Horror Stories Have a Common Theme: Unarmed Yuppies

Most of my reading tends to be focused on things that are, arguably, worth reading.  Of late, for whatever reason, I have read a few novels in the “creature feature” horror genre.  Bigfoot is a standard antagonist among such fiction, as are wolf-like things.  I recently read two novels, in both the antagonist was the ever-lovable North American Great Ape.  You might call him Sasquatch, Bigfoot, or whatever.  His Asian cousin goes by “Yeti.”  I am under the impression that, despite the many sightings of this creature, why have we found no real evidence?  Even if it is smart enough to evade humans, why have we not found a dead one?  A skeleton?  Anyway, the idea remains frightening simply because we fear the unknown.  However, why should somebody walk into the woods of the north-west and be afraid of Bigfoot when there are grizzly bears in the same environment that can eat Bigfoot for breakfast?

And, of course, the solution for surviving a dangerous grizzly encounter (or Bigfoot encounter) is gunfire.  Such a solution is consistently absent in these books.  Well, if gunfire was the go-to solution for the problem these books would be quite short, would they not?  “New species identified after camper shoots and kills a large, ape-like creature.”  I suppose that would not be quite as interesting as reading about unarmed, helpless yuppies running through the woods in terror while being chased by a large, furry creature.  The same can be said for any given slasher movie.  How scary is a guy running around with a chainsaw if the first intended victim he accosts shots him in the face?

Now, granted, there are some horror books and movies where the protagonist is armed, usually the situation is finally resolved, though with a good amount of bloodshed along the way.  However, the bulk of such literature is rife with helpless fools being terrorized by a creature, or a human with a sharp object, and it begs the question, do most human beings have an infinity for the helpless?  I suppose they must.  With half of American households having no firearm present, one must ask, how separated from reality is this fifty percent?  Obviously, the threat is not real to them, despite daily reports of home invasions.  Therefore, why would such an individual venture into the woods with a firearm for defense against large furry creatures, be they real or imagined?  It is remarkable how much less scary the woods are when you venture into them with a high-powered rifle in hand and a good handgun on hip. 

Well, still, helpless yuppies running from Bigfoot remains quite entertaining, even if those of us that live in reality would just opt to shoot him in his furry face.