Fifty Horror Clichés That Need to Die in a Fire

#21: Realism is Absent

One of the most haunting novels I have read in my twenty-one years on Earth was Stephen King's Pet Sematary. Being a huge fan of the horror legend and getting a glowing recommendation for the book from the person who got me into his unique style of writing, my Dad, I picked up the book from my local library thinking it would be a thought provoking piece such as The Dead Zone. However, what my experience with Pet Sematary ended up being instead was a haunting look at what happens to a person when grief comes to completely cloud their judgement, causing them to do unthinkably horrid acts that spreads the pain unintentionally to other people. It was a strong punch of realism that brought me completely off guard, far from the zombie pet themed story I initially expected.

The story of Pet Sematary focuses around everyman father Doctor Louis Creed, who relocated to Maine for a fresh change of scene. Going on this good intentioned journey is his beautiful wife Rachel, his innocent daughter Ellie, his young two year old son Gage, and his daughter's loving cat Church. Louis seemingly stumbles into a much needed father figure in his life in the form of next door neighbor Jud Crandall, and despite a very shaky first day at his new job, settles into a peaceful new normal. An illusion of happiness is created for the Creed family, shattered by a series of completely horrific events that breaks down Louis's sanity.

First, Church gets hit by a car during Thanksgiving, and to prevent his daughter Ellie from becoming heartbroken at his death, revives the cat at an ancient Indian burial ground now seen as a local pet cemetery. The cat is revived, but becomes a shell of its former self, attacking the family as sees fit. Next, the same highway that claimed the cat ends up also killing his two year old son, sending Louis into inconsolable grief. Desperate to reverse the dark fate of his young son, Louis has a huge lapse in judgement and revives Gage in the same place that brought back Church. What follows is a murderous two year old zombie controlled by wicked forces unknown, that kills not only Louis's father figure Jud, but additionally kills the wife that tried so desperately to save Louis from this terrible fate. Seemingly, Louis gets his thoughts together at the last minute, knowing Gage will kill others if not stopped, and is forced to reverse the very process that gave his son life. However, upon a friend spotting him leaving Jud's now burning house with his dead wife in his arms, it becomes apparent Louis in actuality snapped from the deeds now coated in red on his hands, and is going to revive Rachel through the same process as Church and Gage. In the end, Louis has lost all connections to reality, playing along with the ruse his loving wife was never dead to begin with, and all is well. Now all that Louis can look forward to from his lost sanity is a cycle of endless pain and most likely, his own demise by the woman who loved him most, now a puppet to dark supernatural forces.

It was upon witnessing all this in Pet Sematary that I came to realize a true misconception in the horror genre. I realized the scariest stories weren't built upon jump scares and the fear of the supernatural. The scariest stories truly come from a balanced level of realism, giving the audience something emotionally gut wrenching that could leave true scars. When viewing Louis's very realistic fall into despair and insanity, I came to slowly realize this strong truth. That was the moment I knew Stephen King had my unwavering support as a fan of his work, and that the horror genre was completely misunderstood by the public as just a joke. Little did the general public realize that horror was perhaps one of the strongest literary genres when given the care in the details like Stephen King had done for Pet Sematary. Little did they know adding levels of realism into these horror stories could haunt audiences and create lasting impressionable impacts on the audience. That was the truth my haunting experience reading Pet Sematary taught me as an inspiring author, that I now finally share after three years of occurring to you guys.

When crafting your next horror story, be inspired by the events surrounding you in your life. Perhaps you experienced something close to horror, be it a too real nightmare or an unforgettable experience, that may with the right care become the next iconic horror story for generations to come. Realism in horror sells surprisingly strong stories, especially when you put your heart and soul into giving your characters sparks of life into them. Don't make your story potentially the next Five Nights at Freddy's jump scare. Instead, look deep into your heart and write the true horrors you can find inside it.

Remember though, unlike your characters, you can escape the horrors you are writing at any time. If you feel the emotions in your story are getting to close too home for you, take a small break and drink a glass of iced tea while catching up on Stranger Things so your friends won't keep reminding you of how you failed to watch the show. Your mental health is more important than anything else. Please keep yourself motivated while knowing where your limits stand so your work does not strain you too much. After all, how are you going to become an iconic horror legend if you stop after the first book?