Horror

Horror is an important theme in the novel “The Troop” by Nick Cutter. There are the primary kinds of horror presented in the novel, all of which are designed to unnerve, unsettle, and frighten the reader. The three particular forms of horror woven into the novel include psychological horror, physical horror, and gore.

Psychological horror is terror of the mind, of things that are known, or of things that are believed. Psychological horror exists in many places in the novel. As the reader becomes aware of Shelley’s history—mutilating animals, drowning cats, and wanting to kill a person—the reader recognizes that the other four boys are in danger not just from the hydatid worms, but from Shelley as well. When the boys learn that the hydatid worm is spread like a contagion, they are terrified and fearful. They have knowledge of something known but...