In chapter two, I ran into a familiar feeling that I have experienced in movies before, a cold loneliness. This feeling is prevalent in the archetype of psychological horror films called atmospheric horror. In order for a film to fall into this category, it must contain a few important attributes. It must be set in a desolate or closed off location with very limited access or egress, it must have poor weather with limited to no sunlight, and finally it must contain a mysterious antagonist who keeps his or her intentions away from both the protagonist and the viewers/readers. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the oldest instance of a novel or film I have seen that holds all these attributes, and it is the first atmospheric horror novel I have read.
On pg.33 we are presented with a description of Dracula’s castle by Johnathan Harker. Within this description are the attributes that give Dracula it’s atmospheric horror feeling. The first attribute is the altitude of the castle “fall a thousand feet without touching anything.” This implies very limited access or egress in and out of the castle, so escape would be difficult and probably deadly. The second is the location of the castle in the Carpathian with green tree tops “as far as the eye can reach.” This implies an isolated location, without much nearby civilization to run to for help or seek refuge if escape from the castle was needed. Therefore, if one was somehow able to make it down the walls of the castle alive, they would certainly die of starvation or exposure trekking through the woods. The third and final attribute is the suspicious nature of Johnathan’s host as a result of “doors, doors, doors everywhere, and all locked and bolted.” Keeping all the doors locked creates a sense of mystery to both us the readers and Johnathan as we wonder why Dracula has those doors locked.
All of these elements combined create that cold lonely feeling that one experiences when they encounter an atmospheric horror film. The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick and Ex Machina directed by Alex Garland are both films that I feel capture atmospheric horror perfectly and share many similar characteristics with Bram Stokers Dracula. However, what sets Dracula apart for me at least, is that you create the creepy and disturbing atmosphere in your own head, which I feel makes it even scarier.