Horror as entertainment for a mass audience was first seen on the stage, most notably in productions like those at The Theatre du Grand-Guignol in Paris. These productions featured macabre plays that emphasized violence, horror, and sadism and were very popular, particularly in Parisian cabarets in the late 19th century. The Grand Guignol theater was introduced into England in 1908, though it remained essentially a Parisian theatrical form from its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962. The extreme gore was achieved through the use of intricate special effects that produced realistic, over-the-top violence. 
According to the New York Film Academy, the history of horror as a film genre begins with the works of George Mellies, an early French experimenter with motion pictures, credited with being the first to film fictional narratives. Just a few years after filmmaking capabilities emerged in the mid-1890s, Mellies created “Le Manoir du Diable,” known in English as “The Haunted Castle” or “The House of the Devil,” in 1896, and it is widely believed to be the first horror movie. Lasting only three minutes, it featured skeletons, ghosts, bats, and ultimately an incarnation of the devil.
During The Silent Era of film, between 1900 and 1920, most of the supernatural-themed films used classic literature for source material. Adaptations of the work of Edgar Allan Poe included The Sealed Room (1909) The Raven (1912) and The Pit and the Pendulum (1913). Other famous horror characters made their film debut in the era including Frankenstein, released by Edison Studios in 1910, as well as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912). Silent films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922) introduced eerie visuals and unsettling narratives, heavily influenced by German Expressionism.
These films set the foundation for the gothic horror aesthetic that would define the next era, The Golden Age of Monsters (1930s-1940s), in which Universal Studios brought some of the most iconic monsters to life, including Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Wolf Man (1941). These films focused on atmospheric horror, elaborate set designs, and unforgettable acting performances.
This era marked the first time that the word “horror” was used to describe the genre. Previously, it was purely ‘melodrama with a dark element.’ It was a time that saw the birth of genuine horror “stars” like Dracula’s Bella Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff who were arguably the first actors to specialize solely in the genre.
There have always been people who just don’t appreciate horror the way others do, and there are always movies that shine a spotlight on the genre and generate harsh, critical responses. 1932’s Freaks was just such a movie, a film that has been regularly cited as the progenitor of the modern horror genre. Tod Browining famously directed Lugosi in Dracula the previous year, and was nicknamed the “Edgar Allen Poe of Cinema,” but Freaks effectively destroyed his career in one fell swoop.
The cast of Freaks was made up of real disabled people and sideshow performers, including dwarves, amputees, and Siamese twins. While today, these people are treated with much more sensitivity, in 1931 they were considered monsters. At that time, the majority of the public had never seen anyone with these abnormalities, leading to one of the most intense audience outcries in motion picture history. Some audience members became physically ill and ran out of the theater. The movie was banned for thirty years in Great Britain. Even seasoned horror fans today might find parts of this movie disturbing when viewed for the first time.
The 1950s ushered in an explosion of psychological horror, science fiction, and suspense films in what is often referred to as the Atomic Era of cinema. The shift was a result of fears from nuclear fallout, giving us films about radioactive mutation, such as The Incredible Shrinking Man, Them, Godzilla, to name just a few. Cold War paranoia and the Red Scare, also knowns as McCarthyism, spawned movies like The Thing from Another World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Roswell and UFO conspiracies created fear of invasion and subsequent films that included The War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide, both big hits in 1953.
At this time, gimmicks were used at some movie theaters to enhance audience involvement and scare the daylights out of them, including installing electric buzzers under the seats and paying ‘actors’ to sit in the audience and pretend to faint or run out of the theater screaming.
The 1960s began a more psychological approach to horror, led by Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, a film that shifted the focus of horror from supernatural creatures to real-world killers, setting the stage for modern thrillers. By the end of the decade, Night of the Living Dead (1968) brought zombies into the mainstream. The film was also responsible for an insatiable appetite horror fans would develop for low-budget scares. Romero’s 1968 classic was made with just over $100k and went on to gross $30 million.
In the 1970s, horror became much more extreme, pushing the boundaries of terror in new directions. The Exorcist (1973) shocked audiences with a story about a little girl possessed by the devil. Supernatural horror was back with a vengeance. The Omen, Carrie blended psychological dread with disturbing imagery. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) introduced raw, documentary-style terror.
Horror in the 80s was all about slashers. A relentless antagonist hunting down and killing teenagers in ever-increasing inventive ways was a predictable format that audiences ate up. The use of practical effects and over-the-top gore defined this era. Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street were box office gold. These films became franchises, spawning sequel after sequel and a boom in VHS horror rentals. Even the low-budget rip-offs were successful. Living through this era, it didn’t seem like it would ever end.
But, alas, it did.
The 90s wasn’t a very inspired era for horror, as far as I’m concerned. It was certainly a more self-aware time, as evidenced by one of the decade’s top films, Scream (1996), which masterfully played with all the horror tropes, bringing humor and irony to the genre. However, by the end of the decade, found-footage horror found its niche with the popularity of The Blair Witch Project (1999).
The 2000s introduced “torture porn,” a subgenre focused on extreme violence. Films like Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005) shocked audiences with graphic brutality. Meanwhile, Japanese horror remakes like The Ring (2002) and The Grudge (2004) introduced eerie, slow-burning scares.
The zombie subgenre also sprang back into un-life, giving fans a new take on the undead with their portrays in films that included 28 Days Later, (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Land of the Dead (2005), I Am Legend (2007) and Zombieland (2009). The genre kept on going, entering the video game market and network television, with AMC’s long-running The Walking Dead. 2013’s World War Z is considered by many to be the best film ever made in the zombie genre.
Technology advances took computer-generated special effects to a new level in the last decade, terrifying audience with visuals never seen before. Hollywood and independent studios alike pumped out the product, giving us The Conjuring, It, Cloverfield, 1408, The Nun, Insidious, Mama, and many, many more.
The genre today has been criticized by some for seemingly relying on churning out remakes, reboots, and endless sequels. Many argue that horror is languishing in the doldrums with little originality to offer a modern audience.
What will the future of horror be?
With perhaps more subgenres than any other branch of fictional filmmaking, there’s no doubt that innovative filmmakers will come along and change the status of horror to reflect the mood of the generation, just as the industry has done for the last hundred years.
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