Todorov's Fantastic and Kristeva's Abjection: A Comparative Analysis of Horror in The Turn of the Screw and The Exorcist

This article explores the horror elements in Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (1898) and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist (1971), focusing on their narrative techniques, psychological undertones, and cultural contexts.Using a qualitative and comparative approach, the study examines how both works employ horror to evoke fear, suspense, and existential dread.The analysis is grounded in Tzvetan Todorov's theory of the fantastic and Julia Kristeva's concept of abjection.Todorov's theory is applied to The Turn of the Screw to analyze the ambiguity and hesitation between the natural and supernatural, while Kristeva's concept of abjection is used to explore the visceral and bodily horror in The Exorcist.The study also highlights how these works reflect the cultural anxieties of their respective eras: The Turn of the Screw embodies Victorian concerns about sexuality, morality, and the corruption of innocence.The study concludes that both texts, despite their differing approaches, remain enduring examples of how horror literature confronts the unknown and the uncanny, offering profound insights into human psychology and cultural anxieties.