Horror Within and Without: Studying the Role of the Monstrous and the Grotesque in the Horror World-building of Dead Space Universe

Abstract

The article endeavors to show how the elements of monstrosity and grotesquery can evoke horrors on both psychological and physical levels, and how the psychological and physical horrors function as not two separate phenomena but rather as mutually complementary forces where each keeps reinforcing the other. The study will analyze the two novels and four games from Dead Space franchise, namely Dead Space: Martyr (2010), and Dead Space: Catalyst (2012), both authored by Brian Evenson, and the Dead Space games trilogy (2008-13) along with Dead Space: Extraction, the supposed prequel to the first game of the series. For the purpose of the present analysis, the study shall employ a multi-theoretical perspective for analyzing the contribution of monstrous and grotesque elements towards crafting a universe of endless horrors. The study will also try to look at how video games and fictional works can work hand-in-hand to weave a shared universe of multi-layered, expanded, and distributed horror culture.