The horror genre has maintained a prominent position in culture for much of history. Starting from folklore, used as a tool to scare children and get them to behave (for example the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm), horror has made its way into the 21st century through films and, in recent years, also video games . Every year, especially during the fall, when the leaves begin to darken and the natural, eerie sense of dread fills the air around Halloween, the movie industry likes to fill the gaps between the highest-grossing seasons by filling audiences with fear . However, it was Christmas 1973 that defined the new era of horror, when William Friedkin published The Exorcist. According to Julia Heimerdinger of the Academia online journal, Horror, as a whole, can be identified by its strong emphasis on the evocation of emotion; particularly those emotions that make the audience uncomfortable (panic, shock, disgust, fear, etc.). In fact, emotion plays such a large role in defining this genre, that it joins a list of only two genres that differ in their intended effect despite the name: Horror and Romance. Heimerdinger states that “The goal of the genre is to get in touch with primal fears and bring people's nightmares to life” (Heimerdinger). Steffen Hantke is the author of a critique of the current state of American horror cinema. In his critique he argues that horror films “can be best understood by . . . paying attention to the specifically technological aspects of cinema” (326). William Friedkin's 1973 horror film The Exorcist uses the elements of sound and special effects to emphasize the horror genre within the film. Furthermore, this film influenced and created norms in the thematic techniques used in the modern horror genre, such as audience reception...... middle of paper......s-%E2%80%93-l' exorcist >.Heimerdinger, Julia. “Music and sound in horror film and why modern and avant-garde music lends itself so well.” Academia.edu. March 20, 2014me_modern_and_avant-garde_music_lends_itself_to_it_so_well>.Schuette, Clifford G. “Finding Focus.” 1989. K-State.edu. March 22, 2014.Hantke, Steffen. “Academic Film Criticism, Crisis Rhetoric, and the Current State of American Horror Cinema: Thoughts on Canonicity and Academic Anxiety.” College Literature 34.4 (2007): 191-202. Literary reference center. Network. March 6, 2014. Kermode, Mark. The Exorcist / Mark Kermode. np: London: BFI Publishing, 2003.,2003. University of Mississippi Libraries Catalog. Network. March 6. 2014