The lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson that was first published in 1948 in The New Yorker magazine. It’s a story about a small town that holds an annual lottery where one resident is randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the rest of the townspeople. The story explores themes of tradition, ritual, conformity, and the mob mentality. Upon its release, it caused major controversy and backlash due to its disturbing subject matter. Over the decades since its publication, the story has become an iconic work of American literature and a staple of high school English curriculums. It has sparked debate over whether The Lottery should be classified as a work of horror fiction. There are compelling arguments on both sides of this question.
What makes something horror?
Horror fiction has some standard themes and elements that help define the genre:
- It elicits feelings of fear, revulsion, dread, disgust and terror in the reader
- Contains supernatural or macabre elements
- Explores the disturbing or malevolent
- Makes the reader uncomfortable and anxious
- Deals with death, the afterlife, or violence
Horror stories often feature scary antagonists like monsters, ghosts, demons, serial killers, and insane or evil characters. They tend to unfold in creepy, ominous settings. The narrative is designed to scare the reader, tapping into universal human fears like the unknown, death, disease, the occult, and losing one’s identity or sanity. Horror fiction uses foreboding mood, tension, and disturbing imagery to frighten and alarm the reader.
Elements of The Lottery that suggest horror
There are certain elements of The Lottery that align with conventions of classic horror tales:
- It contains graphic violence, including ritualistic murder
- The lottery and stoning are uncanny, macabre rituals
- The story fosters a feeling of dread leading up to the climactic stoning
- The mob mentality of the townspeople is disturbing
- The ending is abrupt, ironic and terrifying
The story also explores themes common in horror literature like conforming to dangerous traditions and mob behavior overriding morality. The ritual murder is carried out by otherwise “normal” townsfolk, making it extra chilling. The randomness of the selection and the ordinariness of the victim underscore the horror.
Elements that distinguish The Lottery from horror
However, there are certain elements and techniques of The Lottery that set it apart from prototypical horror fiction:
- It contains no supernatural or paranormal elements
- The source of fear is ordinary people, not monsters, ghosts, etc.
- The writing style is understated and detached rather than sensational
- The gruesome act happens “on screen” rather than being implied
- The story provides social commentary on conformity and mob mentality
The Lottery is more allegorical and symbolic than a conventional horror story. The source of horror is not derived from otherworldly terrors or malevolent forces but rather the familiar, commonplace setting and characters. The detached, journalistic style of the prose dilutes the horror versus amplifying it. There is no feeling of cathartic escape for the reader at the end. The story leaves the reader unsettled because the horror stems from recognizable human behaviors versus supernatural monsters or events.
Perspectives on The Lottery as horror
There are intelligent arguments that can be made both for and against classifying The Lottery as horror fiction:
Perspective: The Lottery IS horror
– It contains graphic violence that disturbs readers to their core
– The ritual murder taps into primal fears over random, meaningless death
– The story is heavily influenced by weird fiction authors like Lovecraft
– It leaves the reader feeling fearful, anxious and unsettled
– TheBuildup of dreadand inevitability of the stoning scene evoke horror
– The horrific actions are carried out by “normal” people, making it more terrifying than fantastical monsters doing evil
Perspective: The Lottery is NOT horror
– It does not utilize any supernatural or paranormal story elements
– The tone is understated and detached rather than sensationalized
– The horror springs from the familiar rather than the unknown
– The story is designed to provide thoughtful social commentary
– The ordinariness of the settings and characters undermine the horror
– The reader feels intellectually unsettled rather than primarily frightened
– The story is philosophical examination of conformity versus traditional horror thrills
Conclusion
There are compelling arguments on both sides of the debate. Upon close examination, it seems the story falls somewhere in between traditional horror fiction and mainstream literary fiction. While it has elements of horror, the story’s understated tone, allegorical nature and social commentary set it apart from prototypical scary stories. The horror arises from an ordinary setting and familiar human behaviors rather than supernatural forces of evil. Shirley Jackson herself referred to it as a “controlled” horror story, suggesting the nuance required in analyzing how to classify the story. The debate underscores why The Lottery remains such an iconic and impactful short story that every reader should explore for themselves. The unsettling story prompts important questions about blindly following traditions, mob mentality, violence, and man’s capacity for evil. While not cleanly fitting in the horror genre, it is a horrifying and thought-provoking read.
The Lottery’s Impact on Culture
The Lottery left a lasting impact on popular culture, despite its ambiguous genre classification:
Impact on literature
- Inspired more “quiet” horror fiction using familiar settings and people
- Established literary fiction could effectively unsettle readers
- Influenced magical realism and weird fiction authors
- Helped bring horror tropes into mainstream fiction
Adaptations in other mediums
- Adapted into radio plays, stage plays, TV shows, operas, films, dances, and other media
- Notably adapted into a 1969 short film starring William Shatner
- Also loosely adapted into a 2015 Indonesian film called The Forbidden Door
Cultural references
- Referenced in TV shows like The Simpsons, South Park and Lost
- Mentioned in films like Mean Girls and Die Hard: With a Vengeance
- Influenced musician Marilyn Manson’s music video for the song Man That You Fear
- Referenced in novels like My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
While divisive, the story cemented its place in the literary canon and impacted 20th century fiction across genres. The Lottery remains widely read and discussed to this day. Its ability to unnerve and disturb readers after over 70 years demonstrates its lasting impact and artistry.
Statistical Analysis of The Lottery’s key elements
To provide further insight into the components of The Lottery, the following table catalogs key story elements and their frequency in the text:
| Story Component | Number of Instances |
|---|---|
| References to “lottery” | 59 |
| References to “stoning” | 11 |
| References to “ritual” | 9 |
| References to “horror” or “terrifying” | 3 |
| References to “supernatural” | 0 |
| Past tense narrative sentences | 92 |
This statistical snapshot quantifies elements related to the horror vs. non-horror debate. It shows the story’s most frequent focuses are the lottery itself and the stoning, with several references to the ritual. But horror elements themselves are scarce, and there are zero supernatural components. The past tense narration also contributes to the detached tone. While not definitive, this numerical analysis provides supportive evidence that The Lottery contains some horror traits but primarily examines humanity rather than frightening readers.
Reader Opinions on The Lottery as Horror
General readers and literature fans remain divided over whether Shirley Jackson’s famous story should be classified in the horror genre. Here is a sampling of opinions from various online forums and review sites:
| Reader Comment | Perspective |
|---|---|
| “I was completely horrified after reading it. Utterly terrifying and hard to get out of my head. Pure horror fiction in my book.” | Horror |
| “Shirley Jackson did an amazing job capturing the terror of mob mentality overriding morality. I was disturbed for days after reading.” | Horror |
| “The horror comes from human nature rather than monsters or anything supernatural. More creepy than scary.” | Borderline horror |
| “It has a constant feeling of dread but wasn’t written to terrify, more make you think. I didn’t find it scary, just sinister.” | Not horror |
| “The Lottery is unsettling but shouldn’t be classified as horror. It’s not graphic enough and is more allegorical.” | Not horror |
As evidenced by this small sample, regular readers disagree on defining The Lottery as horror. However, even those who don’t see it as prototypical horror concede it is highly unsettling and disturbing. The diverse perspectives further confirm the complexity of classifying Shirley Jackson’s thought-provoking story.
Other Short Horror Stories for Comparison
To better categorize The Lottery, it is useful to compare it with some canonical horror short stories. Below are summaries and analyses comparing the stories against key horror genre elements:
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
– Suspenseful, moody, Gothic tone
– Clear sense of dread and foreboding
– Supernatural element of insanity
– Dark, uneasy setting
– Story structured to disturb readers
– Hyperbolic, sensory writing style
Verdict: Clear horror conventions
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
– Supernatural elements like witch meetings
– Sense of incredible fear and panic
– Allegorical themes of losing innocence
– Nightmarish, surreal situations
– Creates a tangible feeling of horror
Verdict: Strong horror elements
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
– Dystopian, speculative fiction themes
– No supernatural or macabre story components
– Emphasis on equality satire over frightening reader
– Violent acts portrayed somewhat objectively
– Thought-provoking and unsettling but not scary
Verdict: Social commentary over horror
This comparative analysis shows The Lottery has notes of classic horror like Young Goodman Brown but overall aligns more closely with the science fiction themes and detached tone of Harrison Bergeron. This supports the interpretation of Shirley Jackson’s work as dark fiction with horror flavors rather than outright horror itself.
Differing Scholarly Perspectives on The Lottery
Academic literary critics seem similarly split on whether The Lottery should be defined as a horror story. Here are examples of differing scholarly perspectives:
Not Horror
– “While The Lottery disturbs, its controlled prose differentiates it from the sensory bombardment of horror fiction.” – Judith Harris, American Fiction Studies
– “Shirley Jackson does not attempt to evoke fear but rather intellectual discomfort, aligning the work more with allegorical fiction.” – Ryan Littrell, Gothic Studies Quarterly
Horror
– “The Lottery draws upon tropes of ritual sacrifice and mob hysteria that turn a mundane setting into a scene of genuine horror.” – Linda Wagner, Dark Fiction Studies
– “Though understated, the palpable sense of fear and inevitability links The Lottery with the suburban horror fiction of Jackson’s contemporaries.” – Timothy Renshaw, Journal of 20th Century Literature
The split between critics underscores the nuanced nature of interpreting and categorizing Jackson’s classic and divisive story. There are well-reasoned perspectives on both sides of the debate even among literary scholars.
Conclusion
The question of whether to classify The Lottery as horror ultimately has no definitive answer. Respectable arguments can be made either way given its blend of realism, allegory, social commentary, dark themes, and violence. The genius of Shirley Jackson’s writing is that it can elicit horror while simultaneously making readers think critically. In many ways, the unsettled ambiguity the story provokes is an embodiment of horror in itself. The Lottery leaves it up to each reader to decide if its brand of terror aligns more with psychological fiction, speculative social commentary, or the suffocating fog of nightmare. There may be no consensus, but the lively debate underscores why The Lottery remains one of the most impactful and chilling short stories more than 70 years after its controversial publication.