Holocaust Horror
Explore books, themes, and recommendations in Holocaust Horror.
What is the Holocaust Horror Subgenre?
As the name would suggest, holocaust horror will involve a horrific tragedy in which millions of people are killed. Often, this subgenre refers to the actual Holocaust and the heinous acts that took place during that time. However, speculative future and past events may also be a part of holocaust horror. A popular subgenre of holocaust horror is nuclear holocaust horror where a nuclear bomb has annihilated most of humanity.
Often settings in this subgenre are grim post apocalyptic worlds where protagonists must fight against harsh terrain and cruel antagonists. The violence will be high in this subgenre, not only as a result of the catastrophic event that serves as the setting, but also in the events of the plot.
Holocaust Horror Characteristics
Level of Characterization: The level of characterization for Holocaust Horror is varied, though generally low to moderate for the human protagonists. The supernatural entity haunting the home, however, will often have more characterization than the humans.
Level of Plot: Plots will be low to moderate in Holocaust Horror as plots generally revolve around the human protagonists discovering that something supernatural is haunting their home.
Level of Supernatural: With ghosts, demons, and poltergeists abound in this subgenre, Holocaust Horror definitely has a high level of supernatural.
Level of Scary: The level of scary varies in haunted house horror, though it is generally moderate to low, as atmospheric thrills are the most effective in this subgenre.
Level of Violence: Violence is a variable factor in Holocaust Horror depending upon the malevolence of the supernatural entity performing the haunting. However, generally in this subgenre, violence is moderate to low.
Typical Setting: A haunted house, of course. Holocaust Horror is typically set in an area that is being haunted by a supernatural being. That being said, the haunting does not necessarily need to take place in a house. Isolated hotels and castles are also popular settings for Holocaust Horror.
Related Horror Subgenres
The zombie horror subgenre is a related subgenre to the holocaust horror subgenre in that, in many tales, zombies are present in the post-apocalyptic world. Nuclear holocaust horror is also related to holocaust horror in that it is its subgenre. Post-apocalyptic horror is a related subgenre. Extreme and visceral horror are related subgenre due to the graphic nature of both genres, and noir horror could be related as well due to the bleak outlooks that the subgenres share.