An Analysis of Waking the Dead by Yvette Tan
Out of the Ordinary:
On What Makes Yvette Tan’s Horror in “Waking the Dead and Other Horror Stories” Different from the Usual
Since the dawn of time, horror has already been thriving on the Philippine mainstream (A. Paman, 2010). Men and women, old and young, alike, have been fond of being scared by the characters of the child-imitating tiyanak, the tree demon kapre, the vampire-like aswang, the horse-headed-human-bodied tikbalang, and the violent spirits, among others.
When a typical Filipino is asked about what horror is for him, what instantly comes into his mind are those supernatural creatures or paranormal experiences which he could have either heard from others’ recount or from his own personal encounter. Horror has always been associated with the eerie creatures of the night. This has been the common perception, so that, when one has able to read horror stories written by fictionists like that of by Yvette Tan, he would really be surprised and doubtful if it really belongs to horror. As the book “Waking the Dead and Other Horror Stories” by Tan implies, horror can offer a lot more possibilities-greater and wider than that we had expected it to be.
While most Filipino horror stories are based on the Philippine mythology, Tan’s stories are different as they are based on the current times, weaved by the author’s creative mind, and added with a number of twists and dramas, making a great move from the conventional horror we Filipinos are accustomed to.
Tan’s horror stories are different because first, it is founded on our present-day situation. If you are to observe, books like the True Philippine Ghost stories and Afraid: The Best Philippine Ghost Stories among others are commonly based on real accounts of people-- in their encounter with those horrible creatures, or on recounts passed from generation to generation by our folks. In other words, the supernatural horrors from these stories are rooted down from the folklore and religious traditions
On What Makes Yvette Tan’s Horror in “Waking the Dead and Other Horror Stories” Different from the Usual
Since the dawn of time, horror has already been thriving on the Philippine mainstream (A. Paman, 2010). Men and women, old and young, alike, have been fond of being scared by the characters of the child-imitating tiyanak, the tree demon kapre, the vampire-like aswang, the horse-headed-human-bodied tikbalang, and the violent spirits, among others.
When a typical Filipino is asked about what horror is for him, what instantly comes into his mind are those supernatural creatures or paranormal experiences which he could have either heard from others’ recount or from his own personal encounter. Horror has always been associated with the eerie creatures of the night. This has been the common perception, so that, when one has able to read horror stories written by fictionists like that of by Yvette Tan, he would really be surprised and doubtful if it really belongs to horror. As the book “Waking the Dead and Other Horror Stories” by Tan implies, horror can offer a lot more possibilities-greater and wider than that we had expected it to be.
While most Filipino horror stories are based on the Philippine mythology, Tan’s stories are different as they are based on the current times, weaved by the author’s creative mind, and added with a number of twists and dramas, making a great move from the conventional horror we Filipinos are accustomed to.
Tan’s horror stories are different because first, it is founded on our present-day situation. If you are to observe, books like the True Philippine Ghost stories and Afraid: The Best Philippine Ghost Stories among others are commonly based on real accounts of people-- in their encounter with those horrible creatures, or on recounts passed from generation to generation by our folks. In other words, the supernatural horrors from these stories are rooted down from the folklore and religious traditions
References: 10 urban legends that drove pinoys crazy. (2010, April 16). Retrieved from: http://www.spot.ph/print_article.php?id=41192&post_name=urban-legends-that-drove-pinoys-crazy Allusion. (2012, February 28). Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allusion Casocot, I.R Paman, A. & Tan, Y.N. U. (2010, May 9). Journalist and mistress of the dark: The enigma that is Yvette Tan. Retrieved from: http://www.filipinasmag.com/?p=83#more-83 Stock character. (2012, February 26). Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_character Tan, Y.N.U