Solar Glow Meditations

Illuminate Your Inner Self

Horror Movies as a Spiritual Tool

I don’t watch many movies, but I did watch a horror movie recently. I got mixed reactions when I talked about it – rightfully so. Some people are terrified by them and some people love them. They are not typically my thing, but I went into it with an open mind.

I started by watching the movie on a very low volume – loud bangs and music heavily sways my mood, so I was attempting to watch the story unfold without feelings of noise induced fear. The movie itself was quite gruesome; there was a serial killer involved. How the murderer picked up their victims was by grabbing them off the street. Statistically speaking, there’s almost zero chance this would happen to you, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling fear.

The victim was then locked in a basement for days. Imprisonment is its own kind of torture, even if nothing happens to you.

As I was watching the movie, it became a sort of tool. How was I reacting unintentionally? How was I allowing the movie to impact me? Realistically, I know I’m not in the story, but am I allowing myself to become immersed? Or am I able to observe, somewhat outside of myself?

I noticed as I was watching the movie, I was able to observe and overcome my instincts. The story was well written. It was a scenario that could happen in real life. How would I act in that situation? Presumably, one of the thrills for a serial killer is the reaction and fear they cause to their victims. Would I be able to rob a murderer of that pleasure by containing my reaction? Have I reach deep enough levels of meditation to overcome that kind of situation? I’d like to think so, but I wouldn’t necessarily know unless I was actually in it. I’m going to do my best to avoid being kidnapped or murdered.

All of this is to say that horror movies can be used as a spiritual tool to expose shadows and fears you may need to work on if you approach it with that mindset. It’s a feedback mechanism if you allow it to be. Have you watching any horror films recently? What did you notice about your reaction?

5 responses to “Horror Movies as a Spiritual Tool”

  1. Glenda Avatar
    Glenda

    I love horror movies (and metal/punk music). My friends can’t seem to align that with my very spiritual and soft personality. Lol. I’m definitely going to share your article with them. 🙂

    Reply
  2. LadyBonSolarG Avatar
    LadyBonSolarG

    I think people always forget though that the purpose of movies is to make you feel something – the deeper the better. That means that they on-purpose only mimic the *most* intense. My son was shown Finding Nemo in pre-school at age three and came home HUGELY traumatized. I was *furious*. People kept saying, “He has to learn about death sometime!” But my anger was not that he was exposed to death, he was exposed to Disney death – of a *parent* no less which is made as SCARY and heart wrenching as possible.

    A few days later an elderly family friend died. She was in her nineties. Her daughter was in her sixties and surrounded by community who gave her love and support. It was sad, but not devastating. I was *so* grateful for the timing because I was able to bring my son and he could see what a normal, non-Disney death of a parent looked like.

    Yes, these things give us a chance to intellectualize, but they are very different from the lived experience.

    Reply
  3. Jacquelyn Avatar
    Jacquelyn

    I feel the same way when watching anything violent or giving an insecure feeling. I also have a fear of program casting a spell on the ones who watch it. I avoid these types of films, I also find that if it is a program that causes me to get angry it makes my blood pressure rise. I have recently been watching the walking dead and this makes me feel a certain way towards characters. I have to stop and remember thats all that they are “characters in a play”.

    Reply
  4. Todd Avatar
    Todd

    Good horror movies are like dark fairy tales. They tell a cautionary tale or reflect the consciousness of the protagonist. In B grade horror films the stories are very formulaic. Teens out for a good time, take some drugs or drink, have sex, and voila, they are met with severe “moral” consequences.

    But I enjoy the deeper, more meaningful stories. Frankenstein, King Kong, Night of the Living Dead.

    Then there are thrillers which are a genre all their own. Rosemarie’s Baby, Silence of the Lambs

    Horror done well is just good story telling. But I like the B stuff too. Who can refuse WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?

    Reply
  5. Mily Avatar
    Mily

    I stay away from horror movies. I know what they can do to the psyche, the aura, and the chakras. They can create deep imbalance within oneself.
    I understand, though, how it can be used as a tool, as you did. However, where is the border between doing that and becoming a sociopath?

    Reply

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