fall for all of the typical 'crazy female'
coddling that everyone around her tries.
Similarly, respondent hhlO2 praises the 'excellent performance of
Sigourney Weaver' which shows 'how wonderfully a woman can take the
lead ... she shows her fear and then overcomes it to become a triumphant
heroine.' In general, the respondents appear to enjoy watching strong,
capable characters, and although some disregard the sex of the character (as
respondent hhlO7 says 'I like characters who seem reliable or capable of
being so' and then lists Sherlock Holmes, Mr Spock and Ripley as her
favourite examples), others respond positively to the fact that they see the
strong female characters as embodying both masculine and feminine traits and
they regard the feminine characteristics as equally important to the
representation of a strong woman. In a similar way, Bundtzen (1987, p.12)
describes Ripley as 'an exemplary figure for women in her rugged
independence, cool courage under fire, and resourcefulness' but also points
out her endowment with a 'more traditionally feminine trait ... her loving,
maternal nurturance of the young girl, Newt.' Many respondents are
concerned that few strong, capable and emotional characters in horror cinema
are female. When one does appear, as in Alien, the female viewers seem to
focus on the film and this undoubtedly explains the popularity of certain films
in this study. Other films with strong female leads, such as Terminator, its
sequel Terminator 2 and The Silence of the Lambs were also often named by
women as favourites. Respondent em 108, for example, picks out the heroine
in Terminator for much the same reasons as Ripley is enjoyed: '[Sarah
141
Connor] is a good character feminine and smart. She's tough and
resourceful when she needs to be, while still remaining very much a female.'
Respondents would like to believe this represents a positive change in
representations in recent years, but are sometimes unsure about whether this
is a fallacy or wishful thinking as evidenced by respondent bfs 127 who
comments that 'more women are becoming the tough heroines and whether
this is just a 80s/90s fad, I don't know.'
The respondents do, then, seem to seek out films with strong female roles,
and many respondents appear to have adopted deliberate reading strategies
which accommodate a range of representations of women and femininity in
horror films, taking pleasure in both masculinised heroines and more
traditional feminine behaviour in what they still consider to be strong female
roles. Like Radway's romance fiction readers, the respondents seek out texts
which foreground the strength and independence of the heroine and a link
with feminist activism or beliefs is suggested.
IV. The problematic of violence
For most respondents, the violence inherent in many examples of the genre
was a barrier to the pleasurable reading of horror films. Dislike was often
expressed for films that contain excessive or gratuitous displays of violence,
gore, or other effects used to evoke revulsion in the audience. As stated
above, the respondents often preferred a mode of telling that left something to
the imagination. Again, parallels can be identified with Radway's findings (p.
159): lack of character development and relationships together with high
levels of aggression and violence are very similar to the reasons that romance
fiction readers gave for defining romances as bad.
A few respondents did declare that they took pleasure in viewing the more
violent forms of horror, but women who claimed to enjoy the visceral thrills
of watching violence were a small minority. In the main, those who claimed
to like horror films with gory special effects preferred such films to be over
the top, unrealistic, or comic. Poorly executed special effects were enjoyed
precisely because they were bad and unconvincing. If a gory or violent film
was thought to have a good story with interesting characters and to be well
made, however, some respondents who otherwise disliked this type of film
might enjoy it. The respondents appeared not to simply dislike gore or
violence so much as dislike the way these elements were used in the film.
142
There was a tendency to emphasise the distinction between real-life violence
and what is depicted on screen:
I like horror films that are shocking, but not necessarily very
scary. Gore-fests are often the most fun horrors to watch. I don't
[knowj why seeing someone being mutilated or attacked should
be entertaining, but it's usually not too realistic, so I try not to
analyse myself about it. (stiOl)
This emphasis on a difference between realism and faked gore, alongside the
respondent's questioning of why she might find watching such material
enjoyable, may be related to the screen violence debate and the linking of the
viewing of violent material with a tendency to violence in real life. An
example of this is given by respondent in 101 who particularly dislikes horror
films based on real-life cases of violence:
I loathe the perennial adolescent fascination with Jack the Ripper.
He was a real serial killer who stalked women - this I do not find
amusing or commendable. He turned up in 2000AD, Babylon 5,
any number of books as a plot 'surprise' or twist. Why I like
horror is that it is not real - the Ripper is real and real women
died. It's not funny.
It is worth noting here that the respondent particularly dislikes fictional
representations of a real-life perpetrator of violence against women and the
issue of sexual violence is dealt with in more detail in section 6.3.
The possibility exists that respondents do not speak out about an enjoyment
of violence being among the pleasures of horror film viewing because they do
not want to be associated with the 'depraved' or 'corrupted' viewers of
violent genres. However, a small minority of the respondents do express a
delight in the more violent forms of horror (as distinct from those who enjoy
'bad' special effects films for the humour). A small number of respondents
claim to enjoy the visceral thrills of watching violence and this is typified by
respondent hhl 15, a member of a small female fan group who meet to watch
horror, kung fu, and other similar films:
Since moving to Brighton we have formed a band of women who
call ourselves Women In Favour of Movies with Mindless
Violence which is a backlash to the PC of most of our members
youth! We meet on average once a week to view such delights as
John Woo and Sam Raimi films and are embarrassed to say are
now becoming experts in the field.
Such women (or at least those who are open about it) remain a minority
within this study, however they do expose some contradictions amongst
female horror fans and followers. Are the members of this group
143
immasculated spectators colluding with male violence? Although a possibility,
this may not be entirely true since the name this group has given itself and the
reference to political correctness indicate an understanding (and rejection) of
feminine stereotypes. Nevertheless, an element of doubt remains over
whether the reinforcement of patriarchal attitudes towards women may be
taking place in these women unconsciously.
Furthermore, the male spectator's identification with the monster or killer
has been associated by Halberstam (1995), Ebert (1981) and others with
social problems of male violence against women. As has been shown above,
the respondents do enjoy watching violence while many express a fascination
for or sympathy with the monster, but this seems to be a very different
process - just as Clover (1992b) supposed - than an uncomplicated adoption
of the male gaze and a 'collusion with the oppressor'. The issue of
identification in this respect is problematical and the female viewer's
identification may be shifting between the main protagonists (male, female
and monstrous) on a continuous basis. Respondent sh205, for example, finds
herself siding with both hero and monster, as well as male and female
characters: 'Generally, I identify with whichever character appears most
independent and assertive which can range from Ripley in the Alien films to
Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs. Morality is not the issue.' As
Clover has illustrated, the young male spectator's identification indicates a
fluid shifting of identification across gender boundaries as well as between
characters and the respondents' comments do seem to indicate a similarly
shifting pattern of identification. Where violence is concerned, this is more
problematical. Waller (1987, p. 6) has stated that 'there is no question that
violence is a major element in the genre, as it is in virtually all dreams and all
narratives of fact or fiction that we would label as horror stories.' For many
female fans and followers, however, this may be one of the least important
elements of the genre. Far more important to the respondents is the monster
whom they see as central to the horror film.
V. Fascination with horror and the attraction of monstrosity
Spectator responses to the monster have been given considerable import in the
literature (see, for instance Williams, Clover and Neale), but this work has
left largely unexplored the appeal of the monster for female viewers. As
shown in chapter 5, many of the respondents developed the taste for horror at
an age when distortions of natural forms - supernatural monsters with a
human face, for instance - are most likely to frighten them. Horror films share
144
the frequent representation of such monstrosity with children's fiction and
films, and these representations are often mentioned by the respondents as a
continuing source of fascination, suggesting that these viewers continue to be
simultaneously drawn to and repelled by monstrous representations to those
that had engaged them in childhood. Young children are more likely to be
frightened by grotesque and supernatural monsters and sympathy or empathy
with monstrous creatures becomes one of the pleasures of horror film
viewing for the respondents in adulthood. A typical comment was provided
by respondent hhlO4:
When I was very little, I used to collect 'monster cards' and one I
remember was called 'the gormiess blob'. It was a huge heap of
green slime with one eye in the middle of its head, it was
hideously ugly but it lived on love. If it wasn't loved it died. I had
that card on my bedroom wall, near my bed and told it I loved it
every night before I went to sleep. ... Monster films always make
me cry.
There is an emotional response to monsters suggested here (telling a
monster card that she loved it, crying for the monster in films) which parallels
the emotional response to weepies (another of Williams' 'gross' films). This
empathy for the monster continues into adulthood and may be one of the
reasons why some types of horror film - vampire films, versions of
Frankenstein, and films adapted from the work of Clive Barker, for example,
all of which position a sympathetic monster as central to the narrative - are so
popular with female viewers. As reported by Hoffner and Cantor (1985),
children of primary school age and upwards are sensitive to a character's
kindly behaviour regardless of monstrous appearance and feel sympathy
towards that character. Respondent em122 states that she identifies with
'outcast or alienated characters' and sh205 says 'I empathise with the monster
when it is an outsider who may perform acts of violence but can be seen as
being driven to it by alienation or scapegoating.' It is possible that such
identification is linked to the finding that many of the respondents have felt
socially isolated in some way. Many respondents declared that they felt like
loners or outsiders as children, describing themselves as 'school swot,'
'introverted,' 'bookish' or other similar terms, and their identification with
the monster may be related to their not feeling part of a peer group.
Respondents reported that, as they got older, the very fact that they were fans
also contributed to their feelings of isolation. Tulloch and Jenkins (1995, p.
4) describe the popular perception of the fan as other. 'The fan as
extraterrestrial; the fan as excessive consumer; the fan as cultist; the fan as
145
dangerous fanatic.' Jenkins (1992, p. 19) observes that 'such representations
isolate potential fans from others who share common interests and reading
practices ... [and] make it highly uncomfortable to speak publicly as a fan or
to identify yourself even privately with fan cultural practices.' This status as
outsider - the respondents seeing themselves or recognising that they are seen
as fans or as belonging to a distinctive subculture - continues well into
adulthood for some respondents. A number also comment on the fact that
they are not always accepted in male-dominated fan circles (this issue is
explored further in chapter 7) and this in itself is isolating. Regardless of
whether the respondents see themselves as other, however, it does seem that
fascination with monstrosity and feelings of sympathy for the monster are
important factors in how the respondents read horror films.
A major element in determining whether the respondents feel sympathy for
a monster is how human-like the monster is and this is also dependent upon
the sexual or sensual appeal of the monster (see below). Respondent sh205
says that she particularly enjoys films which take 'the viewer outside reality'
with 'believable non-humans such as vampires who convey human traits
taken to the limits' and which 'exemplify the limits of humanity and
particularly the breakdown of identity.' Whilst respondent fglO2 says that she
usually feels sympathy towards the 'male or the female goodies' she is also
likely to sympathise with a monster such as the creature from the Black
Lagoon: 'in Revenge of the Creature I was so sorry for the poor monster - oh
just put him back, leave him alone, stop poking him with that horrible electric
thing, just put him back where he was.' Respondent fg402 feels she identifies
with 'clumsy or helpless monsters' like Frankenstein's creature whom she
regards as a victim. As a flip side of this argument, respondent hhl 14 finds
that 'what comes over as being most scary is man's inhumanity to man no
matter what sex or race (human or otherwise) that is, [these films] make me
strive to be more tolerant to people who are different.' The physical attraction
of the identifiably human monster Pinhead was a major factor in the appeal of
the Hellraiser films, also illustrating the respondents' sexual fascination with
monsters. Although the extreme levels of violence and excessive special
effects render some horror films problematic for some respondents, with
films like Heliraiser they can eventually be drawn to the human qualities of
the monster. Respondent hhlO2 typifies this response:
When I first saw Pinhead I think that he really did scare me, he
was incredibly good at being evil, the word is efficient. Pinhead
146
is the shark of the horror genre. It wasn't until Heliraiser 3 that he
showed any weakness at all, but revealing his hidden human
depths was an insight into one of [my] favourite monsters. I'm
certainly very fond of him now.
Pinhead's status as sex symbol (the character has featured heavily in the
advertising campaign for the Heliraiser series of films and become a pin-up in
Japan) reflects the recent sub-cultural vogue for sado-masochistic and fetish
fantasies, as well as body art such as piercing and scarification'; Benshoff
(1997, pp. 260-1) links Pinhead to the 'queer activist fashion sense that
permeates Barker's work.' Clive Barker's source material in general was
particularly well-regarded amongst the respondents for its sympathetic attitude
to monsters. Respondent hhlO4 explained:
[Barker's] films are so beautiful, and his vision of the dark side is
so complete. They are all scary, well-written and beautifully
filmed, but I feel his vision is most beautifully portrayed in
Nightbreed, where the monsters are the good guys. ... I think this
may be a girlie film as most of the men I know don't like it much,
but all the women do. A monster movie for people who love
monsters.
Burns (1993) suggests another reason why women may find pleasure in the
work of Clive Barker in its address to 'the mysterious inner powers of
women' which draw on an imagery of blood and menstruation and in which
femaleness is powerful. Similar associations can be drawn with vampires in
particular and horror in general (see also Anwell, 1989) and this may be
another source for the strong fascination the respondents exhibit for particular
types of horror film. This association was not mentioned by the respondents,
though it may be that they were uncomfortable discussing this topic.
If some degree of desensitisation has taken place in many of the
respondents since childhood, resulting in their finding horror films less scary
than they did at an earlier stage in their lives (see chapter 5), it seems likely
that fascination with monstrosity - as suggested by Carroll (p. 190) -
particularly aspects of the monster coded as feminine power, is an extremely
important, if not the most important, pleasure of horror film viewing for these
fans and followers. The attraction to monsters is typified by respondent
hhlO2 who admits to finding 'some monsters highly attractive' and she even
has 'crushes' on them. Again, it is a degree of humanity which she finds
attractive: 'Some are ugly, some are beautiful, they are happy, confused and
sad just like human beings,' but she also likes the fact that these monsters
'enjoy being monstrous,' suggesting a deep fascination with monstrosity.
147
She particularly likes vampires and the monsters in Clive Barker films,
saying:
I like [honor films] for the dubious pleasure of the monster's
company. The idea of a vampire, be it Christopher Lee or Brad
Pitt, has always attracted me and left me with nothing but pleasant
thoughts. I also have a tremendous crush on Peloquin, one of the
leading monsters from Nihtbreed. I should stress that I find
these men attractive, not only when in repose but when they
change into their full monstrous forms, fangs bared, blood
flowing, etc. It is the entire image that I find attractive, not just the
stars when they're looking human. Perhaps it's the power that
these creatures wield to change your life forever, perhaps I'm just
weird.
It is interesting that this respondent proposes that she might be 'weird' in
having such fantasies. It may be that many women feel it is socially
unacceptable to express fantasies about stars or characters of honor films,
particularly to admit to a crush or intense attachment to monstrous characters
in this way (and this may also be related to the fact that most respondents are
above the age at which fan attachments to stars are seen as socially
acceptable). Although the respondents mention many different kinds of
monsters when describing what they like about honor films, vampires are by
far the most frequently mentioned, often in terms of their sexual attraction and
glamour, and this response is therefore examined in some depth below.
6.2 Erotic horror and viewin2 pleasures
The recent escalation in the popularity of vampire films has been explained by
the fact that vampire fictions deal with the social issues of the time they were
written (see Silver and Ursini, 1997, Freyling, 1991, and Gelder, 1994).
There is clearly a continuing fascination with vampires and widespread
curiosity about them; as Gelder (p. x) states, the vampire's enduring
popularity 'lies primarily in their unfailing ability to fascinate.' For female
fans and followers, however, the aspect of sexual fascination is one of the
most crucial factors to emerge in this study. Respondent fg401 thinks that 'it
must be sexual, it's not something you actually think about, but I think it
probably is the erotic side of them,' whilst em122 says that she likes 'the
erotic in films, whether it involves specifically sex or simply sensuality.' The
fascination for the vampire and vampire sexuality is typical of many
respondents, often related to the sexual appeal of the male stars playing the
exotically handsome vampire popularised by Bela Lugosi and Christopher
148
Lee, or more recently Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. As respondent
exOO4 puts it:
I have a particular fondness for vampire films, a fascination with
the vampire really. It originated as a sexual feeling evoked in me
by the vampire character, and an admiration of his or her style -
the elegance of their costume and their aristocracy. As I got older
this became a real hobby for me, and I began to read a lot to
discover the psychology at work behind that. I wanted to
understand the evolution of the vampire and to unravel the
intrigue surrounding its sexuality.
This respondent's fascination for the vampire and vampire sexuality is
typical. She is fascinated by both male and female vampires, and two films
she makes specific reference to in this respect are lesbian vampire films
(Daughters of Darkness and The Hunger). Participants often make no
distinction between vampire films on the grounds of sexual orientation and
many seem equally attracted to both straight and gay or lesbian vampire films.
It must be assumed that the polymorphous sexualities in vampire films open
up sexual fantasies for many female viewers. The homoerotic theme of
Interview With the Vampire seemed to be no deterrent to its appeal to a female
audience. The respondent quoted above describes her use of the film as
erotica:
I've hired vampire videos which! find particularly erotic and sat
with my partner at the time watching them in a darkened room -
Interview With the Vampire is one that I found particularly sexy,
there's something intriguing about the homoeroticism between
those beautiful young men. I didn't say anything but I think that
my partner took pleasure in how I couldn't take my eyes off the
screen, and obviously initiated something because of this.
Vampires are often portrayed in films as polygamous and bisexual and it
would appear that for many viewers the vampire film reflects a perverse
sexual fantasy.2 Although the majority of the respondents are heterosexual,
the vampire film seems to offer them a fantasy of an alternate sexual
orientation. Respondent fg403 feels strongly that there is a sexual attraction to
the vampire and for her this opens up fantasies about sexual behaviour not
available to her in real life: 'it's the idea that you can go as far as you like
because being dead isn't going to get in the way.' Several respondents admit
to sexually perverse fantasies; em 122 says that she has 'a somewhat perverse
liking for films in which people end up being dominated' and in101 says
watching vampires is 'like mental masturbation, you can do anything you like
in your head because it's not real.' In particular, respondents like em 122 find
the vampire bite erotic, fg3Ol mentions playing sex games with her partner
149
involving biting rituals (Dresser describes such sexual behaviour in American
Vampires, 1989, though no respondents in this study reported being
practitioners of vampirism or blood cults in real life), and blood is often
mentioned as a crucial element of the visual pleasures obtained from such
films. Respondent fg4Ol thinks that finding vampires erotic is 'probably
something to do with one's sexuality,' but her ability to articulate exactly
what this might be is limited, although she does consider it to be feminine:
I don't mean if you're gay or straight, I think it's probably
something to do with that, but I don't really know in what way.
With women it's definitely got something to do with it, because
it's more women than men like that sort of thing.
Such fantasies are also something which respondents such as hhl 16 wish to
keep private and are one reason why she chooses to watch horror films alone
or only in female company: 'I would not watch a horror film with a male
friend, because one type of arousal is very much like another and while I am
as passionate towards him as a glacier, he might get the wrong idea.'
It may be that the vampire film opens up various channels of pleasure,
including homoerotic, for the female viewer which a closer analysis of the
text-audience relationship might reveal. The fascination with vampiric
sexuality and the identification with monstrosity could be read as a form of
queer desire which, whilst not necessarily representing same-sex desire,
nevertheless indicates something other than normative heterosexuality or
traditional gender sex roles. In other words, a form of straight queer, or that
which Benshoff (1997, p. 5) defines as 'a more inclusive, amorphous and
ambiguous contra-heterosexuality.' It is not appropriate here to put the
respondents on the analyst's couch, but this does indicate that further textual
analysis of horror cinema is required in order to open up debates about horror
film spectatorship to active viewers such as the female horror fan or follower.
The erotic appeal of vampires and a fascination with vampire sexuality has
long been recognised as a pleasure for lesbian spectators (see Weiss, 1992, or
Krzywinska, 1995, for example) and these aspects of horror cinema should
be more widely acknowledged for female viewers of all sexual orientations.
Stacey (1994a, p. 29) argues for opening up the meanings of the categories of
identification and desire, thus enabling 'a fuller understanding of the
pleasures of the cinema for female spectators.' The fascination for the
vampire seen amongst this group of viewers would be a good starting point
for such an analysis.
150
6.2.1 Reading the horror film as romance
Regardless of the theoretical debates which identification with the vampire
opens up, these results link the consumption of horror cinema to other
traditional forms of female consumption, particularly that of romance fiction.
There is a common tendency to compare some types of horror film to the
romance genre and the sexual appeal of the vampire seems to be extremely
important in allowing the respondents to read the vampire film as romance.
Respondent bfs 123, for example, likes horror films with 'a realistic and
moving love theme within the plot.' As might be expected, this reading of
horror is dependent upon the leading male character (who may in fact be the
monster of the horror narrative) and his relationship with the heroine.
Respondent psiOl believes that 'tragic hero figures' such as Heathcliff or
Lord Byron are not so different to the 'magnetic vampire characters' whom
she finds much more appealing than the traditional hero, saying: 'The
vampires pose a striking contrast to the usual assortment of ordinary guys:
hard-working, pleasant, thoughtful...and perhaps dreadfully dull.'
Respondent pslOS considers that
The vampire film is the closest the horror genre comes to the
traditional romantic film. Vampires have most often been
portrayed in literature and film as handsome, often foreign, exotic
men who seem to have an uncanny knowledge of how to give
pleasure. Not so different from the old ideal of a movie star - how
do you think Valentino made it so big?
Bram Stoker's Dracula received many comments of praise despite the fact
that the respondents did not find the film or the character of Count Dracula
particularly frightening or repulsive; respondent bfs 113 commented: 'Dracula
didn't really scare me, but I like the storyline.' The comment from respondent
hhlO4 also confirms that the respondents may be reading this film not (only)
as honor, but as romance (as the advertising indicated - see chapter 1):
Dracula is the nearest film made to the spirit of the Bram Stoker
novel, although the story is still way off beam. However, I could
forgive this film anything. ... [It had] amazing cinematography,
completely beautiful to watch, amazing script, sets, acting, etc.
and a completely coherent story. Very exciting, but not scary. A
beautiful love story.
The sexuality and appeal of the male stars is another major factor for female
fans. In Interview with the Vampire, Armand (played by Antonio Banderas,
an actor described as having foreign matinee idol looks) is seen by several
respondents as an example of the dark, handsome, exotic and charismatic
vampire, whilst hhlO2 picks out the star appeal of Brad Pitt, saying that he
151
'excelled as Louis and visually he's perfect for the role.' Respondent bfs 123
says that 'the Kurgan in Highlander is so horrible, he's loveable,' and
describes the film as a 'sweet and tear-jerking romance and tragedy as well as
highly incredible fantasy,' adding that 'it may not be everyone's idea of an
evening in by the fire.'
Some respondents, then, would rather classify such films as romance than
horror (although they recognise the overlap between genres) and many make
their viewing choices on the basis of the romance elements of the film. In fact
bfsl23's comment about the way she watches Highlander recall stereotypical
images of women alone for the evening with a box of paper-hankies and a
weepie playing on TV. Respondent bfs 105 says that although Terminator is
'sometimes classed as horror, often as SF,' she considers it 'to be a romance'
and hhl 15 says that:
Films such as Dracula, Nihtbreed, The Company of Wolves and
many others would be classified as horror films, whilst all have
me in tears. The first is a love story, the second a commentary
about prejudice and the third a film about girls coming to terms
with sexuality and becoming a woman.
These examples illustrate that it is not just the vampire film that works as
romance for these viewers, although it is the predominant form of horror to
do so'for obvious reasons. Historical settings and themes more closely
aligned with romance than horror are also a source of pleasure. Respondent
bfs 123, who describes herself as a 'history freak' and a 'long time
Shakespeare and Classics fan,' selects her honor film viewing on the basis of
'an historical theme,' but says that she also loves 'more or less any historical
drama.' Of the latter, she says 'I don't seek those of a particularly horrific
nature, but I do enjoy historical characters placed into ridiculous situations
that they are required to react to or escape from.' The taste for Gothic horror
in particular is linked by many respondents to a liking for historical and
costume dramas. This desire for historical settings and costumes and for
recreating the fantasies they hold about the past is reflected in The Vampyre
Society's organisation of weekend vacations and trips to Gothic locations
(such as Whitby) and Victorian country houses and hotels where masked
balls and other similar activities are held. The taste for historical drama also
suggests that many of the respondents are nomadic subjects showing
allegiance to other cultural products. Respondent fg403 says that, although
she runs a Vampyre Society local group, vampire films aren't even her
152
favourite type of film, saying 'I like horror films, costume drama and French
films; there's lots of different films I watch - Heathers, Betty Blue, Alien.'
The particular liking amongst this group of viewers for vampire films and
other horror films based around a love story, then, may partly be explained
by the fact that the respondents seem to read the films in very similar ways to
romance fiction (although they do not much like mainstream romance - see
chapter 4). In particular they identify the relationships between the vampires
or between the vampire and its victim as a major source of pleasure. Like the
subjects of Radway's study of romance fiction readers (p. 79), female horror
fans judge the films on the basis of the relationships which develop between
the characters and often chose to ignore the events and actions in the narrative
that contradicted their reading of the heroine as strong and independent.
Respondent em122 likes to view films that 'take the time to develop
characters and have an interesting story' and ed101 likes the 'bad girls' who
fall for the monster (she names Julia in Heliraiser as a good example) 'even if
they do get punished or redeemed at the end - I can just ignore this since its so
facile and clich?d most of the time, the images I take away from the film are
of the woman in her glory.' Similarly, bfs 131 likes Cand yman whose heroine
'becomes a mythic figure of vengeance.' The ending must also give a
satisfactory resolution to the story for some: respondent bfs 123 says:
I find horror films with a love theme woven in leave one with the
feeling that everything is OK provided someone cares. Something
good comes out of the chaos. Afterwards I feel relaxed and
satisfied if the baddies got their comeuppance; the hero is going to
live happily ever after with the heroine; the plot has reached a
satisfactory conclusion.
This respondent's comments reflect the appeal of elements of horror related to
traditional feminine viewing tastes such as romance, namely love and the
triumph of good, whereas bfs 131 and ed101 seem to be reading against the
grain and appropriating the female monster even though, as Jermyn (1996, p.
266) points out with respect to the female psychopath of the contemporary
psychological thriller, there are no 'deliberately progressive or feminist
intentions' in these films. Regardless of their feminist views, horror, like
romance, allows the respondents to escape from real life and their social
situations. Respondent fg402 says that she always finds the character of the
vampire 'so much more exciting than guys I know' and likes 'the idea that it
could be real because it's so much more interesting than our own little
environment.' She likes to watch vampire films and fantasise about vampires
153
because 'you can be what you want to be; you don't have to worty about
killing someone, what your friends are going to say or what your parents are
going to think because you're dead and you've got those powers.' In this
way the consumption of horror films, as Radway claims for romance, helps
the respondents to 'make do' with their everyday lives, and also contributes
to how they 'actively react to and shape their own pleasures and desires.' As
Radway said of reading romance fiction, the experience 'offers participation
in an imaginary world where the heroine is powerful, competent, desirable
and successful - characteristics often suppressed in the reader's own life.'
Similarly, the horror film can be 'subversive of traditional relationship
patterns by keeping alive a version of the self which is often contradicted in
everyday reality.' This accords with Auerbach's (1995, p. 3) view that
vampires offered 'a secret talisman against a nice girl's life ... they promised
protection against a destiny of girdles, spike heels, and approval.' And just as
Pinedo (1997, pp. 1-2) recognises that horror films provided her with
opportunities to overtly express emotions that 'were otherwise denied
legitimate expression,' there is evidence from the respondents' comments that
they too express emotions that are often discouraged in women. Respondent
fg404 says:
The aspect that attracts me to horror films is that you're allowed to
feel so much more of every kind of emotion, not just being in
love with people, but aggression as well. That gives you the
opportunity to perhaps be more open about violent feelings of all
kinds.
The fact that vampire films and other horror films might be working not
just to scare or disgust the viewer, but that they might be offering much more
complex pleasures such as those associated with the romance genre, that they
might offer an outlet for emotions not generally encouraged in women, or
even that they might constitute a form of erotica or pornography for women,
suggests that a wider reading of the genre in respect of the female audience is
required. Putting aside questions about pornography for the moment (the
issues raised by this, although relevant, detract somewhat from a debate about
horror and the romance film), the above factors contribute to an
understanding of why some female viewers are drawn towards horror as well
as other similar emotionally exploitative films such as the melodrama or
weepie. There is much here which accords with Williams' argument (1991,
p. 9) for a new gender-driven genre criticism which allows female viewing
pleasures once thought not to exist.
154
Sexual and erotic themes were important, then, to many of the
respondents, particularly in vampire films with vampire and other perverse
sexualities one of the most popular aspects of horror cinema enjoyed by the
respondents. This may indicate that the vampire film can function as a form of
erotica for women, providing these viewers with safe, if perverse or aberrant,
sexual fantasies. The interpretive activities of the respondents can often be
compared to the reading strategies of romance fiction readers, and in this
respect horror can, like Gothic fiction, be coded as feminine.
6.2.2 Character relationships and construction of identity
The findings presented above with respect to identification, the appeal of
strong female characters, the feeling of sympathy for the monster and the
sexual attraction of vampires presents interesting parallels with the
consumption of genres coded as feminine, not least with romance fiction.
Whilst there is evidence of identification with the strong female of the horror
film, the respondents exhibit a particular form of identification to emerge in
this study - a 'subversive affinity' with the monster. The fascination or even
sexual attraction of the monster can be related to identificatory practices
observed amongst other groups of female spectators. In Star Gazing (1994a,
pp. 138-170), Stacey identifies a number of identificatory fantasies and
practices amongst female film fans in the 40s and 50s and a number of her
categories are applicable to female horror film viewers (and especially viewers
of vampire films). Stacey defines two categories of identificatory articulations
of desire in which the viewer loses herself in the other (the star or character)
which are appropriate here: transcendence (in which the spectators identity
merges with that of the star or character in the film) and aspirationlinspiration
(which takes the form of a desire for transformation of the spectator's own
identity).3 These cinematic identificatoiy fantasies manifest themselves in a
number of ways amongst the respondents, but the primary mechanism is a
strong identification with the vampire. Some respondents state that they
believe in vampires, others that they know the creature to be a figure of myth
but like to fantasise about such creatures existing. Rocket (1988, pp. xiii-xiv)
argues that people are drawn to horror because they 'unconsciously ... crave
contact and even interfusion with a transcendent world beyond their own, or
perhaps existing concomitantly with theirs, in another sublime plane of
existence.' This appears to be an important factor in the appeal of horror for
the respondents. Many report that they play at being vampires, frequently
155
dressing up in vampire costumes and wearing fangs, and many aspire to what
they see as the glamour of the vampire in their appearance and behaviour.
Such extra-cinematic indentificatory factors are dealt with in chapter 7. Many
respondents, however, take pleasure in watching such glamorous creatures
on the screen. Respondent exOO4's description of her activities indicates a
high level of obsession with vampire films which is related to her ideals of
femininity and glamour
The first video I ever bought was The Hun ger, which I must have
watched at least four times a week back then. I was always
touched by the immense tragedy and sorrow of the vampire, and I
suppose enjoyed the vicarious pleasure of the female sexual
excess and expression in films like this and Daughters of
Darkness. As a rather shy, mousy and introverted youngster it
really filled a void in me. They were never so much role models,
that style was far beyond me, but characters I could escape with
into a fantasy world of glamour as I watched these films. I really
found them arousing, exploring a sexual life which I had never
had any contact with before - one that seemed otherworldly, and
was glittering slick and soft focus on the screen, but beyond my
imagination, confidence and certainty in 'real life.'
This respondent mentions that in addition to the erotic appeal of the vampire
for her, 'there's also a sadness which goes with that - in the recognition of the
vampire's status in society - being an outsider, a loner.' Thus, in addition to
her aspiration to be like the vampires she is viewing on screen, she also
seems to be finding a link between her own identity and that of the vampires
in terms of the isolation they both suffer (the respondent describes herself as
having been shy, mousy and introverted). There is a link here to the monster
as other and an identification or fascination with monstrosity outlined above.
The appeal of vampirism is linked to the enjoyment of historical genres and
the romanticisation of the past explored above, with Hammer and other
Gothic horror films providing a key source of images of this (imagined) past.
These images then become an integral part of the respondents' identificatory
fantasies - and for some, as for respondent hhlO2, they become part of an
idealised, yet aberrant, femininity:
Female vampires remain in my mind as a stylish image of dark
beauty. The classically Gothic full length dresses and cloaks, the
numerous high ceilinged rooms full of dark wood and velvet
curtains are now, without a doubt, for me synonymous with
grace and charm.
Visual pleasure for the respondents also comes from the viewing of
historical styles of female clothing, though this is often linked with fetishistic
156
garments such as corsets and fabrics such as velvet. There seems to be an
identificatory fantasy with the sexuality of the heroine:
I was also influenced by the female victims, because so often a
Victorian setting was the basis for Hammer's Dracula and I was
exposed to a barrage of images of beautiful frail thin and pale
women in Victorian dress who were themselves sexualised by
their relations with the exotic and erotic vampire. (exOO4)
There is an indication here that the respondents are, rather than identifying
with an innocent, non-sexual heroine, appropriating the monstrous-feminine
and sexualised femininity. Again there are parallels with Radway's findings
on romance fiction readers as this respondent seems to ignore events in the
narrative that contradict her reading of the heroine as strong and independent.
The acting out of these identificatory fantasies outside the cinema is dealt with
further in chapter 7.
In constructing an identity around such fantasies (and some do change their
appearance to match that of the vampire), however, many respondents feel
this renders them odd or abnormal, but they express the belief that this is
unavoidable since they also feel strongly that their liking for horror is an
innate part of their personality (see chapter 5). Many, like respondent hhlO2
above, think that they might be 'weird'. Respondent fg405 thinks that she is
'just naturally odd,' and blames her liking for vampires and her predilection
for wearing vampire-style clothing on being 'dropped on my head when I
was a baby or something,' whilst psOiO says she 'can't help it' and psOO6
asks if she is the only 'strange one.' All three mention that they have been
subject to abuse in the street, fg'405 complains about being called Morticia by
members of the public and psiOi says that 'strangers have yanked their
children away from me.'4 The fact that the respondents are willing to put up
with such situations indicates that the identificatory fantasy might be very
strong indeed.
Whilst some respondents construct identities around characters in horror
films, others, such as hhlO4, feel that horror films reflect political opinions
which they are in sympathy with:
Horror and SF have always been used for social commentary and
exploring sensitive issues in a safe arena - ecology in No Blade of
Grass, Soylent Green and any James Cameron film all of which
carry heavy anti-nuclear messages; race issues in Enemy Mine,
Alien Nation, Nihtbreed; drug issues in Dark Angel, Alien
Nation, Altered States; outcasts in Carrie, The Hunchback of
Notre Dame. They make me want to be a better person and try to
create a better world.
157
This suggests that there are additional forms of identificatory practice taking
place amongst horror film viewers. One aspect of the horror film which is
problematical for the respondents, however, is related to a lack of
identification with violence and violent characters in the horror film which is
evidenced by the dislike of many slasher films and an expression of boredom
with films containing excessive and gratuitous violence. Non-consensual
sexual violence and other forms of violence against women are commonly
disliked. If female film fans and followers are reading the horror film as
romance or using horror films as a form of erotica, what interpretive
strategies do they employ for other types of horror, some of which are almost
as well-liked as vampire and Gothic horror films, which cannot be read in the
same way?
6.3 Representations and feminist discourses
Other interpretive strategies the respondents make with respect to horror films
indicate that they take account of feminist debate about the genre, even if they
do not agree with it. There are two aspects of sexism in horror cinema which
concern the respondents, the representations of women in the films
themselves and aspects of industrial sexism which create the environment for
such stereotypes. Respondent hhlO7 bemoans the 'lack of roles for women'
and hh101 thinks that 'to a large extent horror films are sexist' because:
It is always the woman who screams her head off and has to be
rescued. Also, actors in the horror genre last longer. Women
make one film and disappear but men repeatedly make horror
films - Christopher Lee, for example.
Respondent bfs 138 also feels that many sex scenes in horror films are very
often 'wholly unnecessary to the plot' but are put into the film 'for no other
reason than to get a half or fully naked woman onto the screen in order to
pander to a certain section of the audience.' Similarly, bfs 127 feels that
'women became the victims to bring in the sex appeal, and to show a little
cleavage' and attributes this to 'the fact that women are often thought of as
second-class citizens,' a situation which she hopes will change in time.
Again, this is regarded as inequitable treatment of actresses and this
respondent believes that 'male actors are not usually exploited in this way.'
Nudity is a concern to many respondents who feel this is exploitative.
Respondent hhlO6 says: 'One only has to look at the number of instances of
female nudity compared to those of male nudity in films to deduce that the
film industry in general is a fairly sexist business.' Respondent bfsl38
158
blames the industry's limited attitudes towards women for the sexist
stereotypes perpetuated in the films themselves:
In virtually all [horror films] women are portrayed as victims,
passive, stupid, unable to act for themselves. In any film where
women have a strong part - like Basic Instinct - they are portrayed
as homicidal lunatics. As far as the majority of these film makers
see life any woman who is not dead, naked, on her knees or
terrified is a psychotic bitch.
There is a generally held view that because, as respondent hhlO6 says,
'there are few female directors, producers and screenwriters' working in the
industry, 'it is inevitable that many films are going to be tinged with sexism.'
Respondent edlO3 also feels that this scenario is due to the fact that the film
industry is male dominated, and uses this fact to explain the pandering to a
male audience:
There are few women directors in the horror genre, which may
explain the stereotypical 'bimbo' in a lot of horror movies
(especially slasher films). Although I think there are a lot of
strong female characters (Ripley from Aliens, the sister in
Psycho) they are often overlooked - as if studio bosses think an
audience may not identify with such a character.
A similar belief is also held by respondent bfsl45 who says: 'Women are still
portrayed as the weaker sex, men as the protectors. This is mainly due to men
producing and directing films. How can men look brave and fearless if they
don't have a feeble little woman to look after?' Some attitudes criticise the
patriarchal ideologies inherent in society; respondent hhl 13 feels that women
are treated badly in horror films because they are 'often seen as men's
property.'
There seems, then, to be an acknowledgement of feminist discourses
surrounding the Hollywood film industry and a belief that because the
industry is pandering to the perceived pleasures of the male audience,
representations of women are generally negative, unrealistic and out-dated.
This is often contributes to how the respondents perceive the quality of the
film. Respondent hhlO2 makes reference to 'bad' film makers:
Honor films often put women in danger, in pathetic or
compromising situations because that is a clich?d way of
representing danger. The watching audience knows that the
situation is supposed to be frightening and a bad director will
make no more effort than that, hoping perhaps that some of the
victim's fear will wear off on the viewer.
These opinions may be related to the industry belief that the horror film
audience is male dominated, and certainly the respondents feel that female
159
tastes are not accounted for. Respondent bfs 134 is resigned to the fact that
'most horror seems aimed towards men anyway.' Issues of representation
and identification are important here. Respondent hhlO2 goes on to say that it
is a 'great shame that women are not given more serious lead roles' in horror
films and that 'as a woman I would like to be able to take a few more lead
women seriously when they play their roles.' This being true, we might
expect these respondents to stop watching such films. However, this is not
the case and they continue to watch and enjoy the genre. It seems that the
pleasures of horror film viewing for these respondents outweigh the problems
with representation or a lack of identification with the protagonists. Some
respondents seem able to take up two contrasting positions at the same time;
respondent ds207 says that:
From a woman's point of view I dislike the sexism and gratuitous
nudity which is so common in these films, but speaking as a
horror fan the odd shower scene doesn't offend me just as long as
it leads to a nasty death scene.
It seems that holding feminist opinions and liking horror films are not
necessarily mutually exclusive, although respondents do see these as separate
aspects of their personality. They tend to suppress the former in order to
allow themselves the pleasures of the latter. Respondent em 105 thinks horror
films are sexist, but says that she 'laughs it off' for two reasons: 'I don't
believe the silly stereotypes presented and I don't watch to see how women
are treated.'
6.3.1 Responding to representations of femininit y In the horror
f jim
The vast majority of respondents recognise and accept that most horror films
contain negative female stereotypes. Several mechanisms are to found
amongst the respondents to refute accusations of sexism, or excuse the genre
from such accusations. One tendency amongst the respondents is to excuse or
ignore this on the grounds that all cinema is guilty of such portrayals.
Respondent bfsl 13 thinks that 'horror films are no more sexist than any other
genre' and bfsl44 says 'it is not confined to the genre - it happens in most
films.' These respondents do not let the representations which they find
objectionable detract from the overall pleasures of horror films viewing.
Respondent fg2Ol also gets 'quite annoyed' at the portrayals of women in
horror films and states that she does not like 'seeing women being victims all
the time.' However, she says: 'Throw a few men in there as well and I'm
160
happy.' Respondent hhl 17 does not allow the representations to overwhelm
her viewing pleasures, saying: 'I object to these women who scream every
five seconds but I don't think women have to be the strong lead to make it a
good film.'
The respondents, however, do make decisions about quality on the basis of
such representations. Respondent bfsl 16 thinks that sexist stereotypes are
found 'notjust in honor films' and would 'rate any film in which women.
were portrayed as merely Victims or objects as questionable.' Others, here
bfs 140, make viewing choices based on the assumption and prior knowledge
of such representations: 'because the treatment irritates me I tend not to watch
these.' This might indicate a form of self-censorship taking place, with a pre-
selection of viewing material based not just on the individual's threshold for
honor or violence, but on some aspect of feminist interest or knowledge, if
not activism. Many respondents do feel the need to make out a case that recent
honor films contain more positive representations than older ones. Some
respondents claim that the honor genre in recent years has included less sexist
portrayals of women (many respondents base this argument on the
Terminator and Alien films). Respondent bfs 101, for example, thinks that
'there are good role models' in recent honor films, she names Ripley and the
sisters in Ni ght of the Comet, and feels that 'the stereotype of the mother
defending her children' which she thinks might be 'ambiguous as heroinism'
is 'still probably accurate.' Others state that they only watch examples of
honor with female characters they deem to be positive role models or seek out
recent horror films with what they consider to be less sexist portrayals.
Again, films such as Alien and Terminator come in for frequent mention.
Respondent bfsl3 1 says:
A great many honor films are sexist, although some
writers/directors make a point of having strong female characters
(Clive Barker, for example), and those are the directors/writers
whose work I would choose to see rather than those with sexist
attitudes.
In addition, the sexism in older honor films is often glossed over on the
grounds that films are historical documents reflecting the socio-political
climate in which they were made, and thus reflect the gender stereotypes
common at the time. There is a tendency amongst the respondents to make
excuses for these films. Respondent hhllO blames cultural as well as
historical factors: 'American films are worse for treating all women as wimps
in their films, even the modern ones. Hammer used to treat women like that
161
but it is acceptable as they were made a long time ago.' Respondent hhl 19
says that 'In Hammer films there is a certain amount of pathetic female victim
syndrome, but I find it funny because it's so predictable.' However, she also
seeks out strong female roles and feels that there are 'a lot of old horror films
where the woman have the upper hand, for example they become vampires
and men are attracted to them and led to their deaths which seems like justice
to me.'
Many respondents assume that misogynistic or patriarchal attitudes towards
women are at the core of these negative stereotypes. Respondent bfs 140
believes there is a 'sexist assumption of inability and inferiority' at work and
bfsl59 attributes it to the fact of 'women being seen as the helpless sex,
making them more vulnerable to threats both physical and psychological.'
Some respondents are also of the opinion that this has changed in recent years
and furthermore they claim that recent horror films contain more positive
representations than other contemporary film genres. Respondent fg404, who
says that when she was a girl she thought 'that all women had to do to be an
astronaut was scream and cook, due mostly to the influence of Lost in
Space,' feels it is unfair to 'separate horror from any other genre' and thinks
that horror 'has never been any more sexist that any other genre and tends,
especially in the 80s and 90s, to give women more strong roles than any other
genre.' Respondent hhll6 reverses the argument and believes that it is the
male representations in horror cinema which are negative stereotypes:
Women are treated better by horror films than in mainstream
cinema. They often actively fight the vampire, werewolf or
whatever. In other films they are often just bed-fodder or
somebody to say 'I don't understand.' Men get the raw deal in
horror. A woman killed by a vampire tends to be seduced, a man
is more likely to be savaged.
Other respondents are not overly concerned with feminist issues related to
sexism and stereotyping. Some respondents, like stiOl, feel that the negative
stereotypes of women do not matter because they do not believe that films
affect the opinions of the people watching them:
I think that people don't take films seriously enough to change
their opinions. If you think in a sexist way already then it won't
make that much difference to you, you'll only agree with the
stereotypes, not rush out and become an axe-murderer victimising
women.
Respondent fg2Ol, on the other hand, feels that horror films provide
opportunities to point out sexist stereotypes to male acquaintances:
162
Horror films show [femininity] up as a complete clich?. Whereas
if you watch Hollywood romance it's everyday stuff and it
naturalises it, in horror films it emphasises it. There's so many
people that are so stupid they just don't understand things unless
you actually point them out right in front of their faces - you can
do that with horror films and you can't do it with mainstream
things. You can't say 'oh look, she's eating an ice-cream, he's
eating a ... whatever a manly thing to eat is.' They'd go 'oh don't
be stupid.' But in a horror film you can actually point those things
out. You'd go 'how many girls do you know who actually faint.
None.'
Although some respondents may dismiss the negative stereotypes of
women in the horror genre and many are prepared to make excuses for the
genre, many do seem to express feminist opinions. It seems though that these
are often dismissed, if temporarily, when it comes to the enjoyment of horror
films. In addition, many hold stronger opinions on the linking of sex and
violence in horror cinema. It is important, then, to consider not just
representations of women but representations of violence and the opinions of
the respondents on representations of violence against women, in particular
how they deal with watching the abuse of female characters. If female
spectators are not colluding with the male oppressor as Halberstam and others
maintain (see chapter 2), the interpretive strategies of the respondents and
how they rationalise or deal with such factors must be established.
6.3.2 The slasher film: contradictions and criticisms
The comments of respondents who like slasher films reveal a significant
contradiction in the tastes and responses of these female fans. Surprisingly,
perhaps, there was no significant difference between age groups in their
preferences for these films. Those respondents classing themselves as fans,
however, were more likely to admit to liking slasher films, suggesting that
they may have more appeal to the more dedicated female horror film viewer
(see chapter 5). Those respondents who liked slasher films felt the need to
excuse their taste in some way, typically by stating that they like particular
examples of the genre - Halloween, Friday the 13th and Ni ghtmare on Elm
Street. films which they regard as being well-made or original, are frequently
named - and not others which were held to be formulaic or imitative. Some
respondents preferred the funnier versions of the sub-genre, while others said
that they had to be in a particular frame of mind to watch slasher films.
Typically, many of those who stated that they liked slasher films made an
163
attempt to argue against the criticisms made of the genre. Respondent em 122
argued:
There is no predominance of females being killed. Most slasher
films ... have nearly equal numbers of male and female victims. I
think an actual census of horror movie victims would show that
females tend to be threatened but escape or are rescued; males
tend to be killed. But people only notice the threats to the females
and simply shrug off the male deaths.
Others, such as respondent em126, recognised the slasher film's depictions
of violence toward women, but chose to ignore them:
I know that in a lot of slasher films there's definitely some bad
treatment of women going on but at the same time, I enjoy the
films, sometimes despite the fact that I'm protesting all these
naked female bodies and stupid women who can't do anything
but scream. It's foolish when it comes down to it.
As this comment suggests, respondents frequently recognised that their
responses were contradictory. This extended to feelings about the victims
themselves: the respondents frequently express opinions which come close to
victim blame when discussing the death and abuse of female victims in horror
films, particularly in slasher films. Respondent fglO3 described her feelings
about characters she referred to as 'bimbos': 'I tend to find that I don't mind
these women being victims - they deserve to be killed off!' A number of the
respondents feel that the female characters who are subjected to violence in
horror films often deserve what comes to them; fg202 says 'sometimes I just
think women are stupid and just don't care if they die.' In these cases the
respondents feel that these female characters are weak, and they frequently
ignore or laugh off these negative representations. They may not take pleasure
in watching weak female characters, but this does not seem to spoil the
overall pleasure of horror film viewing for them. These ambivalent attitudes
may be related to the response given to victims of domestic violence that they
deserve it. Certainly, there are similarities to the battered woman myth
(Radford, 1993, p. 189) that says abused women are 'weak, damaged or less
intelligent individuals, unable to "walk out" because they need someone to tell
them what to do.' This myth in effect leads to blaming the 'violence-prone'
woman for her own abuse, injury or death. This seems very close to the
opinions held by the respondents on the female victims of the horror film who
meet death at the hands of the monster - or more frequently the serial-killer of
the slasher film. The victims (and these can be male as well as female) are
deemed to be less intelligent and less resourceful than the 'final girl' and
164
therefore, say the respondents, they deserve their fate. In the main the
respondents do not seem to be aware that such a parallel with real-life victim
blame could be drawn and they insist that because they know the difference
between reality and fiction this is not a sign of holding such attitudes in real
life. It may though indicate an unconscious adoption of such ideologies,
although the fact that the respondents do not regard such depictions seriously
in horror films (whereas they do in more realistic genres - see below) does
suggest a more complex response to such representations.
6.3.3 Viewing violence against women
Attitudes towards sexual violence or abuse in horror cinema, then, highlight
some of the contradictions inherent in horror film viewing for women.
Although both the atmospheric honor films and the gore films are likely to
contain violent scenes, the latter have more often been criticised for depicting
excessively violent attacks upon the female body. Weaver (1991, p. 390)
determined that although male and female characters suffered violent attacks
in similar numbers (confirming respondent em 122's assumption quoted
above), 'scenes portraying the death of female characters were significantly
longer than those involving male characters.' In some cases, the threat of
violence towards female characters is sexual in nature (Weaver, pp. 388-9)
and this causes further divisions in how the respondents read these films. As
established above, in the case of vampire films and several other examples of
the genre, sexual violence or force is elided by sexual desire or the potential
for sexual liberation in the victim which is a key source of identificatory and
viewing pleasure for the respondents. Other interpretive strategies allow the
respondents to continue to enjoy less erotic forms of the horror film in spite
of the violence upon the female body. Some women make excuses for the
genre in the same way they excuses the negative stereotypes; respondent
fg404 reads the horror film as comedy:
I don't think the violence against women bothers me, because the
foimulaic quality of the genre is so recognised and has a sense of
humour, you don't take it that seriously. Killing a beautiful girl in
a slasher movie may objectify women, but it's less noticeable in
the comedy context of the genre than the hatred inspired of a less
passive woman with a motive.
This respondent says that 'at least when women are placed as victims we like
them and sometimes admire their courage - we're rooting for them.' She finds
it much harder to identify with female killers in films like Single White
Female, Misery and Fatal Attraction, saying:
165
In these more recent films the audience is really encouraged to
hate these spiteful, hysterical women (when I saw The Hand That
Rocks the Cradle people actually cheered when the wife punched
her!) and identify with the men who may have cheated on their
wives or girlfriends but that's suddenly made fine by the
excessive violence against them.
However, most respondents report feeling extremely uncomfortable with
depictions of sexual violence. As Hill (p. 52) suggests: 'Rape is ... a complex
issue for female participants, generating both fear and anger at fictional and
real incidents of rape. ... Social/cultural typecasts of women as victims
influences female participants' response to the issue of rape.' Many
respondents report feeling uncomfortable when watching rape scenes; fg202
said 'I don't like rape scenes at all, I don't like to watch them' and bfs 123
says that rape scenes leave her with the 'feeling of vulnerability.' For some
respondents these feelings are tied into their general feelings about all
fictionalised forms of violence. Respondent bfs 154 says that she dislikes
'intensely graphic scenes of violent rape and women being beaten,' but also
'overt physical violence aimed at men,' whilst bfs 123 says that 'what is
wrong in any medium is violence, whether it be of a sexual nature or any
other.' As Hill also discovered, issues surrounding fictional depictions of
rape are complex and responses depend very much upon particular instances
in particular films, as demonstrated by respondent exOO4:
The only display of violence against women I've ever felt
personally affronted by is I Spit On Your Grave because of the
unnecessarily harrowing rape scenes and the heroine's torture.
The executing of her revenge is obviously justified, but the way
she did this ruined any pleasure which could be gained from her
brutally avenging her torturers. To get the men into a situation
where she could hurt them she seduced them and had to subject
her body that they had already punished again. I hated that and in
spite of the violence she inflicted on the men (castrating one of
them) when the film ended there was no sense of relief or
revenge. She seemed to be a victim even though she survived -
the film ended with cold detachment.
There is no evidence, then, to suggest that female viewers enjoy depictions
of rape and other sexual violence in horror films, nor do these seem to help
the respondents to deal with difficult emotions surrounding fears of sexual
violence in real life. Many respondents, however, do make a distinction
between more realistic violence in other genres and horror films. Respondent
bfs 123 names The Accused as a film she found particularly difficult to watch:
'When we were recommended a Jodie Foster film which contains a twenty
minute rape ordeal, we were both truly repulsed, and very suspicious of the
166
person that lent it to us.'. The fact that she finds this and other films like it
much more disturbing than horror suggests this respondent makes a strong
distinction between what is acceptable and what is not. Respondent sh2Ol
thinks 'the most important thing about horror films is that they aren't real' and
bfsl56 says:
I do distinguish between films with real violence such as
Deliverance, Brubaker and Scum and horror film violence. The
first kind is to do with reality and mental violence and it upsets
me; I can't watch it. On the whole horror violence is slapstick,
over the top and watchable.
These results suggest that respondents see horror purely as fantasy (though
it does raise questions about how fans define the margins of the genre with
some drawing this distinction whilst others name films such as The Kravs as
favourite horror films; closer readings of violent films are indicated here to
establish the mechanism for such definitions). For some, horror film fantasies
may form some kind of defence mechanism against real-life fears. The
following comment from respondent fg2Ol suggests that horror helps her
deal with the reality of the threat of violence against women by allowing her
to occupy her mind with supernatural dangers:
When I'm walking back through the park. I'm not really
frightened of being raped or mugged but by being scared by
someone, and getting uncomfortable. I know it's not because I
expect someone to come jumping out from the bushes and say
boo, but! feel uncomfortable because it reminds me of films I've
seen, like Superstition [where] something supernatural pops up.
In addition, respondent hhll9's comment that it 'seems like justice' that men
are 'led to their deaths' by female vampires in a lot of older horror films and
the remark from hhl 16 that 'men get the raw deal in horror' (both quoted
above) might indicate that some horror films might fulfil some kind of
feminist revenge fantasy for some female viewers, but there is little evidence
of this elsewhere. The overall impression given, however, is that violence
and sexual violence, whether directed against men or women, are not sources
of pleasure for the respondents, but unlike Williams' horror film spectatrix
this does not lead to a refusal to look. Rather there is a disavowal of female
victimisation which might in itself contribute to an acceptance of patriarchal
attitudes towards women (Radway, 1984).
6.4 Reading strate2ies and resistin g viewers
The most important finding from an analysis of the respondents' readings of
horror films is that representations of femininity and female sexuality within
167
the horror genre can be a source of resistance for female viewers. Most
importantly, many vampire fans show evidence of 'reading against the grain'
in that they respond to many vampire (and other horror) films as romance or
as erotica. Certainly vampire films do in many instances provide quasi-
legitimate forms of visual pleasure for many female viewers, but there is also
a tendency for some respondents to enjoy gratuitous horror for its own sake.
There are clear parallels to Radway's work on the interpretive activities of
romance fiction readers. Radway demonstrated how a group of women united
by their reading preferences used a popular cultural form to deal with their
social situation and showed how they actively reacted to romance fiction,
using it to shape their own pleasure and desires. Although the group of horror
film viewers taking part in this study have a rather different demographic
profile than that of Radway's readers (in addition to the obvious difference of
nationality, the horror film viewers are far more likely to be single or childless
and more likely to be in full time occupation than the romance fiction readers),
there are strong similarities amongst their opinions or reactions to their chosen
cultural texts and commonalities amongst their uses and gratifications of the
texts. Her findings on the pleasures of cultural texts - demonstrating the ways
in which women construct their identities around such texts and the meanings
of those texts in their social situation - also have relevance to the fascination
amongst the female horror film fans and followers for horror and for
monsters. The respondents use horror films as a fantasy to help them deal
with their social situation and they use their fascination with the vampire and
other monsters to construct identities for themselves, but the pleasure that
these viewers take in a form of popular culture does not preclude a feminist
consciousness or an awareness of feminist issues. A number of points have
also arisen in this discussion with respect to patterns of fan consumption and
behaviour and these are explored further in chapter 7, particularly in relation
to vampire fandom.
'The character has a grid scored onto his face and head, each intersection pierced with a nail.2	
Goth subculture, to which a large number of the respondents align themselves,
models an idealised sexuality along similar lines. See chapter 8 for an analysis of Goths and
horror fandom.
3Other forms of identificatory fantasies and practices which occur outside the cinema are
dealt with in the analysis of fan practice in chapter 8.
4 Respondent fg4Ol blames this on conventional ideas of female beauty and said that she
had been subjected to similar insults because of her weight.
168
Chapter 7
Femininity and Fandom
7.1 Horror fandom
Horror fandom consists of publishing (primarily fanzines, but also books'),
the consumption and production of merchandise (including photographs and
posters, models, masks, make-up and costumes, as well as professional
publications), and fan gatherings (societies, conventions and horror film
festivals). It is impossible, however, to consider horror fandom as having
distinct boundaries and there is much overlap with other fan cultures; as
Reeves et a!. recognise in their paper on fans of The X-Files (1996, p. 32,
my emphasis): 'horror/dark fantasy fan groups ... exist on the margins of sci-
fifandom.' A number of horror societies exist in the UK, although there are a
much larger number of fan groups based around related genres such as
science fiction and fantasy. Many horror fan groups are small, locally-based
clubs (for example, the Gothique Film Society which holds monthly film
screenings in North London). At the other end of the scale, the British
Fantasy Society is one of the largest UK organisations which includes horror
fans amongst its members, though it is a multi-genre and multi-media fan
organisation which includes science fiction, horror and fantasy in its scope
and is concerned primarily with literature in these genres. There is every
indication however, that women do not belong to such societies in large
numbers. At the time the BFS assisted in the recruitment of female fans for
this research it had a membership of a little over 360, just under 50 of whom
were female. This ratio (under 14 per cent) points towards a low participation
rate by women in traditional organised fandom. This reflects the position in
traditional science fiction fandom which is literary based and male-dominated
(see Jenkins' description of the barriers to women in male-dominated fandom
in Textual Poachers [1992, p. 48] and Tulloch and Jenkins' account of
] j? fans in Science Fiction Audiences [1995, pp. 3-5]). As Jenkins has
observed, female science fiction fans tend to congregate in specific areas of
fandom dedicated to subjects with a greater interest for women (Jenkins
writes about Star Trek slash fiction and Beauty and the Beast as particular
areas of female interest).
One section of horror fandom which is particularly prolific and has a large
number of societies and groups is that for vampire fans. At least ten national
vampire societies exist in the UK, including The Vampyre Society, The
Dracula Society, Thee (sic) Vampire Guild, The British Vampire Society, The
169
Whitby Dracula Society, The Spirit Undead, The Children of Darkness and
The Vampire Connexion. As evidenced by the strong liking women have for
vampire films (see chapter 4), it might be expected that more women are
attracted to these groups. This is confirmed by membership of The Velvet
Vampyre Society2: of membership of its local groups, the south-west area
group based in Newton-Abbot has twelve members, half of whom are female
and the Glasgow based group has fourteen regular members, eight of whom
are women; of 218 new members (from lists published in the society journal)
joining the society during the period 1995-6, 106 were women (that is, 49 per
cent). It would seem then that certain sections of horror fandom are more
appealing or accommodating to female fans than others (and certainly it
reflects the popularity of vampires amongst female fans).
A number of horror film festivals and conventions take place in the UK
including The Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, Vampyria in London
and Dead By Dawn in Edinburgh, while the BFS runs an annual convention
(FantasyCon), but in contrast with science fiction fandom the number of such
events is relatively small. Large numbers of science fiction and fantasy
conventions are run in the UK every year and observation indicates that
horror fans often participate in these: for example, at Intersection (the 53rd
World Science Fiction Convention) held in Glasgow in 1995, the four day
programme included a large number of items on vampires, a number of
panels on SF-Horror and H. P. Lovecraft, and this attracted a large number
of horror fans and particularly vampire fans to the convention. The latter
included a large number of attendees in vampire costume (usually some form
of Georgian or Victorian style clothing with fangs, nails and other vampire
accessories).
As with other media fandoms, a large number of horror fanzines are
published by fan groups or individual fans and much of the participation in
such amateur publication by female fans is the writing of fiction (26 per cent
of the respondents write fan fiction as a hobby). These examples can be
considered as forms of textual poaching and this is explored further below.
This situation, with on the one hand female horror fans taking part in a
specific area of horror fandom and on the other being diverted into other fan
cultures, may account (at least in part) for the invisibility of female horror
fans. A publicly professed liking for science fiction may be a front for a love
of honor, and several participants in this study have stated that they have not
170
made their love of horror public, hhlO6 stating that 'People seem to find an
interest in horror more disturbing in a woman, and I consider this most
unfair.' Many of the respondents specified a liking for science fiction in
addition to horror and several pointed out that they discovered their taste for
horror through reading or watching science fiction. It should be
acknowledged, then, that many fans are nomadic, being fans of horror and
science fiction, and also of fantasy or other related genres. Accordingly, there
are large areas of overlap in the membership of fan cultures. Higher levels of
active involvement in science fiction fandom, including attendance at science
fiction conventions, and vampire fandom may be attributable to a number of
factors:
? a response to the scarcity of horror conventions and/or the lack of
welcome for women at these;
? overlap in areas of fan taste (nomadic behaviour);
? a liking for science fiction or for vampires, whilst still portrayed as other,
being more socially acceptable, especially for women, than a liking for
horror.
The female horror film fan then is doubly marginalised within horror fan
culture, female fans being, firstly, largely ignored by the mass market and
fan-based horror publishing industry and, secondly, often derided by male
fans. Any analysis of women's position in horror fandom is complicated by
the fact that such fans are nomadic, horror film fandom overlapping other fan
cultures (primarily, literary and science fiction fandom) and account of this is
taken in the analysis which follows.
7.1.1 Models of fan behaviour
Since participation in horror fandom is not widespread amongst female horror
film viewers, it may be necessary to investigate (and construct) an alternative
fan profile. The term fan connotes fanatical viewers and, although the women
in this study view horror films frequently and habitually, they do not, by and
large, fit the image of the fan who watches horror films to the exclusion of
other viewing preferences or pastimes (rather, as nomadic subjects, horror
tends to form part of a group of subjects that they like, for example, science
fiction, fantasy and horror, or costume drama and vampire films - see chapter
4). Many are isolated viewers with low rates of participation in fan culture or
do not participate at all in fan activities, others are members of literary or
multi-media fan organisations. Specific patterns of fan behaviour and
consumption are examined in the following sections of this chapter, but one
171
question which must be considered first is whether the respondents think of
themselves as fans, regardless of their level of participation in fan culture; in
other words, do they define themselves as a fan in order to indicate a
particular interest in a cultural product. Most of the survey respondents (84
per cent) were happy to describe themselves as horror fans, but 12 per cent
rejected this label. 4 per cent were unsure about whether they were fans and
this may indicate an ambivalence about fans generally or whether they fit the
typical horror fan profile.
What, if any, are the differences in fan behaviour or consumption between
those who would call themselves fans and those who would not (referred to
as non-fans below)? And can any patterns of fan practice or viewing
preferences explain any differences? A number of hypotheses present
themselves:
la that fans and non-fans like different categories of horror film (fans being
more likely to watch hard-core horror - slasher or gore films - as opposed
to psychological or mainstream horror);
lb that fans are more likely to participate in fan consumption (to read horror
magazines and fanzines or to attend conventions) than non-fans;
2a that younger respondents (under twenty-five-years-old) are more likely to
call themselves fans (as it has become more acceptable in recent years for
women to openly admit to liking horror films than in the past);
2b that older respondents (over forty-five-years-old) are more likely to call
themselves fans (from the suggestion by Cheryl Cline [1992] that
menopausal women are excused fan behaviour);
2c that women are least likely to call themselves fans during their late
twenties and thirties.
There are no significant differences in the proportion of respondents who
think of themselves as fans within the above age groups (x2 = 4.90, ns), nor
is there any significant difference between the fan and non-fan groups in the
readership of the most popular British horror magazine, The Dark Side (x 2 =
5.86, ns). This leads to a rejection of hypothesis lb and hypotheses 2a to 2c.
However, those who consider themselves to be fans are significantly more
likely to like slasher films than those who do not think of themselves as fans
(x2 = 5.86, p = 0.00). A liking for slasher films, then, may be an indication
of horror film viewers classing themselves as fans, but there are few other
differences between fans and non-fans in their preferences for any other
horror film type (although fans are slightly more likely to like Hammer horror
films, witchcraft films, monster movies and body horror than non-fans, these
differences are not significant at the 0.05 level). There is little indication,
172
then, in the tastes of the respondents as to whether they class themselves as
fans or not. As might be expected, the fans watch significantly more horror
films on video than the non-fans (2 = 29.08, p = 0.00), although there is no
significant difference between the fans and non-fans in the frequency of
viewing horror films on television (x2 = 12.88, ns). Since it takes rather
more effort and cost to rent or buy a video cassette than to watch a broadcast
film on television, this suggests that those viewers who think of themselves
as fans make slightly more effort to view horror films. There is also a strong
correlation between the age at which the respondents first started watching
horror films and whether they consider themselves to be fans (x2 = 32.78, p
= 0.00). This indicates that an habitual liking for being scared formed at an
early age (certainly, pre-teens) is an indicator for classing oneself as a fan in
later life. Those who were under twelve-years-old when they first watched
horror films show the largest difference and are far more likely to consider
themselves to be fans than to reject the label. Those who started watching
horror films between sixteen and eighteen-years-old are far less likely to
consider themselves to be fans. This could be related to adolescent gender
socialisation in that female viewers in this age group may be discouraged by
peer group pressure from admitting a liking for horror.
There are other possible reasons for not wanting to consider oneself a fan.
Fans in general are depicted as other and horror is considered dangerous or
corrupting. Tulloch and Jenkins (1995, p.4) envisage media perceptions of
(in this case, Star Trek) fans as other 'The fan as extraterrestrial; the fan as
excessive consumer; the fan as cultist; the fan as dangerous fanatic' (see also
Jenkins, 1992). Terms such as 'nerd', 'geek' or 'anorak'3 are often applied to
fans (see, for example, Bains, 1991); and male fans are commonly depicted
as spotty, adolescent boys wearing anoraks and carrying plastic carrier bags
full of merchandise. Tulloch and Jenkins (p. 15) also recognise that female
science fiction fans are similarly vilified, often being depicted as overweight,
lonely single women to which the term 'kook' is sometimes applied, as for
example, by Leershen (1986): '[Star Trek fans consist] of a lot of overweight
women, a lot of divorced and single women... Kooks.'). Female Star Trek
fans were further vilified by being labelled Trekkies by the established and
more serious male-dominated literary SF fandom to echo the term, and imply
some similarity to, groupies (see Tulloch and Jenkins, p. 11). Some
respondents do not wish to be too closely associated either with geeky or
nerdish behaviour or labelled as kooky or associated with the sexual
173
connotations of groupie. In addition viewers of horror films are often
depicted as corrupted or depraved by what they watch and thus a danger to
society; horror film viewers are often equated with perverts or dangerous
criminals (rapists, mass or serial murderers) whose abnormal behaviour is
blamed on viewing horror films (see, for example, the media coverage of the
killing of Jamie Bulger which was blamed on the film Child's Pla y 3). This
comes partly from the climate of censorship in the UK and the idea that 'video
nasties'4 in particular have the potential to 'deprave and corrupt'. If, in
addition, it is considered unfeminine for women to like horror films, such
social pressures make it likely that many women would not willingly admit to
a liking for horror films. This may also be an additional explanation for the
difference in viewing frequencies, since such viewers may not wish to make
their taste public by renting or buying videos. Those respondents who
developed a liking for horror later in life - or are fairly recent viewers - may
be more sensitive to these factors. Respondent em 103's comment indicates
that such sensitivity may fade with time: 'I used to watch them alone
because I didn't want people to know I watched them; now I watch as many
as possible and don't care who knows,' as does bfsl44's: 'I am fifty-four
years old, happily married for twenty-nine years, and very content. I may not
conform to the usual horror fan, but I don't care!' The image of fans is so
prevalent that respondent bfsl44 feels obliged to point out that she does not
fit this image (and her lack of concern about this might be evidence of Cline's
menopausal fan).
It is no surprise to find that female viewers do not wish to be labelled as
fans since this renders them abject on a number of counts - as fans they are
geeks or nerds, as horror fans they are depraved, and as female horror fans
they are unfeminine. It is for this reason also that some respondents would
not consider themselves as fans - respondent fglO3 stated that her self-image
precluded such character traits, for example. Respondent fg4Ol, whilst she
had not publicly admitted to being a fan (although she did readily admit to
participating actively in science fiction, fantasy and horror fandom by
attending conventions and other events - interestingly she describes herself as
'in the closet'), nevertheless considered her 'nerdish' behaviour to be that of a
fan:
I don't know about being a horror fan, I'm very much in the
closet so to speak. There's a big stigma attached to it. It's
basically the spotty anorak type - I think I probably am a female
version of that actually, you know school swot and all that.
174
Such depictions are, according to Tulloch and Jenkins (p. 15), exaggerated
caricatures which allow ordinary viewers to reassure themselves that their
own media consumption is on the right (that is, normal) side of 'the thinly
drawn yet sharply policed boundaries between normal and abnormal audience
behaviour.' As indicated by the above example, some respondents in this
survey are quite keen to be seen to be on the 'right' side of that boundary,
even to the extent that they think of themselves as 'in the closet.' Certainly,
the majority of female horror fans surveyed are keen to emphasise wide
ranging interests outside of horror and many insist they are not like fans in
their behaviour and/or appearance. This may partly account for female horror
fans being invisible within large areas of fandom: they isolate themselves by
not going to festivals and conventions and by not participating in fan
consumption. Respondent fg101, the organiser of a horror film festival,
stated that women frequently rang her up, having been drawn by the fact that
a woman was organising a horror event, asking if it was okay for women to
attend the festival since they had never dared to go to one before. Other
respondents report negative reactions from male fans to their being active
fans:
I think females who like horror are looked on as strange. I've had
a lot of people come up to me and tell me I'm a bit strange
because I'm female and I wear a leather jacket and I do vampire
role playing and I run the science fiction society. They go 'oh,
they're guy things, guys wear leather jackets, guys like science
fiction' and I always think what does that make me, just because I
like something different, am I supposed to be a man or
something. (fg402)
Other responses from active fans indicate several other reasons why
women may not wish to get involved in male-dominated fandom which range
from not finding the men involved attractive - fg202 said: 'They have a
science fiction society at Edinburgh University, I thought, that sounds like
fun, I went to the societies fair, I had a look at the guys, I went oh no' - to
not having the depth of knowledge required to participate in fan circles:
I don't read horror books, I'm not interested in magazines or
anything, I only watch films. I can't even remember what most of
the things I've watched are called. 'Oh, is that the one in the
London Underground: a boy and a girl and the girl had really
great boots on and really cool hair and then she got caught by this
monster...' But I hadn't a clue what it was called. That's what I
think of fans, like fans of football knowing every score for the
last ten years. I don't know anything, basically I just watch the
films and I don't know who the actors are or whatever. I'm just
175
not interested in all that in-depth knowledge in anything really.
(fg2Ol)
There does seem to be a view that male fans tend to be more attracted to the
acquisition of trivial knowledge, and fg202's comment suggests that she
considers this to be a masculine attribute: 'I guess men get more attracted to
knowing, they enjoy knowing all the directors and then telling you he's made
this film and did that...' Respondent fg2Ol 's comments also suggest that
some female viewers might be interested in a different set of trivial details,
here, fashions and hairstyles.
The respondents also differ from the accepted profile of the typical horror
film fan in terms of age. As shown in chapter 1, the typical fan is thought of
as an adolescent who quickly 'grows out of' his (for it is most frequently a
he) liking for horror. Many forms of fandom are similarly associated with
adolescent behaviour - for example, the crushes teenage girls have on pop
stars or actors described by Cline (1992). Again, this is normally seen as
something which they will 'grow out of'. This is often the case, though as
Cline states, individuals are often embarrassed in later life to admit to a
continuing fan adoration, not least because of the idea that such adoration is
unacceptable adult (especially female) behaviour.
The respondents' liking for horror does not fit the pattern of a passing
adolescent fan interest. As described in chapter 4, many started watching
horror films (or related genres) well before their teens and their liking for the
genre has persisted well into adulthood. Those who consider themselves to be
fans also regard themselves as having been such for long periods of time
dating from childhood: almost one-third of those who class themselves as
fans say they have been so for more than twenty years and a further one-third
for eleven to twenty years. Again, this correlates strongly with age (the older
the subject is, the longer one has been a fan), but some of the respondents in
their late teens or early twenties who started watching or reading horror-
related material during veiy early childhood are included in these groups.
Given that neither the fans nor the non-fans among the respondents fit the
pattern of typical horror fans, it is more appropriate to consider different
patterns of fan behaviour in ascertaining the reasons behind the fan/non-fan
split. In his theory of preferred reading, Hall (1980) observed three reading
strategies: dominant, negotiated and oppositional. Reeves et al. (1996) relate
this to the three levels of spectatorship they identified in science fiction fans:
176
casual viewers, devoted viewers and avid fans. It might appear likely that
those who describe themselves as fans in this study correspond to avid fans,
whilst the non-fans are devoted viewers and the remaining 4 respondents (the
readers of horror fiction who watch horror films infrequently) examples of
casual viewers. However, since horror film viewing patterns and fan
behaviour do not seem to be significantly different between the former two
groups, this division may not be apt in this case. Several of the respondents
who do not classify themselves as horror fans are members of fan groups and
might therefore consider themselves to be fans of other genres such as fantasy
or science fiction. It is more pertinent then to examine alternative patterns of
fan behaviour. Lewis (1992b) identifies four types of female fans:
? the avid fan who demonstrates extreme behaviour, a high level of textual
competence and is heavily involved in media interactions;
? the intense fan identified by a distanced perspective and whose fan
behaviour is linked to life goals and is a product of use value;
? the follower5 who is a fan in the making, is led by others (even though
she may dislike the fan object), or is using fandom to rescue her from
conformity;
? the hater whose liking is subsumed or subverted in social rebellion and
who may find political gratifications from belonging to a fan community.
There are a number of avid fans in this study, these respondents are very
knowledgeable about horror films and have seen large numbers of horror
films which they are able to discuss in detail. These respondents could
discuss films at length and could provide details on the making of films.
Respondent hhlO2, for example, demonstrates a high level of textual
competency when discussing the work of Clive Barker. She can name the
novels from which Barker adapted his films and shows a detailed knowledge
of his work. In discussing Heliraiser and Nightbreed she says:
I have always enjoyed the imagination of Clive Barker because he
takes a very obvious joy in the supernatural, the macabre and the
downright weird. I have never seen anyone else create quite such
a variety of monsters. I'm more than fond of the Nightbreed. I
find their whole way of life a wonderfully attractive flight of
fantasy. I suppose watching this film may be quite an exercise for
some people's imagination given that the 'monsters' are the good
guys and the really evil one is a man, a doctor no less, a modern
psychiatrist with no connections to the Frankenstein mould but
that's exactly why I enjoy this film. I should also say that I think
Image Animation did some of their finest work on this film.
This participant demonstrates a knowledge not just of the films and the
characters in them, but also of the director, his written work and can name the
177
special effects team that worked on the films. She also relates the examples
she discusses to other works in the horror genre. However, these avid fans
constitute the smallest group amongst the respondents and avid fan behaviour
is something many respondents criticise as being a negative feature which
they associate with male fans (as in the comments made by fg2Ol and fg202
quted above in the context of masculine fan behaviour). There are
indications that the rejection of or lack of interest in male-dominated fandom
leads women to find alternative outlets in less formal fan groups, as with the
small group of respondents who formed their own women-only club, Women
In Favour of Movies with Mindless Violence, as an alternative to taking part
in organised fandom.
Many more respondents match the behaviour of intense fans and the life
goals which this fan is said to exhibit primarily take the form of writing
fiction, film reviews or criticism and other articles, often for fanzines or on
the Internet but many also hope one day to be published professionally.
Respondent bfs 109, who is active in the British Fantasy Society, reviews
fiction professionally for the magazine Starburst. Other respondents are active
in fan societies or organisations (for example, fg403 who runs a Vampyre
Society local group and fglO2 who organises a horror film festival). As the
following examples show, many relate their writing to their horror film
viewing:
I like to examine the way things are done - and in the same way,
make note of the things I think best not to do. Writing hasn't so
much lessened my enjoyment of horror films, but it has made me
aware of the tricks of the trade, and understanding breeds
contempt of the dross. (bfs 123)
As a writer I need to keep abreast of changes in the genre - a
friend once asked why I wrote honor/fantasy fiction as opposed
to writing about 'real life', my answer was that I have to live 'real
life', why should I have to write and read about it too? (bfsl3l)
Fewer respondents match the follower or hater patterns, though this is to be
expected since fans in these categories are unlikely to have the same
motivation to participate in a survey. Worth noting is the owner of the
electronic mailing list HORROR who fits Lewis's follower category having
been initially asked by her cousin to monitor the list since he did not have
computer access. Her participation in this section of the honor fan community
led to a realisation that she did indeed enjoy honor, although she continues to
class herself as a 'weenie' and does not like most violent or gory horror
films.
178
It may be that female horror film fans and followers are, if not as
numerous, at least as avid as male fans but it may be that they are seeking
different goals or pleasures in their participation in fandom which have thus
far been accorded little recognition. There are links to patterns of fan
consumption, particularly related to commodity purchase and fashion, as
described by Stacey (1994a). Overall, however, the comments indicate that
the female viewers think of themselves as simply enjoying the films for their
own sake. The respondents' participation in key areas of horror fandom are
explored in the remainder of this chapter. In particular, this analysis focuses
on one area of horror fandom in which female fans participate in large
numbers: that centred around vampire films and fiction. The high participation
rates in vampire fandom reflects the strong liking for vampire films as
described in chapter 4, but other reasons for the high levels of participation by
female fans are suggested.
7.2 Fan consumption: Magazine and fanzine readership
Very few women in the study are frequent readers of the mass market horror
publications. Of the UK magazines, only 13 per cent of all respondents read
all or most issues of The Dark Side and 12 per cent all or most issues of
Shivers; whilst 62 percent never read The Dark Side and 57 per cent never
read Shivers. Regular consumption of the American magazines is even lower
(most probably due to the fact that they are only available in specialist
SF/comic shops not frequently visited by women): 9 per cent read all or most
issues of Fangoria, whilst only 2 per cent read Cinefantasticiue regularly.
Whilst regular readership of horror publications is low, more read the
magazines on an irregular basis: 25 per cent read Cinefantastigue
occasionally, 34 per cent Fangoria, 20 per cent Shivers and 26 per cent Ih
Dark Side. This appears to be because women are choosy about which issues
they buy, only purchasing a magazine when it has something of particular
interest to them in it. As hhlO7 reports: 'I tend to buy issues related to
specific films or topics such as design/special effects I'm interested in.' This
suggests that the respondents may be interested in special effects not in their
own right but in association with particular films.
Of those respondents who read horror magazines only infrequently, they
are just as likely to read an American magazine as a British title. One possible
explanation for this is because women are interested in specific films and,
since most horror films are made in the US, these films are covered earlier in
179
the American publications than they might be in the UK because of the lag
time for release dates in this country (some horror films are only released in
the UK many months after their US release, whilst many more only
eventually find a release straight to the video market or satellite/cable
television networks). The respondents are also particularly interested in
Hammer films and this explains the popularity of the magazine Hammer
Horror. Despite the fact that this magazine was short lived, it does seem to
have been popular with the respondents and seems to have reflected their
tastes in horror (an interest in the stars of Hammer films, particularly
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, as well the interest in vampires and
Gothic and classic horror generally) more than other titles.
Regular consumption of horror magazines by female horror fans is by and
large absent, and the reading of even one horror magazine is low, with 33 per
cent of respondents never reading any horror magazines, and a further one-
third reading one or more titles only irregularly. Of the one-third who do read
one or more horror magazines regularly, less than half (or approximately 15
per cent of the total) read more than one title regularly. Fanzine readership is
similarly low. Rather than women being hidden consumers of these
magazines (as might be suggested by lack of published letters from women),
it would seem that they do not often buy (or read) these publications. John
Gullidge, editor of the fanzine Samhain, has confirmed that women rarely
subscribe to his magazine.
Whilst the low readership of both magazines and fanzines may be due to
the fact that the respondents do not like these publications or only buy them
selectively, it may also simply be that such magazines are unavailable
(especially outside of the major metropolitan centres). Some respondents have
indicated that they are not aware of some or all of the titles - stiOl says 'I
have never seen any of these magazines in newsagents I visit' and hhl 19
(who read Hammer Horror) 'I have never come across any other horror
magazine, 'whilst others such as bfs 113 find that they are not available: 'My
main reason for not reading those magazines ... is simple - it is difficult to get
hold of the issues. Interzone and The Dark Side are the only ones I have
found in fairly local bookshops.' Access to horror magazines, then, is
restricted and this is undoubtedly compounded by women's low rates of
participation in horror fandom or association with other fans: knowledge of
these titles is unlikely to be handed down by word of mouth to the isolated
180
viewer. Often the magazines are only available in specialist shops which
women tend not to frequent in large numbers; where they are available in high
street stores they are often located with teen magazines and, therefore, may be
overlooked by this group of viewers. There is also a possibility that they are
deliberately overlooked either because horror is not seen as suitable cultural
consumption by women and it is consequently not socially acceptable for
women to read them, or because they are aimed at a young male readership
with its attendant emphasis on gore, sex and trivial facts. Several respondents
find them distasteful. Respondent bfs 132 says: 'I don't like most professional
horror magazines as they seem to lay an emphasis on gore, which I'm not
fond of' and bfslOS thinks they are 'appalling,' saying: 'I do not read most
because they aim for the lowest common denominator and I find them
rubbish.' Others take exception to the objectification of the female body:
I look through things like Fangoria to see what's coming up but
most fanzines spend too much time on 'tits and arse' - they seem
to have concluded that all horror fans are sex starved adolescent
males who will drool over any naked female,body, so cram the
issues with glossy photos of scantily clad women. (em 103)
The emphasis on gore as the reason for disliking most horror magazines
reflects the tastes of the participants (as presented in chapter 4) and in
particular the dislike of gory, special effects-driven horror films. In addition,
as illustrated by em 103's comments, the contents of some horror magazines
are seen as near-pornographic and as perpetuating negative stereotypes or
representations of violence against women (see the magazine survey in
appendix 4 for more details). One British title, The Dark Side, comes in for
particular criticism in this area
I used to read The Dark Side but got disillusioned with the
continual coverage of sado-porn videos in which I have no
interest. I understand that the editor also edits a magazine devoted
to the porn video industry and I think he may get a little confused
as to which films should be discussed in which magazine!
(hhlO6)
Respondents find this and other titles offensive. Respondent bfsll3 says: 'I
only buy The Dark Side when there is something of particular interest to me
in it, as generally I find its attitude and coverage of certain subject matter
deeply sexist' and bfsl 16 dislikes seeing 'naked babes' in the magazines:
'Mags like The Dark Side carry photos that can be frankly embarrassing.'
Respondent hhlO6 feels the coverage of horror in such magazines does not
accord with her definition of the genre: 'One reason that I stopped buying Ilic.
181
Dark Side was that it concentrated on the worst examples of sexism in the
horror genre when the vast majority of horror films are not like this at all.'
Although The Dark Side does come in for most criticism in this respect, it is
still the most widely read magazine amongst this group of viewers - 13 per
cent of respondents reading it regularly. This may indicate that some women
are prepared to overlook sexist or pornographic content in their desire to find
out more about particular films or subjects.
There is also some feeling that there is an obsession with trivia in the
magazines: stiOl says 'I did once see a Hammer Horror magazine and
although I was tempted - I flicked through it - I thought it seemed quite sad to
enthuse about horror in a fanatical way,' and this repeats one of the main
objections to male-dominated fandom.
Reasons for reading horror magazines are varied, but the patterns do seem
to conform to patterns of fan consumption existing elsewhere, particularly
amongst women. Notably, reasons given are for the coverage the magazines
have of horror film stars and favourite horror film characters:
I read Hammer Horror magazine because I ... really like the
actors in those films. I think the magazine has good pictures, is
very informative and has lots of little 'interesting bits'. ... I also
hope (although he didn't do much work with Hammer) to get
more info about Vincent Price! (hhl 19)
These respondents are searching for pictures of their favourite stars -
respondent hhl 17 is looking for 'coverage of vampire films, pictures of good
films, stories on horror actors like Vincent Price, Peter Cushing.' - and for
respondent emi 14 this involves cutting out the pictures. This is similar to
forms of fan behaviour commonly associated with fan adoration of actors and
popular musical stars, particularly amongst teenage girls.
Finally, the supposition that science fiction is a more socially acceptable
genre for women than horror might mean that female fans were more likely to
read science fiction or mixed genre magazines than the dedicated horror
magazines. There is little evidence to support this: the science fiction
magazines (Starburst and Starlog) are less likely to be read by the survey
respondents, readerships being slightly lower than that for the horror
magazines on both a regular and occasional basis. This may be because the
science fiction magazines are also predominantly written, edited and
published by men. Like female science fiction fans, who are ghettoised into
'feminine' forms of fanzine publishing as Tulloch and Jenkins (1995, p. 12)
182
point out, female horror fans are similarly excluded from male-dominated
fandoms which have grown up around the horror and science fiction genres.
7.2.1 Horror fiction fanzines
What is notable about fanzine readership is that two particular types of fanzine
- namely fiction fanzines and society publications (produced by the British
Fantasy Society and the various vampire groups and societies) are the most
commonly read titles. Many of the respondents mention writing fiction and
having (or hoping to have) it published in such fanzines, fan fiction writing
being one of the most commonly reported hobbies amongst this group. This
has echoes amongst other media and science fiction fandoms, particularly the
female Star Trek fans discussed by Penley (1991a and 1991b), Jenkins
(1992), and Tulloch and Jenkins (1995). This interest in particular types of.
fanzines (namely, fiction fanzines) may be because horror titles such as
Whiplash Smile, Samhain and Shock Xpress have what Sanjek (1990, pp.
150-151) describes as 'an unseemly juvenile fascination with disreputable and
illicit imagery, the domain of the horror film' and 'are suffused with ... grue
and gore, most evident in their frequent inclusion of illustrations appealing to
the lowest kind of prurient interest and guaranteed to offend.' Sanjek
categorises the horror fanzines he looked at into three categories: sophomoric,
archival and nihilistic. The types of fanzines read by women tend to be fan
fiction fanzines (many of the respondents writing and contributing stories
themselves) and female fans seem to be involved in fan cultures which seem
more like those of science fiction fan publishing as described by Jenkins
(1992) and Penley (1991a), rather than the horror fan press described by
Sanjek.
7.3 Textual Poaching
The act of writing fiction itself is, according to Jenkins (1992), an
appropriation of the text which he describes as 'textual poaching'. In
particular, he states (p. 45) that: 'For the fan, these previously "poached"
meanings provide a foundation for future encounters with the fiction, shaping
how it will be perceived, defining how it will be used.' In this model, fans do
not simply consume, but they produce their own stories and novels, artwork,
films and videos, costumes and other manufactured items. An image of
fandom has thus been produced which encompasses a world-wide social and
cultural network. Jenkins (p. 47) has noted the importance of fan publishing
for female writers and sees fanzines as 'a supportive environment within
183
which women writers could establish and polish their skills.' Many of the
respondents write fiction, vampire fiction being especially popular. Overall,
more than 40 per cent of respondents state that they write horror (and other
genre) fiction and/or write for horror fanzines and magazines (twenty-seven
say that writing is their main hobby, with an additional thirteen giving writer
as their - very often joint - job or profession). Some respondents publish their
own fiction fanzines: bfs 132 edits a ghost story fanzine, exOO4 states that she
has recently started a vampire/Goth fanzine and bfs 156 is the one-time editor
of a horror fiction fanzine titled Dementia 13. One reason why female fans
might be writing vampire fiction in particular is suggested by Johnson
(1993). She suggests (p. 77) that the subtextual aspects of vampire fiction can
be appropriated by female writers:
If part of the current social project with which we are all
(feminists and non-feminists alike) grappling, is the redefinition
of social structures to eliminate abuses of power based on race,
sex, and unequal access to resources, the vampire novel, whose
central metaphor contains anxieties about these very issues, is a
natural field for revisionary effort.
Women, then, can 'revise the sexual and economic metaphor of blood
drinking' (p. 77-8) and rework a source of horror as a source of power. Fan
fiction written by female horror fans would need to be analysed in order to
validate this argument, but there is a clear indication here that such fan
behaviour is again a feminine act and not a sign of immasculation. Many
female fans write vampire or other horror fiction which they self-publish on
WWW pages, the VAMPYRES-L e-mail list and other areas of the Internet
(colloquially such fiction is referred to as 'fluff'). It was outside the scope of
this study to look at the content of such fiction in depth, but this is an area
where further research would be desirable, particularly in light of Johnson's
conclusions.
In the light of this, several vampire fanzines which are edited or co-edited
by female fans have been surveyed. These include The Chronicles,
Bloodstone, Demeter VII and The Velvet Vampvre. In addition, a Goth
fanzine, Bats and Red Velvet, which includes horror and vampire related
material, and two literary/scholarly magazines, Udoipho and 1k
Transvlvanian Journal, (all edited or co-edited by women) were included in
the survey for comparison. None of these titles is specifically dedicated to the
cinema, but as in other aspects of female participation in fandom, the interest
in vampires covers many different media and formats. Contributions from
184
women in these titles formed a higher percentage of the contents than the
general horror titles surveyed (see appendix 4), reflecting the higher
proportion of women participating in this fandom. Whilst none of the
surveyed titles could be described as feminist, and articles which indicate a
specifically female viewpoint or feminist slant are rare, a number of the above
fanzines include contents which are not characteristic of the male-edited
fanzines surveyed. It should be noted that male fans still contribute to and
consume the above titles and that most of these fanzines do contain
photographs and artwork of female vampires partially clothed, naked or
wearing fetishistic clothing. Unlike the majority of horror magazines,
however, which depict the barely clad women being menaced by monsters,
these examples are more likely to depict the women in controlling poses and
their clothing is not torn or in disarray (see figure 7.1). Here, then, the
representations of women do not imply a threat or sexual violence towards
woman, but the woman is depicted as the source of the threat. Some other
specific female contributions worth noting include:
Fiction which contains overtly heroic or intelligent females. For example,
a spoof Gothic story 'Uncle Silage' (Velvet Vampvre, issue XXIX)
which contains an independent heroine who put her cousin, described as
an 'interesting example of the genus "lout",' into 'a headlock and begged
him to try that [kiss her] again if he wanted a broken arm', threw 'the
proffered gruel at the maidservant's head', asked her to 'fly me a couple
of decent steaks, with potatoes and onions, and an egg on top' and
'dispatched the butler ... to the cellar to decant half a dozen bottles of
port.' Also worth noting are the sexual and erotic overtones of some of
the material, reflecting Penley's findings on female fan fiction. This
example is from Demeter VII:
'Overpowered by piercing pain he sensed her soft cheeks upon
his face, he sensed her tongue licking at the blood now trickling
down her long fingers. Lydianne threw her head back in mocking
laughter. He searched for mercy in her eyes. There was none.
She smiled triumphantly her sharp white teeth now glistening
with saliva in preparation for the feast.'
Regular columns which reflect and parody the content of mainstream
women's magazines, including a problem page 'Hearts At Stake' and a
fetish fiction column by the Mistress of Pain and Pleasure (Demeter VII,
unnumbered and undated), both written by the editor Vanda L, and a
horoscope columns 'The Lady Raven's Vampiriscope' (Bloodstone).
(None of the above examples are serious in tone, but their inclusion might
be taken as some indication of the incorporation of feminine reading
material into the fanzines with its transfonnation into pastiche.)
? A focus on female fictional vampires and historical figures, and on female
authors and high-profile fans which is serious in tone. Articles include
interviews with the author of 'pagan vampire' fiction Storm Constantine
(The Chronicles) and analyses of the life of Erzs?bet B?thory
(Bloodstone).
185
The emphasis on what is claimed to be non-sexist or feminist material.
For example, this defence of the work of comics artist John Bolton: 'He
paints mainly female nudes ... but tries hard not to put women in
submissive positions. ... The women painted may be naked but not
vulnerable,' and this introductory statement to the interview with Storm
Constantine: 'Her ability to create strong female characters without a
corresponding weakening of the men is refreshing, and her adult take on
sexuality can be breathtaking.' (Both taken from The Chronicles)
Whilst none of these alone can be taken as proof of a feminine trend within
vampire fandom, they can be used to emphasise many of the issues raised by
the interpretative strategies of this audience. Further consideration of these
issues and their implications is undertaken in chapter 8.
Figure 7.1 Vampire fanzine imagery (line art from The Chronicles)
In one respect, participation in Internet groups allows some respondents to
make contact with other like-minded people and in particular other female fans
and followers. A large proportion of the messages sent to the e-mail lists are
from female subscribers: during observation of the horror e-mail list service
over a three day period, fifty-six of the ninety-eight messages generated (57
186
per cent) were from female contributors. However, participation in these
groups is largely American-based. The Internet does not appear to be a major
area where 'poaching' and other forms of fan practice flourish for the UK
respondents, though this may be changing as access to computer technology
and the Internet grows. A number of respondents do participate in computer-
based fandom and for them it has become an important area of fan practice
and participation. Respondent em 124, for example, reads 'e-mail "fluff" from
Vampyres Internet list. I do not have enough time to read magazines, but I
enjoy the fluff from Vampyres because of the originality of lots of it.'
Other aspects of poaching are also reported, and these primarily consist of
the acting out of fantasies; respondent em 126 says: 'I read horror, I watch
horror, I play vampire role-playing games and so forth, I'm rather addicted;
in the case of the role-playing you can sympathise with the 'bad guy', I can
feel it happen.' Role-playing is particularly common amongst the vampire
fans. For many this seems to be an acting out of the fantasy of being a
vampire, as the comment above suggests. This particular aspect of fan
practice and other areas of vampire fandom are explored in more detail in the
following section.
7.4 Vampire fandom
With over 90 per cent of the survey subjects reporting that they liked all or
most vampire films (see chapter 4) it might be predicted that female fans are
more likely to actively participate in areas of horror fandom which focus on
vampires. Active involvement in vampire fandom is to be expected amongst
those respondents recruited from the vampire societies; however, respondents
recruited from other sources also report being active vampire fans. Of the 9
per cent of the respondents who are members of vampire societies, the
majority belong to the Vampyre Society with others belonging to the Dracula
Experience Society and Thee (sic) Vampire Guild. Many vampire fans were
recruited from the readership of the Hammer Horror magazine and it was
singled out for its coverage of Hammer's vampire films and the actors who
appeared in them.
There is nothing to suggest that vampire fandom is dominated by women
(see membership demographics of the Vampyre Society in chapter 1) but
female fans do seem to play a more active role in this area of horror fandom
than in other sectors of horror fandom with female vampire fans founding
societies (both the Vampyre Society and the Dracula Experience Society were
187
set up and run by women), running local groups, editing and contributing to
fanzines, writing fiction and participating in conventions. As respondent
exOO4 implies when she says 'I started a fanzine (mainly with a gothic
audience) mainly to give me an opportunity to explore my interest [in
vampires] and share my ideas more widely' there is a level of involvement on
a par with male participation in fandom (as described by Sanjek, for example)
and women do seem to be more comfortable with participating in vampire
fandom. Respondent vs2Ol states that the 'running of a horror/vampire
society [and fanzine] editor' is her main hobby, and fg403 runs a Vampyre
Society local group in Glasgow. Many respondents participate in vampire
role-playing games and customisable card games. 6 A more equitable female-
to-male ratio in the vampire societies (than, say, in the British Fantasy
Society) may be one of the main reasons why women are active participants
in this area of fan culture, they being encouraged and supported by fellow
female members and not subject to the negative remarks made by male fans in
male dominated fan groups, such as those discussed previously.
It is useful at this point to look in some detail at women's participation in
vampire fandom and what this might say about their attraction to vampire
films. One area which many vampire fans participate in (and this seems to be
related to the link with historical costume drama) is 'dressing up'. The
wearing of vampire costumes - often consisting of period, usually Victorian,
dress - is popular, and for some the making of these costumes in as authentic
a manner as possible is important. Fans circulate sources for period costume
patterns, instructions for making garments such as opera cloaks and Victorian
or Elizabethan corsets, and shops supplying materials for these. There is a
strong link in this to the Gothic or Goth subcultures. There also appears to be
a relationship between the taste for vampire films (and adaptations of other
classic horror stories) and a liking for historical drama linked to the appeal of
costumes, sets and other historical detail.
7.4.1 Fans and subcultures: the female Goth and the vampire
masquerade
The Goth subculture originated in the UK in the early 1980s amongst fans of
a popular music genre with roots in the Punk and New Romantic subcultures
(see Polhemus, 1994). Members of the movement dressed in vampire-like
fashions consisting of predominantly black clothing, long, black dyed,
crimped hair and white or very pale makeup worn with black or blood red
188
lipstick, heavily black-lined eyes and black nail polish. This style was
adopted by both males and female - an androgynous look (with the male
members of the subculture often wearing make-up, jewellery and articles of
female clothing) being popular. Typical clothing was based around Victorian,
Georgian and other historical fashions (frock coats, poet's shirts, cloaks and
capes, fans, ornate walking sticks and top hats) as well as punk and fetish
clothing with velvet, lace, leather and PVC as predominate materials. Styles
borrowed heavily from funerary, religious, pagan or vampiric imageiy
(including crucifixes, coffins, skulls, and bats). Members of the subculture
also frequently cultivate interests in Gothic fiction, the Romantic poets,
funerary paraphernalia, pagan religions, vampire films and fiction, the
paranormal and other related areas. Unlike other popular music movements
(which tend to be short lived), Goth flourished throughout the 80s and 90s
and spread to Europe (especially Germany), the US and other English
speaking countries (predominantly Australia), and this may well be due to the
fact that it is not centred simply around music (and fashion) but around other
areas of fiction, history, and culture. Although the interest in vampires is
strong, it should be pointed out that not all vampire fans would consider
themselves to be Goths, nor indeed do all Goths have a liking for vampires.7
However, many of the survey respondents do class themselves as Goths -
'I've been out of college for 5 years and I still have the long black hair and
dress in black.' (psOlO) - and many others admit to having previously been a
Goth or having adopted a Goth style when they were younger - 'I dressed in
black, had the long straight flowing hair (only it was red) - the whole gothic
thing.' (psOO6), or having an interest in Goth without adopting the style.
Respondent exOO4 is typical:
My enjoyment of horror films used to be evident in that I adopted
a gothic style based primarily on my envy of those beautiful
vamps in horror films and their exotic glamour. I began to feel
ridiculous like this as I got older and grew out of it, but my
interest in horror is as strong as ever.
For many of these women, their liking for horror and vampires was a reason
for them being attracted to the Goth movement
When I was 141 started getting interested in Gothic music. So
that's what happens when your parents buy you horror stories.
The gothic scene watches horror movies so you get even more
attracted to it. You have all this music and then you read ghost
stories together and it goes on and on. (fg202)
189
This dual attraction to vampires and the Goth subculture seems to be
strongly linked to an expression of femininity and the female masquerade.
Rivi?re (1929/86) described the mask of femininity as the exaggeration of the
female body through make-up, fabric, hairstyles,jewellery and colour which
deflect the gaze away from the woman's interior; these excessive signifiers of
femininity can turn the woman into a fetish object. The vampire look adopted
by some vampire fans is an aberrant form of the feminine masquerade. As
shown in figures 7.2 and 7.3, vampire costumes conform to (historical)
extremes of femininity, particularly along the lines of Victorian ideals, and are
predominantly black which, although symbolic of mourning or death, is also
associated with a fetishistic (and dangerous) sexuality. This impression is
reinforced by the wearing of underwear as outerwear (corsets over dresses,
sheer or lacy fabrics exposing underwear or the body) and the use of
fetishistic materials such as velvet, lace, leather and PVC. Preferring to base
their appearance on images of predatory female vampires (none of the women
participating in this study dress in the typical diaphanous sheer white of the
Hammer film victim or play the unwilling victim), these fans adopt extremes
of femininity which can be read as being in opposition to contemporary social
norms. Details which mark this look as aberrant include: long, sharpened
finger nails painted black, blood red, purple or other dark colours;
exaggerated lips, again coloured black, purple or blood red; eyebrows
plucked into extreme arches; excessive amounts ofjewellery; the adoption of
historical, particularly Victorian, modes of dress including corseting to
emphasise the hips and bust and diminish the waist. The wearing of vampire
fangs (and occasionally contact lenses) also renders the wearer as a figure of
monstrosity or danger, which again does not conform to current ideals of
femininity. This parallels a reversal of the Gothic role of victim which
Gallalent (1988) has called the anti-masquerade.
The vampire masquerade, the act of dressing up, is very important to many
of the vampire fans and the adoption of extreme, yet aberrant, feminine
clothing and appearance forms an outward sign of the respondent's Goth or
vampire identity. This masquerade takes place largely within fandom, at
conventions, meetings and other fan group activities, but several state that
they have worn Goth and vampire clothing on an everyday basis at some
point in their lives. This has not been uneventful for some: respondent fg403
complained about people calling her Morticia in the Street and fg404 stated
that she was annoyed at fellow convention-goers when asked if she was
190
entering the fancy dress competition since she was wearing her everyday
clothing. Others have a predilection for dressing up which appears to verge
on the obsessional: one vampire fan interviewed at Intersection stated that she
dresses up frequently at home, including the wearing of vampire fangs, 'only
two or three times a week.' For a few, the appropriation of vampire imagery
spreads to other areas of their lives such as how they decorate their homes
and the naming of their pets:
Horror films influence my taste in clothes, objects and literature
and give my imagination scope to roam. The clothes that vampires
[wear] have influenced my dress sense, as the sets have
influenced my taste in decor. I have named my black cat Louis
(after the vampire of course), he has small sharp white teeth and I
love him. (hhlO2)
It would appear that, for many vampire fans, participating in fan culture
allows them to dress up and act out a fantasy. The Vampyre Society is based
around local groups who meet regularly in various parts of the UK. In
Glasgow, many, though not all, attend in vampire costume of various forms
complete with fake vampire teeth (see figure 7.2 for an example of vampire
costumes). The vampire society also organises weekend vacations to country
houses where masked balls and other similar activities are held. This seems to
indicate a desire to appropriate historical settings and costumes, and for
recreating the past and may be linked to the liking for historical costume
dramas. Baert (1994) states that the property of clothing in western culture is
not a stable symbol, but a circulating sign; this mobility of coding contains the
potential for destroying the dominant codes of gender. The 'bad girl' look of
Figure 7.2 Vampire fan costumes
191
the vampire masquerade, like the Punk street fashions discussed by Evans
and Thornton (1989, P. 42), mangles sexual codes, confounds given
meanings, valorises 'bad taste', advocates an unpretty look of menace and
threat and pinpoints the mask of femininity. The (3oth vampire costume thus
works as subversive anti-fashion, but for the respondents it is a glamorous
image which embodies (an albeit differently articulated) femininity. Such
clothing may, as Evans and Thornton (p. 143) suggest, offer the woman a
partial means to 'play her way out of ... the impasse of femininity.'
The adoption of the vampire masquerade seems related to a desire for a
more extreme form of femininity (or, at least, a style of dress) than that
currently favourable in contemporary society. As the catalogue for Victoriana
Custom Clothing, a fan-run company selling handmade vampire and Goth
clothing, states: 'We are English designers who yearn for bygone days of
opulence and elegance. Our clothing reflects that yearning and hopefully
appeals to your hidden passions and your sensual nature.' Whilst some
vampire fans make their own costumes and clothing (several, such as fg1O4,
name 'clothes design and dress making' or similar as among their hobbies), a
number of small mail-order companies supply ready-made and made-to-order
vampire attire. Usually run by fans themselves who started out making their
own vampire clothes and then launched as a small business, these include
Demone, Medusa and Victoriana. Damiana Ashe, owner of the shop and mail
order company Demone, who makes 'Designs To Die In' (see figure 7.3), is
typical: 'It was a hobby before I went to college as I used to make elaborate
ball gowns for my dolls when I was eleven, which progressed to making all
my own clothes.' Thus, a traditional feminine childhood interest has been
subverted by an attraction to horror but, nevertheless, can still be coded as
feminine. Young girls are seen as having an interest in dressing up in adult
clothes and fancy dress (typically as a fairy tale princess or fairy), and the
pleasure in dressing up for female vampire fans could be seen as an extension
of this. However, it has developed into an aberrant form of dress (dark and
vampiric, often highly sexualised or fetishistic) which lasts into adulthood
and frequently spills over into everyday life (and occasionally other areas8);
psi 13 says 'Prance around in pink dresses all day? Huh. I don't think so.'
Such behaviour might also be seen as subversive in its association with
Carnival and similar festivals (see Bahktin, 1968). According to Donald
(1989a, p. 227), Bahktin's definition of carnival prevents polarities from
192
Figure 7.3 Demone mail order catalogue - sample page
becoming fixed. Mulvey (1987, pp. 16-7) states that, depending upon
context, collective consciousness (unified by a ritual event such as Carnival)
can either act as a spearhead for organised politics or provide a safety valve
for discontent: 'In contemporary society, similar patterns may be perceived in
the "rituals of resistance" associated with subcultures. A group can mark out
its claim to liminal existence through clothes, music, emblematic loyalty etc.'
Adoption of the vampire masquerade may, then, provide the female horror
fan with a 'liminal moment outside the time and space of the dominant order'
(Mulvey, p. 16) and may even allow entry into the language of politics for, as
193
Cosgrove (1984) says, the wearing of a subcultural costume can be 'an
inarticulate rejection of the straight world and its organisation.'
Although these activities constitute patterns of fan behaviour, they do not
indicate immasculation or collusion with patriarchally-inscnbed feminine
ideals. Rather, they can be related both to rituals of resistance against social
norms of femininity and to other feminine consumption such as that of
romance, historical and Gothic fiction. This offers further evidence that
female horror film spectatorship, although complex and possibly
contradictory, might be feminine in nature.
7.5 Extra-cinematic identificatory practices
As a pattern of female horror fan behaviour, the adoption of the vampire
masquerade and the acting out of vampire fantasies in real life - possibly as
part of the Goth subculture, is an important form of the appropriation of
horror film texts. This behaviour conforms to Jenkins' modes of textual
poaching (1992, p. 49): 'Fans possess not simply borrowed remnants
snatched from mass culture, but their own cultures built from the semiotic
raw materials the media provides.' Along with the more recognised features
of fandom, namely, fiction, artwork or videos, dressing up must be
recognised as part of this poaching. Furthermore, the fact that the costume-
makers discussed above are also making attempts to derive an income from
their fan object matches Jenkins' (1992, p. 45) description of poaching where
it diverges from de Certeau's model of opposing and entirely separate
production and consumption. Although a proportion of science fiction fans
(particularly those of Star Trek and other television programmes) wear
costumes at conventions, the adoption of vampire costumes, not just at
conventions but in everyday life, may be unique amongst genre fans.
Nevertheless, this study indicates that for female vampire fans the adoption of
vampire costumes and clothing is an important area of fan consumption and a
source of pleasure. It can also be seen as a form of cultural resistance against
accepted ideals of femininity, but again, does not break away entirely from
patterns of feminine behaviour. This is linked to the relationship between
style, fashion and beauty (and particularly commodity aspects of this) and
female spectatorship. In particular, it can be seen as a form of
commodification which links a film or star with a specific product (Doane,
1989). As consumerism, however, this remains in the realm of poaching and
194
is connected to extra-cinematic identification described by Stacey in
Stargazing (1994a, pp. 138-170).
Two forms of cinematic identificatory fantasies described by Stacey were
dealt with in chapter 6, namely, transcendence (in which the spectators
identity merges with that of the star or character in the film) and
aspiration/inspiration (which takes the form of a desire for transformation of
the spectator's own identity). However, Stacey's extra-cinematic
identificatory practices, in which transformation of the self occurs not just as
a viewing fantasy but to various extents in real life, are most appropriate
when considering the active female fans described in the preceding sections.
Of Stacey's identificatory practices, pretending, imitating, and copying are
relevant. Although the fan practices as described by Stacey are in relation to
stars, these forms seem equally applicable when the fan object is a generic
character type (principally, vampires). (Resembling, or fan practice based on
a pre-existing shared physical resemblance, is not mentioned by any of the
respondents in this study.)
Pretending to be a vampire implies that the fan is aware of the playacting
involved and this appears to be a fan practice adopted by some of the
respondents. Like Stacey's fans of Hollywood stars, this can involve a
temporary physical transformation or adaptation of physical surroundings. It
also takes in social practice since respondents are involved with other vampire
fans in the make believe. For some respondents, as for em 106, such fan
behaviour relates to childhood playacting: 'I used to hold funerals for my
dolls and later made coffins for the dolls I considered vampires.' Other
respondents take part in adult forms of playacting through their participation
in role-playing and card gaming. In Vampire: The Masquerade players adopt
the persona of a member of one of a number of vampire tribes and dress and
act according to the characteristics of their chosen tribe. 9 These games are
played at conventions, fan group meetings and even Goth clubs, as well as in
the players' own homes. Respondent exOO5 describes what this means for
her
I play the masquerade, and enjoy it very much. I am a tenth
generation Malkavian with a split personality and an uncommon
hate for sunlight. Basically all the masquerade is, is getting
together with a bunch of friends, and acting.
As this comment suggests, the personas adopted by the players can be
complex and the history given to the vampire tribes by White Wolf, the
195
producers of the game, is long and contains a detailed chronology. However,
most players reinforce the point that they are only acting, as exOOS does. The
wearing of vampire teeth and Victorian costumes is also adopted at meetings
of vampire groups around the country. Participant observation at meetings of
the Glasgow group of the Vampire Society revealed that the play-acting
frequently broke down quickly once the members had settled down with
drinks and to have a chat, particularly since the pointed vampire teeth many
wore hindered such activities. Most of the personas adopted, either for
gaming or during participation in fan group meetings or Internet groups, are
for fun and most fans who do adopt personas seem not to take themselves
seriously. Pretending is separate from imitating or copying since the former is
restricted to special occasions.
In Stacey's model, imitating and copying are very closely linked, but
Stacey uses imitating to describe the mimicking of behaviour and activities
and copying to that of appearances. The adoption of the vampire masquerade
seems to be the form of copying most prevalent amongst the respondents
involving some form of self-transformation. It should be noted, however,
that the figure these respondents copy is in itself a generic one and not directly
related to any one film or character. All those respondents quoted in section
7.4 above appear to fit this category. It is worth noting that for one participant
(hhlO2, see quote above) copying extends to her interior decoration and this
is related more closely to commodity and merchandise fan consumption.
Companies such as Alchemy Gothic exploit such markets by selling cutlery,
candlesticks, wine bottle stoppers, trays and other household items in pewter
or brass decorated with vampire bats or death's heads (although again this is
generic and not linked directly to particular films).
Imitation, which would involve taking on some aspect of the vampire
persona, is less common. There have been a number of incidences or reports
in recent years of real-life vampires, psychic vampires or blood fetishists (see
Dresser, 1989) and individuals claiming to be vampires or to drink blood
have featured in the press and on television (for example, X-Rated Ricky
screened on Channel 4 in August 1998), but this does not seem related to fans
and followers of vampire films and fiction. Skal (1994, pp. 334-8) cites the
case of a blood fetishist to help explain the popularity of vampires in popular
culture, but there seems to be no overlap in this study between vampire fans
and people who believe themselves to be vampires or indulge in blood
196
fetishes (most coverage in this area seems to be largely limited to the US and
this may be an American cultural phenomenon). However, some respondents
do profess a belief in the existence of vampires or state that they would like to
believe in vampires (this applies equally to other monstrous entities such as
ghosts and even aliens) but know rationally that this could not be true. This
can cause divisions and disputes between fans. A change of leadership
occurred in the Glasgow Vampyre Society local group when the former leader
announced that he did not believe that creatures such as vampires really
existed. When one focus group participant (fg404) stated that she knew 'lots
of people that actually want to be vampires', another participant (fg4Ol)
interrupted with 'Oh dear!' Belief or interest in the paranormal is high
amongst the respondents (see chapter 4) but there does seem to be deliberate
suspension of disbelief occurring, particularly over the possibility of the
existence of vampires. Respondent fg405 likes 'the idea that it could be real
because it's so much more interesting than our own little environment,' whilst
fg4Ol likes it because it's not real, explaining that 'It's the unreality I like.'
Although they take opposing views, both respondents give the impression
that such fantasies are to them much more interesting than real life. It would
seem then, that the attraction to horror and to vampires is a form of escapism,
and participation in vampire fandom fulfils some kind of fantasy for many of
the respondents.
The fascination with vampirism does then seem to be an important fantasy
for the respondents (though this is generic rather than star-based). Stacey's
three non-identificatory fantasies (devotion, adoration and worship of the
star) are thus not appropriate in this respect. However, the sexual appeal of
horror film stars is important for a number of the female participants. The
liking for horror stars does seem to be limited to the classic periods of the
genre and is related to the liking for Hammer films and the 30s horror cycle in
particular. Respondent hh101's favourite actors are 'the Hammer and
Universal ones - Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff and Bela
Lugosi' and she says that 'if the acting is good it influences my overall
opinion of the film.' Respondent hhl 16 says 'I like all Hammer's Dracula
films because Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are always so good; the
irreplaceable Peter Cushing was always convincing.' These comments typify
the appeal of Lee and Cushing in particular. Many respondents stress that this
fan adoration is an admiration for the acting of the star and the fact that they
appear to take the genre seriously; hhlO2 says of these actors:
197
They both take their jobs wonderfully seriously. ... Their
dedication to the genre carried it through and gained it some of the
respect it is due. Their films still stand the test of time for me. I
still hold my breath waiting for Lee's Dracula to appear and my
heart still beats faster when I see Van Helsing battle him to the
death, and the awesome silhouette of Lee's Mummy still sends
shivers down my spine.
In many cases, the choice of horror film viewing is not dependent upon the
presence of a particular star, but respondents do choose their favourite horror
films according to actor respondent in101 claiming 'my favourite films
usually [star] Vincent Price' and bfsl23 stating that she watches films 'for the
stars: Cushing, Price, Lee.' As discussed above, magazine readership also
depends to some extent on the desire to read about particular stars. In
addition, some respondents conflate the star with the characters they play, as
the following example shows:
The Wicker Man is one of the most frightening films I have ever
seen. The villain, Lord Summerisle, is like so many of
Christopher Lee's characters in that he is charming, witty, sharply
intelligent, suave and hospitable on the outside, yet quite
obviously a calculating killer on the inside. (hhlO6)
As stated in chapter 6, it may be that many women feel it is socially
unacceptable to admit to a liking for the star of horror films, particularly in
terms of a crush or intense attachment. Note, for instance, how respondent
hhlO2, who says that 'as a female I find some monsters highly attractive,'
proposes that she might be 'weird' in having such fantasies.
7.5.1 Fan practices
In conclusion then, it should be noted that female horror fans follow similar
patterns of fan practice to other types of fans, particularly in the areas
proposed by Stacey for female fans of classic cinema. There are some notable
differences, however, between female horror fan practice and the practices
followed by male horror fans (notably, in the consumption of horror
merchandise and magazines or fanzines). In this respect, the respondents in
this study seem to practice fan behaviour of a form similar to other groups of
female genre fans, specifically, female science fiction fans - principally in the
area of fan fiction. There is much overlap in horror and science fiction
fandom, and, although the respondents - like many other fans - can be
described as nomads (focusing their attention on a series of different fan
objects - see Jenkins, p. 36), the findings here suggest that female horror fans
seek out spaces where feminine fan practices can be exercised without
198
attracting negative comments from male fans in particular and society in
general. Avoidance of the latter may also go some way towards explaining the
tendency for some respondents to disguise their taste for horror in related
genres such as science fiction. In addition, the respondents go through a
process of incorporating the fan object into everyday life - as Eco (1987, p.
198) states in exposition of what makes a screen text a cult, characters are
regarded 'as if they were aspects of the fan's private sectarian world.' This
might explain the way in which some respondents choose to believe in
vampires despite their knowing better, as well as explaining the way they
incorporate vampire appearance, mannerisms and behaviour into their
lifestyles.
A significant proportion of the respondents do not participate at all in
horror fandom for various reasons: they are hiding their liking for horror;
they watch horror films alone on television or video and so do not mix with
other fans or followers; they are not able to talk about it with friends or family
who don't understand the liking for horror, or they do not know any other
women who like horror. Respondent em 126 requests that 'If I'm the only
female horror buff out there, I'd like to know' and the following example
demonstrates why many women might view alone:
One reason I watch some horror on video is that I have no female
friends who like this and it can be awkward going to the cinema
on your own at night, when this is on the programming.
Therefore, for purely practical reasons, video makes things easily
accessible. (in 101)
Others reject some forms of fandom, but may find other areas where they can
indulge their interest. Respondent bfsl54 says that 'I'm not all that interested
in fandom' but there is an inherent contradiction in this respondent's comment
since she is a member of a fan organisation (the BFA). It may be that a broad-
based, literary-oriented and long-established fan organisation is more
acceptable or accommodating to women than fandoms organised around
popular genres, specific films or fan objects. Jenkins (1992) has previously
shown such divisions exist between literary and media fans oiscience fiction.
This indicates that even within fandom as a whole an 'us and them' mentality
operates along similar lines to the general populations' view of fans as other
(see chapter 1).
Obviously, much of what has been said in this chapter will not apply to the
respondents who do not participate in fandom to any great extent.
199
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to ignore them entirely, since it may be that
such female horror film viewers form a 'silent majority' whose primary form
of fan consumption is to view horror films in the privacy of their own homes
either alone or with a trusted viewing partner, often a close friend or a
husband or other family member. Other patterns of fan behaviour indicate that
horror merchandise is consumed in private, respondent hhl 18 says that 'I
tend to collect Hammer Honor mags. I have a habit of buying them for a few
months without looking at them. Then when I get some time to myself I read
the lot from cover to cover.' It may be that for these fans the main source of
pleasure from such fan consumption is an enrichment of their fantasy lives,
but that it may be a guilty pleasure (just as romance fiction reading or soap
opera viewing is). It may also act as a form of reassurance that there are
others out there with similar interests and that the fan is not abnormal in her
tastes, as the following respondent indicates:
I ... read the magazines just to see why others make/write/like
horror. I like to hear about how an idea got started, why it was
done instead of another idea. I like to know about the people
behind the horror... somehow, it makes me feel not quite so
weird. (em 126)
Areas of both fan practice and viewing positions explored in chapters 5 to 7
are reviewed in the context of popular pleasures and feminine subjectivity in
chapter 8.
'Though horror film star biographies and 'making of' film titles are usually mass market,
small press and self-published titles do appear; for example, John Martin's The Seduction of
the Gullible (Procrastus Press, 1993) on the history of the video nasty campaign in the UK.
Martin is an well-known UK horror film fan who has contributed widely to fanzines. The
small-scale nature of such projects is illustrated by the fact that 1 ,000 copies of this title
were published, each being numbered as a collectors item.
2 Disbanded in 1998.
term 'anorak' was first applied to trainspotters (after the item of clothing they wore as
protection against the elements whilst standing on train platforms), but is now widely used
to refer to other groups of fans and hobbyists.
4 Although this term officially applies to the 49 films banned under the Video Recordings
Act (including but not limited to horror films), it is now loosely applied (especially by the
tabloid press) to many contemporary horror and avant garde films.
term follower here is used in a different sense than that used previously in this work.,
where the meaning is taken from Tulloch & Jenkins, 1995 to imply a rather more casual
fan.
6 10 a live action role playing game (LARP) several players improvise the roles of their
vampire persona, one player acting as the storyteller who controls the game and acts out the
roles of any additional characters in the story. Story outlines, guidelines, rules and
characters sheets are included in a range of accompanying handbooks which can be purchased
through gaming shops. LARPs also form the basis of customisable card games (CCGs)
where each participant plays with a deck of cards containing a random selection of card types
which can be added to and customised with additional cards. The main CCG with a vampire
theme is White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade.
7 lndeed, there is evidence that this leads to frequent splits and heated debates in both camps.
200
One member of the Vampyre Society participating in this research expressed a dislike for
the fact that many active members of the society were Goths and that it had been said to her
that one had to be a Goth to have a strong liking for vampires and be in the society. From
the evidence of this research, this is obviously not the case and some respondents are
unaware of the Goth subculture. Conversely, discussion of vampires in Goth circles is
frequently met with disapproval.
or two participants indicate a liking for biting rituals as a form of sex play, find
images of male (and in some cases female) vampires sexually exciting and indulge in
vampire games with their partners. This was not an area which it was felt appropriate to
investigate for this study; nevertheless, many more participants find images of vampirism
erotic and as set out in chapter 7 this is a principal reason for their liking of the genre. See
Dresser, American Vampires (1989) for a study of practitioners of vampirism and vampire
rituals.
9	 Brujah, for example, are terrorists, revolutionaries and criminals who wear combat
uniforms, grunge or other street fashions, or work gear; the Ventrue, who are aristocrats,
corporate heads, rich businessmen or women and politicians, wear business suits and
catwalk fashions; the Tremere are wizards who wear capes and top hats; and the Gangrel,
who are shapesbifters with animal personas, wear peasant, Gypsy or hippie style clothing
but players also wear prosthetic makeup to give them an animal-look. Fan websites giving
advice on dress for each tribe exist (see http://www.toreadors.com ] for a Toreador site, for
example). In addition to the consumption of the gaming books and card games and add-on
packs,jewelry and other accessories depicting the icon of each tribe can be purchased from
fan artists.
201
Chapter 8
Horror Cinema and The Female Subject
8.1 Principal Findings
The primary objective of this research was to provide a small-scale study of
female horror film fans and followers. As with other audience studies of this
type (see, for example, Hill, 1997), the research raised as many questions as
it sought to answer. It is also difficult to summarise or generalise from the
results; as has been noted by Buckingham (1996, p. 303), such qualitative
research 'does not easily yield "findings", or clear statements of proven fact.'
Nevertheless, it is important to draw some conclusions which may contribute
to accounts of the relationship between the audience and the film text, if not
be of relevance to theories of female spectatorship and the debates
surrounding screen violence. The data does indicate some contradictions, but
a number of clear findings have emerged, as well as pointers towards future
research. As set out in chapter 3 the research aimed to test a set of
hypotheses. In summary, the following findings were revealed:
1 That female horror fans make up a 'hidden', yet often substantial, portion
of the horror film audience.
It was not possible to ascertain the percentage of the horror film audience
which is female, nor what percentage of the female population like horror
films. However, figures do suggest that the female horror film audience is
larger than often assumed.
la That female viewing takes place in isolation, i.e. in the home, films
viewed on television or video.
The primary format for horror film viewing was on pre-recorded video. Some
respondents watch alone, however equally many watch with a partner or
close relative who also likes horror films and as many again with friends.
Some are put off viewing in large mixed groups by the behaviour of men
when watching films and especially the males' responses to violence.
Nevertheless, 89 per cent of respondents watch horror films in the cinema,
albeit less frequently than on other formats.
lb That female horror fans do not participate widely in organised horror
fandom.
Women might constitute up to one-third of fan organisations such as the
British Fantasy Society and Internet based fan groups, but this may be a high
estimate for other areas of horror fandom. However, women take part in
vampire fandom to a much greater extent and may constitute up to 50 per cent
202
or more of active vampire fans. Women are very active in vampire fandom,
publishing and contributing to fanzines, writing fiction, making costumes,
organising local groups and running societies.
ic That female honor fans are excluded from fandom largely because of the
sexism inherent in fan publishing and fan culture.
Some respondents who have taken part in horror fandom do report frequent
instances of sexism or sexist abuse. Relatively few respondents read
magazines and fanzines, but many of those that do find the attitudes of horror
fanzines and magazines offensive, particularly the quasi-pornographic
portrayal of women (although this does not appear to stop them reading the
magazines concerned, especially when these contain articles on their favourite
stars or films). However, many women also report not being interested in
horror fandom and publishing because of other aspects of fan culture,
particularly the obsessive attention to trivial details or over-emphasis on
special effects and other technical areas of film-making.
Again, vampire fandom is the exception and it is not regarded as sexist in
the same way, though this may simply be due to the larger numbers of
women actively participating in this area of fandom.
2 That female viewers of the horror genre prefer feminine forms of the
genre.
There are strong preferences for vampire films, psychological horror and the
supernatural, with widespread dislike of slasher films. However, all forms of
horror (including the slasher film) are liked by substantial numbers of the
respondents and many others like specific examples of film types they have a
general dislike for. It does not seem that any particular types of horror are
coded as more feminine than others, however, certain elements or generic
conventions (for example, a romance or a strong female protagonist) may be
of more interest to female viewers, whereas others (sexual violence or an
over-emphasis on special effects) less so, and these may all occur in any type
of horror film.
2a That they derive greater pleasure from viewing films with an erotic
element between monster and victim, principally vampire films.
The sexual attraction to vampires is very strong and one of the most important
factors to emerge in the study. However, there is also a fascination with
monstrosity generally and an identification with many sympathetic or
ambiguous monsters, particularly where they are coded as victims. It also
emerged from the study that the respondents read the vampire and some other
203
honor films as romance and obtain similar pleasures from horror films as
readers of romance fiction do.
2b That, as part of what they regard as their horror film consumption, they
view mainstream films not always classified as honor but which contain
elements or plot devices similar to horror.
As a group of fans, the respondents do define the honor genre very broadly.
Although they may consider many mainstream films to be similar to honor in
their emotional affects however, there is a dislike or avoidance of many
violent films sometimes associated with honor, especially those containing
sexual violence. So whereas the viewers are likely to class mainstream
maternal melodramas or psychological thrillers as honor (primarily because
of the suspense and thrills), they are less likely to class rape-revenge and rural
paranoia films such as Deliverance as honor because of the overly realistic
nature of the sexual violence. This is based less on considered definition than
on personal taste.
3 That female honor film fans might enjoy the horrific images and elements
in honor films (i.e. they refuse to refuse to look).
Enjoyment is a major reason for watching honor films and the respondents
watch because they find being scared pleasurable; the viewing of horror films
is escapist entertainment. Viewing horrific scenes or shots of the monster is
not something which the female viewers shy away from. Very few admit that
they look away when viewing honor films, many have effectively been
desensitised over many years of watching honor films. Some respondents do
practice a form of looking away which involves partially blocking the gaze
with some object (a cushion or the fingers, for instance), but this 'looking
away' is in itself a pleasurable act.
Many respondents also practice a form of self-censorship which involves
only watching those honor films which they know or think they will enjoy.
3a That they do not exhibit viewing practices observed in adolescent female
honor film viewers (showing fear or fright at horrific images and relying
on a boyfriend for comfort).
It was supposed that because the respondents enjoyed honor films they
would not exhibit the usual gendered adolescent behaviour. In a few cases,
however, the respondents did describe how they 'acted out' protectee roles,
mainly to initiate a boyfriend's protector response. The vast majority, on the
other hand, did not take part in such adolescent viewing practices - many
because they stated that they did not go out with boys as teenagers. Many
204
thought of themselves as outsiders and did not participate in many peer group
activities at school. It was also found that the majority of respondents dated
their liking for horror films and first viewing experiences to a much earlier
age than generally recognised in the gender socialisation model.
4 That female horror film fans do not consider the honor genre to be
misogynist or disregard the fact that it is.
Most respondents feel that the horror genre is sexist in its representations of
women, but generally they regard all film genres as sexist and some state that
they find the honor genre to be less sexist than other types of film. There is a
tendency to hold up strong female characters in a few movies as good
examples that the genre is not sexist (or not as sexist as it used to be). Older
horror films are recognised as reflecting the stereotypes of the time in which
they were made. Many laugh off the sexist representations, whether in older
or more recent films, due to the fact that they see them as being clich?d. There
are also some suggestions that some viewers see the monstrous female or
female killer as empowering.
There are strong feelings, however, about sexual violence, with many
respondents finding this abhorrent whether within the honor genre or
elsewhere. Generally, however, this is dependent upon how realistic are the
representations. The majority of respondents find the horror genre fantastical
and are not therefore as concerned about violence here as they are in other
films which strive for realism in the depictions of sexual violence or abuse.
4a That the enjoyment of honor films by female viewers includes a form of
feminist revenge fantasy on men.
There is little evidence of this. Rather, many respondents recognise that men
are subject to negative representations in the honor film and dislike excessive
violence or sexual violence against men as much as they do against women.
8.1.1 A model of horror film viewing
The analysis also revealed patterns which could be identified as part of a
model of the horror film viewing process. These factors can be built up to
provide a picture of both the viewing process and the horror fan herself. Not
all factors are observed in all the viewers, and some appear to be
contradictory. However, this does provide a descriptive analysis of the female
honor film fan and follower and opens up a number of avenues through
which theories of genre and audience may be explored further.
205
The identified factors in horror film viewing may be divided into three
areas: a model of horror film viewing processes, which may be cinematic or
extra-cinematic, and a model of the horror film viewer.
I. Factors in the cinematic horror film viewing process
The pleasure of terror, self-censorship and the
desensitisation factor
The enjoyment of horror film viewing is centred around the pleasures of
being scared and experiencing the uncanny. Viewing pleasures are linked
very strongly to the emotional and physical affects of horror, with a
preference for the adrenaline rush of shocks, scares and thrills and
horripilation (the shiver-sensation) and a dislike or rejection of films that elicit
revulsion, disgust and nausea. The female viewer enjoys watching terrifying
or horrifying films but prefers the mode of telling to the mode of showing.
Self-censorship in the form of refusing to look is rare, but where this does
occur it is also pleasurable. These pleasures may be muted by prolonged
viewing which causes the viewer to become desensitised to fictional horror.
Should this occur, other pleasures take their place.
? Morbid fascination
As Canoll (1990) suggested, viewers have a fascination with horror.
Identification with monstrosity is often exhibited, viewers strongly
empathising with monsters, in particularly an identification with monsters
which embody human traits. The most prevalent viewing pleasure is an erotic
or romantic identification with the vampire and other sympathetic or attractive
monsters, and a fascination for erotic transgresssion. The viewers also exhibit
a morbid fascination with death, including funerals and funerary
paraphernalia, as well as undead creatures and other supernatural or
paranormal phenomena associated with post-death existence.
? The vampire and queer sexuality
Identification with vampire sexuality, particularly of an active female form,
allows the female viewer access to fantasies of queer (including straight-queer
or other aberrant) sexualities. This is largely unrelated to either straight or
lesbian sexuality, but is linked to extremes of active female sexuality and
bisexuality. This is expressed particularly through the fantasy of the
vampire's perceived glamour and the commodifi cation of her appearance. For
heterosexual viewers, the male vampire represents a sexual fantasy, whilst for
lesbian viewers the female vampire offers pleasurable images of same-sex
desire.
206
? Romance
The horror film is read as romance. The vampire is coded as an exotic,
idealised lover; his victim as active, regardless of any narrative devices which
redeem her to patriarchy (the vampire is almost always male, his victim
female, although the erotic appeal applies to vampires of both sexes and all
sexual orientations). This is broadly in keeping with the pleasures observed in
readers of feminine genres such as romance or historical fiction, albeit in an
aberrant form.
? Strong heroines have feminine traits
There is a liking for strong female characters, and an identification with
feminine traits in the character. Narrative aspects which indicate patriarchal
repression or oppression of strong female characters are ignored.
? Thresholds
Horror films are read as fantasy and not equated with reality. The violence
inherent in the genre is regarded as fantastical and in this context viewing
horror films forms a safe vicarious excitement for the female viewer or allows
her to channel her aggression. She draws a sharp dividing line between
horror fiction and real life. Even where the desensitisation factor has come
into play, the viewer remains affected by real life versions of horror such as
murder and natural disasters. Horror films are seen as entertainment, real life
horrors or realistically depicted violence are not.
Realistic sexual violence in any genre (and against men as well as women)
is anathema. As above, thresholds pertain to realistic sexual violence. With
respect to rape, for example, the viewers have high awareness of their
thresholds, but with respect to fantasy violence in horror films they claim to
be unaffected.
? Victim blame
Where a sexually appealing monster is not involved, there is very little
identification with the female (or male) victim of the horror film. The female
victims who meet their death at the hands of the serial-killer of the slasher film
are thought to deserve their fate. Beyond an acknowledgement that this may
reflect the social oppression of women, there is little reflection on this (despite
the similarities with the notion that victims of sexual violence and domestic
abuse deserve it).
? Laughter
If the film is bad it can be laughed at and still enjoyed, in fact this is a form of
typical fan behaviour. It is also recognised that horror films are meant to be
207
funny and laughter is a normal (although emotionally complex) response to
many scenes of horror, particularly in response to the high threshold for
graphic violence in many post-70s horror films (see Arnzen, 1994).
II. Factors in the extra-cinematic horror film viewin process
Discerning viewers
All forms of the horror film are thought to contain at least some good
examples, even the slasher film which is disliked by most respondents.
Gothic horror film types and other horror films which create atmosphere,
especially vampire films, psychological horror films and films about the
supernatural are almost always considered to be good horror, but the
respondents identify any horror films which work on the principle of
horripilation as good examples of the genre. The respondents identify far
fewer good examples of more graphic horror films, especially slasher films
and gore films or other films containing extremes of violence and an over-
reliance on special effects at the expense of plot or character development.
Horror films are deemed to be good if they create plausible events and
character relations, and if the special effects or elements such as violence are
thought to be in context. Respondents like what they consider to be 'thinking
films' regardless of type, in other words films which they consider to be
thought-provoking or which inspire fantasies. Accordingly, good horror
films are those with interesting characters, novel plots, and which the
respondents consider to be well acted. Conversely bad films are those which
they find formulaic, predictable or badly made. On the whole, though, the
respondents are keen to present a case for horror being a serious subject and
not just the lurid pursuit of adolescent boys and rogue males. In this way, the
female horror fans and followers seek to distance themselves from the
depraved consumer of popular myth.
? Genre definitions
The classification of films as horror is dependent on the desired emotional
affects (honipilation and the thrilling of intelligibility), explaining the
inclusion of generic hybrids such as the science-fiction/horror film and even
mainstream films in their viewing preferences. Realistic horror or films
depicting events very like real-life, especially sexual violence (such as the
rape-revenge film, for example) are considered to be in a different category
than horror which is primarily thought of as a form of fantasy.
208
? Nomadic viewers
Horror film viewers (although they retain the core interest) also show
allegiance to other related cultural products. They watch a wide range of other
genres and film types which interact with horror, including science fiction,
fantasy, historical and costume dramas, melodramas and psychological
thrillers. They also show allegiance to other media, such as horror fiction and
comic books.
? Self-censorship
Self-censorship is conducted mainly through viewing choice. Viewers exhibit
fan competencies and select their viewing with respect to their knowledge
about horror films, thus avoiding films that are not to their taste. This does
not necessarily relate to thresholds, but to whether the film is deemed to be a
'thinking film' and of high quality or has the desired emotional affects.
? Social situation
Horror films help the viewer to cope with everyday life and her social
situation. Viewers use the horror film to explore fantasies which make their
social situations acceptable - the 'compensatory experience' (Ang, 1985).
This frequently involves sexual fantasies and fantasies about vampirism, as
well as the release of negative emotions such as anger.
? Fan communities
The viewers gain a sense of community which comes through the shared
experience of being a horror film fan, most prevalently within areas of
vampire fandom which allow the fans to dress up and act out their fantasies
surrounding the figure of the vampire.
The research shows that female horror film fans do form a media
community around their taste for horror over and above their allegiances to
both personal-domestic and social-cultural groups (Nightingale, p. 18) as the
theory of audiences described by Radway, Ang, Hobson and others
demonstrated. The viewer is most likely to associate with other female fans in
areas of fandom not dominated by male fans. This may range from
participation in national vampire fandoms to small independent groups or
simply meetings of a few like-minded friends.
? Carnival
Horror fan practices are related to the concept of Carnival developed by
Bahktin (1965) particularly through dressing and acting in unconventional
ways as a way of making fun of or challenging established social hierarchies
and can lead to a form of empowerment for the respondents. The wearing of
209
vampire costumes at fan meetings and events (and in real life) provides an
atmosphere of subversion in which the aberrant femininity on display
parodies and renders grotesque socially acceptable gender roles.
III. Factors in the character of horror film fans and followers
Identity
For feminist theorists such as Ang and Radway identity is a political issue and
the pleasures of media texts demonstrate not only what women like, but also
the ways in which women construct their identities around such texts. The
viewer's identity is constructed around the taste for horror and ranges from a
morbid personality to a queer vampire sexuality and is related to resistance
against dominant gender roles. The viewer is also very likely to see herself as
an outsider from childhood onwards, a fact which is compounded by liking
horror.
? An attraction to the dark side
A strong sense of identity comes from the taste for horror. These viewers feel
that it is natural to like horror with the belief that they were born with or
acquired this taste very early in life. There is a sense in which many feel that
the taste for horror is inherited, not in a genetic sense, but in having parents
who also liked horror (or had the ability to cope with horrific material which
the respondents, as children, learnt or imitated). Liking horror is considered
to be a personality trait with the viewer thinking of herself as having a morbid
or dark streak in her personality. The taste for horror appears to be life-long,
these viewers continuing to seek out horror and honor-related material for
entertainment well into maturity. It is linked to an imaginative inner life and
nostalgia for the pleasures of childhood. This pattern appears to be a-historic
and occurs amongst respondents of all ages.
? Guilty pleasures
Although the viewer regards her taste for horror as natural to her personality,
many regard it as a guilty pleasure and something that marks them out from
the norm. In this context, resistance is expressed as a form of rebellion
against feminine norms and the appropriation of a taboo genre. Like Auerbach
(1995), the viewer is striving against a 'destiny of girdles, spike heels, and
approval' (though ironically, she may aspire to the wearing of restrictive
Victorian clothing and corsets).
? Gender socialisation and aberrant femininity
Adolescent honor film viewing appears not to work as gender socialisation
amongst the viewers. Rather than being successfully socialised into disliking
210
horror films, the viewer incorporates her taste for horror into aberrant patterns
of femininity, frequently in terms of the vampire masquerade and a queer (or
straight-queer) sexuality (or a fantasy thereolT).
? Resistance
Resistance for the viewers takes the form of liking the genre in itself, what
Brown (1994, p. 182) calls 'resistance at the macro level', as well as reading
against the grain. The liking for a genre which is often vilified and seen as a
particularly unfeminine taste is a form of viewer resistance as Chute (1983,
pp. 13-14) points out: 'The gross-out aficionado savours his sense of
complicity when the values of a smug social stratum, from which he feels
himself excluded, are systematically trashed and ridiculed.' The horror fan
Chute is describing, as evidenced by the use of the male pronoun, is the
adolescent male viewer and he limits himself to teenage rebellion, but the
feeling of exclusion he describes could equally apply to the female horror fan
rebelling against Auerbach's female destiny (see above). Some viewers find
pleasure in the taboo of liking horror and calling into question social and
cultural norms, not least as regards vampires and the freedom of sexual
expression these horror film characters offer.
? Feminist activism
Feminist activism or consciousness is not excluded by a liking for horror, in
fact feminist opinions are widely held. Individual viewers are capable of
questioning and rejecting ideological aspects of the horror film such as the
positioning of women as weak. However, the viewers do not generally
regard themselves as feminists and look on the debates about the genre which
have been supported within feminism as overly politically correct. In this,
they may be described as post-feminist.
8.1.2 The female horror film viewer
Female horror film viewers may fit the model in various ways, exhibiting
different factorial patterns. For example, a vampire fan may read the vampire
film as romance, may identify with the vampire, find the vampire attractive
and use the figure of the vampire in her sexual fantasies. In addition, she may
aspire in real life to the glamorous image of the vampire; she may dress up
(she may be a Goth or attend vampire meetings where the members wear
vampire costumes) and play role playing games in which she can act out a
vampire lifestyle. In this she may be reacting against the norms of femininity
and this may be a subversive act, although she may not be an active feminist.
211
Another viewer who likes slasher films may enjoy the pleasures that come
from being scared and from viewing violent acts. This may be an outlet for
the aggression women are not normally allowed to express. She may identify
with a strong heroine who nonetheless exhibits feminine traits, though she
may despise weak female characters and shrug off their deaths. She may
laugh at bad examples of the genre and also at the fantastical nature of the
violence. She may object to realistic depictions of violence against women,
though again this may not indicate feminist activism. Both these viewers may
believe that they were born with a liking for horror and have incorporated
their horror film viewing into their identities. They may both use horror films
to make do with their social situation. Both may also be nomadic viewers, but
the vampire fan may position her liking for vampire films in relation to the
glamour of historical costume dramas, whereas the slasher film viewer is
attracted to the thrilling of intelligibility of mainstream thrillers and other
suspense films.
The female horror film fan, then, may only rarely adopt the passive female
spectatorial position when viewing horror films, refusing to look (Williams)
and watching only with reluctance and fear (Halberstam). Rather, she seems
to be adopting an interpretive strategy and taking up a subject position which
is in many crucial respects close to feminine patterns of viewing observed
elsewhere. Recent assumptions that horror film viewers are predominantly
male, that horror remains a resolutely masculine genre and that horror film
viewing is an unsuitable pleasure for women must also now be questioned.
Most importantly, perhaps, these female viewers illustrate the fact that the
horror film genre continues to incorporate feminine aspects that the literary
horror genre has traditionally embraced.
Recent years have seen a shift in focus in screen studies away from an
interpretation of the text onto the audience, nevertheless it would be wrong to
abandon the text entirely since viewers have 'lived relationships with texts'
(Nightingale, 1995). Radway (1988, p. 363) advocates the decentering of the
text as the focus of analysis, recommending that discourse be retained but the
link with specific texts broken. This analysis of the female horror film
viewer's lived relationship with the horror film reveals a number of issues
which in the theoretical context of female honor film spectatorship suggests a
more diverse range of readings and pleasurable textual negotiations than often
acknowledged.
212
8.2 Gender, genre and the female gaze
The findings presented above shed light on the difficulties with horror film
spectatorship explored in chapter 2. All that remains, then, is to re-examine
the theoretical context of the findings. Ideally, this would provide an
understanding of the viewing process, particularly in terms of the audience's
reading of the horror film as erotica, romance or escapist entertainment
allowing a release of negative or 'unfeminine' emotions. This might initially
suggest that the female horror film spectator is not, as thought, immasculated;
she does not collude in her own oppression. The danger of reading too much
into the audience reaction must be considered, however, in attempting to
account for an interpretive community which reads the text, as the horror film
viewers do, ironically or subversively (see Gripsrud, 1995). This study has
also privileged gender over difference of race, class, age, sexual orientation,
educational background, (dis)ability, and nationality, and it must be noted
that, as Whatling (1997, p. 12) writes, 'within the fantasy investments of the
desiring audience ... the tendency is to override difference in the pursuit of
sameness.' Despite the contradictory and sometimes confusing array of
responses manifested by the viewers (and these will have to be analysed with
respect to difference other than gender elsewhere), it is clear that the viewers
are proficient at appropriating the horror text and reading against the dominant
grain of reception. Clover (1992b, p. 43) has stated that:
To the extent that the possibility of cross-gender identification has
been entertained, it has been that of the female with the male.
Thus some critics have wondered whether the female viewer,
faccd with the screen image of a masochistic/narcissistic female,
might not rather elect to 'betray her sex and identify with the
masculine point of view.'
In the female viewer's appropriation of strong femininity and predatory
female sexuality, we cannot say that immasculation has occurred in any
straightforward sense. On the evidence of this study, female viewers of the
horror film do not adopt purely masculine viewing positions, nor do they
simply, as Clover (p. 54) also indicated, respond to the literal level of the
text. However, whilst Clover argues that a feminine male killer and a
masculine female protagonist 'would seem to suggest a loosening of the
category of the feminine,' the participants' responses to films like Alien
suggest that for the female viewer the category of the feminine can be
multiplied and dispersed. When given the opportunity, as in Alien, female
viewers strongly identify with the feminised hero because of her literal
femininity in combination with her figurative masculinity. Gendered
213
identification for the female viewer may not in this case be as fluid a process
as Clover (pp. 62-3) proposes it is for the male viewer, but other interpretive
strategies complicate the matter further. Although gendered identification is,
in the case of Alien and other films with female heroes, strengthened, in other
cases identification offers more complex pleasures. In the specific instance of
vampire films, one of the most important classes of horror film identification
to emerge in this study is the horror film's role in identity construction.
Stacey (1994a, pp. 229-230) has proposed that perceptions of and
relationships to cultural objects (including film) can be part of the processes
of constructing the self. In following Wright (1984), Stacey explores the
relationship of readers' interactions with the text through 'fantasy, idealisation
and imaginative transformations.' Stacey describes how the processes of
projection and introjection work in relation to the spectatrix's relationship
with the star, but similar psychic processes can be seen at work in the honor
films spectatrix's relationship with the vampire. In the case of vampire
cinema, the spectatrix invests the vampire with qualities lacking in the self
(projection). Thus, the pleasures offered to female spectators focus on the fact
that the vampire embodies a desirable femininity expressed as active sexuality
- also explicit in the vampire's glamour and appearance - which the spectatrix
may have difficulty expressing. In this way, the vampire embodies
transgressive or rebellious feminine sexuality, and therefore the 'bad object',
which offers subversive pleasures to the spectatrix struggling against
patriarchy. The spectatrix also incorporates into herself the desired
characteristics of the vampire, transforming herself, often literally with the
adoption of the vampire masquerade, and this latter may be equated with
Stacey's (p.231) introjective connection with commodity purchase. What is
perhaps most unusual in this process is the fact that the feminine ideal is
based on an aberrant femininity charged with otherness and difference. In this
way, the position of the female subject in honor film spectatorship can be
better understood, though only between self and ideal other. As for Stacey,
these psychic processes do not wholly explain the pleasures of honor film
spectatorship for women and the use of horror cinema as a form of female
erotica must still be explored.
In this vein, the desire for quasi-human monsters such as vampires is
indicative of a gendered look which offers further possibilities of pleasure.
Stacey (1987) proposes a complex model of cinematic spectatorship in which
gender identification is separated from sexuality (which she claims are too
214
often conflated in the name of sexual difference). For Stacey (p. 53) this
would open up the possibilities of pleasure and multiply and disperse
differences. The fact that the horror film spectatrix finds pleasure in images of
aberrant femininity suggests that an aberrant scopophilic pleasure might be
present too. Whatling (1997, p. 160) has argued that 'looking, the right to
look, to interpret that look, and, if one wishes, to employ that look to
facilitate visual pleasure, can also be appropriated as a subcultural category.'
For Whatling, this category is lesbian, but in claiming that the look is 'not
always obvious in its directions,' she opens up the argument for a feminine
look that need not be coded in terms of its sexuality, but which, as Stacey
proposes, multiplies and disperses difference. Such desire may, as for
Whatling's lesbian spectator, secure a foothold 'within a medium which has
been characterised by absence, misrepresentation and lack.' This
investigation into the pleasures of the popular and feminine subjectivity opens
up a form of aberrant or queer feminine horror film spectatorship: the queer-
vampire look (by which is suggested aberrant feminine, though perhaps
neither wholly heterosexual nor wholly homosexual, spectatorship). Not only
do these different feminine subject positions break open the monolithic view
of the female horror films spectator, loosening the female/passive/maso-
chistic/feminine and male/active/sadistic/masculine binary, they present the
possibility for pleasure in fantasies which appropriate and subvert the
dominant gender representations.
The subject positions suggested above are not without their own problems
and indicate that gendered spectatorship, particularly in relation to the horror
genre, is fraught with tensions. The consumption and appropriation of the
horror film text by female viewers indicates, particularly in the attempt to read
against the grain, that the horror film is a site of struggle. Jancovich (1992, p.
15) has already pointed out that the horror text functions as a dialogic text
enabling it to be 'consumed differently within different cultural contexts.' As
Tasker (1993, p. 61) has stated, 'to suggest that meanings are obvious,
necessarily excludes something of the complexity of popular films.' As good
products, she says, 'films are polysemic, speaking or not speaking to
different audiences in different ways.' Thus the horror film can be open to
multiple interpretations not just by female viewers but by other audience
segments (see Pinedo's reading of race in the horror film or Kryzywinska's
appropriation of the lesbian vampire, for example). The horror film, then,
215
'thrives on ambiguity' (Tasker, p. 91), not least in its representations of
aberrant femininity.
The problematic of horror and the female gaze has not been entirely
resolved (further analysis of why some female spectators like watching
violence is required, although Hill's findings also suggest a number of
possibilities in this direction, not least in her question about how women
might differentiate between representations of violence against women in fl
Accused and The Terminator - see chapter 6 for different possible readings of
these films), but the impact of the findings allows a reframing of gendered
horror film spectatorship. Williams' and Halberstam's assertions that the
female spectator of the horror film can only refuse to look is belied by the
pleasure that women in the horror film audience find in images of tenor and
gore and, in particular, in the body of the monster. The female spectator may
indeed read horror films in a fundamentally different sense to the male
(Clover, p. 54, and her appropriation of the text affords her many subversive
pleasures. Refusing to refuse to look is, for such viewers, an act of affinity
with the monster more subversive than Williams imagined. As explored in
chapter 2 the theoretical body of work on the horror film audience does not
acknowledge the active female viewer, but nevertheless there is a need to take
active female horror film viewers into account in analyses of the genre, not
least through the tensions suggested here.
8.3 Further research
A picture of the female honor film audience has emerged from this study
which raises a number of questions with regard to both conceptions of the
audience (particularly the audience of 'low film culture' as Clover termed the
cluster of genres around horror) and studies of the horror film. Both are
important to discussions within genre studies and confirm, as others have
already observed, that popular cinema can be a site of pleasure for
marginalised groups of viewers. At the very least it emphasises the
requirement to analyse the horror film in terms of a heterogeneous audience.
Further research incorporating responses to 'feminine' honor films such as
Candyman, Alien, Interview with the Vam pire or Hcllraiser might
productively open up debate in this area.
The production context of honor cinema also has relevance. A study of the
viewer should not 'eliminate the need to examine production,' as Staiger
(1992a, p. 3) warns:
216
I find such a proposition dangerous not merely for the reason that
any radical historian might (it elides the incontestable force of the
historical real to affect the reader) but because that inference only
inverts fallacious binary oppositions: producer/consumer,
author/reader.
It is important therefore to consider the context in which horror films are
made, sold and consumed, particularly as women are, according to Muir
(1989), under-represented in the film industry, especially within Hollywood.
The horror genre has been coded as masculine at least since the late 70s and
the Hollywood-based film industry has produced and marketed horror films
almost exclusively to eighteen to twenty-four-year-old males. The implication
of this is that films are written down to that demographic, whilst the
marketing concept implies that the genre is of no interest to anyone outside
that group (as Mark Gill is quoted as saying - see chapter 1 - the industry sees
itself as 'lucky' if the audience includes the teenage male viewers'
girlfriends). The former might explain the female viewer's lack of interest in
the slasher and gore film (as opposed to its representations of women), whilst
the latter contributes to the commonly-held belief that women do not like the
genre. Further work on industrial contexts might then be appropriate to
establish an historical overview of the production, marketing and exhibition
of horror films as a context within which women's relationship with the genre
must be understood (Nightingale, p.18). This must, at the very least, take
into account that horror films produced for men by men are being consumed
by women. There is a feminist interest in the political economy of popular
culture (Radway's 'institutional matrix', 1984), and this may perhaps be
related to the frustration of attempts to produce and popularise alternative
women's genres. Furthermore, Creed (1993, p. 156) has claimed that if more
women made horror films the unconscious fears and desires of the gendered
subject would be explored more fully. Albeit in small numbers, women have
been making horror films at least since the 1970s and studies of these films,
including their production contexts and reception, are overdue.
The findings also demonstrate that film consumption does not only take
place within the cinema. The fact that the respondents might in many cases be
regarded as a secondary audience, more likely to view horror films on video
or television broadcast, accounts for the fact that women are often not
recognised as horror film viewers. The fact that some respondents feel
uncomfortable viewing horror films in public or with male viewers indicates
that more research is required in the area of film consumption over and above
217
an analysis of interpretive strategies. Film studies has tended to ignore this
area in favour of textual analysis or histories of production and exhibition.
This research indicates that viewing context may be important for
marginalised audiences. At the very least, we need to look at how films are
consumed (and used, or 'poached', by fans) over and above their cinema
exhibition.
Finally, there is a need to reconsider the horror genre's position in the
media effects debate. One aspect of horror films (and several other associated
genres) causing much concern in Britain today is the perceived danger of
viewing violence and the effect this is sometimes believed to have on the
viewer. Many studies have been carried out into representations of violence in
television programmes and films and whether such fictional representations
carry the risk of damaging individuals and causing social violence is still
debated (see Barker and Petley, 1997, for example). However, apart from
Hill's study of viewing violence, little direct audience research has been
carried out in this respect, particularly into viewers who find such material
pleasurable and entertaining. Barker (1997, p. 29) states that 'we need to
study bow viewers who choose to commit themselves to a medium, genre or
series differ in their understandings of them from those whose relationship
with them is more casual.' The study undertaken here on female horror film
viewers exposes differences not just with non-fans' opinions of the genre,
but also between groups of fans. In addition, the early age at which many
respondents began viewing horror suggests that children might be more than
able to deal with images of horror (though no doubt there are those who
would use the viewers' affection for the genre as proof of damage).
Certainly, the female viewers taking part in this study do not seem to have
been adversely affected and they see calls for the banning of screen violence
or the demomsing of horror fans as not just an unwanted control on their
individual freedoms, but something akin to an insult. These questions have
repercussions both within and beyond the study of horror cinema (for
example, in the debates about screen violence, censorship and pornography).
8.4 Re-viewing the horror film
The recognition of the existence of oppositional cultural participation is not
without its problems. A fear remains that the vicarious pleasures offered by
popular culture reconcile women with patriarchy and prevent them from
developing a feminist consciousness. It is clear, however, that pleasure in
218
popular culture by no means precludes the holding of feminist opinions (in
the sense of challenging cultural preoccupations and routines concerning
femininity and gender). Van Zoonen (1994, p. 152) recognises that the goals
of research projects such as this one include what has become a recognised
aspect of the feminist academic project, that is, to save women's experiences
from oblivion and make them an accepted part of history and culture.
Accounts of film history and theory have rendered the active female horror
film viewer invisible and this study has at the very least raised her profile.
This was something that the participants in this study recognised all too well
and many were grateful for the opportunity to share their liking for the genre
in a serious context. As Brown (1994, p. 131) states of her research into soap
opera viewers, if women use their own fan networks to question rather than
conform to their status, then they are 'restructuring ideological norms for
themselves.' The horror fans taking part in this study resist dominant gender
roles and in demonstrating that women do take pleasure into their own hands
by appropriating or resisting what they see on the screen, this study has
become a political act. This work endorses the value of the pleasures of the
popular in women's real lives and suggests that the relationship between
media communities and social communities may be subversive. The horror
genre can, for women, be the 'source of an audience-generated critique of
culture' (Lefebvre, 1971). Women's viewing is seen here in the light of
macro-level resistance or opposition and, as many feminist critics whilst
writing about soap opera or romantic fiction have recognised before, the
viewer can freely admit to her own pleasures in consuming such material.
Empowerment comes, in the words of bell hooks (1992), through 'the
oppositional gaze.' The active female horror film viewer's acts of resistance
and appropriation thus set the generic conventions of the horror film against
the background of the contradictory discourses of femininity, feminism and
dominant culture.
219
Appendix 1
Data Capture
Al.! Guidelines for focussed discussion
The direction the discussion took was guided by the open-ended questions
used in the questionnaire mailed out to a members of fan groups and other
horror viewers throughout the UK (see below). Suggested questions and
topics to be covered in each focus group included:
What attracts the participants to the horror genre? What are the origins of
their taste for horror films? Why and how did they become attracted to
horror?
? How would the participants define horror? What kinds of films would
they describe as horror films? Are there any films which are not horror
films but which affect them in the same way as horror films?
? What kinds of horror films/stones/formats do the participants like or
dislike? Why? What do they like or dislike about any formats/styles/as-
pects of horror?
? How do the participants feel when they are watching? Afterwards? In
what ways do they find watching horror films different from watching
other kinds of film?
? How do the participants relate to the characters (hero, heroine, victim,
killer, monster, etc.) in the film? What do the participants think about
female characters as portrayed in horror films (their roles in the plot, their
treatment)?
? What fan activities, if any, do the participants take part in? What are their
experiences of fandom? What do they think of horror magazines,
fanzines, conventions, film festivals, etc.?
? How has horror, if at all, shaped or changed the participants lives (the
people they mix with, other hobbies or activities, musical tastes, etc.)?
How did liking horror affect friendships and dating experiences when
they were in their teens?
? Do the participants family, colleagues, friends and acquaintances know
about them liking horror? How do others see them or react to them when
they tell them they like horror?
? What part does liking horror play in how the participants see themselves?
Does it affect how they feel as women?
Al.2 The questionnaire
The following pages contain a reproduction of the full questionnaire. The
short questionnaire was identical except that it did not contain any of the
open-ended questions with the exception of question 9.
220
a)
>
E
.4-
I-0
0
I-
0
>-
I-
0
4-,
C.)
a)
C',
I-
OC.
'1
2?
0,?
iJl1iJIJ
I
0
802
U
ta
.E .	 -
0)C
>
E
I'-
I-0
I-
I-0
.0
4-0
U)
C
I-
4-I
4-,
0
I 4
0I.
0.c
U.
.4-I0
0
0
'3-
4-.0
33
E
4-.0
0.c
.taU0
we).41
U '4-'
4-.eta
0).. a'
2oEiJii
o
00
?IOiJ
:JiJi:iiJ
I
C C-.
3-.
? 9 .? C.;.09a)
	
0	 0	 Q.
	
:'f'	 .	 '9,
0
?	 a;
E.
.9	 U.	 4-.	 a)
C.)	 0	 a)a)O0
.	 .2
o
.	 )a)
9
iD)	 ?u) i.:>	 U,
..	 (Co)'
	
'4-'(t4	 0	 UCC/)
a)	 I-
.0	 0
.r	 J 4-a) .
4-I
	
4-I.=,)<-'4.	 a)	 U,
a-a)	 .r:--- a)?	-.	 >C
U).?	 a)0(/)>Q)4-I
4-i9<a)C	 C.)	 C
a)a)	 0;
CU)cn
E	 .2D	 COC	 CI)5
80)	
-
a)0u,
-o	 0_CEO0C	
0.CEta t	 C'410U04.,	 C-V?0
4-'a)	 tao..Eajc	 O0CQ
OH	 oU)ta	 a)ca(fl4 ?tfl0?	 Orna,
8	
U)34JQ)4j	 >3E
!
C .c 0	 .,. i C.)	 -aioo
a) 4..,	 ta.C.	 >.
EU .a)4-3 ?a) 4., 3-
?'4?5'Q)	 =.E ? 0-a)>.O
?I?)C
	
?0	 '4W' a) 0 >,3-	 >.
1 1j o	 ? o
ta a) 0)4. CCU
t	 a)
o	 E
-cawe
9- ta C OOC(l)
>'. C	 0)
ta9- O C.a
CU)OC.)E >
.0 a) a) >.? a)-
U, 0-U.J O	 U
221
II
-. U
to
1?
I
rniiirnJiJiJ
C.-.
I
b? 
0
V .
oE
OL.
0
V
0Iz
II-
UU
In
U'I
0.. U
of
o	 .,
LII:
C.)('1
ijrnjijc,iJiJ
0rnmmJiThJ'ThJ
_ V
E.rnLIJLmJtJ
-'f.-'0.:E'	 .
C.-'
rn
0
0.0
r,)'P
QQU"= U0 'InU
0.
VOd t1
U 341?rl	 CC VU
VO
E EU0
t
0V w0.0
I
I
iiiJi
,1
Q
VO
VVO0
V
.
0
.E .
C-.
0
I
C.)U
IF
Iz V
222
E
I
- Cl Cfl	 "0 N 00 C\ -
'I-
41
wC.-.
U,
o
.' 0
o
?5
0
?4,
0
. U?	 4'
o
11
U,4,
U
0.
8
III
'-8
8
li
C - 4
hi
UI
C.)
o
q.	 ..
oEC)E
o ::.' C w
U,
.1-I
(I)
CD
4-'
E
.4-
I-0
I-I-
0
0
>-
0
4-'U
0,
(/,
i1	 1	 iJ
L1	 iJ	 iDiJiJIJij	 i	 io
OIJ	 IIJIOI	 J0
rd
'-I
0 oil 0000011 11 11 0 110
E
11 011111100 11 11 [DjLJ0
0?o	 E
I o1L13o10I	 .E
'?I;8&
V
I !h ?	 d
94	 - N
0
0
11
223
I-0
I-.0
0
U,
0
0.0.
I-
0
>-
cy)
0
?41U
C-.
C
CI
(C
I.
&
0
C1
bOo
U
I JimiiDrnirnJirnJiJ
V0
DDirnJJJc1iTh:DIjimij
uV
- .	 .h.
-
--E EEuE
(C
E	 Q.
E	 V	 EE 0 0 U	 !I
I-;-	 ..?-	' ? 
I_ ?
224
>1
0
Cl)E
'4-
I.-0
I-I.-
0
U
CS
I-z
0
0
a,
U)0
-C
I-0
U-
C0
Ua,
C')
00
'I-
-C(n
54
(5
C.
U
C.-.
I-C
(5 U,
?E
Util
C
(5
DIJ
C
0
'I-
-wU
54
.0U,
4'
II
>54.
CC
-. 0)	 ..
C
Qw
-	 -w
.'	 (5
d, U
0)")
U
- U
? C. C
rn
C-.C0
C)
0
w UU 0Pz
U
II-
U-C-C C
-	 U '4
U
I
1
44
C
(5
0
o
o..
(5
C-. UU
(5U..-
UI-
18
. 0
0o
U
(5
U,o
C
CU
.(5 U,
C
C. C
-C
C.- U
0	 ,
U
(54'
U
(5 54
0-
-
0
H'oE
. t.
.!
I.-U
C0
4..C0
.0
InC
0U
04.
225
E
1:1
C)
c'i? .-
9-
a,U,
I.-
0
>1
0.
Lfl
0
?41
U
a)C,,
oo oo o o 0000000000
000000000000000000000000000
IU 0000000000000000 ODD 00000000
0000000000000000000000000000
fi.	 .
UIeI .
C-.
r
.1 E
Q)
E
	
a)	 .-
	
o:j	 Oc
	
.Q	 o.
.OI.	
?:?
w
C0
F.
DO1?
U U ..
. w - -
226
imij rn,
rd
(I,
U,
4,
I.-
4,
4-I
C
C)
-C
0
U,
C)
0
I
C
0
4-I
U
4)
C,)
E
I
ill
u0.
I-.
Ii
0
	
)	 p..
dI.	 ..
c.,
o d
0
E .	 ?'2	
0
C.-.
2rnJrnJrniJo
00	 I
o	 I
8E 0 0
('1
JDJtiJiOi1iJiJiThJI1IJ
DDIJIJtThJDI1IJIJIJ
DDDDJI:JDDII:JDI:1OIJlJL:J
JDDDiJDiJOiDDOIJIJI1OOIJIJIJIJ
H
Hil
227
V
rd
'S
U
0
G,U
E
q
1i C.)	 C.)	 .O	 i
5
C'
0
0
20
oc'?- 
0
0
;C
00
i
j:ie.
io
C'
I
4
C...
JJJw
. 0
0
e
V
C.)
o 0	 c	
C.)
V	 -
w
Cl) -
>a)
U)
U)
4-I
'I-0.	 0
>% C
4-I	 U)
I-
a)
-C
4-.,
	
Cn .o -	 C
	
U)	 U)	 -
U)	 0
.1-I
0
4-.,	0.
C/)C I-.
Cn4iC
U	 0
U)
-C	 Ca
	
F-	 5C
E
C.)
	
0.>	 =	 U..(/)	 a)I..
- 'I-
01	
4-ICfla)
C41.0
>	 E-
o 0)4.10
	U) 	 - 0) o.?	 0)	 -
	
o c	 -	 C
E	
Cl) Li..
0
>10)
L I
U
VEE
C.)
228
Appendix 2
Personal details of audience study participants
IDcode Age Accomodation	 Occupation	 Marital stat. Children Education
hh101 18-24 parental home	 nurse	 single	 no	 vocational
hhlO2 18-24 parental home	 artist	 single	 no	 degree
hh003 35-40 -	 artisan	 single	 -	 -
hhlO4 35-40 renting	 psychiatric nurse, single	 no	 vocational
__ _____ artist	 ____ ___ ___
hhlOS 25-34 parental home	 animal husbandry single	 no	 vocational
hhlO6 18-24 parental home	 newsagent	 single	 no	 A levels
hhlO7 35-40 owner-occupier secretary	 single	 no	 degree
hhOO9 -	-	 -	 -	 -	 -
hhl 10 <18 parental home	 school student	 single	 no	 A levels
hhOl 1 18-24 renting	 student	 single	 no	 degree
hhl 12 18-24 owner-occupier computer support married 	 no	 0 levels
hhl 13 18-24 student housing student	 single	 no	 degree
hhll6 25-34 parental home	 florist	 single	 no	 0 levels
hhll7 18-24 parental home	 sales assistant	 single	 no	 vocational
hhl 18 25-34 renting	 housewife	 married	 yes	 0 levels
hhl 19 18-24 parental home	 student	 single	 no	 degree
hh122 40-i- renting	 retired	 widow	 yes	 -
ds207 25-34 renting	 full-time mother	 divorced	 yes	 0 levels
ds208 25-34 renting	 nanny	 single	 yes	 vocational
ds209 18-24 renting	 assistant manager single	 no	 vocational
____ ___ __________ (retail)	 _______ _____ ______
ds2lO 18-24 owner-occupier clairvoyant/tarot	 married	 no	 A levels
__	 reader	 ______
ds221 35-40 owner-occupier secretary	 single	 no	 A levels
c1s222 18-24 owner-Occupier postwoman 	 manied	 no	 0 levels
ds223 25-34 renting	 accountant	 single	 no	 A levels
ds224 35-40 owner-occupier illustrator	 married	 no	 degree
sh2Ol <18 parental home	 schoolstudent	 single	 no	 0 levels
sh205 35-40 owner-occupier teacher	 single	 no	 postgrad
bfs 101 25-34 owner-occupier salesassisitant	 married	 no	 A levels
bfs 102 35-40 owner-occupier systems analyst!	 single	 no	 degree
______ _____ ______________ programmer	 __________ _______ ________
bfs 104 40+ owner-occupier primary school	 married	 yes	 A levels
________ ______ __________________ ancillaryassisitant _____________ _________ ___________
bfs 105 40-i- owner-occupier writer	 married	 yes	 vocational
bfs 109 25-34 owner-occupier civilservant 	 married	 no	 degree
bfs 113 18-24 parental home	 salesassisitant	 single	 no	 A levels
bfsll6 40-I- owner-occupier writer/mother 	 married	 yes	 vocational
bfsl 19 25-34 owner-occupier bookseller 	 married	 no	 A levels
bfsl23 35-40 owner-occupier secretary/author	 married	 yes	 A levels
bfs 127 25-34 parentalhome	 library assistant	 single	 no	 A levels
bfs 130 18-24 parental home unemployed	 single	 no	 degree
bfsl3 1 25-34 owner-occupier secretary-admin, 	 married	 no	 0 levels
____ ___ ________ writer	 ______ ____ _____
bfs 132 40+ renting	 editor, writer	 married	 no	 A levels
bfs 133 40+ owner-occupier writer	 married	 yes	 vocational
bfs 134 18-24 parentalhome	 clerk/typist	 single	 no	 vocational
bfs 136 40+ renting	 civilservant	 divoreed	 yes	 vocational
bfs 138 25-34 owner-occupier computer analyst 	 single	 no	 degree
bfs 140 18-24 student housing student	 single	 no	 degree
229
bfs 142 40+ renting	 artist/model-	 single
maker/writer	 _________
bfs 144 40+ tied cottage	 retired (school	 married
___	 _______ librarian)	 ____
bfs 145 25-34 owner-occupier playgroup worker, married
________________ writer	 _________
is151 35-40 owner-occupier housewife/mother, married
______________ writer/illustrator	 ________
bfs 154 40+ owner-occupier library assistant,	 marned
__ ______ writer	 ____
bfs 156 25-34 parental home	 civil servant	 single
bfs 159 25-34 owner-occupier stable lad, writer	 co-habiti
vs2Ol 18-24 student housing student	 single
vs202 40^ owner-occupier adinimstrator	 married
vs203 25-34 owner-occupier artiste	 co-habili
vs204 25-34 renting	 civil servant	 niarijed
vs205 18-24 parental home	 business	 single
_____________ administrator	 _______
vs2lO 18-24 renting	 student	 co-habiti
vs2ll 25-34 renting	 staff nurse	 single
vs212 25-34 renting	 unemployed	 single
des2Ol 25-34 renting	 adniinlsecretary/pa co-habiti
des2O2 18-24 parental hone	 bank officer	 single
des2O3 18-24 parental home	 clerk	 single
ci2Ol 25-34 owner-occupier full-time mother	 widow
cr102 18-24 student housing student single
ed101 >40 owner-occupier computer support married
d103 25-34 owner-occupier biology researcher co-habiti
edl06 25-34 renting	 temping	 co-habiti
ed221 18-24 renting	 unemployed	 single
ed222 18-24 student housing student	 single
ed245 40^ owner-occupier fine art historian manied
1246 25-34 owner-occupier student	 co-habiti
stiOl 18-24 student housing student	 single
st209 40+ owner-occupier student	 married
in101 25-34 parental home	 archeologist	 single
g1102 18-24 renting	 student	 co-habiti
em101 25-34 owner-occupier secretary	 married
em 102 40^ owner-occupier technical editor	 manied
emlO3 25-34 renting	 teacher	 single
emlO5 18-24 renting	 library assistant	 married
emlO6 25-34 renting	 museum assistant single
em 107 25-34 renting	 secretary/PA	 co-habiti
emlO8 25-34 owner-occupier secretary	 marned
emlO9 25-34 renting	 librarian	 married
emi 10 25-34 renting	 secretary	 single
em! 11 24	 renting	 student	 single
emi 12 18-24 parental home	 waitress	 single
cml 13 35-40 owner-occupier computer support married
cml 14 18-24 student housing student	 single
emllS 18-24 renting	 administration	 single
cml 16 35-40 renting	 retail supervisor	 married
emll7 25-34 owner-occupier writer	 manied
emll8 25-34 renting	 student	 single
cml 19 25-34 renting	 quality manager	 married
eml2O 40+ renting	 teacher - _____ single
no	 degree
yes	 o levels
yes	 o levels
yes	 degree
yes	 A levels
no	 A levels
no
no
no	 A levels
no	 o levels
no	 vocational
no
no	 vocational
no
no
no	 A levels
no	 vocationalo 
levels
no	 A levels
no
no
no
no
no
no
vocational
no
no
no
no	 vocational
no	 degree
no	 A levels
yes	 vocational
yes	 postgrad
no	 vocational
no	 postgrad
nfl	 -
no
no
A
no
no
no
no
230
	
25-34 renting _____ mother	 mariied	 yes	 postgrad
em 122 35-40 owner-c cupier bar worker	 single	 no	 degree
ni	 18-24 renting ______ student	 single	 no	 degree
em124 40+ owner-c cupier computer operator married 	 yes	 degree
eml25 25-34 renting ______ student	 co-habiting no	 degree
em 126 25-34 renting ______ teacher	 co-habiting no	 postgrad
en1227 -	 -
em228 18-24 owner-c cupier sales assistant	 married	 no	 postgrad
em229 35-40 renting _____ administrator	 manied	 no	 degree
em230 25-34 renting _____ writer/editor	 married	 yes	 degree
ein23 1 40+ owner-c cupier computer operator married	 yes	 degree
em232 18-24 renting ______ student	 single	 no	 degree
eni233 18-24 renting ______ writer	 sipgle	 no	 degree
em234 35-40 owner-c cupier graphic designer	 marned	 yes	 A levels
em235 25-34 owner-c cupier computer operator co-habiting no	 degree
em236 25-34 renting	 veterinary	 single	 no	 degree
_____ technician	 ________ _____ ______
em237 35-40 owner-c cupier supervisor	 married	 no	 degree
fg101 25-30 renting ______ clerk/typist	 single	 no	 A levels
fglO2 25-34 owner-c cupier biologist	 co-habiting no	 degree
fglO3 18-24 renting ______ student	 gle	 no	 vocational
fg2Ol 18-24 renting ______ unemployed	 single	 no	 degree
fg202 18-24 student Lousing student 	 single	 no	 degree
fg203 18-24 renting _____ journalist	 married	 no	 degree
fg3Ol 25-34 renting ______ nurse	 single	 no	 vocational
fg302 25-34 renting ______ unemployed	 single	 no	 Highers
fg4Ol 25-34 parentai home	 disabled	 single	 no	 degree
fg402 18-24 renting ______ student	 single	 no	 degree
fg403 j; _4 renting ______ student	 co-habiting no	 degree
fg404 25-30 -	 ______ housing officer	 -	 -	 degree
fg405 i!:._ renting ______ unemployed	 single	 no	 degree
fgSOl 18-24 student lousing student	 gle	 no	 degree
fg502 25-34 renting ______ student	 single	 no	 degree
exOOl -	 -
exOO2 - -
ex003 50+ -
exOO4 18-24 -
exOOS -	 -
exOO6 18-24 -	 ____ student	 -	 -	 degree
exOO7 40^ owner-i cupier doctor	 married	 no	 degree
exOO8 25-30 renting _____ chemist	 manied	 no	 postgrad
exOO9 25-30 owner-i cupier systems analyst	 co-habiting no	 degree
phOOl <18 parent? home	 school student	 -	 -	 -
phOO2 <18 parent? home	 school student	 -	 -	 -
ph003 <18 parent? home	 school student	 -	 -	 -
phOO4 <18 parentti home	 school student	 -	 -	 -
p4Qi_ >40 -	 ____ -	 manied	 yes	 -
pslO2 25-34 renting ______ office worker	 married	 yes	 -
pslO3 25-34 owner-i cupier production editor married	 yes	 -
ps 104 >40 owner-i cupier librarian	 married	 no	 -
pslOS >40 renting ______ librarian	 married	 no	 -
pslO6 -	 -	 ____ lecturer	 married	 -	 -
pslO7 >40 owner-i cupier librarian	 married	 yes	 -
ps!08 35-40 renting ______ writer	 single	 no	 -
nslO9 <18 parenta home	 factory worker	 single	 no	 0 levels
231
ps 110 35-40 -	 librarian	 married	 no	 postgrad
ps iii 18-24 student housing student	 single	 no	 degzee
psi 12 35-40 -	 library clerk	 married	 no	 A levels
psii3 25-34 renting	 student	 single	 no	 postgrad
psi 14 25-34 -	 -	 married	 yes	 -
psi 15 25-34 -	 secretary	 married	 yes	 vocational
psil6 >40 -	 data analyst	 married	 yes	 degree
psi 17 25-34 -	 counsellor	 married	 yes	 vocational
psll8 18-24 -	 illustrator	 co-habiting no	 degree
psi 19 25-34 -	 computer author	 married	 yes	 degree
psi2O 25-34 -	 software engineer single	 no	 degree
psi2i -	-	 -	 -	 -	 -
232
Appendix 3
Data Analysis and Tables
A3.1 Analysis of Oualitiative Data
The computer software package NUDIST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data
Indexing, Searching and Theorising), designed for the qualitative analysis of
unstructured data, was used for the initial analysis of data from focus groups,
interviews, letters and open-ended questions from the questionnaire.
NUDIST:
? has a pattern-based search mechanism which can locate key text or text
patterns on which an index system can be built;
? builds an indexing database into the data documents to be analysed;
? this index can be built up according to the topics, ideas and themes seen in
the original data.
Retrievals from the indexing data base can be made using a set of Boolean
and non-Boolean operators (for example, a search for 'slashers' or 'slasher
films' and 'like' or 'enjoy'). The results of such retrievals aided the
development of concepts and theories from the qualitative data, as well as
identifying common patterns in the data.
A3.2 Analysis of Ouantitative Data
The statistical package SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Scientists) was
employed in the analysis of the quantitative data from the questionnaire. In
addition to descriptive analysis and tabulation of data, cross-tabulation and the
chi-square (x2) test was used to test significance (that is, whether a
relationship between two variables really exists or whether an apparent
relationship has arisen by chance).
The tables relevant to the analysis in each chapter follow.
I. Tables for chapter 1
233
The Exorcist
The Fly
Dementia 13
Near Dark
Les Yeux Sans Visage
The Peovle Under the Stairs
Total
243
94
72
128
89
32
658
Female
30% (7
35% (3
36% (2
35% (4
29% (2
28% (9
32% (2
Male
70%(1
65% (
65%
71%
72%
68%
Table 1.2a: Preliminary horror film audience surve y : rn/f audience split
All films counted at two screenings, except The Peo ple Under The Stairs at one
screeninci only.
Table 1.2b: Preliminary horror film audience survey: sex roupins
Figures for groups were not available for The Exorcist screenings. All films
counted at two screenings, except The Peo ple Under The Stairs at one
screenina only.
female	 male	 total
single sex group	 6.7% (28)	 2.2% (9)	 8.9% (
mixed sex group	 4.3% (18)	 6.0% (25)	 10.4%
single sex pair	 1.9% (8)	 14.0% (58)	 15.9%
mixed sex pair	 11.6% (48)	 11.6% (48)	 23.1%
alone	 8.9% (37)	 32.8% (136)	 41.7%
total	 33.5% (139)	 66.5% (276)	 100%
Table 1.3: Horror film preferences by ae and sex
Reproduced from Barclay (1961).
boys
best	 least	 best	 least
14	 49	 16	 37	 32
15	 41	 29	 56	 42
16	 40	 24	 25	 42
17	 35	 25	 19	 54
29	 30	 15	 64
14-18	 39	 25	 30	 47
Table 1.4: Favourite film types in order of popularity. gender differences
Reproduced from Cumberbatch and Wood (1995). Figures in brackets show
percentage of total who most preferred that genre.
Rank	 Males	 Females
1	 Action (44%)	 Homr (27%)
2	 Comedy (20%)	 Comedy (23%)
3	 Horror (14%)	 Action (16%)
4	 Other(7%)	 Romance (11%)
5	 Animation (3%)	 True Story (9%)
Table 1.5: 18 rated films already seen by ae
Reproduced from Broadcasting Standards Council (19
1O-l2years 13-l4years 15-17	 Total
The Silence of the Lambs 34%	 54%	 67%
Reservoir Dogs
Seven	 7%
Natural Born Killers	 17%	 19%
234
Valid Percent
72.6
27.4
100.0
Percent	 Valid Percent
50.0	 50.5
49.1	 49.5
0.9
100.0	 100.0
Table 1.6: Box-office surveys. 1991 and 1992. films classified as horror
Reproduced from Cinefantastkiue, April 1992 and June 1993.
1991	 1992
Silence of the Lambs	 Basic Instinct
Sleeping with the Enemy	 The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
The Addams Family	 Bram Stoker's Dracula
Misery	 Death Becomes Her
Nightmare on Elm Street VI	 Single White Female
The People Under the Stairs	 Sleepwalkers
Child's Play 3	 Candyman
Ernest Scared Stupid	 Raising Cain
Warlock	 The Addams Family
Body Parts	 Pet Semetary 2
Popcorn	 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Jennifer 8
Whispers In the Dark
Dr Giggles
Innocent Blood
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Shadows and Fog
Naked Lunch
Gate 2
____________________ Dead Again
II. Tables for chapter 4
Table 4.1: e range of female horn
Frequency	 Percent
<18	 2	 1.9
18-24	 32	 29.6
25-34	 41	 38.0
35-40	 16	 14.8
>40	 16	 14.8
Missing	1	 0.9
Valid cases= 107 Missing cases=1
Table 4.2: Marital status
Value Label	 Frequency
single, divorced	 54
Missing	 1
Total	 - 108
Valid cases1O7 Missmg cases=1
Table 4.3: Children	 ____
Value Label	 Frequency	 Percei
nochildren	 77	 71.3
has children	 29	 26.9
Missing	 2	 1.9
Total	 108	 100.0
Valid cases= 106 Missing cases=2
Valid Percent
1.9
29.9
38.3
15.0
15.0
100.0
235
Valid cases=106 Missing cases=2
Valid cases= 107 Missing cases=1
Table4.6: Accommodation	 __________ _________
Value Label	 Frequency	 Percent	 Valid Percent
owner occupier	 41	 38.0	 38.7
rented	 39	 36.1	 36.8
student housing	 8	 7.4	 7.5
living at home	 17	 15.7	 16.0
other	 1	 .9	 .9
Missing	 2	 1.9	 --
Total	 1108	 1100.0 _____i 100.0
Valid cases106 Missing cases=2
236
Table 4.8: Television programme viewing choices
Percentage of respondents who watch regularly
I nroranmie tvve	 I % watch I
series/serials
comedy (e.g. sketch shows)	 66.7
documentary	 583
news	 565
sit-corns	 43.5
soap operas	 38.9
talk shows	 22.2
chat shows	 15.7
game shows	 148
snort	 7.4
Table 4.9: Reading choices
who read regularly
237
Table 4.10: Magazines and periodicals etc. reading choices
1 regularly
238
Table 4.1 icont.
Table 4.12: Alternative interests
interest	 % interested
ghosts & hauntings	 67.6
paganismIwicca	 61.1
horoscopes/fortune telling	 53.7
alternative medicine	 44.4
seances	 41.7
38.0
igions	 306
ty/westem religions	 26.9
III. Tables for chapter 5
Table 5. la: Frequency of viewing horror films cinem
Value L.abel	 Frequency	 Percent	 Valid Percent
at least once a week	 0	 0.0	 10.0
2 or 3 times a month	 4	 3.7	 3.8
once a month	 18	 16.7	 17.3
less than once a month	 70	 64.8	 67.3
never	 12	 11.1	 11.5
Missing 4	3.7	 __________
Total	 108	 100.0	 100.0
Valid cases= 104 Missing cases=4
Table 5. ib: Frequency of viewing horror films -television
Value Label	 Frequency Percent	 Valid Percent
at least once a week	 18	 16.7	 17.3
2 or 3 times a month	 38	 35.2	 36.5
once a month	 20	 18.5	 19.2
less than once a month	 25	 23.1	 24.0
never	 3	 2.8	 2.9
Missing4	 3.7	 __________
Total	 108	 100.0	 100.0
Valid cases=104 Missing cases-4
Cum. Percent
0.0
3.8
21.2
88.5
100.0
Cum. Percent
17.3
53.8
73.1
97.1
239
Percent
30.6
24.1
15.7
25.0
2.8
1.9
- V j_j_
Valid
31.1
24.5
16.0
25.5
2.8
Cum. Percent
31.1
55.7
71.7
97.2
Percent
31.5
38.0
12.0
0.9
6.5
100.0
Valid Percent_ Cum. Percent
	
11.9	 11.9
	
33.7	 45.5
	40.6	 86.1
	
12.9	 -- 99.0
	
1.0	 100.0
100.0
ision ar
Percent
13.0	 13.2
3.7	 3.8
29.6	 30.2
25.9	 26.4
25.9
1.9
0
Table 5.lc: Frequency of
Value Label	 Fn
at least once a week	 33
2 or 3 times a month	 26
once a month	 17
less than once a month	 27
never	 3
Total	 1108
Valid cases106 Missing cases=2
Table 5.2: Frequcv of total
No. of films	 = Frequency
2ormoreperweek 12
lor2perweek - 34
2or3pcLmonth - 41
p?r month	 13
<1 ner month	 1
Total	 1108
Valid cases101 Missing cases7
Valid cases=94 Missing cases=14
Table 5.3b: Viewing partner(s' -
Value Label	 Frequency
mixed sex group	 14
same sex companion	 4
opposite sex companion 32
alone	 28
multiple	 28
don't watchimissing - 2
Total	 108
Valid cases106 Missing cases=2
Valid cases=98 Missing cases=1 1
240
ny examples of the fur
dislike most	 dislike all
9.4(9)	 4.2(4)
2.2 (2)	 0.0 (0)
6.1(6)	 1.0(1)
31.0 (31)	 23.0(
1.0(1)	 0.0(0
11.7(12)	 6.8 (7
1.9(2)	 1.0(1
5.8(6)	 1.9(2
12.5(13)	 1.0(1
18.1 (19)	 6.7(7
10.3 (8)	 10.3
4.8(5)	 1.2J
17.9 (19)	 3.8
film type
Table 5.5: Agefi
Fr
<12
12-15
16-18
>18
Missing
Total
Valid cases=103
Percent
__ 48.1
_____ 27.8
_____ 16.7
_____ 2.8
4.6
_____ 100.0
cases=5
Valid Percent
50.5
29.1
17.5
2.9
Table 5.6: Horror film viewing preferences
percent (frequency)
Figures do not include those who have not seen
like all	 like most not fussed
silent	 10.4 (10) 32.3 (31) 43.8 (42)
Universal	 12.4(11) 56.2 (50) 29.2 (26)
Hammer	 27.6 (27) 48.0 (47) 173 (17)
Corman	 12.3 (9)	 47.9 (35) 32.9 (24)
slasher	 3.0 (3)	 22.0 (22)	 21.0 (21)
vampire	 30.5 (32) 61.9 (65) 6.7 (7)
zombie	 10.7 (11) 43.7(45) 27.2 (28)
supernatural	 23.8(25) 61.9(65)	 11.4(12)
witch	 22.1 (23) 46.2 (48) 24.0 (25)
monster	 8.7 (9)	 47.1 (49) 30.8 (32)
serial killer	 10.5 (11) 42.9 (45)	 21.9 (23)
psycho thriller	 24.8 (26) 56.2 (59)	 16.2 (17)
gore/body horror 9.0 (7)	 35.9 (28) 34.6 (27)
SF-horror	 18.3 (19) 55.8 (58)	 20.2 (21)
horror-comedy	18.9 (20) 40.6 (43)	 18.9 (20)
Table 5.7a: Horror film preferences ranked by like
Percent (frequency)
241
film type
Table 5.7b: Horror film preferences ranked by dislike
Percent (frequency)
Table 5.8a: Most liked film types _________ _________
Rank	 Film Type	 Score	 Entries	 Mean	 Score
1	 vampire	 129	 55	 2.35
2	 supernatural	 82	 42	 .95
3	 psycho thrill	 70	 38	 .84
4	 SF-horror	 64	 33	 - .94
5	 hammer	 61	 26	 2.35
6	 serial killer	 22	 13	 1.69
7	 horror-comedy 19	 12	 1.58
8	 zombie	 18	 9	 2.00
9	 witchcraft	 16	 11	 1.45
10	 monster	 16	 9	 1.78
11	 bodyhorror	 13	 7	 1.86
12	 silent	 12	 6	 2.00
j13	 universal	 11	 6	 1.83
j13	 corman	 11	 5	 2.20
15	 slasher	 9	 6	 1.50
Table 5.8b: Most disliked film types __________ __________
Rank Film Type	 Score	 Entries	 Mean Score
1	 slasher	 147	 58	 2.54
2	 serial killer	 53	 26	 2.04
3	 silent	 43	 18	 2.39
4	 horror-comedy 42	 21	 2.00
5	 zombie	 39	 19	 2.05
6	 body horror	 35	 18	 1.94
7	 monster	 32	 18	 1.78
8	 witchcraft	 18	 9	 2.00
9	 SF-horror	 13	 8	 1.63
10	 psycho thrill	 12	 5	 2.25
11	 supernatural	 7	 4	 1.75
12	 corman	 6	 3	 2.00
12	 hammer	 5	 3	 1.67
14	 universal	 5	 2	 2.5
15	 vampire	 4	 3	 133
242
IV. Tables for chapter 6
Valid cases= 109 Missing cases0
Table 6.2: I enjo gore	 _________ _________
Value Label	 Frequency	 Percent	 Valid Percent
agree strongly	 11	 10.1	 10.1
agree	 13	 - 11.9	 11.9
not fussed	 18	 16.5	 16.5
disagree	 32	 29.4	 29.4
disagree strongly	 34	 31.2	 31.2
don't know	 1	 - 0.9	 0.9
Missing	0	 0.0
100.0	 1100.0
Valid cases1O9 Missing cases=0
243
Valid Percent
3.7
25.7
35.8
22.0
12.8
0.0
100.0
Valid Percent
8.3
19.4
28.7
27.8
14.8
0.9
100.0
Percent	 Vali
6.4	 6.5
22.0	 22.2
25.7	 25.9
23.9	 24.1
21.1	 21.3
0.0	 0.0
0.9
100.0	 100.0
Table 6.3:
Value Label
not
don't
Total
Valid cases4o9
Table 6.4:j
Value Label
,t
Total
Valid cases1O8
Frequency	 Percent
4	 3.7
28	 25.7
39	 35.8
24	 22.0
14	 12.8
0	 0.0
0	 0.0
109	 100.0
ssing cases=O
Frequency	 Percent
9	 8.3
21	 19.3
31	 28.4
30	 27.5
16	 14.7
1	 0.9
1	 0.9
109	 100.0
ssing cases=1
Valid cases= 108 Missing cases=1
Table 6.6: 1 like watching kill
Value Label	 Frequency
gee strongly	 7
agree	 24
not fussed	 28
disagree	 26
disagree slrongly	 23
don'tknow	 0
Missing	 1
Total	 109
Valid cases= 108 Missing cases=1
244
Valid Percent
57.8
33.9
4.6
2.8
0.9
0.0
100.0
Percent	 Valid Percent
14.7	 15.0
32.1	 32.7
17.4	 17.8
17.4	 17.8
13.8	 14.0
2.8
1.8
100.0	 100.0
Table 6.7:Iei
Value Label
gree strongl
agree
not fussed
disagree
disagree stro
don't know
Missing
Total
Valid casesz 108
Table 6.8: Iii
Value Label
agree strongl
gree
not fussed
disagree
disagree str(g
don't know
Missing
Total
Valid cases109
Frequency	 Percent
40	 36.7
39	 35.8
7	 6.4
17	 15.6
4	 3.7
1	 0.9
1	 0.9
109	 100.0
ssina cases=1
Frequency	 Percent
63	 57.8
37	 33.9
5	 4.6
3	 2.8
1	 0.9
0	 0.0
0	 0.0
109	 100.0
ssing cases=0
Valid Percent
37.0
36.1
6.5
15.7
3.7
100.0
Valid cases 108 Missing cases=1
Table 6.10: Horror films relic
Value Label	 Frequency
agree strongly	 16
agree	 35
not fussed	 19
disagree	 19
disagree strongly	 15
don't know	 3
Missing	 2
Total	 109
Valid cases107 Missing cases=2
245
Valid casesz 109 Missing cases=0
Valid cases107 Missing cases=2
Table 6. 13a I enmathise with the hero	 __________
Value Label	 - Frequency	 Percent	 Valid Percent
agree strongly - 2	 1.8	 1.9
agree	 14	 12.8	 13.3
not fussed	 34	 31.2	 32.4
disagree	 43	 39.4	 41.0
disagree strongly - 10	 9.2	 ___________
don'tknow	 - 2	 1.8	 1.9
Missing4	 3.7	 __________
Total	 109	 100.0	 100.0
Valid cases 105 Missing cases 4
Table 6. 13b I emt,athise with the monster _________
Value Label	 Freciuency	 1 Percent	 I Valid Percent
agree strongly - 6	 5.5	 5.5
agree	 - 17	 15.6	 15.6
not fussed	 - 22	 20.2	 20.2
disagree	 - 29	 26.6	 26.6
disagree strongly	 31	 28.4	 28.4
don'tknow	 - 4	 3.7	 3.7
Missing	 = 0	 0.0
Total	 - 109	 100.0	 100.0
Valid cases 109 Missing cases 0
246
Table 6. 13c Tern )athise with the heroine 	 __________
Value Label	 Frequency	 Percent	 Valid Percent
agree strongly	 5	 4.6	 4.7
agree	 14	 12.8	 13.1
not fussed	 40	 36.7	 37.4
disagree	 33	 30.3	 30.8
disagree strongly	 13	 11.9	 12.1
don'tknow	 2	 .8	 1.9
Missing2	 .8	 ___________
Total	 109	 00.0	 100.0
Valid cases 107 Missing cases 2
V. Tables for chapter 8
Table 8.1: Percentage of respondents willing to describe themselves as horror
fans
Value Label	 Frequency	 Percent	 Valid Percent
'lamafan'	 91	 84.3	 84.3
'lamnotafan'	 13	 12.0	 12.0
Don'tknow	 4	 3.7	 3.7
Total	 108	 100.0	 100.0
Table 8.2: Length of time respondents have considered themselves to have
been fans
Valid cases=91 Missing cases=17
Table 8.3: Horror magazine readership
occasionally never	 miss
Cinefantastique 1.8	 24.8 (27)	 64.2(70)	 9.2
Fangoria	 9.2	 33.9 (37)	 50.5 (55)	 64
Filmfax	 1.8	 13.8 (15)	 72.5 (79)	 11.9
23.9 (26)	 60.6 (66)	 92
22.9 (25)	 64.2 (70)	 8.3
11.0	 20.2 (22)	 61.5(67)	 73
Dark Side	 12.8	 25.7 (28'	 56.9 (62'	 4.6
Table 8.4:
Value Label	 Frequency	 Percent	 Valid
does not re	 69	 63.9	 68.3
reads	 32	 29.6	 31.7
7	 6.5
108	 100.0	 100.0
247
Appendix 4
Survey of mass market horror publications
Mass market horror merchandise incorporates a number of professional
magazines which are purchased largely by fans. In the UK, the main horror
titles are Shivers, a sister-publication of the long-running Visual Imagination
magazine Starburst which itself covers science fiction, fantasy and horror,
and The Dark Side, launched by Maxwell Specialist Publications in 1990.
Both these titles are distributed throughout the UK and available from high-
Street chains such as W. H. Smiths and John Menzies. There have also been a
number of short-lived titles in the UK including E (published by
Newsfield, a company specialising in home computer and games magazines),
Fantasy Zone (a Marvel Comics title covering science fiction, fantasy and
horror) and, more recently, Hammer Horror (also published by Marvel). The
latter title, specialising in coverage of Hammer films, actors and directors, ran
for only 7 issues before Marvel UK was re-organised (bought-out) in 1995
and the title closed. A number of imported American horror magazines are
also available in the UK, though these tend to be carried mainly by specialist
science fiction book shops or comic shops such as Forbidden Planet. These
titles include Fangoria, which specialises in covering the special effects side
of horror film making, and Cinefantastique, a broader based title which
covers science fiction and fantasy films as well as horror.
Typically, horror magazines are garish, the covers containing detailed
photographs (sometimes artwork) of horror film monsters and the titles
frequently printed in red ink outlined with black (see figure A4.1); the content
of many of the magazines is dominated by photographs from the films
themselves or production stills showing make-up, monsters and the creation
of other effects while titles, page furniture and occasionally the text itself is
printed in red on a black background or vice versa. Cover lines and feature
titles are equally lurid, typical examples including 'Diva of the Living Dead'
(The Dark Side issue 54, March 1996), 'She Wants To Breed' (Fangoria
issue 144, July 1995) and 'Terror Teeth' (Fangoria issue 146, September
1995). These examples reveal the obsession of such publications with both
horror film actresses and images of monstrous or predatory femininity.
Horror fanzines are very similar, though because of their production
methods (put together in fans own homes, on home computers, often
photocopied or cheaply reproduced) often have an amateur appearance.
248
Sanihain and Shock Xpress represent the semi-professional end of fan
publishing, are sold largely by mail-order and use professional colour
reproduction on their covers. Again, both magazines feature lund titles
printed in red, feature photographs of gruesome or monstrous horror film
stills on the covers and concentrate on in-depth interviews with horror film
makers and stars, often highlighting special effects. At the amateur end of the
fanzine sector, colour is often absent and few if any photographs are included
- these are replaced by fan-contributed artwork. Fanzines also frequently
contain fan-written reviews and fiction which is an important area of fan
activity.
Fiiire A4.1: Smhain cover(July/Au ust 1995 issue.)
. k4!fr1'! 1..1.? .	 ____
,-a
I'
ILci to"Ik T 
1?
lv
:1	 'y.
.. .
Magazines like The Dark Side and Fangoria also publish large amounts of
photographic material of horror film actresses (often referred to as 'scream
queens' - a term which is frequently, but not exclusively, applied to actresses
whose careers consist almost entirely of work in low-budget horror films and
exploitation cinema). They are usually depicted screaming, swooning or
cowering in terror, often in a state of partial undress, and sometimes with a
menacing monster in view (occasionally, where a film includes a female
249
--;
';
monster, the actress appears menacing or seductive in such shots). These
shots are often photographed in a manner reminiscent of soft-core
pornography (see, for example, figure A4.2). The exception is
Cinefantastique, which has broader coverage and tends to be rather more up-
market in presentation (its title, designed to look like film title lettering on a
movie theatre exterior, reflects this). The publishers of Cinefantastique also
produce Femmes Fatales, a title dealing exclusively with the scream queens.
The covers of this magazine again show horror film actresses only partially
clothed and in seductive poses (often holding guns), screaming or caressed
by monstrous hands. Advertisements for this title in Cinefantastique invites
the reader to 'Subscribe now to the luscious ladies of horror fantasy and
science fiction,' suggesting that they are purchasing the scream queens
themselves and, like pornography, rendering the female body a commodity
(see Williams, 1989).
Figure A4.2: Illustration Horror Fan (Winter 1989. p. 22
The caption reads 'In a typical scream queen situation.'
?	 ???;
Issues of Femmes Fatales feature scream queens and a few mainstream
actresses who have appeared in horror or related films (e.g. Michelle Pfeiffer
as Catwoman in the film Batman Returns) and the covers - a typical example
is shown in figure A4.3 - mostly depict actresses who appear to be posing for
the publication itself. The similarities to soft-core pornography are obvious
and the way these images are being used to sell magazines indicates how
women might be regarded within one sector of the fan industry. Whilst the
depiction of actresses cowering in fear and/or in a state of undress reflects one
250
aspect of the horror films themselves and their intended audience, it also
indicates the intended readership of the magazine. The heavy coverage in
certain magazines of the scream queens accompanied by photographs in
which they wear very little clothing or in which their clothing is torn or in
disarray, suggests that horror publications are aimed at a male readership -
this sometimes, though not as frequently applies to amateur or semi-
professional fanzines as well as the mass market publications (most fanzines,
if they include photographic material at all, rely on press pack stills and other
free publicity material). Furthermore, it is likely that for the teenage male
horror fan such horror publications offer a more legitimate form of
pornography than the overt soft-core porn publications.' It should be noted
that the Femmes Fatales magazine is sold in the Forbidden Planet chain of
shops in sealed plastic bags alongside fetish magazines such as Skin 2,
meaning shoppers are unable to browse through them in the shop (echoing
the way pornography is made inaccessible in newsagents).
Fiiire A4.3: Cover of Femme Falales (Winter l994
In addition, the publishers of The Dark Side act as the UK distributors of
Scream Queens Illustrated, a title only available by mail order. An
advertisement for this title illustrates its semi-pornographic nature:
The breast-selling [sic] edition is packed full of stunning pics of
popular horror heroines like Stacy Warfel, Veronica Carruthers
and Melissa Ann Moore, and for those intellectuals among you
who like to read something as well as dribble over the pictures,
you'll find blood-curdling terror tales, film news, star interviews,
comments from John (Night of the Living Dead) Russo and Fred
Olen Ray, and a whole lot more! Dozens of new pictures, plus an
exclusive profile of that Eurobabe extraordinaire, Black
251
Emmanuelle herself, Laura Gemser. Scream Oueens Illustrated is
a must for all horror fans who like a bit of cheesecake with their
thrills. This magazine is simply too hot for UK shops, which is
why we have to mail it.
The fact that an interview with an actress from a soft-porn film, Black
Emmanuelle, is seen as suitable material for this title indicates that the horror
angle might be an excuse for producing a semi-pornographic magazine or it
may reflect the fact that the low-budget exploitation films themselves are seen
as semi-pornographic by their makers and/or audience. 2 That the editor of fl
Dark Side, Allan Bryce, also edits a soft-porn video magazine (The Late
Show) and introduces erotic films on a satellite porn channel, underlines the
links, at least in this case.
That such an environment surrounds the horror publishing industry means
the magazines themselves are unlikely to appeal to many female horror fans
and may actively deter them from buying and reading such magazines. A
letter published in Cinefantastigue vol 22, no.5 (April 1992) shortly after the
launch of Femmes Fatales expressed such concern from one female reader.
I must assume most of your readers are male. I myself am not and
was therefore greatly offended by the advertisement for your new
Femme Fatales magazine. How utterly classless. The magazine is
unprofessional: you are striving to make an extra buck ... off
women's bodies. Femmes Fatales ... is an insult to the
intelligence of your readers. Cinefantastique will certainly never
attain any form of respect from its more intelligent readers and
certainly not from any of the best directors you so greatly admire.
The editorial reply to this complaint is also revealing, ignoring the issue of
sexism and defending the magazine against the accusation of
unprofessionalism alone, as well as putting down the writer of the original
1etter
Femmes Fatales will display the same standards of quality and
professionalism readers have come to expect from
Cinefantastigue. Obviously, you're not the market for our new
publication, but wait till you see the first issue before you judge
us. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
How this aspect of horror fan publishing is viewed by the female horror film
viewers is explored in chapter 8.
One possible source which can be used to verify the assumption that horror
publications are aimed at a male readership and not widely consumed by
women are the letters pages in the professionally published magazines and
any additional reader's reviews and other contributions to fanzines. If the
252
readership of horror magazines and fanzines is largely male, the magazines
themselves will not provide a good source of useful data for this study. A
content analysis may, however, provide scope for assessing specific fan
interests and discourses and where these differ from the interests, discourses
and viewing preferences of the women in the study.
Stacey (1994a, pp. 55-6) describes the methodological problems with an
examination of readers' letters in audience research. In her survey of film
magazines of the 1940s and 1950s, she states that readers' letters are written
in response to editorial material in the magazines (articles and features) and
are therefore constrained by the agenda of both the editorial staff at the
magazine and the film industry itself in the form of 'discourses of stardom'.
Letter writers, therefore, tend to keep to the legitimate topics thus defined.
This is true also for the letters pages of the horror magazines studied - the
majority of letters are written in reference to articles in previous issues of the
magazines and these mainly cover current films classified by the writers/fans
as horror (but which may not always fit accepted definitions of the genre) or
deal with classics of the genre. However, some letters do refer to favourite
topics the writers think the magazine ought to cover and many writers are
liberal with their own opinions, very often disagreeing with reviews in the
magazine or giving opinions of films and books not covered by the magazine
concerned. In the context of this research, this may simply indicate that horror
fans generally are merely being vocal about the genre they love (the fact that
so many amateur magazines are published by fans with fans themselves
contributing most, if not all, the editorial content indicates that this audience
group is extremely motivated to voice their own opinions; many professional
magazine writers are also fans who have turned professional). However, it
may well be that certain opinions are regarded as more legitimate within
horror fandom (and not just within the pages of the professional
publications). There is very little criticism, for instance, of representations of
gender, class or race in horror films or discussion of the violence (either
generally or against women) presented in many examples of the genre (it may
be that the predominantly young male readership is not aware of these issues
or that it chooses to ignore them). It does seem that whilst the opinions given
by readers in the letters pages are varied and often contentious, the subject
range is fairly narrow.
253
Another fear is that letters printed may not be genuine. The fact that horror
fans are an extremely active and vocal fan community may reduce this
problem somewhat, but a more specific problem arises. Whilst many writers
(especially to the fanzines), are regulars, having letters published often and
frequent1, letters which are obviously and deliberately faked or exaggerated
are common, though this usually seems to be faking on the part of the writer
rather than the editor. The third problem, as Stacey highlights, is that the
letters published may well not be representative of the opinions of all those
who write to the magazine or of the readership as a whole - letters expressing
certain feelings and opinions may be suppressed by the editor, or readers may
feel unable or unwilling to write in about certain taboo topics in the first place.
Although this may not be true for the male readership (letters expressing
minority or alternative viewpoints are frequently published), female readers
may feel marginalised for the reasons outlined above. Certainly the horror
film audience as a whole is not well represented, only those members of the
audience devoted enough to the subject to regularly purchase the magazines
(fanzines have to be purchased via mail order and even the professional
publications are often stocked only in specialist outlets such as comic and
science fiction book shops4) will be represented.
Stacey considers that analysis of readers' letters should not be dismissed
entirely (as Staiger, 1986, has suggested) and they are examined here to give
some background to the discussion of horror fandom. There remains,
though, one outstanding problem for this work which shares aspects of all the
problems mentioned above. This study is concerned with female viewers, and
as has been shown above the publications under scrutiny are very much
aimed at a male readership and may be for that very reason off-putting to any
female readers. As stated above, most horror magazines, for example
Fangoria, concentrate very heavily on the special effects industry (including a
large proportion of advertising either selling masks and props or training
material or courses for budding horror film-makers to do it themselves) and
this seems to be an area of interest aimed mainly at a male audience. Overall,
the letters pages are invariably dominated by male readers, see table A4.1,
and confirm this bias.
Of course, the proportion of letters from women published should not be
taken as a reflection of the readership profile of these magazines. The low
number of letters from a small number of issues in some cases means that
254
Table A4. 1: Horror magazine letter contributions
Any discrepancy in total numbers of letters is due to letter writers of unknown
*One additional letter was from a group of people, 4 of whom were women, 6 male.t 
The early editions of Shivers examined did not contain letters pages. Only one recent
issue had a letters column contaiiiing only two letters.
these figures are not statistically significant (the figure for Shivers, in
particular, should not be taken as representative). Overall, around 8.4% of
letters are written by women (9.2% in mass market magazines and 5.1% in
fanzines).5 It may simply be the case that males are more active in terms of
their participation in this form of horror fandom (especially in light of the fact
that the magazines are aimed principally at them). The letters are also selected
by the editors of these publications and they may be selectively influencing
the proportions either by ignoring letters from women, or even publishing all
the letters they receive from women in an attempt to redress the balance. Other
factors may influence the activities of women in this form of fandom. The
letters in Shock Xpress, for example, are commented on in an extremely
insulting manner; it must be assumed that only naive individuals or those
willingly prepared to be so demeaned do in fact write to the magazine. The
magazine Starlog is included in table A4.1 to provide a point of comparison;
this magazine is primarily concerned with science fiction, although it also
provides coverage of some horror and fantasy films and fiction. The large
number of letters from women are dominated by comments about the
television programmes Ouantum Leap, Star Trek and Beauty and the Beast -
all of which have large female fan followings (see Jenkins, 1992). This
reflects the large numbers of female fans of science fiction, but also perhaps
the magazine's concern with not alienating female readers in the way that
some horror magazines seem to. It might be expected that science fiction
255
magazines such as Starlog are more widely read by female horror viewers,
however, this is not verified by the survey respondents - see chapter 7. It
should be noted that some of the magazines are American and will reflect a
predominantly American readership. Nevertheless, the difference between the
US and UK horror magazines in the proportions of letters from women (17
per cent and 12 per cent respectively) is not significant.
The relatively high percentage of letters from women to Hammer Horror
may reflect a higher female readership since the largest number of responses
to calls for participants in the horror magazines also came from Hammer
Horror readers and it was mentioned by many respondents as being the only
horror magazine they particularly liked (see chapter 8). This reflects the liking
for Hammer films reported by the survey respondents (see chapter 5).
Despite the low number of letters from women, it was still thought
appropriate to consider the contents of the letters from women since these
may reveal some of the ways in which women think about the genre or
participate in fan culture. This information (together with general information
on fan discourses and observation of discussions on the horror mailing list)
was used in refining and modifying the hypotheses investigated in the
subsequent audience study.
In addition to concern about sexism generally (as illustrated by the example
from Cinefantastiuue above), violence against women as portrayed in horror
films or as reported in the magazines is the commonest issue of concern to
female letter writers. In the letters from women in Samhain, for example, one
is from someone protesting about coverage of 'most memorable screen rape'
in an earlier issue. Another letter, this time in the magazine Slaughterhouse, is
a protest against the depictions of violence against women and children in the
genre. Another concern is an overemphasis on special effects. For example,
one letter to The Dark Side underlines the emphasis such magazines place on
this aspect of horror film-making and illustrates that the magazines cater for
only one sort of horror fan (the young male): 'I am often put off buying
horror mags because most of them seem to think "the gorier the better," and I
don't agree with that at all. I love the old guys, the silent days, and the early
talkies.' This attitude (in particular, a dislike for gore) is confirmed by the
research into specific tastes of the female fans presented in chapters 5 to 7.
Of the letters written by women in Samhain, only one comments on either the
magazine or horror films in the fashion typical for this magazine: the writer
256
describes her own preferences, commenting on Hammer films and Dracula
films specifically (she gives her age as thirty-six). Of those letters from horror
fans in other magazines, one writer in Slaughterhouse identities herself a
'hard core horror fan' (and a thirty-year-old). Two of the women writing to
The Dark Side are teenagers (a fifteen and a seventeen-year-old). The samples
are far too small though, to be any indication of an age range of female
readers, but they do indicate that female readers are wider in age range than
the accepted audience profile.6
Other letters in Samhain are not from fans but from writers with specific
professional interests in the genre; one is from the senior fiction editor of Pan
Books commenting on a review of the 30th Pan Book of Horror Stories in an
previous issue and another is from a student asking for questionnaire
respondents for a undergraduate dissertation project on the Nightmare on Elm
Street series of films (although she also specifies that she is a fan of horror
films). This breakdown of subject matter would seem to indicate very
particular reasons for women to write letters to the magazines outside of the
usual comments on the magazine or the horror genre, though even these seem
to indicate a liking for specific forms of horror (vampire films and Hammer
films). Letters pages of these magazines usually also contain fake or
inflammatory material which very rarely comes from women. One letter in
Samhain from an individual giving their name as Dementia contains indecent
suggestions about what she would like to do with the editor of the magazine.
Since this letter is given under a pseudonym and may even conceivably be a
joke from a male reader it is not considered relevant. However, it does
highlight the problem of fake/joke letters in these magazines.
Overall, the letters reveal that horror film audiences are only too willing to
talk about their own tastes in horror and take great pleasure in giving their
own opinions about the subject and individual films. However, they do not
seem to be an arena in which women can or do voice their opinions very
frequently, quite possible because they are so male dominated. Much the
same situation exists in the American publications.
There were two particular instances of note in the letters pages examined in
the magazine Fangoria. In 1991, Fangona produced a special issue focusing
on women working in horror as writers, film directors and screenplay writers
(though almost half the pages were given over to coverage of the scream
257
queens). A letter published in the September issue praises the magazine for
doing so:
Just a quick note to let you know how much I liked your issue on
women and horror. I am female, 24 years old and considered
quite intelligent, yet some of my friends don't understand my
interest in the genre. It's refreshing to read about females such as
Lisa Tuttle and Edithe Swenson. ... Being an aspiring writer of
horror and a hard-core fan, I wanted to thank you for spotlighting
the women in the field.
The main comment worth noting here, though, is the attitude the writer has
encountered that a liking for horror (in a woman) is seen as somehow
antithetical to intelligence. This may be an additional factor in the reasons why
women tend to hide their liking for the genre. This letter, however, was the
only one published which commented on the special issue and it seems to
have been a token attempt at focusing on women (which also compounds the
marginalisation and virtual invisibility of women within horror
fandom).Some male readers do seemed concerned about the lack of coverage
of women working in the genre, though this is tempered by an interest in
scream queens. In October 1992, a letter commenting on a readers poll stated:
I've been a horror fan all my life, and I agree that everyone in the
Fangoria Hall of Fame deserves to be there. But where are the
women of horror? Come on, genre fans, there are many females
who deserve the honour. How about director Mary Lambert or
writers Anne Rice and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - and don't forget
such great actresses as Jill Schoelen, Linnea Quigley and Barbara
Steele. These women have done a lot for the genre, and deserve
the honour of being in the Hall of Fame. Don't forget the women
of the horror world.
These letters, plus the fact of a single special issue focusing on women,
would seem to indicate a male hegemony at work in the horror publishing
industry mitigated by an interest in these issues from both male and female
readers.
It is not known whether the female readers are consumers of the
merchandise associated with horror and advertised in the magazines, nor what
quantity of various items women purchase, but it seems likely that the masks,
costumes and make-up courses which constitute the bulk of the advertising
are aimed at young males (this fits the male-dominated readership profiles of
the magazines themselves, though a few respondents in the study do mention
building monster kits when young).
Such consumers may be too embarrassed to purchase pornographic magazines or not wish
to be found in possession of such material, whereas it may be more acceptable for them to
258
buy and possess a horror magazine. One can imagine a scenario where a parent may be
unwilling to investigate a magazine with a cover depicting a gruesome or bloody monster
further. Whether young men 'use' such magazines in the same way as pornographic
magazines is not known and not investigated further here since it is outside the scope of
this study.
2 Many AlP/Roger Corman low budget horror exploitation or sexploitation films, for
example, include erotic or soft-porn sequences. In Katt Shea Ruben's Dance of the Damned
in which a stripper is stalked and seduced by a vampire there are several scenes which
include explicit shots of her night club routines. Barbara Peeters has also complained that
Corman had explicit sexual scenes between the monster and the female victim added to her
Humanoids From the Dee p (an exploitation version of The Creature From the Black
Laaoon).
fanzines in particular seem to have regular letter writers and long-running arguments
arise on the letters pages between correspondents over several issues. Fanzines also
regularly publish letters from other fanzine editors and from the people written about in the
magazines (often authors of horror fiction). The latter is likely to be an attempt to raise the
standing of the 'nine and the editor in the fan community.
shops also appear to be frequented mainly by male fans. No figures are available,
but observation seems to suggest that few women visit the shops. Observed numbers of
female shoppers ranged from 5%-15% during a visits to Forbidden Planet branches in
Edinburgh and Glasgow.
5 Leuers in Starlog are not included in these figures as it is primarily a science-fiction
magazine.
6 Jtters indicate that the male readership is similarly wider in age.
259
Bibliography
len Ang, Watci
(London:
Maggie Anwell, 'Lolita Meets the Werewolf: The Compan y of Wolves' in
Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment (eds.), The Female Gaze:
Women as Viewers of Popular Culture (Seattle: The Real Comet Press,
1989), pp. 76-85.
Michael A. Arnzen, 'Who's Laughing Now?... The Postmodem Splatter
Film', Journal of Popular Film and Television vol. 21 no. 4, 1994, pp.
176-184.
Nina Auerbach, Our Vampires. Ourselves (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1995).
Bruce A. Austin, The Film Audience: An International Bibliography of
Research (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1983).
Camille Bacon-Smith, Enterprising Women: TV Fandom and the Creation of
Popular Myth (Philadelphia: University of pennsylvania Press, 1992).
Sunny Bains, 'Star Trek: The Nerd's Charter', New Scientist, December
1991.
Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1965).
J. B. Barclay, Viewing Tastes of Adolescents in Cinema and Television
(Glasgow: Scottish Educational Film Association and Scottish Film
Council, 1961).
Martin Barker, 'The Newson Report: A Case Study in "Common Sense" in
Martin Barker and Julian Petley (eds.), Ill Effects: The Media/Violence
Debate (London: Routledge, 1997) pp. 12-3 1.
Martin Barker and Julian Petley (eds.), Ill Effects: The Media/Violence Debate
(London: Routledge, 1997).
Roland Barthes, 'Structural Analysis of Narratives', in Stephen Heath (ed.),
Image, Music. Text (London, 1978).
Jeanine Basinger, A Woman's View: How Holl ywood Spoke to Women
1930-1960 (London: Chatto and Windus, 1993).
Sandra L. Bern, 'The Measurement of Psychological Androgeny', Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Ps ychology vol. 42 no. 2, 1974, pp. 155-162.
a., 'Gender Schema Theory: A Cognitive Account of Sex Typing',
Psychological Review vol. 88 no. 4, 1981, pp. 354-364.
b., 'The BSRI and Gender Schema Theory: A Reply to Spence
and Helmreich', Psychological Review vol. 88 no. 4, 1981, pp. 369-
371.
Harry M. Benshoff, Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the horror
fjjj (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997).
C.F. Bentley, 'The Monster in the Bedroom: Sexual Symbolism in Bram
Stoker's Dracula', Literature and Psvchlogv vol. 22 no. 1, 1972, pp.
27-34.
Rhona J. Berenstein, 'Spectatorship-as-Drag: The Act of Viewing and Classic
Horror Cinema', in Linda Williams (ed.), Viewin g Positions: Ways of
260
Seeing Film (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995),
pp. 231-269.
Attack of the Leading Ladies: Gender, Sexuality, and
Spectatorship in Classic Horror Cinema (New Yoric Columbia
University Press, 1996).
Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance
of Fairy Tales (London: Penguin, 1988).
Susan J. Blackmore, 'Probability Misjudgement and Belief in the Paranormal:
A Newspaper Survey', British Journal of Psychology vol. 88 no. 4,
November 1997, pp. 683-689.
Pete Boss, 'Vile Bodies and Bad Medicine', Screen vol. 27 no. 1, Spring
1986, pp. 14-24.
The Broadcasting Standards Council, Young People and the Media (research
working paper, 1996).
Philip Brophy, 'Horrality - The Textuality of Contemporary Horror Films',
Screen vol. 27 no. 1, Spring 1986, pp. 2-13.
Mary Ellen Brown (ed.), Television and Women's Culture: The Politics of
the Popular (London: Sage Publications, 1990).
Soap Opera and Women's Talk: The Pleasures of Resistance
(Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 1994).
Rosalind Brunt, 'Engaging with the Populan Audiences for Mass Culture and
What to Say About Them', in Lawrence Grosberg, Cary Nelson and
Paula Treichier (eds.), Cultural Studies (New York: Routledge,
Chapman and Hall, 1992), pp. 69-76.
Jennings Bryant and Doif Ziliman (eds.), Responding to the Screen:
Reception and Reaction Processes (New Jersey/London: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 1991).
David Buckingham, Moving Images: Understanding Children's Emotional
Responses to Television (Manchesten Manchester University Press,
1996).
Lynda K. Bundtzen, 'Monstrous Mothers: Medusa, Grendel and now Alien',
Film quarterly vol. 40 no. 3, 1987, pp. 11-17.
Craig William Bums, 'It's That Time of the Month: Representations of the
Goddess in the Work of Clive Barker', Journal of Popular Culture vol.
27 no. 3, Winter 1993, pp. 35-40.
Jackie Byars, 'Gazes/Voices/Power: Expanding Psychoanalysis for Feminist
Film and Television Theory' in E. Deidre Pribram (ed.), Female
Spectators: Looking at Film and Television (London: Verso, 1988), pp.
110- 13 1.
David Cantor and Saw Associates,
Chamber of Honors) (survey report for Madam Tussauds, London,
March 1996).
Joanne Cantor and Mary Beth Oliver, 'Developmental Differences in
Responses to Horror', in James B. Weaver and Ron Tambourim
(eds.), Horror Films: Current Research on Audience Preferences and
Reactions (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996), pp. 63-80.
261
Joanne Cantor and B.J. Wilson, 'Helping Children Cope with Frightening
Media Presentations', Current Psychology: Research and Reviews no.
7, 1988, pp. 58-75.
Noel Carroll, The Philosophy of Horror or Paradoxes of The Heart (London:
Routledge, 1990).
'Disgust or Fascination: A response to Susan Fagin',
Philosophical Studies vol. 65 no. 1-2, 1992, pp. 85-90.
'Horror, Helplessness, and Vulnerability: A Reply to Robert
Solomon', Philosophy and Literature vol. 17 no. 1, 1993, pp. 110-
118.
'Enjoying Horror Fictions: A Reply to Gaut', British Journal of
Aesthetics vol. 35 no. 1, 1995, pp. 67-72.
Sue-Ellen Case, 'Tracking the Vampire', Differences: A Journal of Feminist
Cultural Studies, vol 3, no 2 (Summer, 1991), pp 1-20.
Anita Chaudhuri, 'Guardian Women, Sidelines', The Guardian, 29 April
1996, 02 p. 7.
Children's Literature Research Centre, Young People's Reading at the End of
the Century (unpublished report for Roehampton Institute, 1996).
David Chute, 'Outlaw Cinema: Its Rise and Fall', Film Comment vol. 19 no.
5, Sep-Oct 1983, pp. 13-14.
Susan J. Clerc, 'DDEB, GATB, MPPB, and Ratboy: The X-Files' Media
Fandom, Online and Off', in David Laveiy, Angela Hague and Maria
Cartwright (eds.), Deny All Knowledge: Reading the X-Files (London:
Faber and Faber, 1996), pp. 36-51.
Cheryl Cline, 'Essays from Bitch: The Women's Rock Newsletter with Bite',
in Lisa A. Lewis (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and
Popular Media (London: Routledge, 1992), pp. 69-83.
Carol Clover, 'Her Body, Himself - Gender in the Slasher Film',
Representations no. 20, 1987, pp. 187-228.
a. 'Getting Even: Rape and Revenge in I Spit On Your Grave and
The Accused', Sight and Sound vol. 2 no. 1, 1992, pp. 16-18.
b. Men. Women and Chainsaws (London: BR, 1992).
Clark Collis, 'Natural Born Killers', Empire, March 1995, p. 33.
Jonathan Lake Crane, Terror and Everyday Life: Singular Moments in the
History of the Horror Film (Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, 1994).
Barbara Creed, 'Horror and the Monstrous-Feminine: An Imaginary
Abjection' in James Donald (ed.), Fantas y and the Cinema (London:
British Film Institute, 1989), pp. 63-90.
'Gynesis, Postmodernism and the Science Fiction Horror Film', in
Annette Kuhn (ed.), Alien Zone (London: Verso, 1990), pp. 214-218.
The Monstrous-Feminine: Film. Feminism. Psychoanalysis
(London, New York: Routledge, 1993).
Andrew Culf, 'Censor Blames Hollywood', The Guardian, December 12
1996, p. 9.
Guy Cumberbatch and Gary Wood Phantasmagoria: a Surve y of Computer
Game Players (report for Sierra On-Line, 1995).
262
Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life (Berkeley: University of
Californis Press, 1984).
Norman Denzin, The Research Act: A Theoretical Introduction to Social
Research (Chicago: Aldine, 1970).
Charles Deny, 'More Dark Dreams: Some Notes on the Recent Horror Film',
in Gregory A. Wailer (ed.), American Honors: Essa ys on the Modem
Horror Film (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987),
pp. 162-174.
Brenda Dervin, 'The Potential Contribution of Feminist Scholarship to the
Field of Communication', Journal of Communication. Autumn 1987,
pp. 107-20.
Maiy Devereaux, 'Oppressive Texts, Resisting Readers and the Gendered
Spectator The New Aesthetics', The Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism vol. 48 no. 4, Fall, 1990, pp. 337-347.
Morris Dickstein, 'The Aesthetics of Fright' in Barry Keith Grant (ed.),
Planks of Reason (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press,
1980), pp. 65-78.
Vera Dika, 'The Stalker Film, 1978-81', in Gregory A. Wailer (ed.),
American Honors: Essays on the Modern Horror Film (Urbana and
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987) pp. 86-101.
(London/Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1990).
Mary Ann Doane, 'The "Woman's Film": Possession and Address', in Mary
Ann Doane, Particia Mellencamp and Linda Williams (eds), Revision:
Feminist Essays in Film Analysis (Washington, D.C.: American Film
Institute, 1984), pp. 67-82.
The Desire to Desire: The Woman's Film of the 1940s (London:
Macmillan, 1987).
'The Economy of Desire: The Commodity Form in/of the Cinema',
quarterly Review of Film and Video no. 11, 1989, pp. 23-33.
David Docherty, David Morrison and Michael Tracey, The Last Picture
Show: Britain's Chanin Film Audience (London: BFI Publishing,
1987).
James Donald (ed), a., Fantas y and the Cinema (London: British Film
Institute, 1989).
b., 'The Fantastic, the Sublime and the Popular, or What's At
Stake in Vampire Films?' in James Donald (ed), Fantas y and the
Cinema (London: British Film Institute, 1989), pp. 233-252.
Ellen Draper, 'Zombie Women: When the Gaze is Male', Wide An gle vol. 10
no. 13, 1988, pp. 52-62.
Norine Dresser, American Vampires: Fans. Victims. Practitioners (New
York: W.W. Norton, 1989).
Jeanne Dubino, 'The Cinderella Complex: Romance Fiction, Patriarchy and
Capitalism', Journal of Popular Culture vol. 27 no. 3, Winter 1993,
pp. 103-118.
Roger Ebert, 'Why Movie Audiences Aren't Safe Any More', American
jji, March 1981, pp. 54-56.
Umberto Eco, Travels in Hvperrealitv: Essays, (London: Picador, 1987).
263
Angie Errigo, 'Natural Born Killers', Premiere, March 1995, p. 14.
Caroline Evans and Minna Thornton, Women and Fashion: A New Look
(London: Quartet Books, 1989).
Walter Evans, 1984, 'Monster Movies: A Sexual Theory' in Barry Keith
Grant (ed.), Planks of Reason (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow
Press, 1980), pp. 53-64.
Susan L. Feagin, 'Monsters, Disgust and Fascination', Philosophical Studies
vol. 65 no. 1-2, 1992, pp. 75-84.
Judith Fetterley, The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American
Fiction (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978).
Nigel G. Fielding and Jane L. Fielding, Linking Data (Beverley Hills: Sage,
1986).
Lucy Fischer, Cinematernity: Film. Motherhood. Genre (Princeton, New
Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1996).
Lucy Fischer and Marcia Landy, 'Eyes of Laura Mars: A Binocular Critique'
in Gregory A. Walter (ed.), American Horrors: Essa ys on the Modern
Horror Film (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987),
pp. 86-101.
John Fletcher, 'Primal Scenes and the Female Gothic: Rebecca and Gaslight',
Screen vol. 36 no. 4, Winter 1995, pp. 341-370.
Mary Magaret Fonow and Judith A. Cook (eds.), Beyond Methodology:
Feminist Scholarshi p as Lived Research (Bloomington, Indianapolis:
Indiana University Press, 1991).
Sigmund Freud, 'The Uncanny' in The Pelican Freud Library vol. 14- Art
and Literature (London: Penguin, 1988), pp 339-376.
Freyling,
Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula (London: Faber and
Faber, 1991)
Ed Gallafent, 'Black Satin: Fantasy, Murder and the Couple in Gasli ght and
Rebecca', Screen vol. 29 no. 3, Autumn 1988, pp. 82-105.
Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment (eds.), The Female Gaze:
Women as Viewers of Popular Culture (Seattle: The Real Comet Press,
1989).
Berys Gaut, 'The Paradox of Horror', The British Journal of Aesthetics vol.
33 no. 4, October 1993, pp. 333-345.
Ken Gelder, Reading the Vampire (London: Routledge: 1994).
Anthony Giddens, The Constitution of Society (Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Polity, 1984).
Christine Gledhill, 'Genre', in Pam Cook (ed.), The Cinema Book (London:
BR, 1985), pp 58-64.
'Pleasurable Negotiations' in E. Deidre Pribram (ed.), Female
Spectators: Looking at Film and Television (London: Verso, 1988), pp.
64-89.
Barry Keith Grant (ed.), Planks of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film
(Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press, 1984).
264
(ed.), The Film Genre Reader (Austin: University of Texas Press,
1986).
'Taking Back The Ni ght of the Livin g Dead: George Romero,
Feminism and the Horror Film', Wide Angle vol. 14 no. 1, January
1992, pp. 64-76.
Jostein Gripsrud, The Dynasty Years: Hollywood Television and Critical
Media Studies (London: Routledge, 1995).
M. Gunderson and L. Muszynski, Women and Labour Market Poverty
(Ottawa Canadian Advisoiy Council on the Status of Women, 1990).
Judith Halberstam, Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technolog y of
Monsters (Durham, North Carolina and London: Duke University
Press, 1995).
Stuart Hall 'Encoding/Decoding', in Stuart Hall et al. (eds.), Culture, media.
language (London: Hutchinson, 1980), pp. 128-138.
Leo A. Handel, Hollywood Looks At Its Audience: A Report of Film
Audience Research (New York: Arno Press, 1976).
Phil Hardy, The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction (London: Aurum
Press, 1991).
Phil Hardy, The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror (London: Aurum Press,
1993).
Stephen Heath, 'Joan Rivi?re and the Masquerade' in Victor Burgin, James
Donald & Corn Kaplan (eds.), Formations of Fantasy (London:
Methuen, 1986), pp. 45-6 1.
Annette Hill, Shocking Entertainment: Viewer Response to Violent Movies
(Luton: University of Luton Press, 1997).
Andrew Hindes, 'Scream 2 Showcases Demographic Power', Variety, 16
December 1997.
Dorothy Hobson, 'Soap Operas at Work' in Seiter, Borchers, Kreutzner and
Warth (eds.), Remote Control: Television. Audiences and Cultural
Power (London: Routledge, pp. 150-67).
C. Hoffner and Joanne Cantor, 'Developmental Differences in Responses to a
Television Character's Appearance and Behaviour', Developmental
Psychology no. 21, 1985, pp. 1065-1074.
Karen Hollinger, 'The Monster as Woman: Two Generations of Cat People',
Film Criticism vol. 13 no. 2, Winter 1989, pp. 36-46.
bell hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation (Boston: South End,
1992).
Peter Hutchings, Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film (Manchester
University Press, 1993).
Rosemary Jackson, Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion
(London/NewYork: Methuen, 1981).
Mark Jancovich, Horror (London: Batsford, 1992).
Rational Fears: Anerican Horror in the 1950s (Manchestec
Manchester University Press, 1996).
Henry Jenkins, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture
(New York/London: Routledge, 1992).
265
Deborah Jermyn, 'Rereading the Bitches From Hell: A Feminist
Appropriation of the Female Psychopath', Screen vol. 37 no. 3,
Autumn 1996, pp. 251-267.
Judith E. Johnson, 'Women and Vampires: Nightmare or Utopia?', fl
Kenyon Review vol. 15 no. 1, Winter 1993, pp. 72-80.
Lynne Joyrich, 'All That Television Allows: TV Melodrama, Postmodernism
and Consumer Culture' in Lynn Spigel and Denise Mann (eds.), Private
Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer (Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 1992), pp. 227-252.
E. Ann Kaplan, Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera (London:
Routledge, 1993).
Walter Kendrick, The Thrill of Fean 250 years of Scary Entertainment (New
York: Grove Weidenfield, 1991).
David Kerekes and David Slater, Killing for Culture: An Illustrated History of
the Death Film From Mondo To Snuff (London: Annihilation Press,
1994).
Peter Kramer, 1998, 'A Powerful Cinema-going Force: Hollywood and
Female Audiences of the 1990s', paper presented at Hollywood and I
Spectators: the Reception of American Films. 1895-1995, University
College London, February 1998.
Julia Kristeva, 'Ellipsis on Dread and the Specular Seduction', Wide Angle
vol. 3 no. 3, 1979, pp. 42-47.
The Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1982).
Tanya Krzywinska, 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci?' in Paul Burston and Cohn
Richardson (eds.), A Oueer Romance - Lesbians. Gay Men and
Popular Culture (London: Routledge, 1995), pp. 99-110.
Annette Kuhn, 'Women's Genres', Screen vol. 25 Pt. 1, winter 1984, PP.
18-28.
Women's Pictures: Feminism and Cinema (London: Pandora,
1994).
Teresa de Lauretis, Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory. Film, and
Fiction (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1987).
'Aesthetic and Feminist Theory: Rethinking Women's Cinema' in
E. Deidre Pribram (ed), Female Spectators: Looking at Film and
Television (London: Verso, 1988), PP. 174-195.
Charles Leershen, 'Star Trek's Nine Lives', Newsweek, 22 December 1986,
P.66
Henri Lefebvre, Everyday Life in the Modern World (London: Penguin,
1971).
Lisa A. Lewis (ed.), a., The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular
Media, London & New Yoric Routledge, 1992.
b., 'Something More Than Love: Fan Stories on Film' in Lisa A.
Lewis (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media
(London: Routledge, 1992), PP. 135-62.
Shelley Stamp Lindsey, 'Horror, Femininity, and Carrie's Monstrous
Puberty', Journal of Film and Video vol. 43 no. 4, Winter 1991, Pp.
33-44.
266
Myra Macdonald, Respresenting Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular
Media (London: Edward Arnold, 1995)
Jennifer Mason, 'Linking Qualitiative and Quantitative Data Analysis' in Alan
Bryman and Robert G. Burgess (eds.), Anal yzing qualitative Data
(London: Routledge, 1994), pp. 89-110.
J.P. Mayer, British Cinemas and Their Audiences: Sociological Studies
(London: Dennis Dobson, 1948).
Judith Mayne, 'The Female Audience and the Feminist Critic' in Janet Todd
(ed.), Women and Film (New York: Holmes and Meier, 1988), pp. 22-
40.
Cinema and Spectatorship (LondonlNew York: Routledge, 1993).
Michael Medved, Hollywood vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on
Traditional Values (London: Harper Collins, 1992).
Ben Mitchell, 'Big Knight: Sir Anthony Hopkins', Neon, March 1998, p. 9.
Tania Modleski, 'The Terror of Pleasure: The Contemporary Horror Film and
Postmodern Theory' in Tania Modleski (ed.), Studies in Entertainment:
Critical Approaches to Mass Culture (Bloomington & Indianapolis:
Indiana University Press, 1986), pp. 155-166.
Feminism without Women: Culture and Criticism in a
'Postfeminist' Age (London: Routledge, 1991).
Ellen Moers, Literary Women (London, 1977).
Anne Ross Muir, 'The Status of Women Working in Film and Television' in
Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment (eds.), The Female Gaze:
Women as Viewers of Popular Culture (Seattle: The Real Comet Press,
1989).
Laura Mulvey, 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' in Constance Penley
(ed.), Feminism and Film Theory (London: BR, 1988), pp 57-68.
'Afterthoughts on "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" inspired
by Duel in the Sun' in Constance Penley (ed.), Feminism and Film
Theory (London: BR, 1988), pp. 69-79.
'Changes: Thoughts on Myth, Narrative and 1-listorical
Experience', History Workshop Journal no. 23, 1987, pp. 3-19.
'British Feminist Film Theory's Female Spectators: Presence and
Absence', Camera Obscura no. 20/21, 1989, pp. 68-8 1.
Stephen Neale, Genre (London: BR, 1980).
Kim Newman, 'The Pleasures of Horror', Sight and Sound London Film
Festival Supplement. October 1992, pp. 16-18.
Virginia Nightingale, 'Women as Audiences' in Mary Ellen Brown (ed.),
Television and Women's Culture: The Politics of the Popular (London:
Sage Publications, 1990), pp. 25-36.
Studying Audiences: The Shock of the Real (London: Routledge,
1996).
Virginia Olesen, Nellie Droes, Diane Hatton, Nan Chico and Christine
Priestly, 'Analyzing Together. Recollections of a Team Approach' in
Alan Bryman and Robert 0. Burgess (eds.), Anal yzing qualitative Data
(London: Routledge, 1994), pp. 111-128.
267
Mary Beth Oliver, a., 'Adolescents' Enjoyment of Graphic Horror Effects of
Viewers' Attitudes and Portrayals of Victim', Communication Research
vol. 20 no. 1, February 1993, pp. 30-50.
b., 'Exploring the Paradox of the Enjoyment of Sad Films',
Human Communication Research vol. 19 no. 3, March 1993, pp. 315-
342.
'Contributions of Sexual Portrayals to Viewers' Responses to
Graphic Horror', Journal of Broadcastin g and Electronic Media vol. 38
no. 1, 1994, pp. 1-17.
Constance Penley, a., 'Brownian Motion: Women, Tactics, and
Technology', in Constance Penley and Andrew Ross (eds.),
Technoculture (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991).
b., 'Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Study of Popular Culture'
in Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson and Paula Treichier (eds.),
Cultural Studies: Now and in the Future (New York: Routledge,
Chapman and Hall, 1991).
Isabel Cristina Pinedo, Recreational Terror Women and the Pleasures of
Horror Film Viewing (Albany: State University of New York Press,
1997).
Ted Poihemus, Street Style (London: Thames and Hudson, 1994).
Marilyn Porter, 'Second-hand Ethnography: Some Problems in Analyzing a
Feminist Project' in Alan Bryman and Robert G. Burgess (eds.),
Analyzing Qualitative Data (London: Routledge, 1994), pp. 67-88.
Anna Powell, 'Blood on the Borders - Near Dark and Blue Steel', Screen
vol. 35 no. 2, Summer 1994, pp. 136-156.
S.S. Prawer, Cali gari's Children: The Film as Tale of Terror (New York: Da
Capo Press, 1980).
E. Deidre Pribram (ed.), Female Spectators: Looking at Film and Television
(London: Verso, 1988).
Lorraine Radford, 'Pleading For Time: Justice For Battered Women Who
Kill', in Helen Birch (ed.), Moving Targets: Women. Murder and
Representation (London: Virago, 1993), pp. 172-197.
Janice Radway, Reading the Romance: Women. Patriarchy and Popular
Literature (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1984).
'Identifying Ideological Seams: Mass Culture, Analytical Method,
and Political Practice', Communications no. 9, 1986, pp. 93-123.
'Reception Study: Ethnography and the Problems of Dispersed
Audiences and Nomadic Subjects', Cultural Studies vol. 2 no. 3, 1988,
pp. 359-376.
Jimmie L. Reeves, Mark C. Rogers and Michael Epstein, 'Rewriting
Popularity: The Cult Files', in David Lavery, Angela Hague and Maria
Cartwnght (eds.), Deny All Knowledge: Reading the X-Files (London:
Faber and Faber, 1996), pp. 22-35.
Jeffrey Richards and Dorothy Sheridan (eds.), Mass Observation at the
Movies (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987).
Joan Rivi?re, 'Womanliness as a Masquerade' in Victor Burgin, James
Donald & Corn Kaplan (eds.), Formations of Fantas y (London:
Methuen, 1986), pp. 35-44.
268
Will H. Rocket, Devouring Whirlwind: Terror and Transcendence in the
Cinema of Cruelty (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988).
Anne Rule, 'Murder One: Whyl Write About Crime', Options, February
1997, Pp. 46-49.
David Sanjek, 'Fans' Notes: The Horror Film Fanzine', Literature/Film
Ouarterlv vol. 18 no. 3, July 1990, pp. 150-9.
Harold Schechter, 'The Bloody Chamber: Terror Films, Fairy Tales and
Taboo' in Ray B. Browne (ed.), Forbidden Fruits: Taboos and
Tabooism in Culture (Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University
Popular Press, 1984), pp. 67-82.
Philip Schlesinger, R. Emerson Dobash, Russell P. Dobash, C. Kay
Weaver, Women Viewing Violence (London: BR Publishing, 1992).
Jeffrey Sconce, 'Spectacles of Death: Identification, Reflexivity and
Contemporary Horror' in Jim Collins, Hilary Radner and Ava Preacher
Collins (eds.), Film Theory Goes to the Movies (London: Routledge,
1993), pp. 103-119.
"Trashing" the Academy: Taste, Excess, and an Emerging Politics
of Cinematic Style', Screen vol. 36 no. 4, Winter 1995, pp. 371-393.
Christopher Sharrett, 'The Horror Film in Neoconservative Culture', Journal
of Popular Film and Television vol.21 no.3, 1993, pp. 100-110.
Alain Silver and James Ursini, The Vampire Film (New York: Limelight,
1997).
David J. Skal, Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel
to Stage to Screen (London: Andre Deutsch, 1990).
The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (London:
Plexus, 1993).
Alexandra Duval Smith, 'Making a Killing in the Bookshops', The Guardian,
20 August 1994, p. 25.
D. Smith, The Everyday World as Problematic (Boston, Mass.: North
Eastern Press, 1987).
Robert C. Solomon, 'Discussion of The Philosophy of Horror by Noel
Carroll', Philosophy and Literature vol. 16 no. 1, 1992, pp. 163-173.
Glenn G. Sparks, 'Developing a Scale to Assess Cognitive Responses to
Frightening Films', Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media vol.
30 no. 1, Winter 1986, pp. 65-73.
'The Relationship Between Distress and Delight in Males' and
Females' Reactions to Frightening Films', Human Communication
Research vol. 17 no. 4, June 1991, pp. 625-637.
Janet T. Spence and Robert L. Helmreich, 'Androgyny Versus Gender
Schema: A Comment on Bern's Gender Schema Theory',
Psychological Review vol. 88 no. 4, 1981, pp. 365-368.
Janet T. Spence, Robert L. Helmreich and Joy Stapp, 'Ratings of Self and
Peers on Sex Role Attributes and Their Relation to Self-Esteem and
Conceptions of Masculinity and Femininity', Journal of Personalit y and
Social Psychology vol. 32 no. 1, 1975, pp. 29-39.
Jackie Stacey, 'Desperately Seeking Difference', Screen vol. 28 no. 1,
Winter 1987, pp. 48-61.
269
- 'Textual Obsessions: Methodology, History and Researching
Female Spectatorship', Screen vol. 34 no. 3, Autumn 1993, pp. 260-
274.
a., Star Gazing: Hollvsvood Cinema and Female SPectatorship
(London: Routledge, 1994).
b., 'Hollywood Memories', Screen vol. 35 no. 4, Winter 1994,
pp. 317-335.
Janet Staiger, 1986, 'The Handmaiden of Villainy: Methods and Problems in
Studying the Historical Reception of Film', Wide Angle vol. 8 no. 1,
pp. 19-28.
a., Interpreting Films: Studies in the Historical Reception of
American Cinema (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1992).
b., 'Film, Reception and Cultural Studies', Centennial Review
vol. 36 no. 1, 1992, pp. 89-104.
'Taboos and Totems: Cultural Meanings of The Silence of The
Lambs' in Linda Williams (ed.), Viewing Positions: Ways of Seeing
(New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995), pp 142-
154.
Robert Stam, Subversive Pleasures: Bakhtin. Cultural Criticism and Film
(Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1989).
Liz Stanley, Feminist Praxis: Research. Theory and Epistemology in Feminist
Sociology (London: Routledge, 1991).
John Allen Stevenson, 'A Vampire In the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula',
Publications of the Modern Language Association of America vol. 103
no. 2, March 1988, pp. 139-149.
Ron Tamborini and James Stiff, 'Predictors of Horror Film Attendance and
Appeal: An Analysis of the Audience for Frightening Films',
Communication Research vol. 14 no. 4, August 1987, pp. 415-436.
Ron Tamborini, James Stiff and Carl Heidel, 'Reacting to Graphic Horroc A
Model of Empathy and Emotional Behaviour', Communication
Research vol. 17 no. 5, October 1990, pp. 616-640.
Ron Tamborini, James Stiff and Doif Zillman, 'Preference for Graphic
Horror Featuring Male Versus Female Victimization: Personality and
Past Film Viewing Experiences', Human Communication Research vol.
13 no. 4, Summer 1987, pp. 529-552.
Yvonne Tasker, Spectacular Bodies: Gender. Genre and The Action Cinema
(London: Routledge, 1993).
Working Girls: Gender and Sexualit y in Popular Cinema (London:
Routledge, 1998).
J.P. Tellotte, 'Faith and Idolatry in the Horror Film', in Barry Keith Grant
(ed.), Planks of Reason (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press,
1980), pp. 21-37.
'The Terminator, Terminator 2 and the Exposed Body', Journal of
Popular Film and Television vol. 20 no. 2, 1992, pp. 26-34.
Julie Tharp, 'The Transvestite as Monster. Gender Horror in The Silence of
the Lambs and Psycho', Journal of Popular Film and Television vol. 19
no. 3, 1991, pp. 106-113.
270
Anthony Timpone, 'Editorial - Women and Horror', Fangona no. 102, May
1991, p. 6.
Andrew Tudor, Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the
Horror Movie (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989).
John Tulloch and Henry Jenkins, Science Fiction Audiences: Watching
Doctor Who and Star Trek (London/New York: Routledge, 1995).
James B. Twitchell, Dreadful Pleasures: An Anatomy of Modern Horror
(New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985).
Diane Waidman, 'Film Theory and the Gendered Spectator The Female or
the Feminist Reader?', Camera Obscura, no. 18, 1988, pp. 80-94.
Gregory A. Waller, The Living and The Undead: From Stoker's Dracula to
Romero's Dawn of the Dead (Urbana: University of Illinois Press,
1986).
(ed.), American Honors: Essays on the Modern Horror Film
(Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987).
James B. Weaver, 'Are "Slasher" Horror Films Sexually Violent? A Content
Analysis', Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media vol 35(1991),
pp 385-392.
James B. Weaver and Ron Tamborini (eds.), Horror Films: Current Research
on Audience Preferences and Reactions (New Jersey: Lawrence
Eribaum, 1996).
Paul York Weaver, Coming Soon: Feature Films. Audiences and Marketing,
MA dissertation, University of Stirling, 1993.
Andrea Weiss, Vampires and Violets: Lesbians in the Cinema (London:
Jonathon Cape, 1992).
Audrey J. Weiss, Dorothy J. Imrich & Barbara J. Wilson, 'Prior Exposure to
Creatures From a Horror Film: Live Versus Photographic
Representations', Human Communication Research vol 20, no. 1,
September 1993, pp. 41-66.
Clare Whatling, Screen Dreams: Fantasising Lesbians in Film (Manchester
Manchester University Press, 1997)
Sue Wilkinson (ed.), Feminist Social Psychology: Developing Theory and
Practice (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1986).
Linda Williams, 'When the Woman Looks' in Mary Ann Doane, Particia
Mellencamp and Linda Williams (eds.), Revision: Feminist Essays in
Film Analysis (Washington, D.C.: American Film Institute, 1984), pp.
83-99.
Hard Core: Power. Pleasure, and the Frenzy of the Visible
(Berkeley: California University Press, 1989).
'Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess', Film quarterly vol.
44, no. 4, 1991, pp. 2-13.
(ed.), Viewing Positions: Ways of Seeing Film (New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995).
Robin Wood 'An Introduction to the American Horror Film', in Barry Keith
Grant (ed.), Planks of Reason (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow
Press, 1980), pp. 164-200.
'Beauty Bests the Beast', American Film no. 8, 1983, pp. 63-65.
271
Elizabeth Wright, Psychoanalytic Criticism: Theory In Practice (London:
Methuen, 1984).
Elizabeth Young, 'The Silence of the Lambs and the Flaying of Feminist
Theory', Camera Obscura no. 27, 1991, pp. 4-35.
Doif Ziliman and James B. Weaver, 'Gender Socialisation Theory of
Reactions to Horror', in James B. Weaver and Ron Tamborini (eds.),
Horror Films: Current Research on Audience Preferences and Reactions
(New Jersey: Lawrence Eribaum, 1996), p. 86.
Doif Ziliman, James B. Weaver, Norbert Mundorf and Charles F. Aust,
'Effects of an Opposite-Gender Companion's Affect to Horror on
Distress, Delight and Attraction', Journal of Personalit y and Social
Psychology vol. 51 no. 3, 1986, pp. 586-594.
Liesbet van Zoonen, Feminist Media Studies (London: Sage Publications,
1994).
Marvin Zuckennan, 'Dimensions of Sensation Seeking', Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Ps ychology no. 36, 1971, pp. 45-52.
'Sensation Seeking and the Taste for Vicarious Horror', in James
B. Weaver and Ron Tambourini (eds.), Horror Films: Current
Research on Audience Preferences and Reactions (New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996), pp. 147-160.
Marvin Zuckerman, S.B.G. Eysenck and H.J. Eysenck, 'Sensation Seeking
in England and America: Cross-cultural, Age and Sex Comparisons',
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology no. 46, 1978, pp. 139-
149.
Marvin Zuckerman, E.A. Kolin, L. Price and I. Zoob, 'Development of a
Sensation Seeking Scale', Journal of Consulting Psychology no. 28,
1964, pp. 477-482.
Marvin Zuckerman and P. Litle, 'Personality and Curiosity About Morbid
and Sexual Events', Personality and Individual Differences no. 7,
1986, pp. 49-56.
Other sources
Bats and Red Velvet (Jo and Sean, St George's Terrace, Newcastle Upon
Tyne, A4 B&W, 1992-).
Bloodstone (London: Dark Angel Press, 1998-).
The Chronicles (The London Vampyre Group, London, AS B&W, 1996-).
Cinefantastigue (Forest Park, Illinois: Frederick S. Clarke, 1970-).
The Dark Side (Plymouth: Stray Cat Publishing, 1990-).
Demeter VII (Vanda L., Marine Parade, Whitby, A4 B&W, 1994-).
Fangoria (New York: Starlog Communications International Inc., 1981-).
Fantasy Zone (London: Marvel Comics Ltd., 1989-90).
(Ludlow, Shropshire: Newsfield, 1988-1991).
Hammer Horror (London: Marvel Comics Ltd., 1995).
Horror Fan (New York: GCR Publishing Group, 1988-).
Imaginator (Ken Miller, Kingshill Road, High Wycombe, A4 B&W: 1987-
1989).
272
Samhain (John Gullidge, Exeter Road, Topsham, Exeter, A4 B&W: 1986-).
Shivers (London: Visual Imagination, 1992-).
Shock Xpress (Stefan Jaworzyn, Stanley Road, Chingford, London, A4
Cot., 1986-?)
Skeleton Crew (Dave Hughes, Boundary Way, Hemel Hempstead, A5
B&W: ?-1990, A4 Col.: 1990-?).
Slaughterhouse (New York: HCS Assoc., 1989-).
Starburst (London: Marvel Comics Ltd., 1978-1985; London: Visual
Imagination, 1984-).
Starlog (New York: Starlog Communications International Inc., 1976-).
Transylvanian Journal: Dracula and Vampire Studies (The Transylvanian
Society of Dracula, St John's, Newfoundland, A4 B&W, 1995-).
Udoipho (The Gothic Society, Chislehurst, Kent, A4 B&W, 1990-1998).
Velvet Vampyre (Carole Bonahan, Keighley, West Yorkshire, AS B&W,
1987-1998).
Whiplash Smile (unknown, A4 B&W, 1987).
273
Filmography
The Abominable Dr Phibes (AlP, Robert Fuest, 1971, UK)
The Accused (Paramount, Jonathan Kaplan, 1988, US)
Alien (20th Century Fox/Brandywine-Ronald Shusett Productions, Ridley
Scott, 1979, UK)
Aliens (20th Century Fox, James Cameron, 1986, US)
Alien3 (20th Century Fox/Brandywine, David Fincher, 1992, US)
Alien Nation (20th Century Fox, Graham Baker, 1988, US)
Altered States (Warner Brothers, Ken Russell, 1980, US)
An American Werewolf in London (Lycanthrope Films, John Landis, 1981,
UK)
The Amityville Horror (Cinema 77/AlP, Stuart Rosenberg, 1979, US)
Apocalypse Now (United Artists, Francis Ford Coppola, 1979, US)
Army of Darkness aka Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness (Renaissance/de
Lauretis, Sam Raimi, 1992, US)
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (Nai Entertainment, John de Bello, 1978, US)
Basic Instinct (Carolco/Studio Canal +, Paul Verhoeven, 1992, US)
Battleship Potemkin (Goskino, Sergei Eisenstein, 1925, USSR)
The Beastmaster (MGM/United Artists, Don Coscarelli, 1982, US)
Beetlejuice (GeffenlWarner Brothers, Tim Burton, 1988, US)
Betty Blue (GaumontJConstellation/Cargofilms, Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1986,
Fr)
Blade Runner (Ladd Co., Ridley Scott, 1982, US)
The Blob (Tonylyn Productions/Paramount, Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., 1958,
US)
The Blob (Tn-Star, Chuck Russell, 1988, US)
Blue Steel (Vestron, Kathryn Bigelow, 1990, US)
Blue Velvet (DEG, David Lynch, 1986, US)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (Columbia!American Zoetrope/Osiris Films, Francis
Ford Coppola, 1992, US)
Brimstone and Treacle (Namara Films/Pennies From Heaven Ltd., Richard
Loncraine, 1982, UK)
Brubaker (20th Century Fox, Stuart Rosenberg, 1980, US)
Candvman (Propaganda, Bernard Rose, 1992, US)
Cape Fear (Universal/Melville-Talbot, J. Lee Thompson, 1961, US)
Cape Fear (Amblin/CappaiTribeca, Martin Scorsese, 1991, US)
Carrie (Red Bank Films, Brian de Palma, 1976, US)
Carry On Screaming (Anglo Amalgamated, Gerald Thomas, 1966, UK)
Cat People (RKO, Jacques Tourneur, 1942, US)
Child's Play 3 (Universal, Jack Bender, 1991, US)
Citizen Kane (RKO/Mercury, Orson Welles, 1941, US)
274
A Clockwork Orange (Polaris Productions/Warner Brothers, Stanley
Kubrick, 1971, UK)
The Company of Wolves (Palace Pictures, Neil Jordan, 1984, UK)
Crash (Alliance Communications/Jeremy Thoman and Robert Lantos/Telefilm
Canada/The Movie Network, David Cronenberg, 1996, Can)
The Creature From the Black Lagoon (Universal, Jack Arnold, 1954, US)
The Curse of Frankenstein (Hammer, Terence Fisher, 1957, UK)
Dark Angel (Vision, Craig R. Baxley, 1990, US)
Daughters of Darkness aka La Rou ge aux L?vres (Showking/CinevogfMaya
Films/Roxy Films, Harry Kuemel, 1971, Bel/Fr/WG)
Day of the Dead (Laurel, George A. Romero, 1985, US)
Dead Ringers (Morgan Creek, David Cronenberg, 1988, US)
Deliverance (Warner Brothers, John Boorman, 1972, US)
Dementia 13 (Filmgroup, Francis Ford Coppola, 1963, US)
The Devil Rides Out (Hammer, Terence Fisher, 1967, UK)
Dracula (Universal, Tod Browning, 1931, US)
Dracula (Hammer, Terence Fisher, 1958, UK)
Dracula. Prince of Darkness (Hammer, Terence Fisher, 1965, UK)
The Driller Killer (Navaron Films, Abel Ferrara, 1979, US)
Edward Scissorhands (20th Century Fox, Tim Burton, 1990, US)
Enemy Mine (Kings Road/2Oth Century Fox, Wolfgang Peterson, 1985, US)
Eraserhead (David Lynch, David Lynch, 1976, US)
The Evil Dead (Renaissance Pictures, Sam Raimi, 1982, US)
Evil Dead 2 (Rosebud Releasing/Renaissance Pictures, Sam Raimi, 1987,
US)
The Exorcist (Hoya Productions/Warner Brothers, William Friedkin, 1973,
US)
The Face (Svensk Filmindustri, Ingmar Bergman, 1958, Swe)
Fatal Attraction (Paramount, Adrian Lyne, 1987, US)
Field of Dreams (GordonlUniversal, Phil Alden Robinson, 1989, US)
First Blood (Orion, Ted Kotcheff, 1982, US)
The Fly (20th Century FoxlBrooksfilms, David Cronenberg, 1986, US)
Frankenstein (Universal, James Whale, 1931, US)
Friday the 13th (Georgetown Productions, Sean S. Cunningham, 1980, US)
Ghostbusters (Columbia/Delphi/Black Rhino/Bernie Brillstein Productions,
Ivan Reitman, 1984, US)
Godzilla (Toho, Inoshiro Honda, 1954, Japan)
Halloween (Falcon International, John Carpenter, 1978, US)
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Hollywood, Curtis Hansen, 1991, US)
The Haunting (Argyle Enterprises, Robert Wise, 1963, UK)
275
Heathr (New World/Cinemarque Entertainment, Michael Lehmann, 1989,
US)
Heilbound: Hellraiser 2 (New World, Tony Randel, 1988, US)
Hellraiser (New World/Film Futures, Clive Barker, 1987, UK)
Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth (Fifth Avenue/Mortorff, Anthony Hickox, 1992,
US)
Hi gh Plains Drifter (Malpaso/Universal, Clint Eastwood, 1972, US)
Highlander (20th Century Fox, Russell Mulcahy, 1986, US)
The Hills Have Eyes (Blood Relations Company, Wes Craven, 1977, US)
House of Usher (Alta VistaJAIP, Roger Corman, 1960, US)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (RKO, William Dieterle, 1939, US)
The Hunger (Richard Shepard Company/MGM/United Artists, Tony Scott,
1983, US)
I Spit on Your Grave (Cinemagic Pictures, Meir Zarchi, 1978, US)
In the Mouth of Madness (New Line, John Carpenter, 1994, US)
Interview With The Vampire (Geffen Pictures, Neil Jordan, 1994, US)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Walter Wanger Productions, Don Siegel,
1956, US)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Solofilm Co., Philip Kaufman, 1978, US)
Jacob's Ladder (Carolco, Adrian Lyne, 1990, US)
Jagged Edge (Columbia, Richard Marquand, 1985, US)
Jason and the Argonauts (Columbia, Don Chaffey, 1963, UK)
Jaws (Universal, Steven Spielberg, 1975, US)
The Krays (Parkfield/Fugitive, Peter Medak, 1990, UK)
The Last House on the Left (The Night Company, Wes Craven, 1972, US)
Legend (Legend/2Oth Century Fox, Ridley Scott, 1985, US)
The Leopard Man (RKO, Jacques Tourneur, 1943, US)
The Lost Boys (Warner Brothers, Joel Schumacher, 1987, US)
Mad Max (Mad Max Pty., George Miller, 1979, Aust)
Man Bites Dog (Les Artistes Anonymes, R?my Belvaux and Benoit
Poelvoorde, 1992, Be!)
Manhunter (DEG, Michael Mann, 1986, US)
Marathon Man (Paramount, John Schlesinger, 1976, US)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (American ZoetropeiTriStar/Japan SatelliteBroadcasting/The IndieProd Company, Kenneth Branagh, 1994, US)
The Masque of the Red Death (Alta Vista/Anglo Amalgamated, Roger
Corman, 1964, UK)
The Medusa Touch (ITC/Coategold, Jack Gold, 1978, UK/Fr)
Misery (Castle Rock Entertainment, Rob Reiner, 1991, US)
Mortal Thoughts (New Visions/Polar, Alan Rudolph, 1991, US)
The Name of the Rose (Neue Constantin/CristaldifilmlAriane/ZDF, Jean-
Jacques Annaud, 1986, WG/ItJFr)
276
Natural Born Killers (Warner Brothers/Regency Enterprises/Alcor Films/JD
Productions/Ixtian/New Regency, Oliver Stone, 1994, US)
Near Dark (The Near Dark Joint Venture, Kathryn Bigelow, 1987, US)
Night of the Comet (Atlantic 9000, Thom Eberhardt, 1984, US)
Night of the Living Dead (Image Ten, George A. Romero, 1968, US)
Nightbreed (Morgan Creek, Clive Barker, 1990, US)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (New Line/Media Home Entertainment/Smart
Egg Pictures, Wes Craven, 1985, US)
No Blade of Grass (MGM, Come! Wilde, 1970, UK)
Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Prana Film, F.W. Murnau, 1921,
Ger)
Nosferatu the Vampyre (Werner Herzog/Gaumont, Werner Herzog, 1979,
WG/Fr)
Notorious (RKO, Alfred Hitchcock, 194, US)
The Omen (20th Century Fox, Richard Donner, 1976, US)
Onibaba (Kindai Eiga Kyokai/Tokyo Eiga, Kaneto Shindo, 1964, Jap)
Orph?e (Andr? Paulv?-Films du Palais Royal, Jean Cocteau, 1950, Fr)
Pacific Heights (Morgan Creek, John Schlesinger, 1990, US)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Picnic Productions/BEF Film Distributors/South
Australian Film Corp/AFC, Peter Weir, 1975, Aust)
The Pit and the Pendulum (Alta VistaJAIP, Roger Corman, 1961, US)
Play Misty For Me (Malpaso, Clint Eastwood, 1971, US)
Predator (20th Century Fox, John McTiernan, 1987, US)
Psycho (Paramount, Alfred Hitchcock, 1960, US)
Rasputin: The Mad Monk (Hammer, Don Sharp, 1965, UK)
Rebecca (Selznick/United Artists, Alfred Hitchcock, 1940, US)
Reservoir Dogs (Live American/Dog Eat Dog, Quentin Tarantino, 1991, US)
The Revenge of the Creature (Universal, Jack Arnold, 1955, US)
Richard III (London, Laurence Olivier, 1955, UK)
Robocop (Orion, Paul Verheoven, 1987, US)
Rosemary's Baby (Paramount/William Castle Productions, Roman Polanski,
1968, US)
Salem's Lot (Warner Brothers/Serendipity Productions, Tobe Hooper, 1979,
US)
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Produzioni Europee Associati/United
Artists/Les Productions Artistes Associ?s, Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975,
It)
Scanners (Filmplan International, David Cronenberg, 1980, Can)
Scream (Miramax/Dimensjon Films/Woods Entertainment, Wes Craven,
1996, US)
Scream 2 (Dimension Fjlms/Konrad Pjctures/Craven-Maddalena Pictures,
Wes Craven, 1997, US)
Scum (Boyd's, Alan Clarke, 1979, UK)
277
The Serpent and the Rainbow (Universal, Wes Craven, 1987, US)
Seven (New Line, David Fincher, 1995, US)
The Seven Year Itch (20th Century Fox, Billy Wilder, 1955, US)
The Shining (Hawk Films, Stanley Kubrick, 1980, UK)
The Silence of the Lambs (Orion, Jonathan Demme, 1991, US)
Single White Female (Columbia, Barbet Scroeder, 1992, US)
Sister My Sister (Film Four International/British Screen/NFH, Nancy
Meckler, 1994, UK)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney/RKO, David Hand, 1937, US)
Soylent Green (MGM, Richard Fleischer, 1973, US)
Spellbound (United Artists, Alfred Hitchcock, 1945, US)
The Stepford Wives (Fadsin Cinema Associates, Bryan Forbes, 1974, US)
Sunset Blvd. (Paramount, Billy Wilder, 1950, US)
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Iced Tea Productions, Todd Haynes,
1987, US)
Superstition aka The Witch (Lightening/Future Film, James W. Roberson and
James Robertson, 1982, US)
The Tenant (Marianne, Roman Polanski, 1976, Fr)
The Terminator (Cinema 84/Pacific Western Productions, James Cameron,
1984, US)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Carolco/Pacific Western, James Cameron,
1991, US)
Texas Chain Saw Massacre (A Vortex/Hankel/Hooper Production, Tobe
Hooper, 1974, US)
Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom (Frederick S. Pierce
Company/HBO/Sudden Entertainment, Michael Ritchie, 1993, US)
Thelma and Louise (Pathe/Main, Ridley Scott, 1991, US)
The Thing (Universal/Turman-Focter Productions, John Carpenter, 1982,
US)
The Thing (From Another World) (Winchester Pictures, Christian Nyby,
1951, US)
Titanic (20th Century Fox/Paramount/Lightstorm Entertainment, James
Cameron, 1997, US)
Tomorrow Never Dies (Eon Productions, Roger Spottiswoode, 1997,
UK/US)
Total Recall (Carolco, Paul Verhoeven, 1990, US)
The Toxic Avenger (Troma, Michael Herz, 1985, US)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (New Line/Bouyges, David Lynch, 1992,
US)
The Vampire Lovers (Hammer/AlP, Roy Ward Baker, 1970, UK)
Vampvr (Carl Theodor Dreyer Filmproduktion, Carl Dreyer, 1931, Ger)
Village of the Damned (Universal, John Carpenter, 1995, US)
278
War of the Worlds (George Pal Productions/Paramount, Byron Haskin,
1953, US)
Warlock (New World, Steve Miner, 1988, US)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Warner Brothers/Associates and
Aldrich, Robert Aldrich, 1962, US)
The Wicker Man (British Lion, Robin Hardy, 1973, UK)
Wild Strawberries (Svensk Filmindustri, Ingmar Bergman, 1957, Swe)
The Witches of Eastwick (Warner Brothers, George Miller, 1987, US)
The Wizard of Oz (MGM, Victor Fleming, 1939, US)
Wolf (Columbia, Mike Nichols, 1994, US)
279