--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good horror fiction deals with taboos. It…" description: "\"“Good horror fiction deals with taboos. It must always go to the limits of what is acceptable.”\" — Clive Barker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/clive-barker-773_horror_good-horror-fiction-deals-with-taboos-it_1085959.png" --- # Good horror fiction deals with taboos. It must always go… ![“Good horror fiction deals with taboos. It must always go to the limits of what is acceptable.” quote by Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/clive-barker-773_horror_good-horror-fiction-deals-with-taboos-it_1085959.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/clive-barker-773_horror_good-horror-fiction-deals-with-taboos-it_1085959.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/clive-barker-773_horror_good-horror-fiction-deals-with-taboos-it_1085959.png) > ““Good horror fiction deals with taboos. It must always go to the limits of what is acceptable.”” [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Horror must confront societal taboos and push the boundaries of acceptability to be effective. **In simple terms:** Horror should challenge taboos. Key Takeaway Embrace daring themes. Themes creativity taboos boundary‑pushing Mood provocative intense Type literary cinematic When to use this quote - writing horror - film direction - game design - censorship debates Key Concepts psychology cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What taboos can horror explore responsibly? - How far should creators push limits? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating audiences if limits are too extreme. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Taboos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taboos/) ## Related quotes > [Don't have rules, taboos, or limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/don-t-have-rules-taboos-or-limits/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [I think that horror fiction is one of the ways to approach these problems of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-that-horror-fiction-is-one-of-the-ways-to-approach-these/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [At best you can hold death at bay, you can pretend it isn't there; but to deny it totally is a sickness. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/at-best-you-can-hold-death-at-bay-you-can-pretend-it-isn-t-there-but/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [ \[Horror fiction\] shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/horror-fiction-shows-us-that-the-control-we-believe-we-have-is-purely/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I've been writing since 1973. I've written nonfiction things of that nature, but I'm probably best known for crime fiction and, to some extent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-ve-been-writing-since-1973-i-ve-written-nonfiction-things-of-that/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [There's two kinds of evil that horror fiction always deals with. One kind is the sort of evil that comes from inside people, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-s-two-kinds-of-evil-that-horror-fiction-always-deals-with-one/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“There are those who don't understand the nobility of horror fiction. 'Isn't there enough horror in the world?' they ask. For all other forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-those-who-don-t-understand-the-nobility-of-horror-fiction/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I actually think I've got a pretty good horror scream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-astin/i-actually-think-i-ve-got-a-pretty-good-horror-scream/) [Sean Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-astin/) > [I love horror movies! I've loved horror movies since I was about eight years old, not that an 8-year-old should be watching The Shining,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-breckenridge/i-love-horror-movies-i-ve-loved-horror-movies-since-i-was-about-eight/) [Alexandra Breckenridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-breckenridge/) > [Horror itself is a bit of a bullied genre, the antagonist being literary snobbery and public misconception. And I think good horror tackles our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/horror-itself-is-a-bit-of-a-bullied-genre-the-antagonist-being/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [And I like a good horror story as much as the next person so long as they kill off some men too and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/and-i-like-a-good-horror-story-as-much-as-the-next-person-so-long-as/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [“A good horror is better than sex!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skarlett-horrors/a-good-horror-is-better-than-sex/) Skarlett Horrors > [“Fear is essential in horror fiction. Gore is optional.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayne-hall/fear-is-essential-in-horror-fiction-gore-is-optional/) [Rayne Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rayne-hall/) > [I think if you looked at the kind of ebb and flow of supernatural fiction and horror fiction, it does seem to be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-koryta/i-think-if-you-looked-at-the-kind-of-ebb-and-flow-of-supernatural/) [Michael Koryta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-koryta/) > [Best-selling horror fiction is indeed necessarily conservative because it must entertain a large number of readers. It’s like network television. I’m your local cable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/best-selling-horror-fiction-is-indeed-necessarily-conservative/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) ## More by Clive Barker > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Those old hypocrites. They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I dreamt a limitless book, A book unbound, Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance On every line there was a new horizon drawn, New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-dreamt-a-limitless-book-a-book-unbound-its-leaves-scattered-in/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Only when they have outrun the all-too-eager shadows of the Canyon and they are back in the glare of the billboards on Sunset Boulevard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/only-when-they-have-outrun-the-all-too-eager-shadows-of-the-canyon/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I firmly believe that a story is only as good as the villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-firmly-believe-that-a-story-is-only-as-good-as-the-villain/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Pleasure is a reward, given to the human system by evolution in return for services rendered to the preservation and increase of the species.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/pleasure-is-a-reward-given-to-the-human-system-by-evolution-in-return/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I love meeting people who've read my books. The prime reason to be on the planet is to make things I can show to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-love-meeting-people-who-ve-read-my-books-the-prime-reason-to-be-on/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Nothing happens carelessly. We’re not brought into the world without reason, even though we may never understand the reason. An infant that lives an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/nothing-happens-carelessly-we-re-not-brought-into-the-world-without/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Despite his intent, tears sprang to his eyes, and he went into her embrace, both of them sobbing freely, like enemies joined by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/despite-his-intent-tears-sprang-to-his-eyes-and-he-went-into-her/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Always, worlds within worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/always-worlds-within-worlds/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“I'm an inclusionist. I've always divided up (very, very broadly, I admit) the artistic instincts into the inclusionist and the exclusionist. The exclusionist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-m-an-inclusionist-i-ve-always-divided-up-very-very-broadly-i-admit/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I think I'm less and less labelled a 'horror writer'. The books tend not to go on horror shelves any more, and when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-i-m-less-and-less-labelled-a-horror-writer-the-books-tend-not/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Horror shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/horror-shows-us-that-the-control-we-believe-we-have-is-purely-illusory/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Explore all 365 Clive Barker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## More Horror quotes > [“In the attempt to find the just measure of horror and terror, I came upon the writing of Carole Gill whose work revealed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-gill/in-the-attempt-to-find-the-just-measure-of-horror-and-terror-i-came/) [Carole Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-gill/) > [I will say that when it comes to the horror genre, for me, the scariest thing is when something is actually in the frame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/i-will-say-that-when-it-comes-to-the-horror-genre-for-me-the-scariest/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [What I love about watching classic horror films is that they take you on a ride and they obviously make you scared because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/what-i-love-about-watching-classic-horror-films-is-that-they-take-you/) [Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/) > [One day, if I had to do a horror movie, it will be a very realistic war movie. For me, war is horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/one-day-if-i-had-to-do-a-horror-movie-it-will-be-a-very-realistic-war/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Damn it, it wasn’t quite fresh enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/damn-it-it-wasn-t-quite-fresh-enough/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Photojournalists know the horrors of war can only be exposed at close range. Kodak Film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/photojournalists-know-the-horrors-of-war-can-only-be-exposed-at-close/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [“Other folk thought the Rage was simple bloodlust, a berserk savagery that neither knew nor cared what its target was, and so it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/other-folk-thought-the-rage-was-simple-bloodlust-a-berserk-savagery/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [“When we mated I felt your heart stop beating and it was as if the world had stopped turning. It was only while surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/when-we-mated-i-felt-your-heart-stop-beating-and-it-was-as-if-the/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [I'm generally never at a lack for words, but it's indescribable how poor the response was from our own government officials, ... We could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal/i-m-generally-never-at-a-lack-for-words-but-it-s-indescribable-how/) [Hannibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal/) > [“Unlike the rest he had seen of the bungalow, the hall beyond the door was dark. He could see the glimmer of three doors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsey-campbell/unlike-the-rest-he-had-seen-of-the-bungalow-the-hall-beyond-the-door/) [Ramsey Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsey-campbell/) > [Some of my fondest and most impressionable movie memories are from those early sci-fi and horror films. I've always been a Dracula/vampire aficionado, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-wise/some-of-my-fondest-and-most-impressionable-movie-memories-are-from/) [Ray Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-wise/) [Browse all 4,296 Horror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Good horror fiction deals with taboos. 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