Being both a fan, a creator, and a promoter of Horror and Macabre Photography, I am often asked.. why horror? What makes you actually enjoy the dark things? Those that don't particularly like blood or the things that go bump in the night, sometimes don't understand why others do. Two professors at UC Berkeley in California performed a revolutionary study which showed that some people can experience positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Using horror movies and horror movie fans, these professors showed that "the peak of [the horror movie fans’] happy feelings occurred during the most frightening segments of the film clips". What does that mean? It means that horror fans are happiest when they're most scared. [You can read more about the study here: Can horror make you happy?]

But that still doesn't answer the question of why, it just proves that there's a group of people that are able to enjoy fear. At the beginning of Horror Week, I asked the community to write me a paragraph or so explaining why they like horror and here are the responses directly from those best qualified to answer: artists that not only enjoy horror but also choose to create it.

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Why do *I* personally enjoy horror?

Life consists of black and white and infinite shades of gray. I don't think that you can truly understand the world if you ignore the black side of things. I think that horror often delves into a part of the human psyche that many choose to ignore and I think there is much to be learned about ourselves and others from that dark side. Why are some people driven to kill while others are driven to protect? Horror art, of course, cannot answer these questions, but it does explore the possibilities that ask you to make your own conclusions. Beyond that, I am fascinated by the supernatural. I find it hard to believe that the everyday mundane lives that we lead are all that exists in the universe. There are layers upon layers to existence and there is so much that we do not know. Horror takes us into the realms of the unknown and lets you peek in. Further still, there is the fact that horror literature, films, and visual art are highly emotional. All emotions in the horror world are heightened to almost an extreme degree. And is there a better way to learn about human emotion than at the extremes of it?

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`RockstarVanity

For me, horror photography is...all about capturing an intense emotion and sharing it with other people through a visual medium. I've always loved horror films and books, and creating my own scary images seemed like the logical progression. I wake up from nightmares feeling inspired (no matter how freaked out I am) and I have a passion for special effects and bizarre pictures. Contrary to what some people may believe (you should see some of the comments I get on here!) I'm not a violent person. I abhor real-life violence and as much as I love depicting gruesome scenes in my photos I hate the thought of anyone actually having to experience anything painful or horrible against their will. Horror is entertainment, a challenge to perceptions, a big hard push of the boundaries. It is fiction, imagination and an adrenalin rush. My horror photography isn't the product of latent psychosis or a social commentary...it is ART.





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^WilderWein77

I love horror photography and macabre art because it just expresses the extremeties of human emotion and the parts of the human psyche that we would rather forget is there.




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`Xerces

I love to do horror photography- the makeup, the modeling and the photography itself. Why? Because it is so therapeutic in a way, as well as rewarding to create a wound effect that people can often find hard to distinguish from the real thing! For those that kick walls or scream when something has gone wrong, horror photography is a visual scream. It helps very much when I need to let off some steam- either from general stress or whatever else! It gives me a chance to show my anger or annoyance, but in a form that hurts no one!

Most people think that horror photography is for those that are depressed, but this could not be further from the truth in my case- and in fact many more cases! I'm the happiest bunny in the field, and I just find it so rewarding to create horrific images without any pain or anguish from an actual injury. And SFX don't always have to be something brutal and disgusting. It can also be thought provoking and beautiful.





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=PorcelainPoet

I love watching horror movies and I have became curiously interested in these frightening topics. As a younger child I enjoyed watching things like open heart surgery on television. Your typical and somewhat cliche horror movies never really frightened me. I snuck out of bed to see "Alien" on the television, with Sigourney Weaver when I was a youngster. And somehow I wasn't really scared. Most people cringe, close their eyes or feel sick at the sight of exposed brains or blood. This morbid curiosity has left me somewhat desensitized when it comes to these typical topics that scare the crap out your average person. But just like everyone else, there are things that have an effect on me and in some way manage to scare me.

I started taking darker, more disturbing images because I wanted to see what kind of effect it would have on the viewer. I wanted to play with themes that I knew your average person would feel uneasy looking at. So I gradually started working with models, building sets and finding the right props to portray these horrific themes. Partly these photo shoots are done because of my strange fascination with the dark side and partly because a lot of my models thought it would be fun to look into. And believe me, when you've got medical props, hospital gowns, wheelchairs, fake blood or live worms... it makes the photo shoot a ton of fun!

After a couple of years of creating these photos, I have started to realize what's really behind my reason for doing it. Behind every artist and every artistic creation, is a powerful mind full of deeply buried thoughts and emotions which are often the root of inspiration. When I take a photo of a zombie, covered in blood and screaming at the camera.. I'm facing my own subconscious fear and fascination of zombies. And when I take a photo of a helpless victim, buried alive and screaming for her life as the worms crawl in and out of her eyes... I'm facing my own fear of the unknown, the concept of death and dying. I consider my photography a form of self therapy, not just self expression. My horror and macabre photography is a way for me to face my fears and confront them at the same time. And I hope in some cases, these photos will have enough of an effect on the viewer for them to be able to confront some of their fears as well.




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=Guirnou

I guess it’s a little contradictory for me to like horror and macabre photography and special effects makeup because… I get really scared watching horror movies. I get scared, but I like that feeling. It’s exciting! So I think it’s the same for photography… it can bring so many deep emotions and meanings, it’s crazy! Some pictures might seem strange to one person but another one can relate to it with events that happened in their life. It’s also a way, for me, to show that our world isn’t so perfect, that some of the things we recreate, others do in real life; which is absolutely horrible. I mainly create horror pictures (and makeups) because I really want to make it in the movie industry! And practicing might make me better!!