The Paradox of the Horror Genre

I do not like scary things. I like spooky things, and I kinda like creepy things. Like the Tear Drinkers from Brutal Legend, but I do not like things that are genuinely scary. Like the game Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Which, I own for some reason. I have been playing said game for the past few weeks, and I've had a ball with it. It is so much fun to be scared out of my wits, and be able to press onward after an ordeal has occured. The difference between seeing a horror movie, and playing a horror game is this: control. When you go to see a movie, there is nothing that you as the audience can do. You can squirm, you can yell, but you hold no factor in how the story plays out. When you play a horror game, you control the character, and how the scene plays out. The story doesn't change, but it was by your skill that you survived and lived to tell the tale. I haven't beaten Amnesia yet, so no spoilers. I just want to talk about what I have ascertained about the genre from playing Amnesia.

When I play the game Amnesia, I hate it. I hate the dark, I hate the scary things, I hate the sounds that are coming from nowhere. I hate it. I dread every second that I take control of the game, and I' miserable. Yet, when I put the game down, and talk about it with other people, I sing its praises. That doesn't make any sense. Though, it does somehow. The game throws all sorts of terrible things at you, as the player, and you have to overcome them. You have to get away, avoid them, and survive. Survival becomes your primary objective, and it is all that matters. Who cares about the story when there is a man eating monster that is just on the other side of the wall? Then there is the payoff of actually making it out of that horrible ordeal, and being able to catch your breath. Survival has never tasted so sweet. I've survived some pretty intense uphill battles in Halo, or Call of Duty, though I never felt threatened. Those firefights were all about strategy, and when to move where, and who to take out next. In Amnesia, your sensibility is lost to fear. You're thrown into a state of shock that you have to fight your way out of because you must live. You have to survive, you can't let this terrible monster win. SO you fight off the fear, and you run for your life. You run, you hide, and you do everything that is within your power as Daniel to get away and live to fight another day. That's how it goes, isn't it? That's the rush. That's where all the excitement comes from. It is this rollercoaster of  emotions that goes from dread, to joy in a matter of seconds. It's incredible.

That's the paradox of the horror genre to me. I hate playing the game, but I love the excitement that comes after surviving. Amnesia is certainly one game that is a must play, even if you're like me and you don't even like the horror genre. Face your fears, and have fun doing it.