Genre Splicing: “Harry Potter” as Horror 类型拼接：“哈利·波特”饰演恐怖 BY EMILY LAWRENCE · PUBLISHED OCTOBER 9, 2020 · UPDATED SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 艾米莉·劳伦斯（EMILY LAWRENCE）·2020年10月9日发布·2020年9月29日更新

翻译者：张瑜璐

Horror: Stephen King, gothic tales, eyes closed tight, and popcorn flying from bowls. So how does Harry Potter fit into this genre? Harry Potter has come to be a classic fantasy tale, one that’s often targeted at children and therefore possibly the last thing you would associate with the horror genre. However, if we look at the similarities between horror and Harry Potter, perhaps there’s more in common than you might have thought. Or perhaps we’ve simply been misjudging the merit in horror stories all along. 恐怖：斯蒂芬·金，哥特式故事，眼睛紧闭，爆米花从碗里飞出来。那么《哈利波特》是如何融入这一类型的呢？《哈利波特》已经成为一个经典的幻想故事，一个经常以儿童为目标的故事，因此很可能是你最不可能联想到恐怖类型的故事。然而，如果我们看看恐怖片和哈利波特之间的相似之处，也许还有比你想象的更多的共同点。或者我们只是一直在错误判断恐怖故事的价值。

1. Horror and Growing Up 恐惧与成长

Believe it or not, many horror stories have a purpose beyond giving you some freaky nightmares. Some of the original dark fairy tales and gothic horror stories were written as lessons, particularly for those still growing up and coming into their own. They exist to chart the transition from innocence to awareness, and to frighten, but also to educate – teaching us how people often hide their true selves or the classic lesson: Don’t wander off. Some scary stories even talk about the simple things in life, such as the benefits and necessity of sleep, as Nightmare on Elm Street tells us. Harry Potter also contains many valuable life lessons and charts the coming-of-age period that is so formative for many of us. Harry and his friends face many disturbing and frightening events, but it is the way they are able to triumph over this darkness that creates change and shapes their growth. 信不信由你，许多恐怖故事的目的都不只是让你做一些怪诞的噩梦。一些原始的黑暗童话和哥特式恐怖故事被写成了课程，特别是对于那些仍在成长和成长中的人来说。他们的存在是为了描绘从天真到觉悟再到恐惧的转变，同时也是为了教育我们——教我们人们如何经常隐藏自己的真实自我，或者经典的一课：不要迷路。一些可怕的故事甚至谈到了生活中的一些简单的事情，比如睡眠的好处和必要性，就像榆树街上的噩梦告诉我们的那样，《哈利波特》也包含了许多有价值的人生教训，并描绘了对我们很多人来说都很有形成意义的成年期。哈利和他的朋友们面临着许多令人不安和可怕的事件，但正是他们战胜黑暗的方式创造了变化，塑造了他们的成长。

2.Focusing on the Fantastical 专注于幻想

From ghosts to ghouls, many horror stories contain menacing dark creatures. Tales of vampires and werewolves have always been used in cautionary tales and to add darkness and fear to horror stories. InHarry Potter, we also see a wide variety of magical creatures, both dark and benign. However, the stigmas and fears we see in the wizarding community toward these creatures reflect instead on humanity’s own darkness, and it makes us think about how our own prejudices and attitudes can lead us down dark paths. 从鬼魂到食尸鬼，许多恐怖故事都包含了威胁性的黑暗生物。吸血鬼和狼人的故事一直被用来警示故事，并增加黑暗和恐惧的恐怖故事。在哈利波特中，我们也看到了各种各样的魔法生物，既有黑暗的，也有温和的。然而，我们在巫师群体中看到的对这些生物的污名和恐惧，反而反映了人类自身的黑暗，它让我们思考我们自己的偏见和态度如何引导我们走上黑暗的道路。

3. The Theme of Death 死亡主题

Horror doesn’t shy away from death, and neither does Harry Potter. Horror brings us the senselessness and purposelessness of death, often striking with no logic or end in sight. Of course, some deaths play integral roles in shaping the plot. In Harry Potter, we see this in the death of Cedric or Lily and James. However, the focus on senseless death in both Harry Potter and horror stories makes these worlds more real to us and teaches us the painful reality of indiscriminate death. Horror stories such as The Woman in Black or other tales of vengeful spirits likewise show us how there can be fates worse than death, as Voldemort’s use of Horcruxes and fixation on defeating death also shows us. Sometimes all we can hope for is a peaceful and dignified end. 恐怖不会回避死亡，哈利波特也不会。恐怖带给我们的是死亡的无意义和无目的性，通常是在没有逻辑或终点的情况下发生的。当然，有些人的死亡在情节的形成中起着不可或缺的作用。在《哈利波特》中，我们在塞德里克、莉莉和詹姆斯的死中看到了这一点。然而，在哈利波特和恐怖故事中对无谓死亡的关注使这些世界对我们来说更加真实，并教会我们滥杀无辜的痛苦现实。恐怖故事，如黑衣女人或其他复仇灵魂的故事，同样向我们展示了，有比死亡更糟糕的命运，伏地魔使用魂器和对战胜死亡的执着也向我们展示了这一点。和平而有尊严的结局有时是我们所有人的希望。

4. Anxiety, Anxiety Everywhere 焦虑，到处都是焦虑

What gives horror stories that certain zing – that foreboding atmosphere that glues us to the pages or screen even when we want to tear our eyes away? The ever-present tension and atmosphere of anxiety is what gives horror those elevated feelings, a sense of impending doom coming closer and closer. This is precisely what we also see as the Harry Potter series progresses, moving from more light-hearted mysteries to a serious and high-stakes war engulfing the wizarding world.是什么赋予了恐怖故事那种令人兴奋的预感，这种预感会把我们粘在书页或屏幕上，甚至当我们想把眼睛移开的时候？一直存在的紧张和焦虑的气氛，正是这种紧张感和焦虑感给了恐怖，一种迫在眉睫的厄运越来越近的感觉。这也正是我们在《哈利波特》系列的进展中所看到的，从更轻松的神秘到一场席卷巫师世界的严肃而高风险的战争。

5. Normal vs. the Supernatural 普通与超自然

Horror isn’t all about jump scares, but what makes a really frightening moment is the balance between the mundane and the disturbing, the normal and the supernatural. If the tension is dialed to eleven all the time, after a while, it doesn’t seem so scary to us anymore. Both good horror stories and Harry Potter understand this and often mix normal things like household life, schools and homework, and the everyday grind into worlds full of spooky happenings, uncertainty, and darkness. After all, it’s those moments of normality or even light-heartedness that make the shadows all the darker. 恐怖并不全是跳跃式的恐惧，但真正令人恐惧的时刻是世俗与烦扰、正常与超自然之间的平衡。如果11点以后我们的关系不那么紧张了。好的恐怖故事和《哈利波特》都明白这一点，他们经常把日常生活、学校和家庭作业等日常生活混在一起，进入充满了恐怖事件、不确定性和黑暗的世界。毕竟，正是那些平淡的时刻，甚至是轻松愉快的时刻，让阴影变得更加黑暗。

Acknowledging the dark themes in Harry Potter is an important part of the complexity of the series. The horror genre, likewise, uses its dark elements in constructive ways, beyond simply frightening people and creating a mess with spilled popcorn. And while Harry Potter is much more than its darkness, it is in these moments that we find the lessons it tries to teach us, to see the ugly sides of life and learn from them. Many horror stories tell us to pick ourselves back up, learn from mistakes and trauma, and be aware of the darkness in our world. That’s not such a bad aim at all. Perhaps more of us should explore this little-loved genre. You first, though. Good luck.承认《哈利·波特》中的黑暗主题是该系列小说复杂性的一个重要部分。同样，恐怖片也以建设性的方式使用其黑暗元素，而不仅仅是吓唬人和用泼洒的爆米花制造混乱。虽然《哈利·波特》远不止是它的黑暗，但正是在这些时刻，我们发现了它试图教给我们的教训，去看到生活中丑陋的一面，并从中吸取教训。许多恐怖故事告诉我们要振作起来，从错误和创伤中吸取教训，并意识到我们世界的黑暗。一点也不坏。也许我们中的更多人应该探索这种不受欢迎的类型。你先来吧。祝你好运。