Mitch Vicieux

Horror Essay # 2
11/6/2017

The Impact of Women in Horror Fiction on Contemporary Horror Film

Horror films, from their earliest incarnations to their most recent iterations, feature questionable

treatment of their female characters. Whether they are included as cautionary tales of unrestrained

sexuality, objects to be rescued by white knight protagonists, or mirrored representation of evil to

complement the monster, women are not at the forefront of horror film narratives or production. Although

horror films are regressive in their treatment of women, the genre was heavily influenced by important

women of horror literature. With notable contributions such as the creation of iconic monsters and the

foundation of the cautionary released repression narrative, women were molding what the genre would

become long before the first creature feature was conceptualized. The connection between historic figures

in horror fiction and their impact on modern films will be discussed in this essay through the exploration

of four figures of horror literature in relation to horror films that built off their influence.

Brief History of Women in Horror Fiction

The genre of horror itself has roots in ancient Greek and Roman folklore that explored themes of

death, afterlife, evil, and possession. Early European fiction involving witchcraft, vampires, ghosts, and

werewolves evolved from these folktales and religious traditions. During the medieval era, the first

published piece of horror fiction was commissioned by the Countess Yolande II of Hainaut. This French

romance poem titled Guillaume de Palerme describes the tale of a young werewolf man who is hopelessly

in love with a princess who is betrothed to another royal. The publication of this poem established

womens interest in supernatural literature, and this is an important aspect of 18th century gothic literature.

Gothic romance novels were aimed explicitly at a female audience, with a recurring trope being the

resourceful young woman outwitting her tormenter in a gloomy castle setting. Deciding to write their own

novels instead of simply read them, the 19th century saw a boom of female authors who created the most

enduring monsters of the horror genre. Between Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Jane Loudons The
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Mummy!, the 1800s held widespread and mainstream success for female horror fiction authors.

Unfortunately, the turn of the 20th century saw a shift in its treatment of women in horror. Within 20 years

of the first horror film being released, interest moved away from the monster and towards the serial

killer/psychopath antagonist. These slasher flicks began to fetishize the brutalization of women, a nasty

habit that has pervaded outside of horror film into all popular mediums, including music albums, video

games, and comic books. This new attitude towards women in the genre betrays the influence that women

had in developing public interest in horror through their literary accomplishments. By discussing the

impact of the upcoming four women on the horror genre, I hope to resurrect the discarded contributions of

women in horror.

1600s: Elizabeth Bthory and Dracula (1931)

It is often assumed that the sole inspiration for the character Dracula was Vlad the Impaler, but

there was another equally bloodthirsty noble who influenced the creation of this horror icon. Elizabeth

Bthory was a Hungarian noblewoman who tortured and murdered over 300 young girls before her arrest

in 1610. Although it is clear now that Bthorys acts were crimes of recreational sadism, the Bthory lore

grew as a cautionary tale about vanity in women, with a plethora of (later disproven) rumors circulating

about Bthorys vampirism and use of virgin blood to stay youthful. Bthory historian Raymond McNally

asserts that, with consideration to the motifs and setting of the novel, Bram Stoker was influenced by the

Bthory murders in his conception of Dracula. Bthory went on to make an appearance as the main

antagonist in Dracula the Undead, a sequel penned by Stokers great grand-nephew Dacre Stoker.

Bthorys influence also persisted into the 1931 film adaption. The monster Dracula is constructed in this

film as an allegory for an abuse of power by old money nobles who sucked the peasant population dry.

This has a clear connection to the public reception of the Bthory case. Bthory managed to evade arrest

for 6 years after the discovery of her crimes through political manipulation and her monetary power.
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Bthory was also notorious in her use of money to lure in peasant women with the promise of an easy,

well-paying palace job, only to capture and torture them upon entry to her castle. In comparison, Dracula

preys on young common women, with his noble riches and influence guarding him until his defeat at the

end of the film. With the Dracula film as a launching point, Bthory lore went on to influence countless

other films, music albums, video games, and theatrical adaptations.

1700s: Ann Radcliffe and Rosemarys Baby (1968)

A prolific gothic fiction writer, Ann Radcliffe has been credited for giving the genre

respectability and widespread appeal in the 1700s. Beyond public influence, Radcliffe is distinguished as

the highest paid writer of her time, netting 500-800 for her last three manuscripts when the average pay

for an author was 10. Radcliffe set the framework for the gothic fiction genre, which later went on to

become the foundation for horror film narrative structure. Radcliffes structure played out as follows: the

main character (usually a young female) rejects the rational world, led astray by a seductive or

antagonistic force with a supernatural element. This antagonist represents a rejection of everything

rational, and torments or kills the protagonist. Her death/insanity serves as a cautionary tale about the

dangers of succumbing to our inner emotions. Modern horror films have updated this structure, with

mundane reality (rational world) becoming threatened by a powerful release of repression (seductive

emotions). Culturally horror films are cautionary tales about unrestrained desires destroying the status

quo, exactly the message of Radcliffes gothic fiction. In 1968, the film Rosemarys Baby chose to update

this gothic narrative. The trope of the young woman moving into a gloomy castle with her new husband is

modernized with a young wife moving to an urban housing complex instead. Rosemary becomes our

gothic damsel in distress, with the tenants of the housing complex tormenting her in the same fashion that

shadowy figures would in a Radcliffe story. With the antagonists of Radcliffes tales usually being

powerful men, Rosemarys Baby amplifies this message. The monsters in the film are not only a system
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of powerful men (the patriarchy which has placed Rosemarys child and reproductive abilities above her

individual worth), but THE most powerful man in the form of Satan himself. The objectification of

women as a prize to be saved in gothic literature has been epitomized, as Rosemarys safety is

disregarded in favor of her spawn. Beyond this film, Radcliffe was a major influence on horror

scholarship as well, describing the differences between horror and dread nearly 200 years before Cynthia

Freeland in her essay The Supernatural in Poetry.

1800s: Mary Shelley and The Brood (1979)

Perhaps one of the most well-known women presented in this essay, Shelley was a radical leftist

and prolific figure in literary history. Daughter of a feminist writer and progressive political theorist,

social justice projects were a major factor in Shelleys life. An unfortunate victim of the sexism her

family sought to correct, the release of Frankenstein was plagued by accusations of Percy Shelley writing

the novel for his wife. It was later proven that Percy had no influence beyond that of a copy editor. This

initial response was disheartening, even more so considering the inclusion of Shelleys personal struggles

which molded the novel. Shelleys mother died shortly after her birth from delivery complications, and

Shelley herself had lost two children from miscarriage at the time that Frankenstein was published, and

themes of reproduction and parenting guilt pervade throughout the narrative. Literary historian Anne K.

Mellor provides a feminist read of the novel, arguing that Frankenstein is a feminist statement about

parenthood and asexual reproduction. These themes of misguided parenting and unnatural reproduction

are present in the 1979 Canadian horror film The Brood, directed by David Cronenberg. Both narratives

feature a mad scientist father, whose obsession with unnatural reproduction creates deadly monsters.

Whereas Nola becomes a feminist symbol of power with her man-less reproduction, the feminist rhetoric

in Frankenstein exists in the failed experiment: attempting to give birth without a woman creates a

monster that plagues Dr. Frankensteins town. Fated to kill their creations, Dr. Raglan and Dr.
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Frankenstein must come to terms with their failed parenthood attempts and destroy what they worked to

create. The fate of these bad dads leads to the end of our comparison, with the postmodern narrative in

The Brood ends with the death of the mad scientist while the monster lives on in Candy, unlike the classic

horror paradigm present with the destruction of Frankensteins monster. Though Frankensteins monster

has created a franchise of its own, Shelley has influenced films past the creation of this horror icon.

1900s: Daphne Du Maurier and High Tension (2003)

Daphne Du Maurier is another woman who enjoyed widespread commercial success in her

lifetime. The novel Rebecca sold three million copies within 30 years of its release, and has never gone

out of print since its initial publication. Multiple short stories from Maurier have been adapted into horror

films, including famous titles like Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds and Nicholas Roegs Dont Look Now. A

notable aspect of Mauriers narrative structure was her open-ended conclusions, which left readers

considering her riddles beyond finishing the text. This trend became popular with the rise of post-modern

horror films which rejected the defeat of the monster for a more tense, unresolved ending. Although the

2003 French horror film High Tension features the classic horror paradigm, it still shares many themes

with Rebecca. Jealousy is a major factor in Rebecca, with the unnamed narrator being unable to compare

to her new husbands previous wife whom she obsesses over. Similarly, jealousy over Alexs sexual

endeavors with men and her time spent away with family fuels Maries murderous rage. Mauriers writing

is famous for the tension it creates, and High Tension uses cinematography to escalate the narrative and

create suspense with a twist pay off in a similar way. As the action ensues in High Tension, the viewers

are led on an excruciating tour of the farm house as Marie attempts to evade the truck driving murderer.

The pacing slowly increases until the climax, where it is revealed that Marie is having a schizophrenic

episode and was the murderer all along. Similarly, Rebecca slowly escalates towards the revelation that

Rebecca was not the perfect woman the narrator thought, and that all pretenses of her obsession with
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Rebecca could be dispelled. Identity is the last thematic connection between Rebecca and High Tension,

with both main characters operating under a split personality. The protagonist in Rebecca is consumed by

a desire to be her husbands dead wife, going so far as to impersonate her in name and dress at a court

ball, much to her husbands dismay. Maries obsession and sexual desire towards Alex cause her to

develop a serial killer personal who fulfills Maries desires to isolate herself with Alex.

Conclusion

History is constantly being rewritten to favor those in power, which inextricably leads to the

exclusion of women and minority groups from the popular narrative. The horror film genre has

unfortunately emulated this practice, and does not represent women properly with consideration to their

contributions to the genre. Despite the abysmal roles for women in contemporary horror films, women

were instrumental in the foundation of horror narratives and icons, and have continued to influence the

genre long past their time. Understanding the references and influences on modern horror films often

reveals greater significance for female contributors, who should be credited more thoroughly for their

work in establishing the horror genre.

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Bibliography

Halberstam, Judith. Technologies of Monstrosity: Bram Stoker's Dracula. Victorian Studies,

vol. 36, no. 3, 1993, pp. 333352.

Pawliw-Fry, Brigitte. Otherness in the Female Gothic: Roman Polanskis Rosemarys Baby.

Stanford University, 2004.

Radcliffe, Ann. On the Supernatural in Poetry. The New Monthly Magazine and Literary

Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, 1826, pp. 145152.

Stephanie Demetrakopoulos (Autumn 1977). Feminism, Sex Role Exchanges, and Other

Subliminal Fantasies in Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies.

University of Nebraska Press. 2 (3): 104113.