Whether they were used to entertain or to maintain discipline, horror stories have remained popular and people constantly seek out new ways to be scared. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the entertainment industry. Hollywood churns out new horror films by rehashing proven formulas or seeking new ones in their quest for our hard earned dollars.
Book stores maintain large sections devoted strictly to the horror genre.
Even the gaming industry is in on the act, take a stroll through the local game store and take a good look at the number of horror based games you can find. Writers and publishers realize that we, the gaming public, love to be scared and are looking for new material in search of that elusive scare. But a good horror game can often be as damn tough to find as a good horror movie. All too often a promising story degenerates into either gory bloodletting or something too goofy to take seriously. Starting off with a discussion on what is the horror genre, the author builds on his arguments by presenting horror in different genres and the types of characters available.