Is horror dead? No pun intended.

My favorite genre of literature is dwindling in book stores, and I would like to know why and how could this happen? Horror like any other genre of literature usually has it's own section in book stores. I was alarmed and upset to find when I walked into the local Barnes and Nobles where I live and headed straight for where the section use to be, that it was GONE. I asked one of their sales people, "Ummm, where is the horror section? Has it been moved?" Her reply,"Well, what book are you looking for?" My answer was, "Well nothing specific just wanted to see if there was anything new that may catch my eye, perhaps a new author I've not read yet." "Well, I can'thelp you then, because the horror section has been removed. You can find the author you are looking for in the generalized fiction section." ????? Who here can vouch for how big the general fiction section is in a book store is? It's ENORMOUS! Science fiction/fantasy still has it's section as well as an anime section. Is horror dead? Are there no more authors who enjoy writing in this genre? I find that hard to believe. So why the disbandment of it's section? I figured that this thread belonged here rather than in the rant forum. I would just like some feedback and thoughts from other avid readers. I would also like to mention that I think starting a general horror forum would be a great idea for BTS, so I suggested it. My suggestion

Well with movies like "The Ring" out there its no wonder people our losing interest in horrer.

By the way deadlynightshade if you want to watch some real horrer try renting the original japanese version of horrers. Movies like the Grudge are way more scary then theyre wussy American versions.

And Godzilla aint bad either

[edit on 4/15/2005 by Croat56]

I enjoy horror fantasy myself. I'm actually more horrified by the thought that the political correctness police may be quietly removing vampire and horror information all over the place. I haven't been to a bookstore lately so I don't know how well horror is doing in the bookstores. Sounds like a good idea to me to have a separate section to post about horror fantasy, films, literature etc. I believe any horror related posts are buried within a sea of posts about religion, general fantasy, and scifi. I can just imagine a topic about vampires getting lost after a bunch of postings about Harry Potter in a fantasy section as things stand now. Good idea.

*looks around* Hmm, I could have swore that this was the forum for Literature. I have read "The Ring" by Koji Suzuki, and I found it in the horror section at a Borders. If it would have been in the general fiction, it may have gone unnoticed by most people.

I think I would have to disagree with you on your opinion of the US versions of the movies "The Ring" and "The Grudge". I thought the plots were well thought out. The directing was terrific and Samara in "The Ring" was much creepier in the US version. I have seen both "Ringu" and "Ringu 2" directed by Hideo Nakata and I don't think that the Japanese versions were that scary. As for Godzilla; which one? "Gojira" filmed in 1954, or "Godzilla vs. Mothra, or "Godzilla vs. Destroyah", or "Godzilla vs. Gogan", well I think you get the point. I've seen most of them, but thanks for the suggestions.

Originally posted by orionthehunter
I enjoy horror fantasy myself. I'm actually more horrified by the thought that the political correctness police may be quietly removing vampire and horror information all over the place. I haven't been to a bookstore lately so I don't know how well horror is doing in the bookstores. Sounds like a good idea to me to have a separate section to post about horror fantasy, films, literature etc. I believe any horror related posts are buried within a sea of posts about religion, general fantasy, and scifi. I can just imagine a topic about vampires getting lost after a bunch of postings about Harry Potter in a fantasy section as things stand now. Good idea.

Thanks, I thought so too. Go check out your local bookstore and report back to me on your findings. I'm really curious to find out what you discover. I caused such a stink that they moved the horror section back- it's only one book shelf, but hey it's better than nothing. They still have Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Saul in the general fiction section, and I'm "ok" with it cause they are well known names. All I have to say is "Give Horror a chance."I've been noticing that certain horror topics are kind of getting buried. Look for me posting horror related topics in other subforums and jump in on the conversation. This will show people that we really want a separate forum.