HORROR TEMPORIS: FANTASTIC UNCERTAINTY OF TIME
Authors: Borzova Maria 
Published: December 2023

Stephen King often manipulates with time by referring to time anomalies, disrupting the timeline of his works, and incorporating time loops along with parallel worlds. In his works, time is an unpredictable phenomenon, and the disruption of its established order results in a sense of helplessness and loss of control as well as creates an atmosphere of horror.

In the author’s novel of 1977, “The Shining” horrifying events from the past of the Overlook Hotel intertwine with contemporary events, generating terrifying visions in the characters’ consciousness. In his other novel, “Pet Sematary” (1983), the character opens a gate to another time and space dimension, where death returns to life. The car named Christine from the eponymous novel (1983) also becomes an embodiment of sinister temporal power, forcing its characters to delve into a horrifying past while casting a growing shadow on their present. “It” (1986) depicts a monstrous entity, Pennywise, which exists beyond the influence of time itself. Pennywise appears in the town’s history at different time intervals, causing genuine terror among the residents. Therefore, the concept of temporality is a significant narrative driver in the writer’s horror stories.Drawing inspiration from the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, a British scholar, Benjamin Noys has introduced a concept of the so-called “horror temporis”. King’s interest in the contemporary paradigms of time and their interpretations in literary texts is a crucial commonality between his works and those of Lovecraft. This is particularly evident in King’s novel, “Lisey’s Story” (2006). The main character of the story encounters the existence of certain “holes” in our world through which another world is hidden, and this awareness not only induces a sense of losing sanity but also an ongoing sensation of falling through a hole in time.Typical of King, the narrative is led by an omniscient narrator who represents Lisey’s life events by reproducing the flow of the protagonist’s consciousness. Gradually, the author delves not only into Lisey Landon’s memories but also into her subconscious — dreams, visions, and associations. This paper thus appropriates Noys’s concept of “horror temporis” in the reading of Stephen King’s novel, “Lisey’s Story” (2006).Firstly, the analysis focuses on the issues of temporality in the novel, including the elements of its formal organisation, such as fractality. Secondly, the article deals with the intertextual aspect related to the issue of time. The theoretical framework in this study was borrowed from the classical studies in the field, including those by the English novelist David Herbert Lawrence, the French philosopher Henri Bergson, and the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It suggests that King’s use of numerous temporal techniques enhances the effect of the so-called “fantastic uncertainty”.The fantastic uncertainty implies that the fantastic elements in the narrative are closely linked to the subjective perspective, a combination of perceptions, experiences, and interpretations of the characters. The author explores their worst fears and anxieties, and in his works, time interacts with several additional categories, primarily with memory, which confronts a desire to forget. The source of King’s “horror temporis” is traced not to the cosmological world of time but to every horrifying moment that refuses to die in our consciousness. The author does not provide clear conclusions as he creates a multiplication of various perspectives and voices in the narrative, constantly reinforcing the sense of uncertainty and instability. He intentionally leaves it to the readers to interpret the story on their own.