Thoughts on existentialist/cosmic horror

Faith & Science Conversation
1

I don’t really get into horror too often. I had a terrible habit as a child of watching those dumb “ghosts caught on camera!” and other clickbait-y videos before the concept of clickbait even existed. However, I have noticed a bit of a unique form of horror that is more philosophical in nature.

Within the gaming community is this indie game titled “Doki Doki Literature Club!” Moral of the story: it is supposed to look like an innocent anime dating simulator. However, we find that the main female is self aware, and essentially deletes everyone in her universe to be alone with the player. We also find that, in canon, the game was meant to be an experiment to test whether we live in a simulation, but the dating aspect was added last minute.

And, of course, existential horror wouldn’t be complete without discussing Mr. Lovecraft, an iconic name for such stories as a random and unloving universe ruled by evil gods.

Both of these stories directly reflect many discussions that go on today within the realms of philosophy, science, and religion, and I was wondering what your thoughts on this area of media were.

2

Cosmic and existential horror are closely related though Lovecraftian horror is mostly about human insignificance against a vast and indifferent universe and existential is more about being in a normal ordinary time and place but finding it all ultimately meaningless.

I’m a huge horror fan and I ghost horror. I don’t believe in the paranormal and my favorite horror is guess all of it. Don’t have a favorite subgenre. I enjoy slashers just as much as sci fi horror just as much as body horror. Guess it I had to choose I am a creature feature fan. Books and films though Prometheus is my favorite film. I have a hard time with favorites though. It’s more like what I’m most in the mood for atm.

I’m not entirely sure how you’re wanting to die this into god or science. I don’t really feel that way about religion or science .i don’t see the cosmos as horrific and I don’t find life or
God meaningless. Sure on an individual level for better or worse we don’t matter on the big scale. But a million small scales equal a big one.

1 Like
3

Thank you for the clarification!

I think it is more the variety of competing claims that often remind me of the true uncertainty of life than anything they say.

4

I’m no expert, but it seems to me that in itself the horror genre is neutral towards religious themes. However you are wise to consider what any particular writing is saying on the subject.

As an example, I compare the fantasy writings of C S Lewis (Narnia), Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials) and Terry Pratchett (Discworld). Narnia has an explicitly Christian world view, while the atheist Pullman wrote his works as a response to Lewis. Pratchett disliked both of those approaches and aimed to create a world where the spiritual realm is simply not included or discussed. But that choice itself has its own implications. No work is entirely free from a world view of some sort. I love the Discworld series but it leaves me with a feeling that the spiritual dimension of life has been sidelined.

So the issue you face is to develop the skill of reading between the lines of anything you read. What themes are being championed? What underlying belief system is implied? And so on. (Which of course is exactly the same skill you need to deal wisely with the videos you have discussed with this forum.)

2 Likes