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things humanity should not meddle in
Jun. 27th, 2010 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joysilenceLJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY dfordoom)
On groups like this there are always arguments about supernatural vs non-supernatural horror. These days non-supernatural horror usually takes the form of particularly violent and terrifying crime stories.
But there is another type if non-supernatural horror with a very distinguished history, and that’s the science fiction horror story. In fact, of the three most famous 19th century horror novels, two were in fact science fiction novels - Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I was reminded of this today, reading Arthur C. Clarke’s short story Dial ‘F’ for Frankenstein. It’s one of several pieces of short fiction he wrote that remain very much sci-fi stories but deal with unwary scientists unleashing such cataclysmic events that they become in effect horror stories. Including my all-time favourite Arthur C. Clarke short story, The Nine Billion Names of God.
This kind of tale is still fairly widespread in movies but has become relatively less common in books and stories.
What are your favourites in this crossover sub-genre?
dfordoom)On groups like this there are always arguments about supernatural vs non-supernatural horror. These days non-supernatural horror usually takes the form of particularly violent and terrifying crime stories.
But there is another type if non-supernatural horror with a very distinguished history, and that’s the science fiction horror story. In fact, of the three most famous 19th century horror novels, two were in fact science fiction novels - Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I was reminded of this today, reading Arthur C. Clarke’s short story Dial ‘F’ for Frankenstein. It’s one of several pieces of short fiction he wrote that remain very much sci-fi stories but deal with unwary scientists unleashing such cataclysmic events that they become in effect horror stories. Including my all-time favourite Arthur C. Clarke short story, The Nine Billion Names of God.
This kind of tale is still fairly widespread in movies but has become relatively less common in books and stories.
What are your favourites in this crossover sub-genre?
