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Horror often deals with inversion. King begins various sections of the novel with references to Biblical narratives such as Lazarus, which is a story of resurrection. How does Pet Semetary “invert” biblical narratives of resurrection, and to what end? What truths is King hoping the reader will discover through this inversion? When Louis explains death a second time to his daughter, after the death of Gage, he covers a number of religions’ different beliefs in the afterlife. Later, he mentions various funeral superstitions such as how the toes of the dead were tied together at Irish funerals to ensure that the deceased ghost’s would not walk. Why is it important in the narrative that so much ground is covered, in terms of different cultural beliefs about death? How might this story be different if only one perspective about death was presented as some kind of absolute truth? What is the significance of the references throughout to Oz the Great and Terrible from the W...
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Parasite Discussion

1) Why is horror a good genre to deal with capitalism and economic pressures and problems? What does this genre have to offer a discussion on these topics -- which can often be quite a dry subject to talk about -- that no other genre does? 2) Discuss the parallels between this film and OUT. 3) Discuss the differences and similarities between Bateman and Mr. Park (the rich father). 4) What does having a lot of money do to the rich family's emotions, and attitudes toward themselves and others? Come up with examples from the film to support your ideas. 5) What does poverty do do to the poor family's emotions, and attitudes toward themselves and others? 6) Discuss the two different homes in the film--that of the Kim family, and that of the Park family. How does the director Bong Joon-ho highlight the differences between the rich and the poor through architecture? 7) How does water and sewage function metaphorically in the film? 8) Why do you think the director include...
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Write your own urban legend

With your partner, come up with a brief urban legend. It's a story  you "heard from a friend, about a friend of a friend." What happens in the story? Consider some of the famous ones: Coke and pop rocks Blood Mary Slender man and the slender sickness The hitchhiker on the roof Your legend should be brief enough to be told in one to two paragraphs, and should take place at Whittier College. You're coming up with a legend that speaks to the fears and frustrations that Whittier students face on a daily basis. If you want, it can be based on an actual story you've heard from someone at Whittier, or it can be invented. You may want to consider what it is "cautioning" about or if there is a moralizing element to it. Mostly, though, you just want to come up with a creepy story. You can use the example legends as templates. Remember, all urban legends possess the following elements: they are believable, involve a person/people, and take place in a very ...
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An urban legend , urban myth , urban tale , or contemporary legend is a genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend or family member, often with horrifying or humorous elements. These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects. They may also be moralistic confirmation of prejudices or ways to make sense of societal anxieties. [1]   Urban legends are most often circulated orally, but can be spread by any media, including newspapers, e-mail and social media . Some urban legends have passed through the years with only minor changes to suit regional variations. Recent legends tend to reflect modern circumstances: for instance, the common legend of a person being ambushed and anesthetized, only to wake up and realize that they are now missing a kidney that was supposedly surgically removed for transplantation . [2] Many urban l...
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1) What might be significant about the cat being named after Winston Churchill? What about his nicknname, Church? 2) What is the family's relationship to religion in the novel? How might this contribute to or impact the horrors that follow? 3) Discuss with your partner whether you would be tempted to use the burial ground, if your loved one died and you had it at your disposal. 4) How do the different characters respond to Gage's death? What do their different responses tell us about how grief works? 5) Contrast Gage's death and Norma's death; look at the two different rituals (funerals, viewings) that each experience. How are these rituals designed to help people come to terms with death? In what ways do they fail to succeed in this? 6) Why does Timmy's dad (p 256, near end of chapter 38) think he has a right to bring him back? 7) Contrast Timmy with other zombies you might have seen in literature or film. How is his portrayal as a zombie differ...
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It Follows Discussion Questions

1) What real life horrors inform the story? 2) How are these real life horrors turned metaphorical  and embodied? 3) What parallels do you note between this film and the others you've encountered this semester, specifically The Cabin in the Woods and Jennifer's Body? 4) Discuss the setting for the story -- how does it contribute to the horrors? 5) What is the time period of the story? How might its ambiguity contribute to the horrors? 6) The director, David Robert Mitchell, has said that he wanted this film to be inspired by nightmares--that feeling you get when having a bad dream and you cannot wake up from it. What is nightmare-like about the film? 7) What is the worst nightmare you've ever had? 8)  Discuss the role of water in the story. What might it represent? 9) Discuss the various forms "it" takes -- what is frightening about these forms? 10) What form might "it" take to scare you? 11) Analyze the title "It Follows" -...
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Pet Semetary II

1) Thus far, what cultural conditions lead to the horrors at the heart of the story, do you think? 2) Why does Jud take Louis to the Micmac burial ground? 3) In what way do the woods here play a role in producing the horror in the novel? Discuss why the woods are so often a setting for horror, and what cultural conditions or histories they might connect to in this novel in particular. 4) What other films or novels have we read where the woods play a role? What role is that? 5) As the novel continues to unfold, what dominant cultural attitudes about death are starting to emerge? Do these ring true with what you've seen and heard during your own life? How do people in the US talk about death (or do they)? 6) What truths about death is this novel examining? Why  might the horror genre be an ideal one to look at these truths?
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