Hollywood has come up with some answers. The same is true of psychologically chilling movies like Sixth Sense, which aim more for cerebral shudder than visual shock. They are proof of a growing appetite among cinema audiences for brain food over eye-candy. But the latest spate of spinechillers have more in common than late 90s sophistication. They say something about our shared anxieties, too.
Age is a possibility.
The baby boom generation, who have shaped American culture in their own image since they were teenagers, are now in middle age. Suddenly conscious of their mortality, the children of the 1940s and 50s are ready to hear stories of death, loss and the afterlife. Two other forces of the hour are also playing their part. The first is technology. The kids of Blair Witch use a video camera to record their quest, just as the pursuers of Dracula used a phonograph in theirs - the impotence of modern weaponry in the face of an ancient threat is an enduring horror theme.