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HUMOR IN HORROR?
He lumbered forward, squashy Keds spatting in the
shallow water, and kicked Henry squarely in the balls.
Henry uttered a horrid rusty scream that sent birds
beating up from the trees. He stood spraddle-legged
for a moment, hands clasping his crotch, staring
unbelievingly at Ben. "Ug," he said in a small voice.
"Right," Ben said.
"Ug," Henry said in an even smaller voice.
"Right," Ben said again.
Henry sank slowly back to his knees, not so much
falling as folding up. He was still looking at Ben
with those unbelieving black eyes. "Ug."
"Damn right," Ben said. - It


Taken out of context you might wonder why the above quote would be considered humor. However, if you know that that Henry Bowers has just used his pocket knife to carve an H into Ben Hascom's considerable stomach because Ben wouldn't let him copy from a test at school - even the most docile of readers has to smile at Ben's revenge. Jumping up and down and cheering seems an even more appropriate reaction.

The use of humor in horror serves a two-fold purpose. It gives the reader a "breather" between intense moments, making the next shock even more gripping, and it's just plain fun.

"So what's the difference between leprosy and the Syph?" Eddie asked.
"You don't get leprosy from fucking," Richie said promptly, and then
went off into a gale of laughter that left both Bill and Eddie mystified.
- It


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Carrie Norfleet hillarynorfleet@chartermi.net
last revised on April 23, 1999

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