Religious Horror
Explore books, themes, and recommendations in Religious Horror.
What is the Religious Horror Subgenre?
Religious horror is more commonly known as Christian horror, and that may seem like a bit of an oxymoron, given that most religions, and Christianity in particular, seem to shun the stuff that horror is made of. But, on closer inspection, it's really not that big of a leap. Christian beliefs are rife with the supernatural, from angels and demons to the devil himself. The book of Revelation, for example, reads almost like a Clive Barker novel. So, it's easy to see how the two could, in fact, work together.
Christian horror takes on the supernatural beings from its religious doctrine and puts them in a more, modern setting with plenty of religious overtones added. Plots in this subgenre will focus on good versus evil, with the supernatural entity embodying evil and generally with good prevailing.
Protagonists will be Christian or espouse a Christian worldview. Themes in religious horror will also reflect Christian values, and supernatural beings will be described according to their nature in Christian doctrine. Though religious horror could be used to describe horror in which other religious values are represented, there are not many other types of religious horror out there. In fact, Christian horror, itself, is a relatively new subgenre. That is not to say that other horror subgenres do not borrow supernatural creatures or lore from different faiths, but these generally lack the overtly religious overtones that categorize religious horror as such.
Religious Horror Characteristics
Level of Characterization: The level of characterization in religious horror is moderate to low. Usually, protagonists will be good Christians, and their antagonists will embody evil.
Level of Plot: Plotting will always involve the standard trope of good vs. evil with very little deviation. So, the level of plot in religious horror is low.
Level of Supernatural: The level of supernatural in religious horror will be moderate, given that often, the antagonist is an evil supernatural entity.
Level of Scary: The level of scary in religious horror is moderate to low. This is because, given the subgenre, most readers will already know the outcome of the story.
Level of Violence: Given the religious nature of the subgenre, expect violence here to be low or occur off the page.
Typical Setting: The typical settings of religious horror can vary widely from modern day America to biblical times, to even, the end times.
Related Horror Subgenres
Given the subject matter of religious horror, the supernatural and crime genres could be related to religious horror. Similarly Satanic bargains could be related to religious horror and tales of demonic possession. However, due to the nature of religious horror, quiet horror or gothic horror might be more appealing to readers of religious horror, due to their low violence and their emphasis on atmospheric chills as opposed to guts and gore.