Horror movies has been around for almost as long as movies have been made. Before looking at the horror movie it may be best to look into horror in literature. Knowing this can help our understanding of horror films and where they come from.

Horror in literature left a legacy that helped to propel this genre into films. If there had not been such a legacy of literary works then we may not have the same movies we do now. The term horror was first coined in 1764 in a book by Horace Walpole’s called The Castle of Otranto which was full of the supernatural. In the following centuries literary giants like Edgar Allan Poe championed this genre with great works like The Raven. Some of the great horror movies of today are based on old horror stories like Frankenstein and Dracula which were both written in the 1800’s.

The supernatural was the main theme of the horror movie when they first came about. Short silent films were the first place horror films were found in the 1890’s. In 1896 the short silent film Le Manior du diable is thought to be the first horror film. At the same time as Georges Melies made this film the Japanese also made horror films Shinin no Sosei and Bake Jizo.

The full length horror film was first seen as a version of the hunchback of Notre-Dame. In the early 1900’s the German expressionist film was at its peak meaning most of the first horror films were made by Germans. These German films have acted as influential works for many modern film makers like Tim Burton. The 1920’s brought about the first Hollywood dabbling in the genre and the first American horror star in Lon Chaney Sr.

It was in the 1930’s that the horror film was first popularized by Hollywood. Along with the classic Gothic films Frankenstein and Dracula there were also films made with a mix of Gothic horror and the supernatural. In 1941 The Wolf Man was an iconic werewolf movie created by Universal studios. This was not the first werewolf movie made but is known as the most influential. During this era other B pictures were created like the 1945 version of The Body Snatcher.

The technology used to make films underwent changes in the 1950’s. In addition to this horror films started being divided into either Armageddon or demonic films. There were many movies at this times that injected the social fear and insecurities of the time into their stories without directly exploiting them.

The 1960’s were the time when many iconic movies came about. Hitchcock’s movie The Birds was against a modern backdrop and was one of the first American Armageddon films. Perhaps one of the most influential films of this time was Night of the Living Dead. This movie brought zombies into the mainstream and it also moved these movies from the Gothic horror to what we know today.

Horror movies have a long history that goes back to the start of cinema. It is possible to see the way the movies changed from gothic to modern.

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