(no subject)
katmarajade, Thank you for the virtual gift. *hugs you* You are one of the nicest people I have met on LJ (and in life - even if we haven't really met irl, but you know what I mean). I luff you bb!
Happy Halloween, guys!
Anyway so this weekend, I was thinking about my love for the Unreliable Narrator and how it so often plays a part in horror.
I might write an essay (or two) about unreliable narration in general later, but here are some of my favourite horror/creepy stories with unreliable narration.
In no particular order:
*The Haunting of Hill House and We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
In the first you're never quite sure how much is really happening and how much of it is in the characters mind. It is quite clear that Hill House is not sane, but how much is this due to Elanor. Does the house affect her because it is actively picking her, or is it just because it was time for Elanor to start a long overdue cracking up.
In the second, the narrator (Mary-Kat) outright lies to us, or at least keeps things from us. In a way I find this much more horrifying than Hill House, because with that at least there is a possibility that it's supernatural and out of our control.
*Perfect Blue and Black Swan
It's pretty obvious that Black Swan was influenced by Perfect Blue.
Both of them feature a protagonist who is losing her mind. Perfect Blue ties up it neater, but for the most part is much more ambiguous. In both cases - you aren't sure where reality ends and begins.
*Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni/Higurashi - When They Cry
This series (and the sister series Umineko to some extent) lives on this concept. To explain would be to give away the whole series, but it is a really good story (even if the animation is pretty dodgy at times).
*Most things with a twist ending, lol!
What are your thoughts on unreliable narration/you favourite horror themes?
Happy Halloween flist! Don't eat too much candy! ;)
Happy Halloween, guys!
Anyway so this weekend, I was thinking about my love for the Unreliable Narrator and how it so often plays a part in horror.
I might write an essay (or two) about unreliable narration in general later, but here are some of my favourite horror/creepy stories with unreliable narration.
In no particular order:
*The Haunting of Hill House and We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
In the first you're never quite sure how much is really happening and how much of it is in the characters mind. It is quite clear that Hill House is not sane, but how much is this due to Elanor. Does the house affect her because it is actively picking her, or is it just because it was time for Elanor to start a long overdue cracking up.
In the second, the narrator (Mary-Kat) outright lies to us, or at least keeps things from us. In a way I find this much more horrifying than Hill House, because with that at least there is a possibility that it's supernatural and out of our control.
*Perfect Blue and Black Swan
It's pretty obvious that Black Swan was influenced by Perfect Blue.
Both of them feature a protagonist who is losing her mind. Perfect Blue ties up it neater, but for the most part is much more ambiguous. In both cases - you aren't sure where reality ends and begins.
*Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni/Higurashi - When They Cry
This series (and the sister series Umineko to some extent) lives on this concept. To explain would be to give away the whole series, but it is a really good story (even if the animation is pretty dodgy at times).
*Most things with a twist ending, lol!
What are your thoughts on unreliable narration/you favourite horror themes?
Happy Halloween flist! Don't eat too much candy! ;)