DEFINITION AND EXAMPLES OF FORESHADOWING IN HORROR LITERATURE
Abstract
Horror literature as a genre relies not primarily on the direct depiction of violence, monstrosity, or shocking imagery, but rather on the strategic manipulation of readerly expectation. One of the most effective narrative mechanisms enabling this effect is foreshadowing — a literary technique through which the author embeds signals of future events by means of motifs, symbolic markers, structural displacements, or atmospheric cues.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Gothic Literature and Media Analysis
Narrative Theory and Analysis
Utopian
Dystopian
and Speculative Fiction
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Publication date
- 1 March 2026
- Language
- EN