Academic Horror
"Suspiria" by Lindsay_Silveira is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Today is National Back to School Prep Day (definitely one of the scarier holidays), so I decided to dive into the history of school-based horror. I found that there wasn’t a term for horror set in schools and there weren’t many articles about it either (besides Top Ten lists). So, I decided to outline what I consider to be a distinctive horror subgenre.
The History of Academic Horror
One of the earliest school-based films was Thirteen Women, which involved a group of sorority sisters committing suicide. However, it wasn’t until the 70’s/80’s that what I’m calling “Academic Horror” really took off. Slasher films changed the game, slaughtering teens and young adults alike. Black Christmas showcased the true terror of being a sorority sister when a slasher’s on the loose. It influenced perhaps the most popular Academic Horror film of all time, John Carpenter’s Halloween. Halloween inspired countless other high school horror films and created the space for the subgenre to take advantage of the vulnerability of students.
What Is Academic Horror?
“Academic Horror” refers to horror that takes place in any kind of educational institution. Stories like Carrie, Jennifer’s Body, and even “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” (the short story, not the movie). It usually includes themes of adolescence and loss of innocence. Because high school and college is often a time of change and experimentation for many people, it offers a perfect setting for Randy’s horror rules in Scream (aka for storytellers to add little PSAs of what kids should and shouldn’t be doing).
As with Uterus Horror, Academic Horror often deals with maturity. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, for example, uses Freddy as a metaphor for a teenage boy coming out to himself. Or Teen Wolf, which uses the werewolf transformation as an allegory for puberty. Even a film like Cooties that focuses primarily on adults tells a story of those adults having to grow to survive. This is a really scary thought for a lot of us regardless of age, it means our lives will change and become more difficult. However, in most Academic Horror, it’s that growth that saves the characters.
What Makes Academic Horror So Effective?
Middle and high school can be an incredibly terrifying time. Puberty, bullying, figuring out who you are, feeling powerless, and deciding your future all at the prime kidnapping age is a lot to manage. It’s a somewhat universal experience and most of us can relate. Because horror deals so heavily with morality, it makes sense that so much of it would take place in an institution where kids learn a lot of their morals. It also allows for the characters to believably make reckless decisions and for adults to disregard warnings from kids.
Students can regularly feel powerless in schools. We don’t normally get to make any big decisions and have little control over the school board. This is why stories like Dario Argento’s 1977 classic Suspiria are so unnerving. In Suspiria, the main character Suzy discovers that her dance academy is run by a group of murderous witches. Now, even if you haven’t been to a mysterious dance academy you probably have experienced the occasional suspicion of the unknown administrators at school. The silent officials that observe class from time to time, the people that interrupt class to give teachers news that they can’t share with the students, the front office employees that all seem to have a permanent pout. While all of these people probably aren’t the Men In Black (though they certainly give off that vibe), it’s easy to imagine they’re part of a much bigger operation. And let’s be honest, if the administration did have a Suspiria-style secret it would be up to the students to find out. But even if they did, what could they do? This helpless feeling is exactly what characters in almost all horror experience. Adults won’t believe a bunch of kids and young adults, but how are a bunch of kids supposed to take down the forces of evil?
The horror audience is predominantly teens and young adults, so it makes sense why Academic Horror would be so popular. It’s really empowering to see younger characters take down monsters. Nancy Thompson defeated a nightmare serial killer at 16 years old while she was still in high school! Adults often doubt us because of our age, so when a young character is telling the truth but isn’t believed until the adults actually see the villain it’s a nice “Ah ha! We tried to tell you! So glad all those years of life made you so wise” moment. Academic Horror gives kids the sense that we’re not wrong, we’re just not being taken seriously because those around us believe they know more. And no matter your age, everyone has gone through a similar situation. Academic Horror is a great outlet for that frustration. Overall, Academic Horror takes the most horrifying parts of growing up and makes them into real monsters.
I wish all my fellow students and teachers a great school year! Just remember, if Sabrina Spellman can survive her Satanic boarding school, you can do anything.
