Is horror only about the supernatural? But, why are so many movies classified as horror instead of more appropriate classifications such as thriller or science fiction? While fans and audiences have the luxury of simply choosing from a different section in the store or library, writers must know their genre.

Horror once was a genre unto itself. Thrillers were labeled thrillers, mysteries were mysteries, and science fiction was precisely that. Now, a walk through your local library or video store can show horror is now mutated and muddled into something entirely generic. You can find film and books from nearly every genre in the horror section. Why has this happened?

For that matter, many of our genres have become so confusing it is a chore just to find a movie you like. The thriller fiction genre alone can contain cyber-thrillers, techno-punk, suspense thrillers, governmental thrillers, erotic thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, psychological thrillers, romantic thrillers, amid others.

Look at a few of the typical horror titles. Delores Claiborne , by Stephen King, is commonly in the horror section, just as with Misery . They aren't horror films. The first is a mystery and the second is a suspense novel. Phantoms and Intensity by Dean Koontz are also commonly in this section and neither are horror. One is a science fiction and the other is a thriller. Aliens , Jaws , and The Silence of the Lambs are also often in the horror section when they aren't technically horror.

We may never know exactly how it came to be that distinctly non-horror movies have found their way into the genre, but the possibilities are ripe for debate.

Some fans believe that horror is simply the characters' and audience's reaction to any given scene or event. The problem with this theory begins from the start. If it were merely reaction that earned the work this label, wouldn't ever single murder-mystery be a horror instead? Gone with the Wind would be a horror due to the explicit and grisly post-battle scenes involved. The Lord of the Rings trilogy would be horror due to the reactions involved to extreme battles and brutal images of the orcs, not to mention the supernatural nuances involved throughout. The stretch involved in these examples of classification are no different than attempting to convince an avid horror fan that a “slasher” movie (when a human person or family is doing it) is horror and not merely a thriller.

So what makes horror “horror” aside from the supernatural? Gore? Contrary to popular belief, blood and grisly scenes are not “abnormal” and can be found right there in any hard-core detective novel. So are language and violent elements. These books also feature serial criminals, graphic brutality, and terrible crimes against humanity imaginable. What is the connection of them all? They feature a regular human perpetrator, someone who can just as easily be killed as they can kill others.

The idea of the audience's reaction is another valid one to classify horror, but also problematic. In our desensitized world, scenes must be more and more explicit to startle an audience. Thus, a genre can't be hinging on a simple element that is so prevalent and easily found.

Another, even more plausible theory is that horror is synonymous with fear. This is a major element in any horror volume, but it can't be the emotion alone. Otherwise, as stated previously, nearly every other genre would fall into the classification of horror. Many, many other genres in fiction use fear as an effective tool for building suspense, but that doesn't make them horror.

There is the ultimate question as to why, exactly, does horror involving the supernatural not have a more legitimate standing in our popularly cultured world? Supernatural horror can be traced all the way back to Dante Allegeri's, The Divine Comedy.

Because there is no “definitive,” explanation, fans have inadvertently created a spectrum so broad that nearly any genre imaginable can fall into it.

How many Science Fiction fans would take notice if these same stores began placing the Friday the 13 th movie series in that category? After all, Jason Voorhees does find himself out in space during a latter installment. How many fans of the Aliens series would expect to see the initial installment of their favorite movie placed in the drama category because Sigourney Weaver is apprehensive of Lance Henrickson's “android,” character and she must learn to trust someone who is different? Could Star Wars be placed in the same category as regular “coming-of-age” dramas because all six show either Anakin Skywalker or Luke Skywalker coming of age and developing into a man? Could the horror blockbuster, Ring , be classified as a mystery because the heroine, Rachel, is determined to learn who killed Samara?

Are these examples ridiculous? The same principal applies to all the film and books that have inadvertently been classified in a genre that is not their own. Instead of basing criteria simply on elements, perhaps it would be easier for fans and creators alike to keep the categories simple.

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