Horror magazine analysis (Nhung Pham)

The front cover denotes an image of four evil characters, one character looks like grim the reaper using a big wooden stick stabbing a human with horns like a devil, hung up in a form of a cross posture. Another character looks like a werewolf wearing human clothing which is all ruined and ripped, he is stabbing a young beautiful woman who is a vampire and is only wearing a bra lying in a coffin with again, a big wooden stick which is very sharp at the end. The woman has healthy brown voluptuous curly hair and pale skin with blood coming out of her chest and mouth. The masthead is on the top left under lapping the devilish character and there is a main cover line on top of the masthead. The cover lines are placed on the left side of the magazine and there is also a visible barcode on the bottom left corner.


The image of the woman, who is a vampire, is shown to be lying in a coffin with nothing but a yellow bra on. Yellow holds connotations of positive yet also negative energy. Yellow is commonly seen as happiness, intellect and wisdom however it could also symbolise deceit, betrayal and cowardice. In the context of this magazine there is a beautiful woman with a desired face and figure nonetheless she may be a deceivable and cunning as what vampires are known for, to make people fall into their charms by their beauty. Beside the vampire is a werewolf in a white, ragged/ripped shirt, turquoise trousers and a brown belt, a casual daywear costume for males. It seems that he is a human that involves into a werewolf which explains why he is in a human type of clothing. This could suggest that he is an innocent character and imply that horror is not just all about evil and bad omen.

Behind the werewolf is also the same action that is happening but instead there is a skeleton in the form of ‘the grim reaper’ stabbing a human with horns which I assume is a devil that is hung up on a cross. The fact that the devil is hung up on the cross similar to when Jesus was is ironic in the way that they are mocking him and replaced Jesus with a devil which could suggest they don’t have a belief in him as horror is associated with darkness, the devil and evil spiritual.

The horror magazine masthead is called ‘WEIRD’ in bold, capital letters. The font which has sharp jagged edges as though it is in a form of a broken knife which could represent danger as knives are usually associated with cutting and slicing things. The colour of the masthead is in red with a bold yellow outline. The colour red holds connotations of danger, power and blood. Red can attract, repel, elevate or enrage. By using red for the masthead and combining it with a sharp font shows the essence of danger but also compliments the dull, low key coloured background. This is a common convention for mastheads as they are usually placed on the left side of the magazine so that when it is stacked on the shelves the readers are able to identify what magazine it is.

The main selling line of the magazine is ‘STARTLING N’ SHOCKING TALES’ in the colour white above the masthead. White holds connotations of purity, innocence and vulnerability therefore this indicates a warning message before opening the magazine. The grammar used in the sentence such as ‘startling’ and ‘tales’ are words that would be used in children’s storybooks therefore it shows a more entertaining and fun side to the magazine, not just all gore and freaky materials that’d be expected in a horror magazine.

The cover lines are placed on the left side of the magazine in a bubble in the form of blood dripping which reverts back to the horror genre. The font of the text are fun and edgy yet have no flicks on the ends which indicates its more modernised as it tends to use more san serif fonts. The font on ‘GRAVE’ is bubbly and blood-dripping which shows that there is a fun side to the magazine and that it is not taken too seriously. The colours used are wide-ranging such as purple, red, green, yellow, white and black. The colour theme all moulds into together with the background as it contains many different colours. The different cover line which consists of one saying ‘the SPECTRE from beyond unleashes flesh-ripping terror in..‘ this catches the attention of the reader as it implies that there are gossip to be revealed and exposed from ‘beyond’ and unleashing ‘flesh-ripping terror’ the adjectives used are exaggerated which could suggest that the magazine is about horror but more about logic horror rather than about murder and killings.

The dateline and price is seen underneath the main selling line and beside the Masthead, placed on the right side of the magazine. This ensures it is visible for the readers to be able to identify the price as it is what we first look for in a magazine to see whether it is affordable. This breaks the convention as the price and date is usually found beside the barcode. It is in yellow which compliments the masthead and colour scheme and not difficult to be aware off.

To conclude, this magazine is only effective to those that are highly interested in horror facts as it shows that their main focus is on ‘vampires’ and ‘werewolves’ rather than take notice of the horror movies. Also the fact that the main image is of a devil hung up on a cross getting stabbed which is mocking Jesus Christ may offend some people therefore this magazine is aimed at those who are mostly into horror and that doesn’t take life so serious. To improve the magazine, the colours should tone down a little bit, using more darker shades or stick to a colour tone because it looks too empowering and the reader may not know where to start looking first. Overall the slogan and masthead makes it easy for the audience to identify with and unforgettable.