Let's be honest here, when dealing with a pandemic taking hold of the nation, your first go to for entertainment is probably not going to be a horror movie, but I am here to make the case for the catharsis that can come from sharing in the social experience that is watching a horror movie.
There is one thing that everyone all over the world will always have in common, and that is fear. We all fear something. No one is immune to it. Watching horror movies is one of the only ways to encounter traumatic ideas and imagery in a safe and secure way—that you feel good afterward for having endured it.
Horror movies are known to actually help us expand our knowledge of empathy. We learn to connect with the experiences of others more clearly, as well as help us to truly identify what it is that we find ourselves fearful of. We become a part of a shared community that wants to see the characters not only live until the ending, but continue to thrive afterwards. We want the hero or heroine making it through to the end of their horrific trials. These characters represent all of us in one form or another and as they work to slay the monsters we can identify with them.
Below I have listed some of my favorite PG-13 Horror Movies that run the gambit from the monsters we do not see, the monsters we did not know existed, and the monsters we hide within ourselves.
When you are watching remember you are not alone in your experience. Horror movies unite their audience in their experience of fear. We learn by viewing how to survive. And in today's climate of fear, survival is always paramount. Stay strong and get ready to slay some monsters!
--Kristie Hill, Library Associate
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