Classic terror materializes human fears in archetypes, giving them a structured and endowed form. The wicked spirit, the monster, the eccentric scientist. Through these characters between mythology and folk culture, we can fight or rationalize the strongest human fear: the unknown. These monstrous creatures are a perfect mirror of our behaviour; they have evolved with knowledge: the more we know, the less we fear.
The instinctive curiosity that drives us to horror counters the fear of the unknown. We transform monsters into the ones misunderstood by society, releasing ourselves from the chains that lock us in the cave. At the same time, however, we also feel a morbid attraction for all that is dark and evil. There is no need for understanding to feel admiration or pure aesthetic pleasure for the most terrifying images of the popular imaginary.
Light, as antagonist to darkness, also plays an important role in the definition of terror. Chiaroscuros, shadows or deep eyes are nothing more than the materialization of a partial illuminated reality. We have all told horror stories around a campfire, playing with flashlights under our faces. It is precisely around the fire that we feel safe, but are the flames that cast the shadows.
Illuminate then our fears. Conquer the unknown or just give in to the charms of horror.
Audrey: Totebag – When Audrey Met Darcy / Pin – ‘Bad vibes only’ – La Barbuda
Photography by Electric Percival