A comparative investigation of the horror factor and its function in Hamidreza Shahabadi's novels (Lullaby for a Dead Girl, Well of darkness, and Funny Nightmares)

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
1 Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shiraz University
2 Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shiraz University
Abstract
Hamidreza Shahabadi, a storyteller and history graduate, has shown his interest in using the elements of the horror genre, in his adolescent novels. The purpose of this research is to investigating and analysis the adolescent novels of this author; lullaby for dead girl, well of darkness, and funny nightmares, to be examined from the point of view of the Horror-causing factor to make it clear that these works are imitations of foreign works or adapted to Iranian cultural and native characteristics and the function of the monster in these works should be determined. To achieve this purpose, the monster of three book was investigating and analysis from several aspects, in terms of nature, the adventures and incidents they follow and the symbolic concepts they have and were compared with similar works or themes of the horror genre. A comparative study of the horror factor and its function in Shahabadi's three novels showed that the author, intelligently and with a correct understanding of the audience's taste, uses the elements of the horror genre and especially the monster to give a new flavor to the narrative of history and take advantage of the appeal of the horror genre and attract the audience to its reconstructed historical world and in this way. The combination of the history of the Qajar era with the monsters of the horror genre distinguishes these three stories from any foreign and domestic counterparts, and even by repeating some events and themes, it makes them appear original and unique.

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