[Bbang Gubneun Tajagi] Cowards Who Love Horror

Everyone has probably experienced sleepless nights due to fear during childhood. Recall the memory of sitting in a cramped room with friends during a school trip or retreat, listening to a good storyteller share scary tales. Even friends who rarely listened to teachers swallow nervously and pay close attention. Some friends are so scared that they cover themselves with blankets but still peek out to keep listening. They simply cannot resist their curiosity. In the end, they regret it only after hearing the entire story.

“Goosebumps” is an essay about horror. The author is a coward who loves horror. The book covers all content featuring horror elements, including movies, games, and ghost stories. Zombies, monsters, outer space, underwater, and more. After reflecting on fear, the author reveals that the scariest thing of all is people themselves.

The author comforts those cowards who struggle to watch horror. Rather, they praise them as the ones who enjoy horror the most. The purpose of horror is to engulf people in fear, and cowards are the ones who faithfully fulfill this. Struggling in the traps intended by the creator and covering their eyes amid tightening tension while watching horror is the best way to understand and experience the genre.

The author’s ability to evoke readers’ empathy is outstanding. For example, the author vividly describes the situation after watching a horror film, lying alone in bed. The suddenly loud humming sound of the refrigerator, the sound of flushing toilets from the next door, other mysterious eerie noises like “tick” and “thud” whose origins are unknown, and the chill felt from a foot sticking out from under the blanket. Cowards will be able to imagine the world the author describes as if painting a picture.

It is also interesting how social changes are explored through fear. One example is the virgin ghost. All virgin ghosts harbor resentment. A virgin ghost who died after losing her chastity appears before a male magistrate demanding resolution of the incident. The virgin ghost, who unjustly ended her life because she was a woman, is unable to resolve the matter herself even after death. Such ghosts reveal that these beings were the oppressed weak in society at the time. However, recently, virgin ghosts have gone beyond reciting their resentful stories before the magistrate and have begun to seek clues to the incidents themselves. Although there is still a long way to go, this shows that society has changed significantly.

The part where the author ultimately claims that the scariest beings are people gives you literal “goosebumps,” just like the book’s title. Reading posts on horror-themed community boards reveals that unbelievably cruel crimes are actual cases. Recently, in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, a horror-like incident occurred. A man wielded a weapon against four men in less than ten minutes. The victims, who had no acquaintance with each other, were simply walking down the street when tragedy struck. Videos of the crime circulated on online communities, spreading fear among many people. The scariest beings are people, more terrifying than the monsters, zombies, and ghosts mentioned in the book.

A heatwave nearing 40 degrees Celsius has arrived. It is hard to endure with just the breeze from a fan. How about experiencing a chilling horror story at such times? It’s okay to be a coward. This book will serve as a guide for cowards venturing into the world of horror.

Goosebumps | Written by Bae Yeram | Chamsae Bookstore | 204 pages | 13,500 KRW