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[Readers’ Choice] 7 Things You Should Never Say To Horror Fans!

Published

10 years ago

on

Horror Fand Twitter Survey

The horror genre isn’t exactly what you would call highly regarded, and the legions of fans that support it are no different. As horror  fans, we are occasionally looked down upon by the general population, but that’s probably because they’re jealous we have a legitimate passion for something, right? Telling someone you’re a horror fan (especially if you work in an industry that has nothing to do with horror at all like I do) can be a coming out process all on its own. People react strangely to it, and some people react worse than others. I decided to take to Twitter* and ask the horror community what they were tired of hearing from non-horror fans, and boy did I strike a nerve! Here are seven of the most prevalent responses I received from all of you.

*I plan on making this a recurring series of posts where I ask a question on Twitter and post the responses in a post here, so if you would like a chance to be included in a future post start following me on Twitter at @TracedThurman.

1. “There’s Too Much Gore!”

Lots of horror movies have gore. I personally love gore, but that doesn’t mean a horror movie has to have it in spades in order for me to like it. These people know what’s up.

 

2. “You Must Like Actual Blood Too!”

I actually get a little faint at the sight of real blood. I’m glad to know I’m not alone!

 

3. Anything Sexist

Not only is it offensive to act surprised when a woman says she likes horror, it’s fucking rude. Don’t assume that all women love romantic comedies and musicals (though it’s okay to love those things to…I do). Horror isn’t just a man’s genre. It’s everyone’s genre!

 

4. A Generalization of the Genre

There are tons of horror movies out there, and they all have a wide variety of traits. You can’t generalize any genre, and horror is no different. Also, it’s not as dumb as people make it out to be (though it certainly can be). And just because you didn’t like Saw doesn’t mean you don’t like horror. That is one type of horror film. Find the sub-genre that suits you. You’ll find something you like!

 

5. Insinuating That There’s Something Wrong With Us

Horror fans are people, just like everyone else. Just because we enjoy a good horror film doesn’t make us lesser people. If anything, our shared passion for an underrated genre brings us closer together as a community. Some of my best friends are horror fans. Don’t belittle us just because you don’t get it.

 

6. “Horror Is Stupid and For Stupid People”

Just because we like horror doesn’t mean we’re stupid. Many horror fans also liked films like The Revenant and Carol this year (Seriously, go see Carol. It was robbed at the Academy Awards). “Smart horror” also exists, and if you don’t believe that then you clearly don’t watch enough horror movies.

 

7. “X Movie Is Not Even Scary!”

Out of all of the responses I received on Twitter, this was the one that was brought up the most. People seem to think that if a horror movie isn’t scary, then it isn’t good. Our own Jess Hicks wrote a great piece on this exact topic a few months ago and I even wrote another one asking readers what even qualified as scary anymore. A horror movie doesn’t have to be scary to be good. Fear is subjective, and what one person may find terrifying may have no effect on a different person. And to all of you non-horror fans out there: jump scares do not qualify as “scary.”

Do you agree with many of these people? Let me know in the comments below and share what you are tired of hearing from non-horror fans! We need to be heard! 

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A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Denver, CO with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

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Editorials

Here’s Johnny! 5 Unexpected Homages to ‘The Shining’ in Non-Horror Media

Published

2 days ago

on

July 10, 2026

By

Some movies are just so beloved that you can experience them through cultural osmosis without ever sitting down to actually watch them. From loving parodies to meticulous recreations of iconic scenes, memorable filmmaking lives on even after the curtains close on the silver screen. And when it comes to horror, few films can compete with the massive impact that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining had on popular culture as a whole.

Whether or not you think the flick is a good adaptation of Stephen King’s seminal novel, 1980’s The Shining slowly but surely grew into one of the most influential genre movies ever made, inspiring everything from surprisingly heartfelt sequels to classic episodes of The Simpsons. However, not all The Shining references are created equal, and today I’d like to shine a light on six unexpected homages to Kubrick’s iconic film.

In this list, we’ll be focusing on references and Easter eggs that either came out of the blue or came from creators that you wouldn’t expect to be fans of this classic ghost story. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite references to the Torrance family and the Overlook Hotel if you think we missed a particularly memorable one.

With that out of the way, onto the list!

5. A Nightmare on FaceTime – South Park (2012)

Regardless of the brand’s iffy reputation among former employees, the death of Blockbuster Video was a serious blow to fans of physical media. Of course, some folks were more affected by this than others, and South Park’s Randy Marsh definitely took things a little too far in the twelfth episode of the show’s sixteenth season.

Titled A Nightmare on FaceTime, the main plot of this 2012 story is a surprisingly faithful recreation of The Shining where Randy purchases an empty Blockbuster store and begins to go mad once he realizes that his investment may not have been a very good idea due to the rise of streaming and the now-defunct RedBox storefronts.

4. The Overlook Hotel Level – Ready Player One (2018)

I was never really a fan of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, so I viewed Stephen Spielberg’s divisive adaptation of the novel as an improvement over the source material despite having its own narrative issues. In fact, I actually prefer how Spielberg changed the story by removing several references to his own work and replacing a lengthy Blade Runner detour with an over-the-top homage to The Shining.

A CGI-heavy recreation of the film’s most iconic moments that feels like a big-budget ghost train ride set within the Overlook Hotel, this intense sequence is more of a recreation of the freaky aesthetics of The Shining rather than its mind-bending narrative. However, it’s still fun to see Spielberg make a heartfelt tribute to a filmmaker that was once his close personal friend.

3. IKEA Singapore Halloween Ad (2014)

It makes sense that commercials don’t typically borrow from the horror genre, as it might be a bad idea to scare away potential customers, but some references are just too much fun to pass up.

That’s probably why the publicists behind this Ikea ad from Singapore were allowed to turn their commercial into a genuinely unsettling recreation of Danny’s tricycle scene from The Shining. After all, nobody cares if your store is haunted so long as it offers late-night shopping hours and a large selection of merchandise that you can become lost in forever and ever…

2. The End of ‘Bondage and Beta Male Sexuality’ – Community (2014)

Community is no stranger to recreating iconic movie moments within the show, and the series had previously tackled horror tropes in episodes like the fan-favorite Epidemiology. However, the most laugh-out-loud moment on this particular list comes from a brief gag towards the end of the season five episode ‘Bondage and Beta Male Sexuality’.

The majority of this episode has nothing to do with scary movies, but there’s a brief subplot involving supporting character Chang and a possible encounter with ghosts that leads him to question his own existence. This subplot culminates in the episode’s hilarious ending where the camera zooms in on a black-and-white photograph of Chang in period clothing at some kind of celebration, just like Jack Nicholson at the end of The Shining.

However, the picture’s subtitle eventually reveals that it’s merely a conveniently placed keepsake from the ‘Old Timey Photo Club’.

1. The Overlook Hedge Maze Sequence – Zootopia 2 (2025)

Disney movies are pretty far removed from both the gruesome horror of Stephen King and the heady filmmaking of Stanley Kubrick, so I don’t think anyone was expecting the climax of last year’s Zootopia sequel to take place in an animated version of the snowy hedge maze from The Shining.

In this unexpectedly intense sequence, friend-turned-villain Pawbert Lynxley (an unhinged lynx cat played by Andy Samberg) chases our protagonists through a creepy labyrinth in a loving recreation of Jack Nicholson’s icy demise outside the Overlook Hotel. The actual ending here might be a little more child-friendly than what’s being referenced, but it’s amazing that the filmmakers were able to push the horror elements as far as they did – especially since the scene doesn’t really have anything to do with the rest of the movie.

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