Alfred Hitchcock Horror Stories

There is no doubt that Alfred Hitchcock was a master of telling horror stories.  His type of horror stories didn't always contain the science fiction aspect that is often associated with horror, but his tales centred more of the human condition -- like the workings of the human mind.  Some might classify his stories as more murder mystery, but there was always more to that in them.  They truly should be in the horror genre, dealing with not only murder plots but thriller scenes and pyschopathic characters.  Many of his plots were considered 'off-the-wall' but were very strangley compelling.

One of Hitchcock's works that could be classified in the science fiction horror stories genre would be "The Birds", a tale that told of birds that were attacking people.  One scene of a woman with her eyes pecked out could certainly be put in with other famous horror scenes. 

What one must know about Alfred Hitchcock's works is that his movies were often based on books that he did not write.  He simply introduced them in his unique way to the screen to present as horror stories on film.

Here are a couple of Alfred Hitchcock films you may appreciate in the horror stories genre:

Psycho (1960) - based on a novel by Robert Bloch

The Birds (1963) - based on a novel by Daphne Du Maurier

Spellbound (1945) - based on a Francis Beeding novel

Hitchcock also had his own T.V. show for many years, called "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", where he himself appeared to introduce each story.  The original series aired from 1955 to 1962 (7 seasons).  From 1962 to 1965 it was knows as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and then in 1985 a the "New Alfred Hitchcock Presents" series began with a pilot movie and went on for 4 seasons.

Anyone that is into horror stories and thrillers will get a lot of pleasure from watching any of Alfred Hitchcock's stories.  They may not all be science fiction horror, but they are all worth watching.

If you are interested in reading other 'off-the-wall' stories, you may like my new series of stories about what can occur in "The Forgotten Shelter", stories centred on the bomb shelters that have been forgotten and left to rot after the initial scare of war bombs creating an apocolypse in the '50's and 60's.  Here is the first story in the series, "Shut In", available at:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006U1WGZA

Do Monster Movies Belong in the Horror Film Genre?

In the minds of some people, monsters and horror movies go hand in hand.  If the movie (or book) has some kind of monster in it, then it should be classed as horror.  This isn't necessarily true.  Although there are many horror movies that contain monsters (consider 'Alien') there are other monster movies that are simply comedies, such as Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstien (1948).  Horror books and movies (at least in my mind) need to be sit-on-the-edge-of-your-chair scary...and they don't necessarily contain monsters.  Consider Alfred Hitchcock's horror movies where the horror comes in through a murder victim or some psychologically thrilling plot.  Or consider even Stephen King's books, which often don't have any monsters in them, other than the human kind.

Monsters can come from outer space and can be given space in the science fiction genre.  Monsters can be scary, such as Frankenstein or Dracula, but they are not always.  Monsters can be portrayed in an endearing manner, and sometimes even 'cute' (take a look at E.T., who Steven Spielburg transformed into an almost fairy-tale like alien.)

In my mind, it depends on the type of monster and the plot to say if a particular monster movie should be placed in the horror genre.  If its scary, then it should be placed in the horror genre, but it its cute or funny, then monsters should not be included in this film class.

What do you think?

If you like reading science fiction stories, consider my own works:

"The Dolls" a story of alien invasion.

Available at:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ICN2F4

Greetings! to my new Science Fiction and Horror Stories Blog

Ever since I was a child and my father introduced me to science fiction and horror stories, I was hooked.  I remember sitting in the back seat of the car at a drive-in (yes, I'm old enough to have gone to drive-in's!) and watching "The Giant Claw", a 1957 sci-fi horror film about a giant bird that terrorizes the world.  I was deliciously frightened and couldn't sleep for a week, but oh how I loved it!  There is nothing quite like the thrill of a science fiction horror movie. 

Another old sci fic movie I remember fondly (which could also be considered a horror story) is "The Day of the Triffids" a movie based on the book by John Wyndham.  In this horror story, it's walking killer plants that are the deadly force that must be reckoned with in order for the earth to be saved.

Science fiction and horror stories have developed as a literary art form and have been embraced by the world over a long period of time.  There are a great many story lines and ideas, some good, some bad, that can be discussed and reviewed.  That is what I intend to do in this blog.  Many of the old stories have been made into movies, which I will also touch on.  In fact, the science fiction and horror stories that some movies are based on are classics in their own right.

I would also like to discuss some of the authors of those terrorizing books and movies, like Stephen King or even Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The recent "John Carter" movie was based on a series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs (the Barsoom series).  More recently "The Hunger Games" (also a science fiction story) has gained worldwide acclaim (written by Suzanne Collins).

Perhaps you have your own favorite science fiction or horror stories that you would like to read about.  Hopefully I can cover at least some of them for you in this new blog of mine.

Also, with my love of science fiction and horror stories, I have felt the urge to blunder into writing stories of my own.  Perhaps you will be interested in reading some of my own efforts into this genre.  Look forward to seeing some of my work offered on this blog in the future.

I look forward to your future visits, and I look forward to posting blogs about a subject that so interests me. 

As Alfred Hitchcock once said:

"Fear isn`t so difficult to understand. After all, weren`t we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It`s just a different wolf. This fright complex is rooted in every individual."