<P> Horror films often aim to evoke viewers' nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown . Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage into the everyday world . Prevalent elements include ghosts, extraterrestrials, vampires, werewolves, demons, satanism, evil clowns, gore, torture, vicious animals, evil witches, monsters, zombies, cannibalism, psychopaths, natural or man - made disasters, and serial killers . </P> <P> Some subgenres of horror film include action horror, comedy horror, body horror, disaster horror, holiday horror, horror drama, psychological horror, science fiction horror, slasher horror, supernatural horror, gothic horror, natural horror, zombie horror, first - person horror, and teen horror . </P> <P> The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by the film pioneer Georges Méliès in the late 1890s, the best known being Le Manoir du Diable, which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film . Another of his horror projects was La Caverne maudite (1898) (a.k.a. The Cave of the Demons, literally "the accursed cave"). Japan made early forays into the horror genre with Bake Jizo (Jizo the Spook) and Shinin no Sosei (Resurrection of a Corpse), both made in 1898 . The era featured a slew of literary adaptations, adapting the works of Poe and Dante, among others . In 1908, Selig Polyscope Company produced Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . </P> <P> In 1910, Edison Studios produced the first filmed version of Frankenstein . The macabre nature of the source materials used made the films synonymous with the horror film genre . </P>

When did the first horror movie come out