The master's thesis examines horror as a cultural and social phenomenon and explores its role in confronting fear and other intense emotions. Drawing on anthropological approaches to the study of fear, emotions, and popular culture, it addresses the question of why people voluntarily engage with media whose purpose is to evoke discomfort, anxiety, and fear (citing the works of authors such as Caroline Humphrey). The author presents various approaches to understanding fear, the aesthetics of horror, affect, atmosphere, and sensory experience, while discussing horror as a genre that reflects social tensions, collective anxieties, and cultural conceptions of danger. It devotes particular attention to the film The Witch (2015), directed by Robert Eggers, which serves as an example for analysing the relationship between fear, atmosphere, folkloric motifs, and liminal spaces. The film is examined within the context of historical representations of witchcraft, folk imagination, and contemporary horror cinema. Special emphasis is placed on the ways in which atmosphere, space, and sensory elements contribute to the experience of horror. The empirical section is based on semi-structured interviews and group discussions with fourteen participants of different backgrounds. The author explores their first encounters with horror media, their experiences of fear, the significance of atmosphere, bodily responses and violence in film, and the reasons behind the genre’s appeal. The analysis demonstrates that participants perceive horror as far more than a form of entertainment. They view it as a space for exploring personal fears, existential concerns, social issues, and emotional experiences.
Atmosphere, the unknown, feelings of unease, and the opportunity to confront danger within a safe environment emerge as particularly important elements.
The thesis concludes that, for many viewers, horror functions as a form of emotional work and symbolic engagement with the uncertainties of the contemporary world. Horror thus emerges not merely as a genre of fear, but also as a space of reflection, identification, and catharsis through which individuals make sense of their emotions and lived experiences.
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