Style Analysis of “Why we Crave Horror Movies”
     In “Why we Crave Horror Movies” essayist Stephen King effectively communicates his point that watching horror movies is socially acceptable and they actually keep us sane and emotionally stable. We are all mentally ill, so we watch horror films to feed our “inner demons” which inturn allows us to maintain a level of normality and emotional stability deemed acceptable by society. He effectively uses connotative language to demonstrate we all have anti-civilizational emotions, humour to make the reader comfortable with the idea of horror movies, and analogies that show horror films feed our inner demons to communicate his message.
     Throughout the essay King effectively uses connotative language to reinforce the fact that we are all insane and have anti-civilizational emotions. This technique is first introduced in the first paragraph where he uses “horrible grimaces” and “hysterical fear” to demonstrate we are all in fact “mentally ill”. King states that, “...those of us outside the asylum only hide it a little better.” His point is further emphasized by the phrase, “The potential lyncher is in almost all of us,” which acknowledges our suppressed violence. Through the use of connotative language, King forces the reader to accept the possibility that we need horror films to remain “normal” because they help keep us sane and civil.