Supernatural Codes & Convections

So lets take it back to how Supernatural horror became existences. The supernatural beliefs itself comes from myths and traditional beliefs and religions on how death, evil and afterlife will all lead to Satan. These were manifested in stories with witches, Vampires, demons est. The Eighteenth century (1701 1800) gothic horror started to become an interest. Sources of films that were influenced by gothic horror were The Mysteries of Udolpho premiered at 1794 and The Italian out in 1797both by Anna Radcliffe. Another publish is Monk by Matthew Lewis. Majority of the films that were in the brackets of Horror were Written by womens as this was scary for many womens and was believable more to womens as in the eighteenth century womens use to pass news about myth and how what they have said to have seen. This is why the writers target market were manly female, as they knew that the womens would feel like they can relate to the gloomy castles and how they believe that death was nearby. The conventions of the supernatural genera is having to include ghost, gods, devils, and demons est. There are many ways that horror films are meant to capture its audience: Horror films are there to frighten the audience To raise the audiences fears Entertain its audience in a terrifying manor. Concluding with a shocking finale

Sounds used within supernatural horror are fast pace for tense scenes. Some may use choir music. Either Drum or heart beat is used in time of tense senses. Also Piano and organ Music are used as it feels and sound more scary. All of these conventions about sound are all because it empathises the creepiness of the film. There are many conventional locations for supernatural horror. Churches are one of them. This because churches are associated with Christ the binary opposite to Satan. Churches are seen as a safe haven from Satan as it is believed that god is protecting the Church as it is a place for people to pray and ask for forgiveness. Another place that is mostly used as a location for supernatural horror genera are farms most specifically barns. This is because it is normally in a disserted area, where help is not easy to get. Barns are very creepy during the night and this is when most films shoot there movies due to it emphasise the spookiness of the film. The Imagery of a barn yard is always seen as a remote place with 200 acres or more. This is because the film writers are trying to convey a place that is scary, and show that no one goes to those places which are why the supernatural creature will be most likely to get you as no one is around to save you. Also directors always go for barns that look like they have been made a very long time ago. You can tell this by looking at the wood of the barn; it is always chipped and damp. The connotations of the dampness shows that no one cleans the place up and many people have not gone there. Another location that is associated with Supernatural Horror is Forests. Forests are huge and very creepy as there are many trees and animals however is remote with no human being around the area, which is why it is often directors use forests as they know that the audience sees it as a scary place because the imagery of a forest is seen as scary and how bad things happen.

Props within the location: In horror supernatural films there are many conventions that are usually the reason why the locations are set within certain places. Because supernatural horror films a conventionally set in houses there is always a scene of squeaky doors either closing or opening. This affects the audience as they get frightened because the squeakiness builds up suspense. Also another code that is associated with doors is when the doors slam open or close suddenly. This frightens the audience because it comes out of no wear and implies that the spirit is hear or has left. Wooden Staircases are another prop that is used very often. The staircase also builds up suspense as the character take steps; you hear the squeakiness as during this scene theres hardly and music of sound effect so you can hear the squeakiness of the wooden steps. This affects the audience by feeling nervous and scared as they know that something will be waiting at the end of the staircase, emphasising that some sort of sprit or daemon is waiting for the character.

New generation of filming. Modern day of filming now consist with hand held camera shots with the typical shots of zoom in and out and bird eye view. An example of this is Paranormal Activity. This new way of filming is appealing to the audiences as they feel that it is realistic and start to fear that it could happen.

Characters: The main characters in supernatural films are usually normal people who have normal lives. Conventionally the supernatural films main characters are female that appear to look innocent and caring. The characters usually dont deserve to be visited by the spirit however are for a reason which is not told until the end of the film. An example of this is What Lies Beneath. The audience feel that the supernatural sprit is there for a bad reason however learn to the near end that the spirit came for and that is not their pointlessly. Children are also used in the supernatural horror. Now they may be the main character or they may be just as a side actor however supernatural horror uses the children to make the film scarier. Children are seen as innocent and not evil whichs why it is scarier when children are the supernatural creature. The audience feel as if the child is their own. With supernatural horror the main audience are female as they feel that they can connect with the film - which is why the actors are mainly female but also because womens have are seen as harmless and easy to get scared which is why womens are the main characters . Because the audience are mainly female, most womens have the motherhood instincts and feel that they would not want to go through it which puts fear into them. Which is why having children as the creature is scarier as the audience will not want their child to go through that experience and neither will they want to go through the experience. Black cats are used in horror supernatural because they are seen as witches are around. This is because in the 18th century cats were seen as witchs friends, they were called "Familiars". Cats have been seen as mysterious animals that lurk around places which is why the audience see them as evil and creepy creatures.

Dogs are used frequently in supernatural horror as the character as their owner. This is because the dogs are shown in conventional terms that they are the once to see the supernatural spirit first, as they start barking.

Props and Costume: Theyre not much you can say about costume because it really depends on the scene because supernatural horror conventionally is female characters and live in normal society. So the costumes that the characters will usually wear will be what a normal average female would wear. However props on the other hands, theres a lot to talk about. Dolls are used a lot in supernatural horror films. These dolls are not the type that we all usually love, the soft and cuddly once, they are more realistic and the size of babies or toddlers. They usually wear vintage dresses, with long hair that is messy and has eyes that blink. This makes the audience feel scared of dolls. The dolls are usually shown as them broken or ripped apart. Also sometimes the dolls talk.

The ideology of the Pentagram is associated with witchcraft as witches represent it as a symbol of their belief. The 5 started sides represent the 5 elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Metal), pagans and wiccans believes in the symbol. It is usually associated with evil because of it looking like an upside down star which is the star that is used by satin which is called Pentacle. Because of the audience thinking of it as evil it is used to make the audience scared and think about bad things going to happen.

Witchcraft books and History books are associated with Supernatural Horror films. This so that the main character finds out about what is going on, what kind of sprit or daemon is haunting them. Now these books dont look like any old normal book. They are big and brown or a dark colour that is dusty and has pages that looks like its been around a very long time. The book is hard back to find so the character has to a specific place to get the book, sometimes vines growing across the book. The book looks as if it is hand written. Reading the books makes the audience curious on what and why the sprit or daemon is hear, the audience know that they will start finding out why it is hear and what it wants. The books are purposely made to look creepy as a connotation of the creature being scary.

Candles are also used in supernatural horror because it is conventionally shown as to contact the dead. The candles will be lit and when the candles will be around the room and when it goes off it shows that the spirits are with them. This makes the audience shaken because they now know that the spirits are going to talk with them.

Cars are also used very frequently for the scenes of the character running away from the creature. However the care either breaks down or does not start. The car breaking down builds up suspense as it makes the audience feel like something is going to go wrong, and makes the audience feel angry and shocked because they know the creature is coming. These cars look normal as the character is usually normal average working women.

Lighting It is conventional for supernatural horror films lighting effect to be dark. The effect of the film being dark is making more suspense because humans cant see in the dark and the fear of the unknown builds up. Making the audience wonder what will happen next.

In supernatural horror movies they use a bright light interprets the path to heaven for when the sprit gets free and leaves them. The sign of freedom is normally shown at the end of the film which is why the bright light is used to emphasise the end of the darkness and how the sprit can move on.