As part of ^projecteducate's mission to introduce everyone to new types of art, the horror photographers are creeping out from the dark corners of dA to share our twisted creations with you. Come closer, we don't bite...unless you ask very nicely. Welcome to Horror & Macabre Photography week!

This special edition of The Nightmare Collection is here to give you a guided tour of horror and macabre art on dA, to introduce you to our horror photographers and (hopefully!) to inspire you to have a go at creating your own horror photography (even if it's something you've never done before).

For our schedule of events, visit ^Katerina423's journal here. You can also find horror photographers hanging out on dAmn in #HorrorMacabrePhoto and browse our gallery here.





SO WHAT IS HORROR & MACABRE PHOTOGRAPHY?

dA's gallery info says...
Photographs which focus on the frightening, grotesque and disturbing.



The Oxford English Dictionary says...

HORROR (noun)
1 an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust.
2 a thing causing such a feeling.
3 intense dismay.
4 informal a bad or mischievous person, especially a child.
ORIGIN Latin, from horrere ‘shudder, (of hair) stand on end’.


MACABRE (adjective)
disturbing and horrifying because concerned with death and injury.








WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF?

Horror = scary, right? Instead of ignoring or hiding from our fears, horror artists confront them head-on, embrace them and are inspired by them. So the next time you wake up in a cold sweat from a terrifying nightmare, don't put it to the back of your mind. Drag it kicking and screaming out of your head, through your camera and onto the pages on dA.

Need some inspiration? Here are 10 common phobias...
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Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders.


Ophidiophobia: The fear of snakes.


Acrophobia: The fear of heights.


Agoraphobia: The fear of situations in which escape is difficult. This may include crowded areas, open spaces, or situations that are likely to trigger a panic attack.


Cynophobia: The fear of dogs.


Astraphobia: The fear of thunder and lightning.


Trypanophobia: The fear of injections.


Social Phobias: The fear of social situations.


Pteromerhanophobia: The fear of flying.


Mysophobia: The fear of germs or dirt.








WHO ARE WE?

And what about those of us who create dark and disturbing art? Are we all raging psychopaths with irreparably damaged minds on a mission to infect the world with unhealthy negativity and antisocial habits? Of course not! We're just like you...

We're film-makers and musicians and artists


We're nurses and doctors and dentists


and engineers and electricians and construction workers.


We chefs and waiters and office workers.


We're inspired by vampires, zombies and monsters


by dark nights and haunted houses.


We love our fake blood and make-up effects.


We have a flair for the dramatic and we're creative souls.


We're the people who delve deeper into our imaginations and share our nightmares with you, to give you a ripple of fear, to make you catch your breath and pull the covers up over your head or look at the screen from behind your fingers

Art is about invoking a strong emotional reaction, and what is stronger than fear?

We are artists, like you.





_{The photos featured in this article were found mainly through keyword searches, with a few grabbed from my own favs and collections. There are some pictures with only a couple of views by people who are new to dA, and conversely there are some Daily Deviations and pictures submitted by gallery directors and senior members. The amount of attention an image had already received played no part in it being chosen to illustrate this article.}