Horror hitting the mainstream in a big way, and here’s why

Everyone loves a good scary movie, right? Take a poll, and you’ll find that it’s a lot truer than you think.

In the midst of all those Marvel movies and stories about Amazonian women with blades, there’s the tried and true method of movie going never going out of style: horror. We all love to hate it and hate to love it all at the same time, but the bottom line is that everyone — even those who claim to hate getting scared out of the beejezuz — loves a good horror movie. It’s popcorn stuff. Turn the lights down. Get cozy. And get scared.

The thing is our culture hasn’t changed much

The style in which we experience our horror obviously has, though. We adored Dracula and the silent film generation. Campy 80s flicks followed. Asian horror swept a nation where some very high-concept work took us into worlds we never thought possible. Don’t even get us started on the timeless ghost story, especially the gothic kind.

But nothing compares to the now that is online streaming, such as with Shudder and Screambox. One of Netflix’s best selections actually tends to be the horror genre, and a lot of options vary from country to country. Some notable offerings, you’ll find not just in the States, and not even in the Orient — but in France, Israel, basically everywhere.

There’s no doubt: horror’s populated our present and mobile media, such as with sites like Arrow in the Head and Scary Horror Stuff, going into detail on some of the news and updates of the genre in great form. Even arguably the most popular form of published author happens to be of the horror kind (Stephen King and Dean Koontz, anyone?), and with remakes like “IT” well on their way as well as the ultimate adaptation of one of the best horror fantasy book series of all time by King himself, “The Dark Tower,” making their way into theaters, there’s no sign of horror slowing down.

But why is horror so popular? Why do we like getting scared out of the Beejezuz?

It’s the thrill of being human and somehow managing to cheat death. We want to experience that rush of fear from the comfort of our own house or movie theater. We’re reminded of how frail we really are at a distant and thankful that what we’re watching is, well, just a movie — or what we’re reading is just a book.

It’s all about that thirst to overcome the darkness and see the light. We want to experience it — and then overcome it. We want to be reminded that the darkness indeed is still there. Because without it, there really can’t be any light at all.

We’re willing to bet you can’t wait till the next season of “American Horror Story,” right?