Time line of horror

By Gaia.Petrolati
  • Period: 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE

    Ancient Greece

    Horror appears already in ancient Greece with Homeric poems: the appearance of the souls of the dead, the appearance of the Cyclops and the rock of the sirens with carcasses are examples of epic horror. There are also horror scenes in Greek tragedies, figures such as ghosts and demons.
  • Period: 476 to 1492

    Middle Ages

    The Middle Ages is a period that gives a strong impulse to the horror imagination: witches and werewolves begin to take hold in medieval folklore. Even the great Nordic epic sagas are imbued with supernatural elements.
  • Period: 1500 to

    From the sixteenth to the seventeenth century

    During the period of the Elizabethan theater, horror meets a great fortune in England, with Christopher Marlow and William Shakespare, in which witches and ghosts appear, as in the tragedy of Hamlet.
  • Period: to

    From the eighteenth to the nineteenth century

    The gothic novel was born in England and is named for the link it has with the fantastic Middle Ages. The first novel of this period is the Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole. the success of this work gave rise to a new genre, the novel of fear and in 1818 the most famous gothic novel of all, Frankestein by Mary Shelley, was published.

  • Nineteenth century

    Nineteenth century
    The nineteenth century is considered the golden age of horror: John Polidori writes novels about the undead and his vampire originates a new trend, which reaches its climax with Bram Stoker's Dracula. In addition to vampires, ghost fiction is also born, called a ghost story, like that of Dickens. The true master of terror of this century, however, is Edgar Allan Poe, with his Tales of Terror.

  • Twentieth century

    Twentieth century
    The twentieth century was a fundamental gymnasium of horror talents, among the authors of this gymnasium we remember Edith Wharton, author of a collection of stories about ghosts. Other such masters of this century are Howard Philips Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson. Finally, the most famous of the artists of this century, Stephen King, a master in describing horror situations.