In the context of Stephen King's definition, how can horror be used as a form of empowerment?

By choosing to examine the unseen powers that bind us, we can empower ourselves.

What is the historical basis for the 'slow massacre' described in Stephen Graham Jones's *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter*?

The Marias Massacre of 1870, where 217 Blackfeet were killed in the snow.

How is the story of *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter* primarily presented to the reader?

Through a 'double frame' narrative involving a 2012 discovery of a 1912 diary and transcribed confessional interviews.

What biological consequence occurs when the vampire Good Stab drinks the blood of a settler in *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter*?

He begins to take on European facial features as a form of supernatural assimilation.

What tragic choice must Good Stab make to maintain his Indigenous identity in *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter*?

He must drink the blood of his own Pikuni people to avoid total colonial assimilation.

How does V.E. Schwab's *Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil* psychologically approach the theme of immortality?

It focuses on the weight of memory and loss over time rather than the logistical pass-times of living forever.

What character motivation drives Maria in Schwab's *Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil*?

A hunger for the power to control her own destiny.

In Alisa Alering's *Smothermoss*, what invisible object represents Sheila's struggle with responsibility and identity?

An invisible rope that is wrapped around her neck.

What This Deck Covers

The deck organises horror’s extensive and often misunderstood vocabulary into six domains. The first — genre theory — anchors the deck in foundational definitions, including Stephen King’s claim that horror is primarily about power and the distinction between terror, horror, and revulsion that shapes how readers experience different kinds of dread. The second domain covers Indigenous Gothic: the vocabulary of the double-frame narrative, the epistolary form as a tool for historical reckoning, and the specific terminology of bodily transformation as a metaphor for colonisation. The third domain maps lyrical horror conventions — the vocabulary of atmosphere-driven fiction that prioritises interiority and prose texture over action-driven plot mechanics. The fourth domain covers emergent sub-genres: Sporror (spore horror), Appalachian Gothic, and the hybrid forms that mix folk horror with family drama. The fifth domain — psychological horror mechanics — includes the terminology of the unreliable witness, the invisible object as a manifestation of psychic weight, and the collective-narrator device. The sixth domain addresses historical horror vocabulary, connecting real atrocities to their fictional representations through the language of testimonial narrative and archival framing. Each card links its term to a specific novel so that the abstraction always has a concrete literary home.

Who This Deck Is For

Intermediate horror readers who have discovered Stephen Graham Jones, read through the modern gothic revival, and can name the major voices but cannot yet distinguish folk horror from southern gothic, or explain what makes a novel “hauntological” rather than simply scary — this deck builds that critical vocabulary. Advanced readers and critics who want to participate in the academic and critical conversations around horror’s current literary renaissance: debating whether lyrical horror represents a genuine sub-genre or a marketing category, tracing how Indigenous Gothic redefines the source of terror, and situating contemporary works within the longer tradition King mapped out in Danse Macabre. Beginners should start with the gothic and folk horror revival guide for an accessible entry into the landscape.

How to Get the Most Out of It

Study in 20-minute sessions of 25 to 30 cards. The “Known” threshold matters more here than in vocabulary decks for other genres: horror terminology is frequently misused in casual discourse (folk horror vs. gothic horror, terror vs. horror), so mark a card as mastered only when you can articulate the distinction precisely. Shuffle mode prevents your brain from clustering terms by thematic group rather than learning them individually. To integrate the deck with your reading, pick one horror novel you have recently finished and try to identify which sub-genre vocabulary applies to it — you will likely find that most contemporary horror straddles multiple categories. For book clubs, assign the sub-genre taxonomy cards as pre-reading to give everyone the same framework before discussing a novel’s effect.

Connect the Dots

Once the vocabulary is internalised, the horror quiz will test your ability to distinguish sub-genres, narrative strategies, and author signatures across ten questions. To see how lyrical horror, Indigenous Gothic, and the folk horror revival connect as a coherent literary movement, the 2025 lyrical horror and southern gothic mind map visualises the relationships. For a portable reference that distills the key authors and terms, the soil that remembers PDF guide is designed for readers who want to carry the essentials into a bookstore. And for the full editorial treatment of horror’s current moment, the gothic and folk horror revival guide traces how contemporary authors are reimagining the genre’s oldest conventions.

Horror Flashcards

Card 1 / 60

Question

According to Stephen King in *Danse Macabre*, what is the primary concern of the horror genre?

Answer

The horror genre is primarily concerned with power.

Tap to flip