Does this sound familiar to you? It’s a relaxing evening at home. You’re little without a care in the world, just playing with some toys or maybe watching cartoons with your family. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you hear a loud crack from outside, like the very air itself has been split open. Next thing you know, your house rumbles as if being shaken by a giant before being plunged into complete darkness. Panicking thoughts race through you.
“What the heck is going on? I can’t see anything! Why isn’t the TV on anymore? It’s dark and scary!”
Not to worry, all that happened was a mere power outage due to a thunderstorm. As I’m writing this, there’s one raging outside right now. In fact, I’ve gotten a severe storm warning on my phone. Don’t worry, other than some wet shoes when I go out, my area is relatively safe in these kinds of situations. Anyway, going back to the scenario I laid out, what was the most frightening thing to you as a kid?
Was it the thunder or the power outage that followed? For me, it was the latter because it meant being surrounded by darkness. Of course, the more we know the more our fear lessens. We learn that the yellow or blue streak going across the sky that almost looks like a hand is some lighting and that the boom that follows is only thunder. It’s not any malevolent force out to get us, merely the water cycle.
That isn’t to say we shouldn’t be scared of lighting. We’re talking 1 million volts. That will give someone more than just a bad hair day. Although, there are people who have survived it. Still, it remains one of the most powerful organic forces on Earth. Notice how I said earlier that knowledge makes our fear lessen.
It doesn’t get rid of it completely. It doesn’t matter how much we learn about lighting. It’s still something that will likely leave us charred skeletons if we come in direct contact with it. We’ve always had a strained relationship with nature. Haven’t we?
Every breakthrough we make we see it as a sign to assert our dominance over it. Time and time again, it finds a way to show us how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. At least we have things like school to teach us how storms work. Imagine being an early human seeing that shit. You wouldn’t know what the hell it is. Nobody would.
Our fear of it is so primal it even carries into our media. The most famous example off the top of my head would have to be the classic Frankenstein film. It’s the iconic scene when Victor is on the verge of bringing his abomination, his creation to life. His hand is on the lever and then what happens? That’s right, lightning strikes, and with a pull of his hand, his machine is powered, animating his monster.
That’s the key word, power. It’s electricity, something that can provide great benefit, but if misused has disastrous consequences. Why, then, is it so ingrained in horror? Be it the backdrop to a mad scientist’s lab or dramatically flashing behind a haunted house or castle. I think it’s because it gives a sort of precursor of what’s to come.
In Poltergeist, the son is alone in his room and it’s storming outside. What happens after that clap of thunder? Shit goes down. A branch crashes through the window, grabbing him. Meanwhile, his sister gets sucked into her closet which contains some kind of spirit portal.
Going back to the streak of lightning behind the house or castle (usually atop a distant hill surrounded by dark trees), that is the indicator to the audience that many of the characters going into them won’t be making it out. Granted, by this point, it’s become so ingrained it’s become a cliche. You expect characters to be smart enough to recognize a potentially haunted house when they see one, or, at the very least, people who may not be entirely stable are living in it. Then again, there’s a reason haunted house tours are so popular. It’s the idea of being able to flirt with the paranormal without actually putting yourself in danger.
The same can be said for those urban explorer videos. However, those require more risk. Back to the topic at hand, lighting isn’t only a precursor to looming danger, it highlights it. Darkness itself isn’t scary. It’s what could be lurking in it. Light gives us security because it enables us to evaluate what’s surrounding us.
We either see that there is no danger or at the very least, we can identify it more easily. Lightning, on the other hand, does illuminate, but it’s temporary. It gives the comfort of sight and takes it away as quickly as the rug being yanked out from under your feet. It’s why during major power outages, you’ll hear stories of people acting crazy, assault, robbery, that sort of thing. It’s like the sudden absence of light flips on the caveman switch in many people’s brains.
An online horror series that takes advantage of this is The Boiled One Phenomenon (created by Doctor Nowhere whose channel I will link here). Some of the events in it are either based on or inspired by the infamous Northeast Blackout of 2003. It shows people’s panic during that event while adding a supernatural element. That’s another thing. Lightning tends to have a certain mystique to it.
Just look at how many deities in mythology command it. Obviously, if I listed all of them this article would be as long as a novel. Therefore, I shall be focusing on a few. The first is Thor of Norse mythology, the god of thunder, probably the tamest of the deities who wield this power. Don’t get me wrong.
You don’t want to end up on his shit list. At least, he has more endearing qualities compared to other lightning/thunder gods. With him, thunder is personified in a more fun way. Thor is someone who utilizes that power to test his strength. While he can be a bit childish, and that does cause a lot of trouble, thunder through him is seen more as a force of protection.
It’s something to be awed and respected. As we move on to our second god, you’ll notice electricity becoming more of a sinister force. In the case of Hinduism and its god of storms and thunder, Indra. Flawed hero would be the best descriptor for him. While he is a skilled warrior and protector, his scary side comes out with his jealousy or in response to the threat of losing his status.
This dude changed himself into a nymph and seduced Vrishaparva’s son because he was afraid of his potential. Not to mention, he’s generally disruptive to people who even have the remote possibility of threatening his authority. Sounds like a pretty scary guy to work for, right? Well, when you compare him to Zeus, he seems comparably tame. Let me put it like this: Indra at least does things to secure his position, which we can relate to.
Zeus will metaphorically and physically fuck you simply because he wants to. Case in point, the swan incident. Now that I think about it, gods transforming themselves to seduce people seems to be a standard occurrence in a lot of mythologies( Cough: Loki). Not to mention, he’s not exactly big on consent so, definitely a guy you want to keep your distance from. I see him as the most accurate symbol of lightning and thunder due to his unpredictability.
That’s what it’s supposed to be and why it works so well in a fear-inducing environment because horror is supposed to be one of two things, something that catches you off guard or something you know is coming and can do almost nothing to stop. What kind of shadows do you remember it casting when it struck outside of your window? It’s only from some tree branches. Then again, you could have sworn that shadow looked less like branches and more akin to arms reaching over your bed. Oh, well, it’s probably nothing.
Just rest your weary head and let the sounds of booming thunder and drizzling rain soothe your slumber. There’s no need to worry, right?
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