Shakespeare and the Supernatural

The premonition of impending doom, the very gradual build up of

terror and suspense, a sequence of tragedies, and the protagonist’s
drift towards insanity is a very basic theme of the very basic horror
story. Any satirical, humorous, romantic nuances aside, each horror
story is subject by society’s design, to dealing with the unexplained,
which is usually portrayed as a malevolent force beyond the known
laws of the universe. Horror, mystery, or fright – all of them find their
roots in the inherent tendency of humans to be apprehensive of the
unknown, of the dark, but equally curious. This same curiosity is
piqued within the reader, when they envision themselves in the
protagonist’s stead, hearing thumping footsteps, heavy breathing, a
specter within their closet. What is going on? What’s out there?
What’s it going to do next? What will I do next? And the feeling of
perpetual crisis. Horror to the reader allows for a bone-chilling
experience, and satiating one’s curiosity, without actually being in
danger. As a consequence, some of the best horror novels have been
those that have been able to completely submerge the reader in a
bubble of sorts, a faux reality, where each subtle detail – scratching
of wood, fluttering of leaves, and incoherent whispering are carefully
written and placed.
Horror is fright, but what frightens one may not frighten the other.
And what is the absolute embodiment of the devil in one age may be
replaced throughout the ages. However, the dark and the night have
been the only constants impervious to the winds of time. Nothing can
quite beat the terror of a stroll under a blood moon, and spotting a
dark hooded figure, a contrast to the winter snow. This may still be a
manifestation of the instinctive fear of nocturnal predators during our
evolution. Even the same setting, described using very different
words, may feel eerie, or very normal. Take a meadow for example.
“The sun shone brightly over the blades of grass, the yellowing sky
turning purple now, and then blue. The serenity of silence, and the
warm air hanging above the valley, a contrast to the jagged peaks and
lofty trees that surround me, with a deer gazing at me from within.
The breeze picked up, and brought with it the fluttering of flower
petals”. This narrative looks quite normal, like a joyful sunset, a
perfect setting to reminisce after the climax. Let’s tinker with this a
little. “ Twilight turned to night, and I found myself secluded, the only
soul in the valley. The suffocating warm air found me wishing to run
to the woods far away, and to the mountains, that gave a warning. As
if to dissuade me, the wind picked up and blew at me a torrent of
fallen autumn leaves, and I could swear at that very moment,
something looked at me from the woods, and it meant no good.”
This is but a sample of how even a very factual description can turn
into horror, with the right additions. With so many variations within
what constitutes the difference between horror and horrific, my quest
to discern the essence of horror in some popular literary works has a
solid base.
Starting off with gothic horror, which is all about dead knights and
lords in chains that haunt stone cold castle dungeons in a quest for
vengeance. The depiction of these ghosts is more akin to a beast, than
something supernatural, and the supernatural is highlighted by a
sequence of tragedies in a royal family that has done wrong to the
spirit in the past. This type of horror is based off the dark ages in
Germanic Europe and consequently embodies the supposed risks of
wronging the dead. Hamlet, and The Canterville Ghost to some
extent, are extensions of this branch of horror. Hamlet portrays the
ghost of the late king of Denmark as an intangible spirit, which
reveals itself only at the choicest of moments at midnight. Its arrival is
preceded by a gust of wind, and while the poetic delivery of the
dialogues somewhat makes this experience less eerie while reading,
Hamlet is a play in the end, and such things do good on stage.
Shakespeare doesn’t focus much on making the experience frightful
but makes it bewitching to set up a premise for the sequence of
tragedies that follow. The King of Denmark was unjustly murdered
by King Claudius, and his ghost, unable to exact vengeance himself,
asks his son Hamlet to find the truth and bring the traitors to justice.
The ghost then has little presence in the story and is unique in its
inability to exact its vengeance itself. Hamlet on the other end,
rationally questions the ghost’s motives as his father, or as a demonic
spirit, and then carries out his revenge. As if cursed by ill-will, not
only do the traitors die, but so do Hamlet, Ophelia, Laertes, and
Polonius, all in a very tragic fashion. Shakespeare’s departure from a
typical portrayal of a ghost is evident and humanizes the spirit’s
characteristics. In my opinion, the ghost is used only to lay the
foundations of a tragedy caused by human disillusionment and the
conflict between rationality and desire, so the story is less of a ‘ghost’
story overall. This is quite different to The Canterville Ghost, which is
another gothic horror story. But here the ghost is actually the center of
attention, and drives the plot forward with a series of hauntings. The
setting is of a later era than hamlet and is based around the distrust
people have about living in old properties. Sir Simon’s ghost is again
very typical, but with added ability to express emotions, and with
desires above vengeance. The story subtly discusses the conflict of
modern belief in what is visible is real with the supernatural and thus
a mockery of the hauntings is made, to even the ghost’s surprise.
While little was mentioned in Hamlet about the ghost’s internal
feelings, here we are provided an insight into the functioning of Sir
Simon’s mind to allow us to reason with his motivations, and to
develop a feeling of attachment to him, which as it turns out is key for
the reader to then feel for him after his story is revealed, and after he
finally attains peace thanks to Virginia. On that note, both
Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde have focused on communications
between the living and the dead, which are eyed upon as sinful, in the
world of the story, and outside as well, which is a novel take on the
issue. The Canterville Ghost is very descriptive about ‘how’ the
hauntings take place, from the difference between rusted and well-
oiled chains in making an eerie sound, to the perfect blood stain color.
I personally found these books being quite on par with the twists
horror novels take nowadays, focusing on horror as a foundation for
enunciating another themes, and liked them in that regard.
Now Dark Matter, by Michelle Paver, takes on the setting of a 20th
century story, where science intermingled with and sought to explain
the supernatural. More depth of character and backstory was added to
the ghosts in question, more than just vengeance. Less focus was
given to the ghost’s manner of haunting, and more to the effect of
dread their mere sight caused on the protagonist. This style of writing
was a byproduct of the supernatural now becoming anything that
science cannot explain. Additionally, it focused on how isolation can
drive people to insanity, who in this time were accustomed to so much
human interaction in big cities like London. It showcases how,
contrary to stereotype, even those heavily invested into science, like
the protagonist, may find themselves unnerved when facing off
against the dark, and slowly losing their sanity. This cements fear in
the story as something part of being human, not something that only
mindfulness can control. It follows the theme of setting up ill-
treatment during life, unjust murder and seizure of property, and
refusal of adherence to the law of the land, as a basis for the
hauntings. This theme is quite popular in modern writing, which looks
at malice that stems from denial of customs and traditions, and from
superstition surrounding places where tragedies have occurred. Apart
from the highlighted difference between this novel and Hamlet, there
is also a psychological aspect to the horror here. As previously
discussed, the permeation of science into thinking is evident here, and
everything is rationally interpreted sooner or later. Rationality is also
ironically what the human heart turns to, so the existence of any fear
can be disproven. The lonely and unforgiving environment of
Spitsbergen, the isolation, and the constant paranoia of being watched
make the protagonist create hallucinations out of the psychological
affects of seclusion. There are but few instances of actual haunting,
and the reader is instead hooked in by the feeling that something may
happen any minute. To highlight this, a routine is proposed within the
book, so the reader, while going through the same schedule, may start
eagerly anticipating when it actually goes amiss. There’s also a mix of
interspersed red herrings, and moments of relief to calm one’s nerves
followed by immediate crisis. The plethora of new tricks used to play
with the reader’s senses depict aptly the evolution of human
understanding of fear.
Coming back to the conclusion of my quest, depending on the times
and circumstances of those times, horror may be a witch’s tale, a
gothic story like Hamlet, a story of a haunting after a war, or have
scientific basis in the modern era. Fear is a psychological
phenomenon and while the manner in which it is imparted through
writing is in sync with what a generation grew up fearing and
believing the most, it is still ever present as an evolutionary trait. We
today might be less afraid of an ogre walking into our room and
casting a curse of ill-fortune on us, but we fear alien invasions,
demons that haunt through television screens, and do what science
does not permit, and this in the future may yet change. Between
Hamlet and Dark matter, there is a clear distinction in the intent
behind each aspect of the haunting but the basic motivation to instill
suspense, anticipation and anxiety remains the same, however it’s
done. Horror, as an intrinsic feeling, predates and will supersede the
existence of literature as long as human’s remain human, and one can
only sit back and unpack a new novel to gain insight into what a
society of the time fear’s most.