Whenever people think of love, they think of family, friends, a special someone or so. They think of kisses and hearts, and even Valentine’s Day. But while it is a cherished emotion, it has also spawned the most tragic and often gruesome tales in literature. From the darkest depths of Wrath of the Ancients, to the creepy fascination of 50 Shades of Grey, it’s clear that love brings drama into any situation, regardless of genre.

So why? Why do horror writers use love in their stories? After all, isn’t it a delicate emotion that needs to be treated with dignity? It couldn’t have possibly been used to promote depravity, could it?

A Deeper Level of Understanding - As we all know, this isn’t the case. In fact, horror can use love to emphasize the hopelessness of a situation, or the desperation of the characters to save their loved ones. It can even be used to show how inappropriate a situation may be, as well as the malevolence of the characters themselves. Whenever love is introduced into the equation, we are given a predator’s main motive, a character’s past, even a small hint of what they’re going to do. Love brings a level of realism into the story. It brings us closer to the action.

Ruin Happily Ever After - There’s something about being in love that’s innocent, pure, even devastatingly adorable. However, horror has a funny way of destroying everything pure, and love isn’t an exception. Introduce what happens when Cinderella and her prince ride off into the sunset. Or even reinterpret a cherished Disney tale where first love turns sour, or when love grows into an uncontrollable obsession, filled with despair and lust. This was, in fact, the basis of many of the Grimm fairytales, no matter what moral lesson or reassurance they claim to cling to. Even in modern literature, a happy ever after doesn’t stand. In Wrath of the Ancients, by Catherine Cavendish, when it seemed that our beloved protagonist managed to escape the clutches of an ancient curse, in the end that curse managed to find her again, and end her.

Shows Our Humanity - In A Sound in the Dark by Kyle Alexander Romines, the main character was in love with a girl that had committed suicide. However, it was that very love that pushed him to survive in the face of death, and in the end allowed him to let go of his guilt. Remember, the reason why horror is such a popular genre is because it provides us with an escape from life. By using strong emotions such as love, this can change an outlet for our fascinations and cause us to leave our stress at the door.

Love is a special feeling that people nourish, especially whenever they’re around their friends, family, and beloveds. However, horror has been able to take this emotion, and twist it into something terrifying. It’s gotten to the point where we’re even afraid to love any of the characters, simply out of fear that they might be killed on the next page. But there’s no doubt that adding love to a story will spice things up. It’s a wonderful thing. Truly.