Body horror, or biological horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction that intentionally showcases grotesque or visceral violations of the human body or of another creature, through aberrant sex, mutation, mutilation, zombification, gratuitous violence, disease or unnatural movement of the body. The term was originally applied to an emerging subgenre of North American horror films, but has roots in early Gothic literature and has since expanded into other media.
Facts
Notable ExampleMary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) 1 Defining TraitBody horror centers on tropes such as invasion, contagion, mutation, transformation, disease and mutilation, or other unnatural or violent distortions of the human body. 1 Connections
Sources
1. Body Horror (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationTropes section
In addition to common tropes used within the broader horror genre, some tropes specific to the body horror subgenre may include invasion, contagion, mutation, transformation, disease, mutilation, or other unnatural or violent distortions of the human body.
Literature section
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is an early example of the body horror subgenre within fictional writing.
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