Fifty Horror Clichés That Need to Die in a Fire

#38: Handling the Fear of Death

Recently, another story in the horror medium managed to leave a lasting impact on me yet again, this time another TV show like American Horror Story: Murder House. It was the 2020 adaptation of the novel Turn of the Screw, The Haunting of Bly Manor; a nine episode Netflix exclusive that manages to break a lot of clichés present in the haunted house plot structure.

While the characterization of the cast and the flowing narrative are enough to give this show immense praise on its own, it is its theme of handling the universal fear everyone has about death that takes the cake. This is best portrayed between the lovers Dani and Jamie, who are forced to experience such a realistic fear when the ghostly Lady of the Lake Viola slowly takes over the mind of Dani. In a five year span, the two lovers are forced to slowly watch the steady takeover of Dani's mind by the ancient spirit, embracing the time they have left with each other with sweet gestures and unending commitment to each other. It is this powerful love that forces Dani to make the difficult choice of sacrificing herself in order to spare Jamie of the torment the ghost of Viola promises to give her. Drowning herself in the Bly Manor Lake, Dani in exchange allows Jamie a life where she can grow old with her friends and traps herself as the new Lady of Lake, who is to wander the manor harmlessly for eternity. Though Jamie is able to live her life, she still for decades to come terribly misses Dani and hopes deep down that one day the spirit of her love will appear and they will embrace each other once more. It is a bittersweet storyline that brings up a difficult topic in a mature, relatable way that audiences can get behind.

The topic in question, the fear of death, is a trope that outside of The Haunting of Bly Manor is not touched upon by many horror stories. Despite the idea being hinted upon in many examples of the horror medium, it never is fully explored by the characters even in their life or death situations. Being chased by some type of killer or supernatural entity that could end your life would bring up this hard to talk about fear in the minds of most real people. If the horror writer in question wished to make the cast seem as realistic as possible, why aren't they giving their characters this type of internal conflict? The idea of death is feared by almost every person, especially with the added terror of the unknown of what comes next. This fear is what fuels so many people in survival situations to fight back as toughly as they do, and gives motivation for many to go after the aspects of their lives they desire to accomplish most.

If even one character in the narrative had some type of thought in this vain, any story could be given an extra added element of relatable content. An average audience would find great attachment to this new layer of complexity, making a basic horror story turn into a narrative that attracts much more people. Fueling a character with philosophies and fears routed from the real world gives them the ability to become that much closer to transforming into almost a real person who could easily walk out of the pages of the narrative into real life.

Plus, the very fear of death itself is a topic that is a guaranteed scare for most audiences. The fear of the unknown is an element that has shaped the very foundation of many famous examples inside the horror medium. The Twilight Zone TV show made it a weekly theme to play around with the strong fear of the unknown, crafting iconic narratives that those studying the craft of writing well balanced narratives go to constantly as an example. Suspenseful horror stories like the chief example of this editorial part, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Haunting of Hill House make this trope in horror its constant bread and butter that has dragged millions of audience members into both Netflix exclusive shows. Heck, even less expected examples such as The Walking Dead comics use the constant fear of the unknown when it comes to the characters' constant struggle for survival against the undead walkers and what comes next in their lives. Fear of the unknown is a strong horror trope that has fabricated unique narratives filled with the untraditional philosophy element.

Yes, fearing death is a very natural response for most people. However, because we are scared of it, this does not mean we have to make the characters we craft immune from it. We also cannot hide from it completely. Use these stories to face this fear head on for yourself and the audience, creating a reality where the terror of the unknown can be more readily accepted by others.