Nine Week Horror Unit

(an introduction to genre)

Horror is a compelling way to draw students into a discussion of genre and to apply
background information and cultural awareness into an understanding of literary
response. Among the themes that will be explored in this unit are:

What is catharsis and why is the idea of catharsis important to literature?

What is a genre? What are traditional characteristics of the subgenre that is horror
fiction? What are elements of other genres?
What is the function of horror, if it has one, in our society? More importantly,
what is the function of literature?
Horror, like all fiction, must center around character—students will be given
some attention to the concept of archetypes as well as a focus on different literary
elements such as setting, character development, mood, theme, and the use of
conflict and foreshadowing, .

The following texts and multimedia will be used for the unit:

“Beowulf” (poem included in the basal reader, as well as the CGI production.)
“Why We Crave Horror” essay by Stephen King
“Understanding the Popular Appeal of Horror Cinema: An Integrated-Interactive
Model” by Glenn D. Walters, PhD
“The Monkey's Paw” by W.W. Jacobs (basal reader)
“The Small Assassin” Ray Bradbury
“What Was It?” Fitz-James O’Brien
“The Lonesome Place” August Dereleth
“The Tale Tell Heart”— Edgar Allan Poe, short story AND recording, Vincent
Price narration
“Dracula” (1933)
“Twilight” (2008)

My goal here is to encourage students to understand that literature isn’t just something
that is part of a course in school, but something immediate and part of their lives and
cultures. I chose horror to jar them a bit, hoping this rather untraditional approach would
find their defenses lowered. Also, I have mixed some traditional literary fare (such as
“Beowulf” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”) with stuff that’s a bit more contemporary and
edgy, such as Bradbury’s “The Small Assassin” (a tale about a mother who believes her
infant is trying to kill her) and “Lonesome Place” by Dereleth (a truly creepy tale about
every kid’s fear of an isolated, dark spot, just down the street…). Furthermore, I will
offer a multimedia approach---an audio recording of Vincent Price, Todd Browning’s
1933 “Dracula” (great fodder for a discussion about how perception of what is
frightening has changed and what that has to say about us as a people and as a culture),
and the recent film based on Stephanie Meyers’ “Twilight”

I’ve also contacted fellow horror writer Sidney Williams about possibly doing a
videoconferencing for the class. Also, Dr. William Jones, publisher of Elder Sign Press
and acquisition editor for Chaosium Press. Although I didn’t specify this in my unit, I
think I will be having the students engage in some form of creative expression, either
through art work, writing something sort of horror story, or through interpretive reading.

As you would expect, there is a tremendous amount of small group activity, and besides
using the small groups for reading, I will also be using them for peer review of writing
activity to help students understand that their writing should be clear and specific, and
that they have an intended audience.

For assessment, there will be numerous papers, weekly notes check, small group
portfolios where the groups record their process and progress, along with journaling. I
will also be having them write a response to the interviews and a final paper that will
demonstrate their understanding of the underlying themes of genre and the purpose of
literature. I have not included any “I Can” statements because I believe those are
something that should be created with my students so they may have ownership. I have,
however, in my thematic unit, included the content expectations that the “I Can”
statements should address.