A Master Horror Story

I’m a fan of horror stories. I’m not sure why. Simply put, I’ve always gravitated toward them. I’ve read various reasons why horror stories are popular. One reason given is that horror stories give people a safe way to deal with and vent their fears. Another reason that I am okay with horror stories is that Jesus may have been the greatest horror story teller ever because he wasn’t making stuff up. Consider the following master class in telling a horror story:

The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)

 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Commence breakdown:

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The opening gives us the characters. There is conflict between them in the form of social status. The rich guy is set up as an antagonist. He has it all. Lazarus is set up as the protagonist. He wishes he could have the crumbs that fall from the rich guy’s table. Sympathy is further built because the only ones who have pity on Lazarus are stray dogs.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

What scarier than death? What comes after death is scarier than death. Here the binary options are presented, naked and unadorned. The situation is so terrible that even a finger dipped in water and touched to a tongue is an immense respite from the rich man’s state.

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

Here is where H.P. Lovecraft and his ilk got it wrong. True horror is not that life is meaningless. True horror is that everything has meaning and it echoes into eternity.

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

A bigger picture is introduced. It is not just the fate of the characters presented. It is the fate of everyone that is presented, including us, the readers and our loved ones.

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

Solutions are presented.

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

Solutions are refused.

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

And the bitter ending —the people who won’t listen have all that they need to avoid their fate, but they won’t listen “even if someone rises from the dead.” They have clapped their hands to their ears and squeezed their eyes shut. The final twist is that the guy telling the story (Jesus) actually did rise from the dead to save those people from the sins that damned them, and it didn’t convince them.