Issue #22
“Horror in the Light”

As horror lovers, we are no strangers to the terror that lurks in the dark nor to the horrors that occur in broad daylight. They are so painfully bright that they keep us awake at night. In this month’s issue of Night Terror Magazine, we lay the terrifying tales of fact and fiction out to roast to a crisp in the sun’s rays.

In Ari Aster’s folk horror film Midsommar, we see just how easily things hide in plain sight. There are no shadows to hide within. When the sun is beaming and the landscapes and dress are in full bloom, there is an illusion that there is nothing to be hidden. Yet the blue sky of day can foster a false sense of safety. Tensions rise as protagonist Dani grows more and more uneasy in this rural Swedish village. While much is being revealed as the days progress, there is a seedy underbelly that drives Hårga’s traditions. 

Midsommar is a brilliant film because of how deeply its roots really run. There are hidden messages throughout its entirety. When the American students drive into Hårga, a bright yellow sign welcomes them, fashioning the symbol of a far right political party. The people of this seemingly docile commune are actually deeply committed to twentieth-century fascism. Hårga is flooded with bright iconography, painted on buildings, sewn into clothing, and carved into stone. The evidence is there, you just have to be looking for it.

In the end, Dani is crowned the new May Queen, adorned with trumpeting flowers, warmly welcomed into the commune, and presented with an opportunity to seek her revenge. The picture is painted and the audience is left to believe that a new Final Girl has been born. But Midsommar isn’t the redemption arc it’s so often celebrated as. Dani has been drugged, traumatized, and exhausted into believing that she has finally found her way home. In her state of delirium, it is presented that she can finally let go of the immense grief from the sudden loss of her family, free of a partner incapable of showing up for her.

As in Midsommar, the signs of white nationalism are all around us. But the difference between the present global horrors and this haunting film is that the perpetrators name themselves proudly. Thousands of pages of evidence, racism spewing with ease on national tv and social media, and the governing body proudly at the helm, condoning the continuation of it. The evidence is all around us, and rather than trying to uncover the hidden messages, you have to actively try to hide them from the mind's eye.

Like neo-pagan fascists of Hårga, American leadership employs the same strategy. Exhaust, oversaturate, rage bait, and when we are at our lowest and most vulnerable, attack over and over and over. We each have a responsibility in not falling into the tantalizing pits of despair, because that is what fuels the growth in their power. 

This feels unbearably heavy, and to many, this bright, present fear is a new range of emotions. But horror has spotlighted these atrocities since its inception. We just just didn’t always have the context or the lived experiences to understand the truths that were right in front of us.

Take charge of their access to you and hold a mirror to deflect the sun’s beating rays to divert their attention. We can use the daylight to create an illusion, too.