I'm going to be writing a guest post for a website soon about genre - specifically the gaps and overlaps between the horror and crime genres...

There seems to be a view (maybe only here in the UK) that there's a lot of overlap between these two genres, that a lot of the same skills as a writer are required. That there's little difference, really, between a dark crime novel about a murderer killing people and a horror novel about a werewolf killing people...

I am going to respectfully disagree At least as regards the kind of horror I write...

But without leading the witness too much, I wondered what people's views here were on the question?

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Scattershot Writing:

I tend to look at them as two different genres. Crime stories are very dependent on logic, and for the most part realistic plotting. Where as in horror, anything goes if its well written.

Thanks - that's part of what I was thinking.

The other difference I had in mind was that in horror it's quite acceptable to have some kind of ambiguity around what has happened, even at the end of the story. Whereas I find it hard to imagine a crime story that does't wrap up neatly at the end...

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Scattershot Writing:

It also depends on the type of crime novel. Mo Hayder's crime novels definitely overlap with with the horror genre. Elmore Leonard - not so much.

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Mike Styczen: As far as I can tell, all of Toronto is on the lookout for some sort of demented leprechaun. If Toronto didn't exist, we'd have to invent it

The Maltese Falcon up against Salem's Lot is easy enough. Nice, big gap there.

But how would we define Murders at the Rue Morgue, or Silence of the Lambs? Crime/Horror/Thriller?

And there's also Hound of the Baskervilles - classic Sherlock, and yet there's the fright factor of strange beasts on the moors (put to great effect in the film American Werewolf in London, which was undoubtedly Horror).


There's a whole world of difference between a pure, flat-out murder whodunit story, and an essentially terror-driven tale about a critter running around tearing out folks' throats. But the overlap is there in some novels. I suppose it's a case of stripping the story down to its basic elements, something booksellers have to do in order to figure out what shelf to put the darned thing on.

If a crime story has supernatural elements to it, I would classify it a horror story, even if it was a crime-horror hybrid. The Tell-Tale Heart is a horror story, as are the Hayder books that I've read. I would not classify Silence of the Lambs a horror story. But that's just me. I guess it all comes down to your definition of "horror".

I think there's definitely a lot of overlap between the two genres, depending on how the author chooses to approach the subject matter. Look at ANGEL HEART for instance, best classifiable as a crime noir that takes a dramatic left turn into supernatural horror by the end. Look at John Connolly's work, labeled as crime/mystery/thriller when you could just as easily (particularly with later books in his Charlie Parker series) call it horror. The term "horror" does not necessarily infer the presence of supernatural, only the possibility of it, and really good horror incorporates a variety of elements from other genres. It's no coincidence then that authors better known for their horror novels tend to take forays into crime (e.g. Michael Marshall, Tom Piccirilli) and vice versa (Bill Pronzini, Ken Bruen). I think the line is a fine one. My novel KIN is definitely a horror novel despite the absolute absence of otherworldly elements, but its sequel A PLACE BEYOND WINTER will be straight crime, and I'm just as comfortable in that genre as I am with horror. It requires no extra effort from me, no adaptation or exorcism of habit. For me, despite the difference in classification, they have an awful lot in common. They involve flawed characters, dark themes, a certain pessimistic (nigh-on nihilistic at times: see Cormac McCarthy) worldview, an overarching mystery that propels the characters into grim places. And it's the reason I gravitate to both genres. Done right, I see very little difference, thematically at least, between the best, grimmest crime novels, and the most disturbing horror novels.

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http://www.kealanpatrickburke.com

I would not consider Kin a horror novel. It is scary as hell, but there are really no supernatural occurrences that take place in it. Horror has become too broad a term for me, it seems to be used or not used on the whims of publishers and authors.

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http://www.kealanpatrickburke.com

To be honest, no, I don't look at the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a horror movie. It is terrifying no doubt, but it never fit my definition of horror. Again, it's only my opinion, but the term has been so overused and diluted that its become a catch phrase for terror and blood letting.

I have to agree with Tony, TCM is horrific not horror. I hate books that are labeled as horror but it turns out it wa all smoke and mirrors. I like my crime crime and my horror horror

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I have to disagree with Tony and lostcase. What is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre if not a horror movie?? In many ways it's the definitive horror movie.

I don't think that a novel or book has to have a supernatural element to be considered horror. That is way to narrow a definition.

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Mike Styczen: As far as I can tell, all of Toronto is on the lookout for some sort of demented leprechaun. If Toronto didn't exist, we'd have to invent it

The problem we have on this board, if that masked lunatic with the chainsaw turned up, Tony and Jim would be like - "Call that a chainsaw? No, son - THIS is a chainsaw."

Where can I get two of those?

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Ha! I'd let Jim handle the controls, I'd be likely to take out one of the bad guys.

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Scattershot Writing:

p.s. and thanks for all the replies so far

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Scattershot Writing:

Micheal Myers kept getting resurrected, in my opinion, that's a supernatural occurrence. : ) Yes, even in the first movie.

So Tony, you don't consider Off Season to be a horror novel?

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Mike Styczen: As far as I can tell, all of Toronto is on the lookout for some sort of demented leprechaun. If Toronto didn't exist, we'd have to invent it

If you use my definition of horror, no. It is disturbing and scary as hell, but it's about cannibals and kid serial killers, I would not consider that horror under my definition. I love the book, but for me, it would fall under the cannibal/serial killer heading.