Cosmic Horror and Pacing in Lovecraft's Dagon and the Shadows Over Innsmouth

Abstract

Nowadays, most horror movies have smeared the credibility of the horror genre by using screamers, which are fast scenes with loud noises meant to get viewers to jump from their seats. Apart from that, movies with a physical foe are soon to lose the fear that could have been induced in the viewer, for any human carrying a weapon is able to kill it. The overall purpose of this paper is to discover, analyse and bring to light the peculiarities of Lovecraft, the father of “Cosmic Horror” and author whose view of the world was considered by Ralickas (2008) to be harshly realistic or pessimistic. His horror, unlike the one utilized in the present, uses psychological elements to bring the viewers to feel uncomfortable and disregard the security that routine poses. Not only does his pantheon of ruthless creatures with doubtful morale accomplish that, but they provoke on the characters in the story a sense of horror and despair that prevents them from fighting back even if a weapon is at hand. However, the creatures and sensorial elements are not the only ones in charge of provoking fear; a well developed story with a well-placed rhythm of action or pace does also contribute to the general feeling of fear.