4 Reasons to Read More Horror

I don’t read a lot of horror, but I think reading more of it could benefit me as both a reader and writer. Keep reading, leave a comment, then see today’s writing prompt at the bottom of this post.

I don’t read a lot of horror books, mainly because I’m trying to read more before bed at night and don’t want to stay up all night. But I also don’t read a lot of horror books because horror is something I usually only read around Halloween. Yet I’m starting to think that there might be more reasons to read horror year-round. Below are a few I came up with, for now. If you have any additional reasons people should read more horror, please leave them in the comments so we can chat about them. 

1. Reading more horror books can get you out of reading funks. 

Regardless of how much you enjoy reading, it’s easy to get into a reading funk every once in a while— those times when you’re just not motivated to read due to anxiety or depression, or when everything you start reading just doesn’t seem to hold your interest for longer than a few pages at a time for whatever reason. 

Well, reading more horror books just might help you get out of those reading funks, or may prevent them altogether. How? Well, reading horror often gets your adrenaline pumping, which will likely encourage you to read faster and hyperfocus on what you’re reading, which means that it’s likely to hold your attention longer. Moreover, when you read horror, you will feel bouts of relief when a character isn’t maimed after a period of suspense, or when a noise wasn’t caused by a ghost but a pet, etc. And feeling those ups and downs as you read will more likely than not allow you to stay glued to what you’re reading. And when you’re glued to what you’re reading, you’re less likely to find yourself not wanting to read. 

2. Reading more horror books can help you overcome your fears. 

While this might seem counterintuitive, reading more about what scares you could help you overcome what you’re most afraid of in the real world. How? Well, you’ll read about a lot of characters who overcome their fears in horror stories, or at least confront them, which will allow you to discover new ways to cope with similar fears on your own too. Not to mention, when you read a horror book, although you’re immersed in another world confronting your fears, you will still be in the real world, safe and far away from those things, people, and entities that scare you in the book. Essentially, horror books allow you to experience and confront danger from a safe distance. And this just might end up making you more confident in the real world. 

3. Reading more horror books will encourage you to be more curious and open-minded. 

When you read horror books, you’ll inevitably start encountering scenarios that force you to contemplate your own spirituality, what happens after a person dies, unexplained paranormal phenomena, etc. Even if you don’t ultimately believe in ghosts and can find a verifiable explanation for everything you’re reading about in a horror book, such a book will still encourage you to think about ghosts and why so many people do believe that they exist, for example. You will also be encouraged to find some of your own answers for the phenomena that happen in horror books that are never explained. And that will allow you to be more open-minded and creative. 

4. Reading more horror books will help you write more complex and interesting characters. 

Everyone fears something different, and often for different reasons. There is an endless list of phobias (just Google it), and we don’t all have the same ones. So, reading about characters who experience different types of phobias can help you get behind what makes people tick, their inner traumas and how they acquired them, etc. And that will help you write your own believably unique characters who are as frustrating as they are interesting, much like real people in the real world often are. 

Similarly, not all characters in a story will or should respond the same way to something that scares them—consider the ‘flight or fight’ response— which will allow you to consider the unique personalities and life circumstances of those characters you’re reading about or writing about more fully. Essentially, reading more horror books could help you develop and write more psychologically interesting and believable characters that a lot of readers will relate to as they’re reading, because you will really have to consider their psychological makeup and what makes them tick in various scenarios.  

I might add to this list in the future. But for now, that’s where I’ll leave it. What else would you add to this list? Leave a comment so that we can discuss it. Also, if you have any horror book recommendations, be sure to mention those in the comments too. 

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© All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.

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Today’s Writing Prompt