The Weird Tale
Definition according to H.P. Lovecraft:
- Unexplainable dread (fear of unknown)
- Often uses epistemological horror
- Familiar culture ceases to be weird
- Breaks (or appears to break) mechanistic materialism and the laws of nature
- Often uses ontological horror
- Exploitation of anxiety
- vs horror story (physical threat)
Famous authors:
- H.P. Lovecraft
- Arthur Machen
- Algernon Blackwood
- Lord Dunsany
- M. R. James
Categories
According to Joshi:
Fantasy
Actual violation of natural laws
Different set of natural laws
Supernatural horror
Actual violation of natural laws
Same set of natural laws
Nonsupernatural horror
Illusory violation of natural laws
[!example] Ghost that isn't actually a ghost
Psychological horror
Supernatural phenomena explained by psychology
Pseudosupernatural
Supernatural phenomena explained by insanity
[!example] Ghost is a hallucination
Conte cruel
Supernatural phenomena wrongly explained by fate
Quasi science fiction
Sophistication of supernatural horror
The advent of science protects us from the unknown. We think we are safe, but are actually utterly ignorant about the inner workings of the universe.
=> realization of our ignorance of certain greater natural laws creates horror.
Ignorance is bliss: the pursuit of knowledge leads humans to learn things they aren't supposed to know.
Others
Ambiguous horror
Maintains the doubt of supernatural until the end
History
Always existed throughout history without being recognized as its own genre
Modern weird tale precursors first appeared in pulp magazines
[!abstract] Pulp magazine
Low quality, sensationalist, often erotic entertainment magazine
Targets largely a young male audience
Predecessor to modern comics
[!abstract] Weird Tales
Experimental pulp magazine with no formula
1923-1954
Ajitani Hifumi