--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Horror, for me, is not defined by the…" description: "\"Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes ones fear, but the human being who has contact with it.\" — Andrew Pyper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg" --- # Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes… ![“Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes ones fear, but the human being who has contact with it.” quote by Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg) > “Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes ones fear, but the human being who has contact with it.” [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear comes not from monsters but from the human mind confronting them, highlighting psychological terror over physical threats. **In simple terms:** Fear is about the human response, not the scary thing itself. Key Takeaway Focus on understanding your mental reactions to fear. Themes psychology terror human nature perception Mood introspective analytical eerie Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - horror movies - reading - therapy - public speaking - creative writing Key Concepts cognitive distortion existential dread subjective reality Questions to Reflect On - Why do people find internal fear more unsettling? - How can we manage our reactions to frightening stimuli? A Different Perspective Some may argue external threats can also be terrifying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ## Related quotes > [Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes one's fear, but the human being who has contact with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thing-that-provokes-one-s-fear/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“It is always the gentle ones I fear for the most, those willing to bare their hearts, who grieve for others and feel happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-deonn/it-is-always-the-gentle-ones-i-fear-for-the-most-those-willing-to/) Tracy Deonn > [You can't play with fear in football. There is a lot of respect - you have respect for everybody, the ones on top and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-laudrup/you-can-t-play-with-fear-in-football-there-is-a-lot-of-respect-you/) [Michael Laudrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-laudrup/) > [Ones fear of rejection is ones fear of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-honey/ones-fear-of-rejection-is-ones-fear-of-love/) Alexandria Honey > [When, as we must often do, we fear science, we really fear ourselves. Human dignity is better served by embracing knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/when-as-we-must-often-do-we-fear-science-we-really-fear-ourselves-2/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [“At least, when there’s fear, there’s some human part left in you. Once that’s gone, though, there is nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-thebart/at-least-when-there-s-fear-there-s-some-human-part-left-in-you-once/) [Liz Thebart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-thebart/) > [“Fear is not an excuse,” Yael told him. “Fear is being human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-graudin/fear-is-not-an-excuse-yael-told-him-fear-is-being-human/) [Ryan Graudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-graudin/) > [I like to say I don't have a fear of heights. I have a fear of human error. I'm very concerned about stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-banks/i-like-to-say-i-don-t-have-a-fear-of-heights-i-have-a-fear-of-human/) [Elizabeth Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-banks/) > [“Let's not talk about Fear. It is human, but so is Love. You can feel it, live it, believe in it, understand it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-serban/let-s-not-talk-about-fear-it-is-human-but-so-is-love-you-can-feel-it/) [Irina Serban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-serban/) > [“To have fear is is Human...to overcome it is Devine! Timothy Pina www.bullyingben.com ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/to-have-fear-is-is-human-to-overcome-it-is-devine-timothy-pina-www/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [There is only one person I fear in this world. Whose is God! Fear not human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foamy/there-is-only-one-person-i-fear-in-this-world-whose-is-god-fear-not/) Eric Foamy > [Fear is a human instinct, just like hunger. Whether you like it or not, you become hungry. Similarly with fear. But I have learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/fear-is-a-human-instinct-just-like-hunger-whether-you-like-it-or-not/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [“I don't hate God. I simply fear human interpretation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-loan/i-don-t-hate-god-i-simply-fear-human-interpretation/) E. B. Loan > [I fear human beings, because we cannot predict the swings of a human being. They are capable of doing anything. I really fear that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-usha/i-fear-human-beings-because-we-cannot-predict-the-swings-of-a-human/) [P. T. Usha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-usha/) > [I don't like rats, but there's not much else I don't like. The problem with rats is they have no fear of human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/i-don-t-like-rats-but-there-s-not-much-else-i-don-t-like-the-problem/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) ## More by Andrew Pyper > [“All my life I have been pursued by the black dogs of unaccountable gloom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/all-my-life-i-have-been-pursued-by-the-black-dogs-of-unaccountable/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [There's something in human nature that says we need to have at least one symbolic place where chaos and dark desires can live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/there-s-something-in-human-nature-that-says-we-need-to-have-at-least/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [Theres something in human nature that says we need to have at least one symbolic place where chaos and dark desires can live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/theres-something-in-human-nature-that-says-we-need-to-have-at-least/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“And this is the only really startling thing about the evil of the world: not that so much of it exists, but that nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/and-this-is-the-only-really-startling-thing-about-the-evil-of-the/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“I am well and truly messed up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/i-am-well-and-truly-messed-up/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [Sometimes people close a door because they’re trying to figure out a way to get you to knock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/sometimes-people-close-a-door-because-they-re-trying-to-figure-out-a/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [Your melancholy. Or depression. Along with nine-tenths of the afflictions I've studied, diagnosed, attempted to treat. Call them whatever you like, but they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/your-melancholy-or-depression-along-with-nine-tenths-of-the/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“Though it's with you at every moment, it's always something of a surprise to discover that you can be at once alive and alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/though-it-s-with-you-at-every-moment-it-s-always-something-of-a/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [I enjoy a special collegiality among other writers in the thriller community. They call me 'Canada's scariest writer,' and I love that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/i-enjoy-a-special-collegiality-among-other-writers-in-the-thriller/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“The dead boy floats by.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/the-dead-boy-floats-by/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [If the hairs on my neck stand up while Im writing, I figure the reader will get the same kind of shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/if-the-hairs-on-my-neck-stand-up-while-im-writing-i-figure-the-reader/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“Darkness isn't the matter from which the Antichrist was formed, but intelligence. Foreknowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/darkness-isn-t-the-matter-from-which-the-antichrist-was-formed-but/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [I just hated the law. I wasnt cut out for it. I couldnt imagine spending my life doing that, so I quit before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/i-just-hated-the-law-i-wasnt-cut-out-for-it-i-couldnt-imagine/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [Psychological horror is more interesting to me than the explicitly physical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/psychological-horror-is-more-interesting-to-me-than-the-explicitly/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes one's fear, but the human being who has contact with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thing-that-provokes-one-s-fear/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) [Explore all 39 Andrew Pyper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) ## More Contact quotes > [Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/politics-in-philadelphia-is-a-contact-sport/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [The improved American highway system isolated the American-in-transit. On his speedway he had no contact with the towns which he by-passed. If he stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-improved-american-highway-system-isolated-the-american-in-transit/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Close contact between science and the practice of collective farms and State farms creates inexhaustible opportunities for the development of theoretical knowledge, enabling us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/close-contact-between-science-and-the-practice-of-collective-farms/) [Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [The Filipino embraces civilization and lives and thrives in every clime, in contact with every people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-filipino-embraces-civilization-and-lives-and-thrives-in-every/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [One of the best ways into the business is to get a job with a production, which you can do by cold-calling or by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-hurwitz/one-of-the-best-ways-into-the-business-is-to-get-a-job-with-a/) [Mitchell Hurwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-hurwitz/) > [“I never met a pig I didn't like. All pigs are intelligent, emotional, and sensitive souls. They all love company. They all crave contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sy-montgomery/i-never-met-a-pig-i-didn-t-like-all-pigs-are-intelligent-emotional/) [Sy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sy-montgomery/) Browse all 1,740 Contact quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes ones fear, but the human being who has contact with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Pyper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thing-that-provokes-ones-fear-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contact" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thing-that-provokes-ones-fear-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/andrew-pyper-16689_contact_horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thin_1821999.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Horror, for me, is not defined by the thing that provokes ones fear, but the human being who has contact…” — Andrew Pyper", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew Pyper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Horror, for me, is not defined...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thing-that-provokes-ones-fear-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/horror-for-me-is-not-defined-by-the-thing-that-provokes-ones-fear-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```