With works such as Silent Hill, Pet, and Frankenstein, the horror genre is rife with symbols. Whether it be in the form of saying goodbye to a lover the protagonist may never see again, or remembering the fact that they just survived a horrific night in a haunted asylum, there is something to be said about the meanings behind any memory or object they treasure. It’s easy to relate these things to an aspect of the character’s humanity, their past, the society they live in, or perhaps even their inner demons. Through these symbols we see the story behind the gore, the motives of why the monster is what they are, all the while creating a depth even darker than what the reader initially sees. Symbolism encompasses a different number of forms, and ultimately forces us to ask how we can make our readers see our true intentions. Below are just a few points as to figure out just how symbolism works in horror.

The Monsters

The antagonists are more than just the average bad guy. Emmal’s Xenon carried out an almost ritualistic killing that made her chase after revenge, thus turning her into a monster more terrifying than the man she set out to murder. Edging’s Boogeyman represents the primal fear resting in all of humanity, and that if we’re not careful, that fear could consume us. Stoker’s Dracula represents the unknown, humanity’s nightmares coming alive with the blurring line between darkness and blood. These monsters usually illustrate a kind of twisted reflection in the protagonist, or even humanity in general. While we may be blissfully unaware of this connection in the beginning, once we realize what they are meant to represent, that is when we are truly terrified. 

The Ghosts 

Forgotten letters written to a lover so very long ago, a withered rose behind an empty vase, a decaying piano; objects such as these carry the burden of a tragic past, so much so that the reader can’t help but wonder exactly what they mean. The characters could relate it to their own past, present, even future, all the while carrying a foreboding sense that there’s something watching them. A sorrow from a supposedly happy time, or a forgotten childhood promise; no matter what, there’s a good chance that whatever’s going to happen, that object will be the very thing that witnesses it. 

The Emotions

Perhaps the most subtle of all, the character can’t help but ask themselves if they’ve had something to do with the horrors that killed victims X,Y, and Z. Did they know some dark secret they couldn’t tell anyone else? Did their emotions provoke fear, disgust, sadness, pity, even rage? Can they do anything about it? Or are they just remnants of a past that needed to be buried? It’s these things that could reveal the entire story, regardless of what happens in the end. 

I cannot begin to emphasize just how important these symbols are in horror. They’re littered throughout the genre, from Thatcher’s Tree to The Feral Sentence. They play an important part in facilitating the author’s thoughts and feelings to the reader. And because of that, they hold the reader’s imagination captive, calling out for its nightmares to come alive through secrets it might not even know it carries.