Seeing as this is the season of ghouls, goblins, and ghosts, I have been thinking about the use of fear in creative writing and literature.
Speaking biologically, fear is our emotional response to a detected threat, to the end that we might find safety. Because of our intense instinct for self-preservation, we are afraid of that which may pose a danger to our health. This is what I shall dub “selfish fear”: the base survival instinct experienced by even the lowest forms of animal life.
However, there is more to fear than just self-preservation. We also experience something I’ll call “supernatural fear,” wherein we fear for the lives of others. Parents fear the deaths of their children far more than they fear their own deaths, making them willing to sacrifice themselves for their children under any circumstance. We often fear the pains and sufferings of those we care for even more than we fear the trials we might endure ourselves. How many times have we prayed and sought to bear the hurt of others?
What generates this supernatural, self-sacrificial kind of fear? I propose another infamous four-letter word: love.
To borrow language from English grammar, the indirect object of selfless fear is always love. We fear things because they threaten what we love—such as the lives of people we care about.
Therefore, supernatural fear exists to serve love.
The reader may see this as a trite sentiment that belongs on a $30 hat, but let us consider two examples to support my thesis: one from the secular world and one from the sacred world.
Ex Saeculari Mundi
Let's imagine a young man; I shall call him “Corpus.” It is Halloween, and he wants to spend time with his girlfriend, “Anima.” Corpus has a spooky tradition of watching the most terrifying Halloween movies every year. However, Anima is a sensitive soul, and she cannot bear such an experience. Therefore, Corpus will sacrifice his beloved tradition for fear of causing Anima to suffer through that ordeal. Simply put, he loves her.
Ex Sancti Mundi
Proverbs 9:10a reads, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” In this context, “fear of the Lord” refers primarily to an awe and reverence of the Creator, but it can also denote a kind of terror, like when Moses hides his face from the burning bush because he is afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:6). However, these experiences with God do not remain or end with fear. The wise man begins his journey with fear, but a beginning implies development and change. Fear must give way to love, for the Christian God is the essence of Love (see 1 John 4:16).
So how should these ideas affect the use of fear in your own creative writing?
In literature, fear is often used for two purposes: First, a story about fear that ends in love cultivates the cardinal virtue of fortitude and the theological virtue of hope. Second, a story about fear that does not end in love shows the nature of evil and despair, acting as a warning tale to readers.
We find the latter historically in famous gothic works like Faust, which teaches us not to deal with the devil, and Frankenstein, which teaches us not to play God.
However, what happens when writers only use fear to teach warning lessons? Readers learn the negative things to avoid, but what are the positive things we are to do? Fear and despair pervade many modern, postmodern, and contemporary stories. Everyone wants to be the next Sarte, cigarette in one hand, single tear falling from a pale cheek, and an addiction to self-pity within. But where have the writers of love gone? Are they trapped in a haunted mansion? All buried alive, never to be read again? Scared witless by the sea of Sarte-ians, casting their shadows of despair upon every page?
I encourage the reader: as you write your terrifying tales this October, consider using fear to reveal and emphasize love. For supernatural, self-sacrificial fear is properly the servant of love.
May the fearsome God, who also is Love Himself, inspire our writings this fall season. Amen.
***
Dylan Arant is a junior studying theology and graphic design. Alongside his consultant work in the Writing Studio, he also works as a Core Theology tutor. In both his academic and creative endeavors, he enjoys exploring the metaphysical and spiritual through history, sociology, and the arts. When working with writers, he strives to help give their ideas form and flourish. If you visit him at the Writing Studio, he looks forward to working with you and your writing!