The New Weird

I read Annihilation for the topic of the new weird. I really enjoyed this novel because of how it explores mystery, and how it contextualised horror in a modern world. For a modern reader, the horror elements in this novel would be of nature becoming unnatural and sentient, as well as the psychological manipulation of the characters within the novel. Over the course of the novel we begin to see that the expedition team is being used, against their will and without being informed of the greater situation surrounding area x, and that this has been done over and over again to many groups before this one. This novel really reminded me of a podcast called Tanis, wherein the narrator becomes involved in the exploration of a section of nature that seems unnatural and sentient in a similar way that area x is. Both stories use the known in order to make the unknown even more unsettling. The telling of the mystery through first person accounts in journals is also an interesting similarity, which is utilised by H. P. Lovecraft in his short horror stories as well. This particular aspect makes the story more convincing because the reader is experiencing these accounts as if they really were written by another person that is or has experienced these strange and unsettling events. It also feels as though you are uncovering the truth at the same time the main character does, which immerses you in the story in a very effective way. This was probably my favourite part of the novel, that it felt like I was there figuring out what was going on right along with the biologist.

In the future I think horror will become more and more interested in technology and how it effects our minds, as well as how it will alter our realities. More things are becoming automated or connected to the internet, which could lead to some very dire situations.